"Big, fat, and juicy," said Layla as we all turned around to face her in shock.

I raise my eyebrow in amusement. "Who is that directed to?" I ask.

She turns her head to me and grins. "The burger, duh," she says sarcastically while glimpsing at a group of rugby players who just walked into the diner.

"Sure," I roll my eyes with a smirk.

We were all sitting inside a booth at the diner close to our school. Most students came here when they were done with their classes, since it was so close. The moment you walk inside, a pirate ship vibe greets you. There were circular 'windows' all around the place and the tableware was made of wood. I saw a couple of barrels here and there, some filled with gold coins and some covered with a cover. In other words, it was basically the Krusty Crab's.

We had our orders already given to us and we were about to dig in. The only obstacle stopping us was Layla, who was delaying us by taking a bunch of pictures of her food for the 'aesthetic'.

"Are you done?" Laurie asked her. "I'm starving."

"Same," I agreed. "Hurry up."

Annoyed, Layla puts down her phone. "Fine," she gives up and we all sigh in relief.

At that, we begin eating our food, Laurie being the only one who made noises by chewing dramatically.

"Stop doing that," Bella orders her with a scowl.

Laurie looks up at her with squinting eyes. "Need I remind you that I haven't forgiven you yet?" She says.

My cousin rolls her eyes and puts down her burger. "I don't get how you still didn't forgive me, when I said worse things to Ariana and she forgave me," she complains.

Laurie gives her a mocking smile. "That's because Ariana is a nice person," she tells her. "I'm not," she furrows her eyebrows, a mischievous smile plastered on her face.

"I agree," I nod my head.

We watched as Bella tightened her grip on the fork she was using for her fries.

Who uses a fork to eat fries?

Then, her expression turned and a look of surprise surfaced on her face. Noticing the change, I turned to glance in the direction she was staring at.

My eyes widened when I saw Andrew coming through the glass doors with some guy who was talking non-stop.

From my seat next to the wall, I observed him walk towards the corner of the place. When he passed by, we locked eyes and I smiled at him. He stared for a moment and scowled at me, rolling his eyes.

My heart sinks in agony, the feeling growing stronger the more I replayed the moment in my head. Why would he do such a thing? I thought that we'd gotten closer.

"I think he's still holding a grudge against us," Laurie snickered.

I roll my eyes at her and look away.

"You think so?" Bella asks sarcastically.

Layla furrowed her eyebrows. "Why is he so childish? He saw those messages like a decade ago," she continues, her soft voice echoing throughout the table.

"No," Laurie said. "I don't think it's about that. Remember when he stood up for Ari in class or something? Why would he do that if he was pissed at her?"

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"That's because he was scowling at us, not her," Bella concluded.

I sigh, knowing that the action was directed at me, not them. He clearly locked eyes with me and sent me that annoyed expression.

As we ate our food, blabbing about different subjects, I could feel his gaze on me. But, when I tried to catch him staring, his face was averted.

For the rest of the evening, my thoughts traveled back to his behavior, to try and figure out what I had done wrong. Just a few days ago, we were conversing in the comfort of my bed, so why had he acted like this? Maybe I was overthinking it. Maybe I was taking it too personally. Or maybe he was being childish, just as Layla mentioned.

◆◈◇

A couple of times, I tried to approach him at school, but he always either ignored me or left abruptly. I knew he was watching me, I could feel it. I caught his gaze multiple times, but he'd look away with an evident scowl. I'd approach him, attempt to speak, try to reach out, but all that effort went to waste. Each time, he'd turn away from me like I was some piece of garbage clinging to him.

In class, I could feel his eyes piercing the side of my head. He made it so obvious how stared at me. Keeping focus in class while someone like him dug their eyes into your soul, was near impossible. I'd turn towards him, try to catch him in the act, but once our eyes met, he acted like nothing had happened and looked back at the teacher. A scowl always darkened his face, like he was ashamed of ever having interacted with me in any type of way.

Near the gym, I'd see him enter his car from afar while he stared at me walking home. Leaned on the driver side of the car, keys in hand and crossed arms, his eyes followed my figure while I passed right by. I could see him through my peripheral vision but he couldn't tell. When I tried to face him, he'd act like he was busy typing away on his phone.

As if anyone wanted to text him anyway.

He was so confusing. It was tormenting me and I hated it. How could a person be so cold yet so hot?

Hot in both ways by the way.

He was handsome, I can't lie, but he was acting like I didn't matter, like we'd never talked to each other, like I was just some other girl walking down the hallway.

Maybe I was. Maybe I never mattered. Maybe he never liked me.

But then again, why would he be so caring about me?

◆◈◇

I was walking down the hallway, making my way towards the bathroom. Hoping that no one was around to see me trying to hold it in, I quickened my pace.

Drinking coffee ruins your bladder, I knew that. And yet, I drank 3 full glasses already.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the tiny snowflakes fell from the sky and landed on the trees. The grass was slightly covered in snow, seeming as if someone had sprinkled powdered sugar on top. I didn't mind winter at all. The best part about winter was staying inside and drinking hot cocoa while reading a book next to the window.

My stomach grumbled, reminding me of the purpose of my being in the middle of the hallway. I hurried my steps and got into the washroom.

And no, I wasn't going to poop at school, that's too embarrassing for me.

After doing my business, I left the stall and washed my hands. The moment I walked out of the room, I noticed a figure standing close to me, in front of the men's bathroom. I spun my head around and glanced at the person out of curiosity.

Andrew was standing there, seeming surprised to see me.

"I promise I'm not stalking you," I blurt out without thinking.

Shit.

Why would I start a conversation like that? He's been ignoring me for a reason and I was just making it worse.

For a while, he stared at me, until he cleared his throat and walked off in the other direction.

For some reason, I followed behind him. I was determined to find something.

Where was he going? I didn't know, but I didn't care. Glancing behind at me, he stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants and speeds up a little.

"Andrew, wait-" I speed-walk next to him.

Not seeming to care, he walks down different hallways and passages, obviously trying to get me to give up.

Resisting, I persisted in keeping a close distance from him. This continued for a minute or so until he froze in the middle of the way.

Almost bumping into his back, I stopped myself in time and attempted to catch my breath. "Andrew, stop. Why are you avoiding me?" I plead for an answer.

He leans in towards me, his eyes connecting with mine harshly. "Don't fucking talk to me," he spits out with a cold, straight voice. He turns on his heel and leaves.

Speechless, my lips part as I stare at the back of his head. He doesn't look back and I stand there, trying to stop my tears from falling.

I really thought we'd gotten closer.

Had I done something wrong? I needed to know. It hurt. Every time I'd think about it, it would hurt me even more.

The days passed by and I'd become more numb to his avoidance. I didn't care to check if he was staring at me anymore. I still caught him doing so, but I had given up on figuring out why he'd been sending me mixed signals. Why was he trying to watch my every move if he didn't want to even speak to me?

Sometimes I'd wish I never met him but other times I'd wish he would just stop acting this way and talk to me. I even contemplated asking his mother about it but I brushed it off since I didn't want him to get in trouble.

I guess I cared about him in some way. I don't know anymore.