Alex regretted his decision to grab a coffee with Daisy the moment she told him where they were headed.
“Let’s go to the Moondoe near your school,” she grinned as she led the way.
Alex froze in his tracks and tried to think of an excuse. But Daisy looped her arm through his and practically dragged him towards the coffee shop.
“Daisy . . .” Alex protested when they were a block away from the coffee shop he had been dreaming about since Monday. “This is where Jake hangs out.”
“Yeah, so?” Daisy looked at Alex and cocked an eyebrow. Alex watched as she chewed her lip and tried to read him. “It’s not as if you like him or anything. You have a boyfriend, remember?”
Alex caught himself before he looked down at his feet. Instead he chose to focus intently ahead of him. It took every ounce of strength he could muster to keep his expression calm. “Of course I don’t like him, Daisy. Don’t be ridiculous.” Alex made a point of rolling his eyes. “I just don’t want to bump into a classmate outside of school if I don’t have to.”
Daisy let out a chuckle and gave Alex’s arm a gentle squeeze. “You really need to get out more, Alex. Not everyone at school is gonna bite, you know.”
She pulled him into the coffee shop, where Alex avoided eye contact with everyone in the room. Daisy went to the counter to order their drinks and Alex made a beeline for a table in the corner, the one farthest from other people he could find. When Daisy sat down with their coffees, Alex’s leg was bouncing up and down and his hands were tapping nervously against the table.
“What is with you today, Alex? You’re acting
. . . different.” Daisy sounded concerned as she reached out and put a hand on Alex’s.
“I . . . I just . . .” Alex had to think quickly and come up with a reasonable excuse. “I have a group project due soon and it’s stressing me out . . .”
Daisy narrowed her eyes at her friend.
“I’m partnered with Jake.”
“Ah. Yeah, that makes sense.” Daisy broke into a smile and tucked a strand of purple hair behind her ear. “Jake doesn’t seem the type to put in a lot of effort for group projects.”
“Exactly,” Alex lied. He wrapped his fingers around his coffee cup, hoping it could somehow teleport him to anywhere else in the world. “So I didn’t really want to bump into him.”
“Oh . . .” Daisy looked down, swirling her coffee in its paper cup. “Guess that answers my next question.”
“Your next question?” Alex glared at Daisy. He knew the look she got when she was attempting to force him to socialize.
“Yeah . . . Arjun is having some friends over tonight. I thought it would be nice if you joined us. He said it’s okay. He’s making curry.” From her tone, Daisy seemed to think homemade curry would be the deciding factor for Alex. It wasn’t.
“Thanks for the offer,” Alex mumbled politely. He kept himself from telling his friend off. “But I’d rather stay home.”
Daisy shifted in her chair. Alex could feel her eyes digging into him, even as he kept his focus on his coffee.
“You really should —”
“I don’t need your help to make friends, Daisy,” Alex said sharply. “I’m not that lost little boy you met in middle school.”
Silence fell over their table. The dull background noise of the coffee shop filled the void as Alex and Daisy stared at their drinks.
It took a few moments, but Daisy eventually spoke up. “I know you’re not that person anymore, Alex.” She took a steadying breath before looking up to capture Alex’s eyes with her own. “But I worry about you. You never go out. You never talk to people.”
“I have my boyfriend.”
“Yes, yes. The guy you met on eSymphony whose name you won’t tell me. The same guy you haven’t met in real life yet because you’d prefer to keep things safe. Is that the boyfriend you’re talking about?”
Alex didn’t respond.
“Look, I think you should join us tonight. It would be good for you.”
Alex thought about standing up, leaving the table. Letting Daisy sit by herself and drink alone. Instead, he looked directly at his friend, took a deep breath and spoke his mind. “I said ‘no thank you,’ Daisy. I’d appreciate it if you respected that. I don’t have the energy to socialize right now and I need you to understand that I know my own limits.”
“Okay. I’m sorry.”
Alex’s heart ached for his friend as he saw her face fall. The excitement that had been bubbling out of her faded entirely. “It’s fine,” Alex said calmly. “I just don’t really want to spend a whole evening with —”
“Jake?”
Alex froze, hoping beyond hope that Daisy was finishing his sentence. As the smell of cigarettes, leather and spiced cologne filled his nose and made his head swim, Alex knew he was in trouble.
“Hey, Alex,” the voice behind him said, low and raspy, almost a soft growl.
Alex inhaled deeply before turning around and facing Jake. “Hey . . .”
The cocky grin, the loose bun, the lopsided backpack. It was all enough to make Alex smile despite himself. Jake grabbed a chair from the table next to theirs and pulled it over. He plopped himself down beside his classmate. He gave Alex the once-over and sized him up before flashing a confident smirk. Alex tried to suppress his blush, willing his cheeks not to give him away.
“So,” Jake began, running his fingers through his hair. “I’m guessing Daisy told you about tonight? You game?”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Alex mumbled to his coffee, which didn’t respond. “I’m not really one for parties.”
“It’s not a party, exactly, it’s more like —”
“No, thank you, Jake.” Alex’s tone was more forceful than he intended. But he was tired of people trying to pressure him. He was perfectly happy chatting with Dorian before his boardgame night and then watching a movie.
“Oh.” Jake’s eyes flickered down for a brief moment. His face fell slightly before he recovered. “And there’s no way I can convince you otherwise? I’d . . . it’d be really nice if you were there.”
Alex’s mouth opened on its own, and words spilled out that he didn’t intend to say aloud. “Next time, Jake.”
The glowing smile on Jake’s face was enough to make Alex’s knees weak.
A sudden weight dropped into the pit of Alex’s stomach. He realized just how smitten he was with his English partner. Almost before he knew what came over himself, Alex was on his feet, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “I have to go.”
“Alex,” Daisy protested. She tried to get her friend to sit down again. “You don’t have to come! It’s fine! Just sit —”
“I’ll see you guys later.” Alex turned around, ignoring Daisy’s and Jake’s words. He refused to look back at the two of them at the table.
Alex needed to go home.
He needed to talk to Dorian.
20