"So, Fram Hill High's cutest couple, huh?" Dan leaned in and asked Lily. He was so close to her that she could almost feel his breath on her face.
Though she never got to be this close to Dan before even if she dreamed of it, she tried not to lean in closer to him. She couldn't, and she mustn't. "Stop it. I have no idea at all about it. I wish I could change the whole thing. It's embarrassing."
"Why? It's cute you two."
Cute? No way! I don't like him that way. We're not even that kind of friends, Lily wanted to yell at Dan. "Hahaha. It's not cute. It's not true. It's weird. It should be you and Sophie according to the survey I did. I'm shocked my name is on there."
Dan leaned back to his chair and pretended to read a book. "I wouldn't think of it that way. Sophie and I are a couple but, trust me, we're far from cute."
"You're the hottest, you say, pin-up boy," Ray added. He was obviously bored. He found himself joining in the conversation between Dan and Lily. "You don't have to worry about it. All of it is trivial anyway. Do you even believe a single thing in the List?" He was looking at Lily.
He was intently staring at her was more like it.
Why is he staring at me? Lily was conscious of Ray and his stare. She was not used to him staring at her that way. She was used to passing glares and inquisitive looks like she was kind of a walking rare ancient artifact but she was used to someone giving her more than three seconds to take a good look at her. "Uhm, well, there is some truth in it. It's a survey. A popularity poll of some sort. Some are concrete like the worst class, the Pee-Sick class, for example, which is exactly the reason why we're all here I bet." She set her chin up, avoiding eye contact with him.
Ray did not seem a bit convinced but she did not care.
"Aren't you a bit pissed off that the whole school thought of us as the cutest couple? It must weird you out," she asked him, mentally demanding from him an explanation of nonchalance.
"Why should I be pissed off? Dan deserves a break from that cutest, sweetest whatever. Anyways, it isn't so bad if we are a couple." He winked at her.
"We are not a couple," she stressed out. "We just talked one afternoon and, all of a sudden, this. I don't remember ever acting like we are more than we actually are." Defensive much, girl?
"If you say so..." he shrugged, nonchalant and slouched in his chair yet a look in his eyes spelled amusement.
Lily wanted to clear an obvious misunderstanding but the other party, Ray Carter, was unfortunately uncooperative.
Beside her, she heard Dan chuckle. She felt she had to clarify it, to explain again. "What? It's true! We... We're... We're not a couple. We just recently met... like really talked to each other for the first time in years and, of all circumstances, it happened during a night of inebriation, a house party. For years, we did not talk to each other until, what, two weeks ago? Yeah, yeah, he was so kind enough to drive me home because I couldn't drive my own freaking car. For goodness' sake, what have I done for people to believe that I have this, whatever, this thing with him? And last week, I went to Nickel Penny. He invited me to go there. And surprise, surprise, he owns the place. Who would've thought, huh? The iced coffee was heaven by the way. Anyways, it's unbelievable that talking to someone means you're a couple already. What's wrong with people, seriously? It's frustrating. Hey, you, say something."
It was Ray's turn to laugh. It was so loud that Ms. Carroll had to raise her voice and warn them. "This is a library, Mr. Carter."
Lily knew that. But does Ray Carter?
He only mouthed a "Sorry" to Ms. Carroll and straightened from his slouching. Now, his focus was back on Lily. He had that look on his face that Lily had already become familiar yet still not comfortable with.
Why am I always this conscious with him around? Dan's presence was more than enough to make her nervous. But Ray's presence was different. It was too much. She said, "What? What are you thinking?"
"I like you," he answered. He did not stutter or even blink.
What?! Did he just say he likes me? What is wrong with this guy? Lily could only stare back at him, her mouth agape. "What? What do you mean by that?" She tried to ask him again.
"I said I like you, and here I thought you aren't deaf or something." He shook his head and drew something on a piece of paper. He somewhat looked determined. When he was done, he showed her what it was.
It was a face of a frowning girl with thick eyebrows. One thing Lily noticed was that the image seemed familiar.
"You didn't just..." she grumbled.
Ray winked at her. That wicked wink again.
Before she could get hold of a book and hit him with it, he abruptly stood up and left her alone with Dan. "This is a library. Remember, Ms. McQueen?" With hands shoved into his pockets, he added, "I changed my mind. I don't want to do any sessions with students who don't like Physics anymore. I leave it to you, Dan. You'll be fine. Mr. Simpson can get disappointed with me all he wants. I'm no stranger to flunking classes anyways," and left, whistling his merry way out of the library.
Lily thought to antagonize him but stopped herself. She was genuinely confused. Instead, she quietly watched his back finally disappear out of the library doors.
"He means it." Dan suddenly existed.
She almost forgot that he was still there beside her.
"What do you mean that he means it? That I am grumpy? That I deserve to be the Stiff? That I look like this caricature?" She frowned.
"No. He really means that he likes you." Dan smiled at her. He had this beautiful smile, though one of his front teeth was a bit crooked which was surprisingly adorable to Lily. "He's a great guy and doesn't like people so easily. Plus, you're not really grumpy. For the record, the nickname Stiff doesn't suit you at all. He likes you all right."
I just couldn't say anything to that, could I? Lily wondered.
Even after Dan said that Ray really meant that he liked her a million times over, she could not comprehend and accept it.
So what if he likes me? Lily could only think of one acceptable reason why he liked her--he liked her enough to annoy her, to confuse her, to make fun of her.
She was so speechless she blurted out a weak, "I don't know what to say."
"Hey, why don't you go over to Douglas' Halloween party this weekend? I will be there. Ray will be there. Most of the guys in school will be there I am sure."
"Uhm..." She terribly didn't know what to say. Dan was asking her to go to a Halloween party. It was not like he was asking her to be his date. He would be there with his girlfriend anyway. The thought was tempting.
"It will be fun. Have a little fun this year. You're not going to be in high school forever." He stood up and started to put all his notes inside his backpack. "The party's on Saturday at seven pm. Be there okay? I've been told The Bugle people are invited."
Lily still didn't know what to say, doing a terrible job at it. She was looking for words when Dan said, "Nice to finally get to talk to you, Lily. See you around. The students I need to tutor are just over there. Later."
Now, she knew what to say. It was a lame, "Okay sure... see you."
He smiled for the last time that day and went over to a group of students a few tables away.
She shook her head. Where is the "Make the Little Drummer Boy Fall in Love with You" act now, huh? One more shake. A failure, she thought.
She was just sitting there with an open Physics book and her blank stare. She could not make out the words, the lines, or even the formula.
Another shake. This is unbelievable!
She wondered what was bothering her. Was it that Physics was too much for her or was it that Dan was so out of her league?
Or was it that Ray Carter liked her?
A final shake of her head. Painfully obvious, isn't it?
Some days. Some days.
Someone, a familiar stranger, said he liked Lily, and just like that she felt the day wasn't like some days.
***