Chapter 8

I spend the next few days trying to found out what Maddox is afraid of. However, I've been asking all the wrong people. Cassidy says that in all of her years knowing Maddox, she's never bothered to ask what he's scared of. Winona says something similar, but replies in a joking voice: "Well, he's scared of commitment, if that's what you mean." But that's not what I meant. I'd probably be able to build off of that if I need to. I mean, I can always write the word "commitment" on a sheet of paper and hang it above his head with a fishing pole. If I'm lucky, he'll skip town.

Because I refuse to speak to Maddox, he has to come to me to plan another get together for our American Literature project. We have to edit our book and make any corrections to it. "Today?" he proposes on Wednesday during art.

I simply shrug. He tells me the time, five o'clock, and the location, his house. I shrug again before going back to the painting I'm working on. He lets out a slightly frustrated sigh by my lack of communication and I want to laugh and ask how he likes it. By the end of the day, I'm a bit relieved that I'd be going over his house, though. The sooner this project is complete, the sooner I can cut all ties with him.

When I arrive home, I plan on asking my aunt for permission to go to Maddox's house but she isn't there. I go up to my room and listen to Vivica's loud conversation as I stroll down the hallway. Once I enter my room, I pull out my book bag and start on my homework, finishing my Forensics and my Pre-Calculus with ease.

While attempting to work on the homework from my last American Literature class, which is to read four pieces of literature from the olden days and evaluate it, I realize that I'm completely and utterly lost. I skip that and manage to finish the rest of my homework before 4:15. I spend the next fifteen minutes getting ready and putting my stuff in my bag. My aunt still isn't home by 4:30 so I just leave her a note before heading out. If I text her and ask, there's a chance she'll say no. Though slim, I'd rather not risk it. Besides, there's a chance I can get home before her and rip up the note.

As I'm was walking to Maddox's house, under the dim skies and the thick, dark clouds, I sigh loudly. I feel drops of rain hit my face slowly and I suck my teeth when I realize that I didn't even bring a hooded sweater or an umbrella.

I hear a loud honking behind me so I whip around and prepare to have a battle with a predator only to find that it's just Abel. He slows down to a stop beside me and grinned. "Are you heading to my house?"

"Yeah," I nod as I hold a hand above my eyebrows.

"Have fun getting there in the rain!" he calls as he drove a few feet. I stare at the back of his jeep with a flat look on my face. They really are brothers. The car stops and he slowly backs up. "I'm kidding. Get in." I walk over towards the car and grab the handle, letting myself into his vehicle. The warm air greets me and I sigh in relief. "Maddox didn't offer you a ride?" 

"No, but it's not like I'd accept it anyway," I scoff with a shake of my head. I rub my hands together in front of the heaters.

"You're stubborn, you know that?" he asks me.

"I get that a lot," I reply with an understanding nod. We sit in silence, or at least I so. Abel's humming to himself and I decide to cut in as he attempts to sing the high notes of the song playing, which results in wavering hums that hurt my ears. "Hey Abel, do you know a lot about Maddox?"

"Well, he's my brother, so I'd say yes," he quickly drops the humming and tunes into conversation without skipping a beat.

"What's he scared of?" I inquire curiously.

"That's easy! Spiders," Abel confirms and I feel an evil grin spread across my face as I began to laugh, cutting Abel off as he tries to further his statement. He looks at me and I sit there cackling loudly "A-are you okay? Should I call someone?"

I only grin at Abel. "I'm perfectly fine."

We arrive at their house and Abel turns to me. "May I ask why you wanted to know what my brother was scared of?" he wonders.

I smirk and decide to let him in on the plan. "Well, you can't say anything but I'm going to use it for revenge," I inform him.

"Can I help? Abel pleads with wide eyes.

I smile at him and slowly nod. "You know what, Abel? You can."

"What do I need to do?" he questions me. I grin proudly and give him the instructions.

+ + +

"I think it's good. Send it to me and I'll make the revisions," Maddox concurs from his spot a cushion away from me. 

I nod, opting to not speak. I haven't said more than three words to him. I spoke to Abel, who's chilling on the recliner watching Power Rangers. I even shared a laugh with the older brother at one point, but whenever Maddox would lead the conversation back to our project, I'd resort to silence. I honestly don't think he cares very much about my lack of verbal response. As long as I help him edit the paper, then he isn't complaining.

Eventually, Maddox tells Abel to go upstairs because he's being a distraction. As Abel walks behind Maddox, who's moving to the recliner, he winks at me and I nod. He's going to get the information like we planned. Maddox begins to tell me about what we're doing for the illustrations. I'm barely paying attention to him; I'm just nodding along. I'm too busy listening for the three stomps that'll tell me that Abel successfully got what I asked him for.

