Somewhere in the Middle (13 page)

"Then I'll see you later." He left me, swiftly cutting across the
trampled grass to get to the gym.

The rest of the morning dragged by. I thought that fourth period
English, which was held in one corner of the auditorium pending a new
portable, would never end. But the second lunch bell finally rang, and
after a stop at our lockers to deposit our books, Roone and I headed to
the cafeteria.

I got myself a baked potato today, defiantly loading it with sour
cream and margarine. I'd have preferred real butter, but that wasn't a
choice. After paying, I went to the table where Dayna and Gavin already
sat. Roone arrived moments after with his usual salad. Since leafy green
vegetables weren't the typical male choice, I gave him points for going
with healthy, which I sure hadn't done that day.

I must've weighed my splurge of a meal against his healthy one with my
eyes. At any rate, Dayna, who sat to my right, sniggered and leaned close
to whisper in my ear. "Oh the stress of loving a guy with muscles, even
for smart-choices you."

"I do not love him," I mouthed.

"Like hell you don't."

That startled me so badly I couldn't even think of a clever retort.
Did I love Roone? Yeah, I'd never been so comfortable with a guy. Yeah,
being around him made me a little goofy. And yeah, that impromptu kiss in
the hall that morning had knocked me on my butt. But love him? No
stinkin' way. I was wisely waiting to find my soul mate at college.

It started snowing hard right after lunch, catching everyone but Roone
by surprise since the weatherman had been so sure it would miss us. By
the time he drove me home that afternoon, the ground had at least three
inches of the white stuff on it, which made this winter one for the
record books. We found Eli in the front yard building a snowman. The pink
on his cheeks and nose told me he'd been out there a while. Since he
should've been at daycare, I hopped out of the car and went straight to
him.

"Why are you home so early?" With the garage door down, I couldn't
tell which parent's vehicle was parked in it.

"Daddy's sick."

"Really?" My father was never sick. As in
ever
. "What's wrong
with him?"

"Puking."

Glancing toward the picture window, I saw Dad lying on the couch,
keeping an eye on Eli and the TV. "I'd better check on him." By then
Roone was out of the car and standing next to us. "I'll be right back." I
went into the house and headed straight for the den and my dad. "Are you
okay?"

"Yeah. Just a little food poisoning, I think."

"Was it something I cooked?"

"Nah. Lunch at the Corner Diner today. Never should've gotten the
mystery-meat special. I'll be okay once I get everything out of my
system."

"Ew. Can I get you anything?"

"Nope."

"There's Gatorade in the fridge."

Dad pointed to a half-empty bottle on the side table.

I felt of his forehead, which was clammy to the touch. "Take it easy."
Turning, I went back outside and found the guys busy with the snowman,
which had been transformed during the short time I was in the house.
"Wow. Nice job, Eli."

"Roone did it."

"I'm impressed. Who is this guy, anyway?" I nodded toward their snow
sculpture.

"Batman."

"Ah." I narrowed my gaze. "You're getting there. Definitely getting
there." I began to sculpt a mask on that round head.

Roone gave me a rueful smile. "If I knew how he looked it would
help."

Eli's mouth fell open. "You don't know Batman?"

"Er...no?"

I couldn't believe my ears. "Dang. Is NowhereNear on some other
planet? Because Batman's big on this one. Huge, actually." I caught my
little brother's eye. "We really need to educate this guy on superheroes,
especially since he is one, don't you think?"

Eli nodded eagerly.

I gave Roone my full attention again. "You're very good with kids, by
the way."

"I have twin nephews about his size. Haven't seen them in ages,
though."

"Jon has kids?" He could've been divorced, but somehow I doubted it. I
mean, he was so young.

"Not him. My big brother Leif."

"You have two brothers? I had no idea."

"Guess there hasn't been a reason to mention him." Roone dusted snow
off his hands. "I should go. Same time tomorrow morning?"

"Sure."

Eli tugged on my jacket. "Are you gonna kiss him again?" He'd stopped
what he was doing, no doubt just in case.

