When Erica did break up with Dan, he didn't even put up a fuss. He literally said "whatever, it's been fun" and walked off completely unbothered. At least he hadn't cared about her any more than she had cared about him. Good riddance. She didn't need a lukewarm relationship with someone whose goals (or lack thereof) were incompatible with hers.
Even though it was what she had wanted, she was still a little down about it. Adam noticed and ended up bringing her a cookie his brother had made the next day.
"Here. I don't know what's upsetting you but sugar helps."
Erica gave him a small smile. Always so considerate. "I don't know how you guessed but thanks."
"You're welcome."
"And I know this is super random but don't ever date someone whose goals are incompatible with yours. It never works. Free advice in exchange for the cookie."
Adam let out a small, disbelieving cough. "…yeah, I wasn't planning on it. I know that's a bad idea. I'm in no position to date anyway."
His face was bright red and Erica regarded him curiously. What did he mean by that?
"Seriously? A nice guy like you?"
His face turned even redder if that was possible. "You think I'm nice?"
"Obviously. You're probably the nicest person I know. Anyone would be lucky to date you," she said with a shrug.
"Not really."
"Why?" Erica asked, not understanding his vehemence.
Adam wouldn't meet her eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not the type of person she—I mean, I really don't have anything to offer."
She. He definitely said she! That meant there was someone he had in mind! "…there's a she?"
His face was redder than it had been this entire conversation. She felt a little bad for embarrassing him but she was dying of curiosity to know what sort of person would catch someone like Adam Mitchell's attention. Whoever she was, she was very lucky.
"She doesn't like me. Even if I wasn't so busy, it wouldn't matter. She's better off with someone more like her anyway."
Erica raised an eyebrow. "More like her?"
"Yeah," Adam muttered, still not looking at her. "She's miles out of my league. Always has been."
The word 'always' implied that he had liked whoever this was for a long time. And she had never even given him a chance? What sort of idiot was she?
"Adam, I sincerely doubt there's anyone miles out of your league," Erica said firmly.
That finally made him look at her. He was still blushing heavily but there was also disbelief written all over his face. Why was what she said so shocking? She felt like she was missing something here.
When she met his eyes, they immediately flitted away. "You don't know that."
"Yeah I do! You're awesome!"
Adam startled her by slamming his head on the table before burying it in his arms. He mumbled something she didn't catch but she could still see the very red tips of his ears poking out.
Erica didn't know why he was so embarrassed. Even if he wasn't the type to like talking about his feelings, this was nothing to be that embarrassed about. It wasn't like she knew the girl he was talking about. Unless…
No. She had already dismissed the very thought of Adam being interested in her. He was nice enough to share his brother's wide variety of baked goods and very patient helping her with homework when she got stuck but there was no way.
He said that the girl he liked was miles out of his league and always had been. They had only met a year ago. At least as far as she was aware. They had gone to the same high school. What if he already knew her before she thought they met? She doubted he would tell her if she asked. She already seemed to have broken him. She had never seen him like this.
Though, if her suspicions were correct, talking to your crush about your crush was fairly tricky to navigate. What should she even say here?
Erica liked Adam as a person and did think he was cute. If he asked her out, she wouldn't say no. But if he was talking about her, why in the world did he think she was out of his league? He was smarter than she could ever be!
"I don't know what made you think something like that but you're wrong," she said firmly. "You could have any girl you wanted. You're nice, funny, super smart, sweet, and a great big brother. What's not to like? Being busy wouldn't prevent you from being a good boyfriend. I've seen how you make time for your siblings. The people you care about are very lucky."
Adam stood so suddenly that he nearly knocked the chair he was sitting in over. "I don't feel well. I have to go. See you tomorrow."
"Adam!"
It was too late. He was already gone. That nearly confirmed Erica's suspicions. But if he liked her, why in the world didn't he go for it? She was unaccountably frustrated.
When she got home for the day, she busted out her old yearbooks and flipped through to the Ms. Adam Mitchell was right there in all of her high school yearbooks but the only other place he showed up aside from the generic student section was Academic Decathlon.
Nobody named Adam signed any of them but she wasn't willing to give up just yet. That didn't necessarily mean anything. She checked her middle school ones too and found it in seventh grade.
Adam Mitchell signed her yearbook in very messy handwriting with a smiley face at the end. 'Thanks for always letting me borrow things! You're the best. HAGS!'
This was undeniable proof that they had known each other in seventh grade. How had she forgotten someone like him? They must not have interacted much. Then why would he like her? This didn't make sense.
The more Erica thought about it, the more annoyed she got. If he genuinely liked her—especially for that long!—why didn't he ever say anything? What was the hang-up here? Eight years was an awfully long time to like someone without saying anything.
Although…what if he knew that she forgot him pretty early on? He might have lost confidence. They did run in very different circles back then and he had said that the girl he liked was miles out of his league and that she should be with someone more like her. More like what exactly? What did he think he was lacking?
Erica could admit that she had been pretty caught up in high school drama back in the day. She had been part of the popular crowd solely because of her choice of extracurricular activity.
That was one thing but why hadn't he ever said anything once they met up again in college? They were definitely on the same social level then!
So what if he was too busy to get out much? There was nothing wrong with that!
When her mom came home from work, some of her confused thoughts poured out in a rush. "Mom, why would a guy think a girl who obviously likes talking to him is out of his league?"
Carrie Simmons blinked at her daughter. "External factors, maybe? I would need more context."
External factors…like what? Erica ended up telling her mom everything using a hypothetical scenario because it was too embarrassing to straight up admit that this was about her. She was fairly certain her mom saw through her but she didn't call her out on it.
"He has a busy work schedule and spends a lot of time with his younger siblings? Have you considered that there might be something going on at home?"
No. No, she had not. It would make sense. She knew Adam loved his family more than anything. If something was going on…if he had to work to support them…he really WOULDN'T have the time to get involved with anyone. But that still didn't explain why he would think that would make her out of his league.
"Why would that make a difference? My friend wouldn't care about something like that."
"He wouldn't know that," her mom pointed out.
Erica supposed he wouldn't. Was it truly that simple though? She needed to talk to him about this. Properly. If he really did like her, she wanted to date him. Given the kind of person he was, he would be better than any of her past boyfriends.
He was the type who would do anything for the people he loved. She had always wanted that. She already knew she had fun with him so why shouldn't she go for it? Even if he was being ridiculous today.