Unparalleled

"So, what do you want
to talk about?"
I ask Natalia at last.
She's been silent for
the past five minutes
at least,
staring at the ceiling
and playing with the tassles
of one of the decorative pillows
by her head.
For wanting to talk about
something besides her homework,
she sure is being quiet.

She just shrugs listlessly,
and I can feel
my brow furrow
in response.
"Dunno,"
she sighs.
"School is boring, and
I already know like,
most of your siblings,
probably.
Talking about family and stuff
is way cliché, huh?"

"You should just
stop procrastinating
and do your homework..."
Despite the knot of tension
that has been sitting in my gut
ever since school let out today,
it's still easy enough
for frustration towards Natalia
to build up.
Who knew I would end up
making friends with someone
who can't even get
her own work done?

"You know what?"
she asks suddenly,
looking a little more
excited than she probably should
for the situation
as she pushes herself
upright in her seat.
"I just got a
really good idea."

"And what's that?"
I groan.
"Doing homework?"

"Naw, that's
way too boring."
Natalia's expression changes
to one of smug satisfaction.
"We should go on
a double date
sometime."

And all of a sudden,
with that suggestion
a kind of ringing fills
my ears.
It's like the whole world
has stopped for
a split second,
leaving me reeling.
I can't even speak
the question
that has formed in my mind -
'I'm sorry,
what?'
But finally, I
manage a small,
abbreviated,
"W-what?"

"A double date,"
Natalia repeats,
sounding mildly exasperated.
"You know -
me and Manny,
and then you and..."
She trails off after a second,
as if trying to
remember something.
"Wait...
What was your boyfriend's
name again?"

The ringing in my ears
starts to die down some
with the realization that
she was not asking me out.
Not like that,
anyway.
Not that it matters, since
we're friends,
and I'm pretty sure that friends
don't do that.
And we're both girls.
And even if she had,
I shouldn't mind, right?

Wait,
what?

My head starts to spin
as I try to reason through
my own confusion.
"I don't have one,"
I respond after
a moment.
"And I never said
that I did..."

Natalia seems
a little confused now
as well.
Her mouth opens in
a silent 'o,'
and she stares wordlessly at me
for a few seconds.
"Really..."
she breathes at last.
"How old are
you again?"

"Fifteen,"
I mutter, cringing.
The whole 'late bloomer'
issue surfaces in my mind
once again.
'At your age, you
should be more interested
in boys and dating,'
as my aunt has said.
It's a sore subject,
especially as I probably
that I could care less
about that sort of thing.

But apparently,
Natalia is intent on
caring enough for
the both of us.
"Unacceptable!"
she shouts suddenly,
slamming her hands
on the coffee table before her.
I jump at the loud sound,
staring over at her
in unconcealed shock.
"The guys at our school
must be blind
or maybe even insane
if they don't realize
how cute you are.
I'm gonna fix this,
don't you worry."

My heart, for
whatever reason
decides to skip a beat
at her compliment.
I can feel my
cheeks heating up;
it's almost enough for me
to miss the last part
of what she'd said.
Almost -
but after a moment,
it finally registers.
What exactly is she
going to take care of?

When I ask her that,
she laughs as though
it's something completely obvious.
"I'm going to find you
a boyfriend, silly,"
she tells me.
"And then we are
going to go on
a double date,
all four of us.
It'll be great,
you'll see."

"Don't tell me
you're going to bribe
one of your friends on
the football team
to date me,"
I retort warily,
the words barely making
their way past
the sudden dryness
in my throat,
and the apprehension
that comes with it.

Natalia laughs again -
for real this time, like
what I'd said was
the funniest thing
she'd ever heard.
"That's a good idea,
actually,"
she snorts.
"They have a horrible
taste in girlfriends,
anyway.
You'd be good
for any one of them."

I put a smile on my face
to appease her -
but even I could tell you
that this probably
isn't the best idea.
The strange feeling
in my stomach
more than proves that point.

×

So anyway, little awkward ace me had a hell of a time writing this - aka I kept screeching at my phone and my parents thought I was having a heart attack at one point. It was great. I need to stop being so awkward.

But I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Matty is so awkward and it's so fun to play with her like this, Natalia is just great for doing that. I love ittttt;;;;

Anywho, if you guys liked this chapter, I'd very much appreciate if you would vote and leave me some feedback! <3