Highly aware that my dad might be watching us, I shook my head and
started to move away. But Roone pulled me into his arms before I got far.
Bending my body way back, he kissed me with a flourish that had Eli
laughing so hard I worried he'd pee his Spiderman underwear.

"How was that?" Roone asked my brother as he set me on my feet
again.

Eli didn't hesitate. "You're gooder at kissing than she is."

"She'll get better with practice." Roone gave my brother a high-five
and me a smug smile. Turning, he walked to his car with a decided swagger
and then left.

Eli watched until he was out of sight. "I like him even if he doesn't
know Batman."

So do I.
As in too freakin' much to be the un-girlfriend
anymore. Did that make Dayna right about my feelings? Had I gone and
fallen in love?

* * * *

The big news on Wednesday was a new portable building that had somehow
appeared during a very snowy night. The other news was our semester test
schedule the following week, which would consist of only four days
because of the Christmas holiday. At McAlister, tests were spread over
what was called "finals week" so no student would be loaded down. That
still meant studying every night, but at least we didn't have to study
everything every night.

I noticed right away that Roone's stint as school hero seemed to be
winding down, which made him a two-day wonder. From what I could tell,
Teo had taken over his reign. I wasn't sure why until I overhead some
girls whispering during astronomy and found out that he'd had a run-in
after hours with one of the school's wrestlers, a territorial athlete
noted for challenging anyone he thought he could beat. Apparently slender
Teo had martial arts moves that had gotten him but good, a shocker, and
was now the current chick magnet. Since that let Roone off the hook on a
couple of levels, I was nothing but thrilled.

Other than that, it was just another McAlister High Wednesday--aside
from the snow on the school grounds, of course--until English. As Roone
and I filed into our shiny new classroom, Teo caught up. "Hey, you
two."

I looked at him in surprise. Though he'd already come on to me, he'd
never been particularly friendly towards Roone, at least that I knew
of.

"Hey," I said. Roone didn't answer.

That didn't faze Teo. "Heard you're the man to beat at dodge ball,
Thorsen. Some guys say the ball's like a seeker missile when you throw
it, and you're always one step ahead when they try to nail you back."

Roone still ignored him. I, on the other hand, panicked a little. Was
this another reference to Roone's secret abilities?

Teo didn't give up. "Guess you're pissed because I asked your girl
out, huh? Sorry about that. I didn't know for sure that she was
yours."

Roone's gaze instantly clashed with mine
. Crap!
And I thought
JR had a big mouth.

"She didn't tell you?" Teo smirked. "Wonder what other secrets she's
keeping?"

Roone turned on him. "Beat it, asshole."

"Damn. Must've hit a nerve." With a chortle, Teo held up both hands in
surrender, backed up a step, and coolly went around us.

But the harm had been done.

Roone shuffled us away from the line of students entering the
building. "That jerk asked you out?"

"Yes, but it was nothing."

"That why you didn't tell me?"

"I forgot it as soon as he did it. Besides, when I saw you again, Jody
Rose was asking
you
out."

His expression remained stony.

"Geez, Roone. You're acting like you're jealous or something. Have you
forgotten we're just faking this?"

He winced and then hung his head. "Guess I did."

"Well, don't. You and I aren't real. There's no reason for jealousy."
Did I mean that? Of course not. But it was what I had to say if I didn't
want Roone to figure out that my feelings for him seemed to be evolving
into something more than friendship.

"Sorry."

"No problem. And just so you know, if you find a girl you'd actually
like to date, all you have to do is say so. We'll break up." I walked
into the classroom. He silently followed.

While Mrs. Collins showed us a video on Pre-Raphaelite art--the
paintings were nothing short of incredible in their beauty and
detail--Roone sat on his side of the room with his eyes downcast. Teo, however,
did the opposite, blatantly staring at me until I squirmed. The one time
I risked a peek at him, he grinned, which made me blush. Naturally that
was the moment Roone glanced over. I smiled to clear the air between us.
He didn't smile back.

It wasn't until study hall that I had a chance to confront him. I did
it with a note that said:
Why are you still pissed?

