nineteenth century poet

I discovered my mother asleep on the couch with the television on when I finally made it home. Garo's entire body weight was on me from the moment we got out of the car till I unlocked the door to my house and rushed her in. I carried her upstairs to my room, making sure not to wake mom up. I knew she'd throw a fit if she saw me with a girl at an hour like that so I was extra careful when I closed the door to my room after placing Garo on my bed.

I sighed, sitting on the chair by my desk. After being emotionally destroyed by the girl I was in love with and then used as a butler by another, anyone would've called it a night. But I still seemed to be wide awake.

I was thinking about Chloe over and over. I didn't care to know how she felt about anyone else because I never made her aware of my own feelings towards her. Well, I did but i wasn't direct about it. I only cared about why she felt the need to lie to me. It was clear she no longer saw me as a friend. Our friendship started going to shit a long time ago but I was hellbent on having her close to me. Everything we ever were was hanging on by a thread which was now snipped by Levi.

I would've preferred being in the dark but no, I had to find Garo's notebook and she had to put this idea in my head that Chloe was lying to me and she also had to be right about it.

The diary.

My eyes widened as I got off my chair and slowly made my way towards Garo who was now lightly snoring. I lifted her head up and slipped her diary from under my pillow. Phew. The last thing I wanted was Garo getting her hands on it and making my life worse than it already was. I knew I crossed her the moment I told her I had her notebook and she probably had some insane revenge planned for me. Nonetheless, she was, in fact, my only hope for restoring my situation with Chloe so I couldn't let her go yet. I wanted things to be over but not so soon.

I, mindlessly, began flipping through its pages again and landed on a random entry.

Sep 8, 2021

I like him. I don't want to waste my time though. I'm not sure what he is like yet but whenever I see him I feel this calmness wash over me. It's like swimming in a lake on a hot summer day or something. It's silly because I've never actually swam in a lake and probably never will. My dermatologist would not allow that. Anyway, I want him to be with me. I want to feel that feeling forever.

I didn't realise Garo felt so deeply about Levi. I couldn't even digest the fact that she was capable of such emotions. It was very amusing. Perhaps, this was another reason I couldn't give the diary away yet. I wanted to be amused.

My eyes opened to a stack of heavy books on my chest which was making it difficult for me to breathe. "What the fuck?" I mumbled when I saw Garo seated on a chair at the foot of my bed.

"Morning." She said as I pushed the books off my chest and sat up straight on the bed.

"Wait, does mom know?" I was panicking first thing in the morning.

"Yeah, she made me coffee and asked me if we had sex, multiple times." She responded and I put my head in my hands.

"I expected much worse." I sighed. "What's up with the books?"

"To wake you up." She said. "So, what happened last night?"

"You got drunk and I drove you here because you blacked out before telling me your address." I got off the bed and made my way to the bathroom followed by her.

"That was it?" Her tone was nervous which was funny considering the way she behaved the night before but I was too tired and sleep deprived to tease her about it.

"No, you also really wanted me to touch your tits." I washed my face as she stood behind me near the sink.

"And did you?" She crossed her arms across her chest and gave me a stern look.

"I'm a gentleman, draw your conclusions accordingly." I passed her a tight-lipped smile as I wiped my face with a towel.

"Stop talking like a nineteenth century poet, this is why you're pussy-less." She sat back on the chair and glared at me like I had just threatened to kill her entire family. "Did you see Chloe last night?"

I knew whatever I saw at that godforsaken party would eventually come back to haunt me but I didn't think it'd be so soon. "Yes, and I'm pretty sure she slept with Levi."

"Well, we have to do something-"

"Why do you like him?" I asked, recalling the diary entry.

"What?"

"Levi. Why do you like him?"

"Does it matter?" I nodded, narrowing my eyes at her. "I'm popular. He's popular. We're perfect for each other." She shrugged. Her reasoning was just as shallow as I had expected but a little part of me still wanted her to elaborate on what she wrote in her notebook.

"We need to get our plan straight because I can't see Chloe with that douchebag one more time." I threw myself on the bed.

"We can start today?" She said, looking down at her phone.

"It's Sunday." I scrunched my forehead in confusion.

"Call Chloe." She practically ordered me.

I shook my head immediately. "I can't. She already told me she'd meet me in school."

"When did you talk to her?"

"I didn't. We just talked over text." She gave me questioning look, urging me to explain further. I let out a deep breath. "I wanted to know if she'd lie to me about being at the party and she did."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Have you talked to Levi even once?" I asked. I hadn't seen her around him ever either.

"We text sometimes but he's consumed by the girl of your dreams." She bit her lip and started pacing back and forth in my room. "We have to come up with something that'll spread like wildfire around the school."

"I can't think of anything." I put my hands up in defeat.

"It's only a matter of time till Chloe comes clean to you about Levi. You'll have to have something bigger going on for you."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You'll have to date someone or tell her that you're dating someone." My eyes widened as I looked at her in disbelief.

"You're actually insane." I shook my head at her.

"What?" She sat next to me on the bed. "If you have a better plan, enlighten me."

"I don't know...what happened to creating misunderstandings?"

"That comes after. It's time you stop being so bitch-less in her eyes." She let out a snotty laugh and I gave her a look. "Believe it or not, that's the only way you can ever spark her interest in you. I mean, look at me. I didn't give a fuck about Levi until two weeks ago when I saw him with Chloe."

Silence.

I didn't say a word and just stared at her dumbfounded. That was, simultaneously, the smartest and the stupidest words she had ever uttered and I was rather flabbergasted to say the least.

"Are you into psychology at all?" Was all that I could say.

"You know what? It might just be my major now that you've mentioned it." I chuckled. "So, who're you going to fake date?"

"I mean, isn't it obvious?" Garo glared at me again, this time it was way harsher.

"No..."

"You-"

"Not happening." She cut me off in an instant and started pacing around the room like a maniac again.

"Think about it. Nothing will make Chloe lose her mind more. She hates you and that's all she talks about." I stood up and started pacing around with her.

"And what about my reputation?"

"Excuse me?" I cleared my throat. "I'm a catch."

"Yeah, in Chattanooga maybe. This is Hemil High and I, singlehandedly, run it." She sucked her teeth, rolling her eyes at me.

"You went a little overboard with that statement, don't you think?"

"I'm not doing it." She gave me a dirty look as she eyed me up and down.

"Let me remind you that I still have you diary." I grinned widely. I know it was a dick move but what was the point of having Garo Lewis' diary in my possession if I couldn't even exploit it once in a while?

"You cannot be serious!"

"I've never been more serious in my life."