Welcome to New Haven (10 page)

“No I didn’t. Look, if she’s doing it because she has something against me, then I won’t say any more about it.”
 

Ben pulled his lips between his teeth as if he were stopping himself from smiling, or laughing.
 
Alex sighed and dropped his head down.
 

“Go ahead”
 

Alex knew Ben was wanting to say something.
 
Something that would potentially piss Alex off, but Ben would find amusing.
 

“I was just going to say that you want her to have ‘something’ against you.”
 
Then, Ben snorted a laugh, earning him a glare from the teacher.
 

Alex’s eyes snapped to Ben in surprise.

That’s exactly what I want
 

Alex’s hormonal teenage brain was completely breaking out from it’s dormancy.

Well…shit

As the class came to a close, and lunchtime was upon them, Alex’s heart rate increased at the chance meeting with Holly.
 
He was to be disappointed though.
 
He, and Ben, walked outside to see Ryan and Kyle sitting there…alone.
 

“I think your plan backfired dude.”
 
Said Ben and Alex turned to scowl at him.
 

He’d lost out now, but he would get his chance again. Even if he had to ditch class.
 
Alex had wondered where those thoughts were coming from, as ditching wasn’t an idea that he would have entertained.
 
He tried to tell himself that it was because he just wanted to know what was going on, and he would be ‘over it’ soon.

Yeah right.

He had a strong feeling that he wouldn’t.
 
Besides, Dev had said it was just for this week and, of course, he would see her in class on Monday.
 
Even with the changes, they were both in advanced English so their class together wouldn’t change.
 

Dejected, he took his seat at the table, earning stares from the guys.

Holly and Dev met up with Riss and Kayla in the parking lot of the school.
 

“Let’s go to the café a couple of blocks away.”
 
Suggested Riss.
 
“They have
the
best cheesy fries I have
ever
tasted in my life.”
 

Riss’s enthusiasm for her ‘fries’
 
had Holly laughing.
 

“I’ve never seen somebody so passionate about chips before” she giggled.
 

“Chips? No they’re fries.”
 
Riss corrected her.
 

“Sorry. In England, we call fries ‘chips’ and potato chips ‘crisps’.”
 
Holly explained.
 

“Ohhhh.” Said Riss as she understood Holly’s wording.
 

“Anyway, you’ll love them.”
 

“Settled. To café ‘cheesy fries’!”
 
Holly said in an American accent, sending the girls into fits of laughter.

Once at the café, Riss and Kayla took a quick bathroom break, leaving Holly and Dev alone at their table.
 

“Ok…spill.” Said Dev, resting her elbow on the table.
 
“And I don’t want to hear ‘nothing’”
 
She added with a raise of her eyebrows.
 

“Spill what?”
 
Holly tried to sound indifferent, but it wasn’t getting past Dev, at all.
 

“I know there’s something up.
 
I may have only known you for a week, but you’ve gotten this…look…and it’s been getting gradually worse every day.
 
I’m getting the feeling it was the main cause of your migraine yesterday.”
 

 
Wow, this girl was perceptive!
 
Scarily so.
 
Holly’s stress levels had been increasing each day.
 
Every time she saw Hot-guy, her pulse would be racing so fast, it could rival a humming birds, her face would flame and her skin would break out in goosebumps and send tingles to her ‘parts’.
 

Holly let out a huff and told Dev all about the guy she said was cute and how he had been looking for her that day.
 
She left out the parts about how he makes her feel, and how he renders her tongue useless.
 

“Do you know his name yet?”
 
Dev asked as she leant forward, keeping their conversation private.
 

“No. I haven’t heard anybody call out to him either, so I have no idea who he is.
 
I’ve had one class with him so far and, If I’d come in yesterday, we would’ve been in the same class again.”
 
Holly said quickly as she saw Riss and Kayla come out of the bathrooms.
 

“Ok, well, if you see him around school, point him out and I’ll tell you if I know him.”
 

Holly nodded her head as the girls came to sit down.
 

Riss was right.
 
The café had the best cheesy ‘fries’ she had ever eaten, and Riss had a huge smile on her face, knowing she was right.
 

When the girls got back to school, Holly had a free period.
 
Not all of them were for Spanish class though.
 
She had them twice a week, but today was free.
 
Since her free period was at the end of school, she was going home.
 
A few new saplings were going to be delivered today, and Holly was eager to get them planted around the covered outdoor seating area in the garden.
 
Plus, she’d promised to go food or ‘grocery’ shopping with her Mum too.
 

“I’ll be over at your house at four.”
 
She’d told Dev, as she dropped her back at the main entrance to the school.

Alex walked to class, in a bad mood, and met Dev as she sat in her seat.
 

“What’s up Alex?
 
You look pissed!”
 
Dev said as she scanned his face.
 

“Where were you at lunch?”
 
he asked, not answering her question.
 

“We went to the café, a few blocks away, why?”

“Because me and the guys were going to go out, but I changed my mind.
 
We went outside, and you weren’t there.”
 

“I told you…” Dev reminded him “…that we were going out this week.
 
Actually, we
would
have had lunch with you guys, Holly even said she would, but you already told me you made plans to go out yourselves.
 
So…we went out.”
 

Fuck! Stupid stupid!
 

His plan
had
backfired on him and had bitten him in the ass for good measure.
 
