Unfortunately, I had a feeling that Huck, who was now staring at me expectantly, was going to only make it worse.
“Hey.” It was a small, polite greeting paired with an awkward smile.
Normally I was far more friendly, but Huck was frustrating for more than one reason, the main one being that he would never take ‘no’ for an answer. He didn’t read into social cues, and if he did notice I was uncomfortable, he clearly didn’t care. Instead he just kept asking me out on dates, and I kept telling him very clearly that I didn’t date.
It wasn’t a lie, either—I didn’t. Not only would my mom and dad have a fit if I tried to go on a date because I was only sixteen, but more than that…I just wasn’t interested in Huck. Yet instead of believing me or picking up on how uncomfortable he made me, the jerk was convinced that I was just playing ‘hard to get.’
I didn’t understand the logic of that way of thinking at all. Plus, it was now at the point that whenever I saw Huck, I got this horrible anxious tightness in my stomach. It had only been two weeks that he’d been so hyper-focused on me, so I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if it kept going… I was trying to put off telling my friends so I didn’t bother them with it.
At the same time, I knew they would take my concern seriously. I didn’t ever want to be alone with Huck, and he kept finding ways to do exactly that. Maybe this was more serious than I was allowing myself to believe.
“So I know you said no before…” He stood over me as I tried to lean back, not liking the way he seemed to loom over the table. I think he was trying to offer me a charming smile, but it made me uneasy enough that I didn’t hear him at first when he said, “…but I was wondering if you wanted to go out tonight for Valentine's Day. There is a new movie out that I’ve been wanting to see.”
I kept my expression serious and steeled myself. “Huck. I don’t want to go out with you.”
There! I had said it! That hadn’t been very hard…
His eyes flared with victory and anger, a confusing mix to say the least. “I fucking knew it. This was never about mommy and daddy not letting you date, was it?”
My eyes went wide at the venom in his voice. “Well, no, there is also that aspect—”
“You just think you’re fucking better than all of us,” he spit out. “Whatever, Dahlia. It’s your loss for being such a—”
“For being such a what?” King drew out, his voice filling the space of the library. He nearly appeared out of thin air, allowing me to rest easy as relief flooded into every single part of my body.
Huck turned paper white as he looked over my head, stumbling back as King’s hands smoothed over my shoulders in a comforting way. I should have felt bad about taking pleasure in Huck’s discomfort, but he clearly did the same to others, so instead I sat back in my seat, not terribly surprised when Sterling appeared in the seat next to me. He gently pulled my braid in a friendly way, but his eyes were on Huck.
“Kingston.” Huck swallowed and then looked down to Sterling.
“Leave. Now.”
Huck practically jumped and ran off, scampering like a scared puppy. Sterling let out an amused hum, the two of them seeming far more intense than usual as King made his way around the table to sit across from me. Despite only being sixteen, both of my friends had gotten huge over the summer, and I could tell the other boys were scared of them.
“We need to take care of that later,” Sterling suggested.
Take care of what? Huck? I didn’t get a chance to ask though.
“Are you okay?” King asked softly as Sterling wrapped an arm around my shoulders, making me feel ten times better.
“Much better now.” I smiled softly. “It’s been a rough day.”
“Why?” Sterling asked, his brow dipping.
I motioned to the library that was currently decorated in red and pink for Valentine’s Day.
“You love holidays.” King frowned. “Especially Valentine’s Day.”
“Because it used to be fun. We would get candy and exchange cute little cards. Now everyone is making it this big thing about dates and stuff,” I murmured, not understanding why it bothered me so much. “That’s why he was asking if I wanted to go out to a movie.”
“No.” King frowned at that idea before he tilted his head, looking thoughtful. “You don’t like the romantic aspect?”
“It’s not that,” I hedged. “I think it’s just the pressure. Like, it’s cool if it happens naturally…but it’s making me feel weird that everyone is insisting you have to have plans. Like what if I want to just hang out and watch movies at home?”
“Then that’s what we will do.” Sterling squeezed my shoulder. “No date or anything else like that. We are on the exact same page as you.”
“Agreed. No date.” King seemed very insistent.
I nibbled my lip. “And no one has asked you guys out? Or did you guys make plans?”