I'm not.

You're acting like it.

I'm still not.

Hm.
Worried about your physics test?
I was considering helping
him study after school as a way to mend the fences he claimed weren't
broken.

Yeah.

I can help you after school. Kitchen table, my place.

Okay. Thanks.

"Sayers! Thorsen!" Coach yelled from the back of the auditorium.

Roone groaned. Caught again.

Coach didn't give us detention this time in the spirit of the holiday
season. But he warned that come January first he wouldn't go so easy on
us.

Only when we got to my house that afternoon, did I realize that we'd
be there alone for a bit. I wondered briefly if I should've called one of
my parents and wound up sneaking in a text to Dad, who'd get home before
Mom did. He okayed the invitation.

After grabbing a couple of soft drinks from the fridge, I joined Roone
at the table in our kitchen. I caught him looking around, a slight smile
on his face.

"What?" I asked, trying to see the area from his perspective. Counters
cluttered with small appliances--toaster, mixer, microwave, Keurig.
Fridge door filled with preschool artwork held up by handmade magnets.
Sink full of dirty dishes that really should've been loaded into a
dishwasher full of clean ones.

"I like this room."

"So do I."

"Does that make coffee?" He pointed to the Keurig.

"Yeah...want some?"

He nodded.

So he liked coffee. Good to know. I got the box of assorted K-cups and
began to read off the flavors: extra bold, breakfast blend, caramel
vanilla, butter toffee. Roone's eyes grew wider by the second. "And
there's always good ol' Swiss chocolate, which really isn't coffee at
all."

"That one."

"The chocolate?"

He nodded again.

Since making a hot drink was a matter of two minutes, I soon handed
him a cup of hot chocolate, but not before I added some marshmallows to
the steaming mug. Roone wound up sipping while it was still too hot, but
he didn't seem to mind. Watching him lick melted marshmallow off his top
lip was way more fun than it should've been.

To say Roone wasn't getting physics didn't begin to describe the depth
of his confusion. So I did the only thing I could do, start at the
beginning and review the basics with him. We did that for a little over
an hour before he signaled that he'd had enough.

I walked him to his car. "When are you going to pay up?"

Roone opened his door, but didn't get into the vehicle. "For
what?"

"Me tutoring. Me keeping your secrets. Me fighting off sex-crazed
girls. Take your pick. You owe me for all of them."

He heaved a dramatic sigh. "What do you want?"

"Dinner. Here. Saturday night."

"Is that okay? I mean, we're just pretend, you know."

"Pretend love match. Real friends...right?"

He slowly grinned. "Yeah. That's definitely real. I'll be here."

Thursday and Friday were fairly routine days with semester reviews in
almost every class. Teo kept his distance. Since he had a female posse to
distract him now, I assumed that was the reason.

Roone and I got along fine, though he seemed to have taken a step
back, which was totally my fault. At any rate, there were no more kisses
or anything else that normal friends wouldn't do together. And when he
dropped me off on Friday afternoon, I didn't look back as I negotiated
what remained of the snow on our lawn under the watchful eye of Eli's
half-melted Batman
snow
piece.

At dinner that night--for once we were all there--we talked about
Christmas trees. "So I can pick it out?" I asked.

"Only if you promise to stay under seven feet," Mom told me. "We can't
get Mimi's star on it if you don't."

I turned to Cory. "Help me?" Dad and Mom were way too busy, and I
didn't think I could handle a big tree by myself.

"Can't until next week." Cory had a social life that wouldn't quit,
starting with a longtime girlfriend who lived in town. "It'll be fresher
if you wait until then, anyway."

"Good idea," said my mother. "Go with spruce or fir, okay? They seem
to hold up better, and I hate big ol' pine needles in the carpet." A
frustrated neat freak, she couldn't stand stuff like that, just one of
the reasons I tried to keep everything picked up. Eli made it very hard
to do.

"Oh all right."

"Maybe your boyfriend could help you?" Dad gave me a sneaky smile.

"He's just a friend that's a boy, remember?"

"Didn't look that way when he kissed you out front."