Knowing that Holly
was
going to be there, and he’d said that the guys weren’t, so they’d gone out anyway.

Idiot.

“Look, Alex, I know you haven’t met Holly yet, actually I think only Ben has, but you will.”
 

Alex looked at Dev in confusion.
 
He
had
met her.
 
Why would Dev think that he hadn’t?
 

“She doesn’t know who I am?”

 
He thought that was better than coming out with ‘
I have met her, but she keeps avoiding me’.
 

“
I don’t think so, because she hasn’t mentioned you, other than saying ‘Hi’ in my text. I’m pretty sure she would have said she had.”
 

Maybe
that’s
why Holly had been avoiding him!
 
She probably thought he was just some other guy trying to harass her rather than her friends’ brother just wanting to say Hi.
Yeah right.
 
Just Hi. Of course.
 
Not the fact that you want to touch her face, kiss her sweet lips…

 
Alex ran a hand over his face as his overactive mind was picturing him with Holly…Her eyes looking into his…Her mouth moving to his…
 

Alex realized he’d been zoning out when he heard Dev say
 

“…Anyway, she’ll be over after school, about four.”
 

“Over where?”
 
he asked as he hadn’t caught anything of what she’d said previously.
 

“Our house.
 
I’m helping Holly with her Spanish, and she’s going to help me with my algebra.”
 

 
Alex’s stomach flipped as his insides were doing a crazy happy dance.
 

Holly’s coming over to our house?
 
Today?

He instantly knew that he wouldn’t be going to the gym now.
 
He wasn’t going to mention anything to Dev, because he didn’t want her to know that he felt something for Holly.
 
He’d only
unofficially
met her a few days ago and he was confused about his feelings enough as it was.

Once class was finished, Alex and Dev drove home.
 
Ben had gone to help his Dad so it was just the two of them.
 

Once in the house, Alex sent the guys a text, as they were all supposed to be training together. He didn’t want to group text, incase Ben decided to mention a certain someone… So he sent the same message to the three of them.

A: I’m not going to the gym today.
 
Decided to stay at home. See you tomorrow.

B: Does this have anything to do with a certain tiny girl?

There it was.
 
He wouldn’t hear the end of it if Ryan had gotten that text.

A: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
 

R: Are you giving us a chance to catch up to your guns? :D

A: Dream on XD

K: No worries.
 
See you tomorrow.

“Have a good workout”
 
Dev said as she went up to her room.
 

“Thanks”
 
he called back as he walked into the kitchen.
 

He reached into the fridge to grab a bottle of water when Dev came back, bouncing in as Evie, their Mom, walked in.
 

“Oh Mom, Holly’s coming over soon to study.”
 

“Ok honey.
 
Make sure you leave room for dinner.”
 
Their Mom said as Dev grabbed some chips and drinks.
 

“I will.”
 
Dev disappeared from the kitchen and ran upstairs again.
 

“Cómo estuvo la escuela hoy, cariño?”
 
His Mom asked.
 

“School was good.
 
We’re getting our schedule changes on Monday, so that should be interesting.”
 

Alex froze and then felt rapid flutters in his chest as the doorbell rang.
 

“I’ll get it.”
 
He said, before walking out of the kitchen to the front door…

Holly pulled up outside Dev’s house.
 
It was beautiful!
 
It was a similar style to Holly’s.
 

The house was two stories high with grey siding covering the majority of the front of the house, with two yellow brick walls to the left of the front door.
 
White framed Victorian style windows and two white columns either side of the covered front porch.
 

The large garage was to the left of the house, as you faced it, and had wall lamps lighting up the front.
 

Holly immediately looked across the front lawn.
 
The grass was green and lush, small shrubs lining the pathway and under the windows.
 
It was simple, but effective.
 

Low maintenance, which suited a family of two doctors and two high school students.

Holly got out of her car, grabbed her bag, and walked up to the front door.
 
She felt a little nervous about going inside Dev’s house and possibly meeting her family, but she knew it was a case of ‘ripping off the bandaid’ as Mrs Carter had said in class.

The door opened, and Holly froze in shock.
 

“Hi Holly”
 
Hot-guy said with a smile.
 

Holly’s throat felt tight, her heart was pounding out of her chest and her face felt like it could melt an iceberg.
 

“Uh…I…I…Um.”

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!

Great, she
still
couldn’t control her mouth
and
 
her inner monologue was having a seizure too!
 

“Dev’s upstairs, come on in.” He said as he opened the door further, stepping back to let her past.

Holly couldn’t remember how to use her legs.
 

“Hey girl, don’t just stand there, come on in!”
 
Dev squealed as she grabbed Holly’s hand. “I see you’ve met my brother, Alex.”
 

“Yeah, we have English class together.”
 
He said as Dev pulled Holly into the hallway.
 

His voice, coupled with his smile turned Holly’s insides into a complete mess as her skin prickled with goosebumps and heat surging through her veins.
 
She felt a pang, low in her stomach, before it descended into the ‘don’t even go there’ area.
 

“I thought you were going to the gym?”
 
Dev said to ‘Alex’ as Holly now knew who he was, whilst he continued to stare at her.
 

“I decided to take the day off.”
 

Holly dropped her head to look at the floor, away from his deep, chocolate brown eyes…
 

“Well then…we have stuff to do, so, see ya!
 
Let’s go Hol.”