Once we finish up, I hear three loud clomps and Maddox looks up at the ceiling. "What is he doing up there?" he mutters quietly. I turn my gaze to the stairs, where Abel descends with a smirk on his lips. It hits me hard how much Maddox looks like his older brother. Abel pats his pocket and looks at me.

"Ready to leave?" he asks me when he sees that Maddox and I are packing up our supplies.

"Since when has it become a custom to bring her home?" Maddox wonders when he sees his brother waiting for me. I pull my shoes over my mismatched socks, which earned a scoff from Maddox but a laugh from Abel.

"Since you've been too much of a jerk to do it yourself," Abel retorts as he leans against the stairs.

"I can bring her home," Maddox suggests as he slowly begins getting up from the couch.  I immediately jump in and end this discussion before it can start.

"No, I prefer Abel," I conclude quickly. Maddox's eyebrows shoot up as he slowly settles back down against the recliner.

"That's the most words I've gotten out of you this entire time, Olive," he comments with a slight frown on his face. So he did notice.

"Because you're a jerk," I elaborate as I pull my bag onto my back. "I'd speak to you if you bothered to apologize."

"That doesn't seem like a very good deal," he retorts with furrowed brows. "Besides, I told you already that I don't apologize."

"You apologized for kissing me," I remind him as I tug at my straps.

"That's different," he dismisses. "It was more for me than for you."

"And this is why you can't have nice things," Abel mutters before nodding towards the door. He begins approaching the exit and I follow him, not bothering to spare another glance at Maddox, who's returned to texting on his phone.

As we exit the house, I turn to Abel excitedly. "Did you get it?" I question in a slight whisper.

He nods as he grabs the piece of paper from his pocket and hands it to me. It has the three different numbers on it, separated with dashes. 12-6-24. "Thanks, Abel," I announce and don't think twice about hugging him.

He hugs me back and I awkwardly pull away and fix my shirt. "So what are you planning?" he asks as I tuck the numbers into my pocket.

I smile at him as he opens the passenger side door for me. "I guess we'll see, won't we?" I tease with a grin.

+ + +

It's during the walk to the cafeteria that I ask the question that has been on my mind. "So are Raven and Maddox a thing?" I wonder aloud.

Cassidy and Winona look at each other with large grins. "Why does it matter?" they ask together. I stare at them. It'd be less creepy if they were twins and did things in unison. Then I could blame it on twin telepathy.

"It doesn't. I'm just asking," I shrug them off.

"Well, they used to date last year. But Raven moved halfway through the year. She came back for college but Maddox didn't want to be tied down so he rejected her. It's weird though because they still kiss and stuff, but as far as I know, they're not serious," Winona explains.

"Raven really likes him, though," Cassidy adds as an afterthought. "I can't tell if Maddox still has feelings for her."

"I figured as much," I mutter. "But is it legal?"

"Yeah, I mean, she's eighteen. He's seventeen," she shrugs.

"What about his brother? Abel?" I ask this one a bit quieter. Both of the girls look towards me and raise their eyebrows.

"Why?" they both ask again. Shrugging off the creepiness, I fumble with the edge of my shirt.

"I don't know, he seems cool," I respond as I grab a lunch tray. We get our food and approach the table. I only have a few minutes to eat before I have to plant the stuff in Maddox's locker.

"Do you like him?" Cassidy asks me curiously.

I shake my head but a blush makes its way to my face. "He's just nice. It's refreshing," I attempt to dispel their thoughts.

Winona laughs loudly. "Oh my god, you like him!" she coos.

I immediately begin shaking my head but it's too late. The words "Abel-lover" are probably carved into my forehead in the two girls minds. We reach the table and I glare at them but they don't quiet down. I should've learned this by now but there aren't many secrets among this group of friends. It's the complete opposite with Tracy, Chelsea and Vivica.

"What's so funny?" Jackson asks as he takes a monstrous bite of his burger. I glare at the girls as they attempt to speak, only to be cut off by their own fits of laughter. I sit there with my eyes staring down at the food on my plate.

Everyone at the table, including Maddox, is staring at the two girls, anticipating the words that are going to flow from their mouths. I wouldn't mind everyone else knowing the lie if Maddox wasn't here. It makes things ten times worse because his brothers is my 'crush.'

"She likes—," Winona tries but cant finish her sentence, so Cassidy finishes it for her.

"Abel," the redhead manages to choke out as I sat there with a face to match her hair color.

"Abel?" Maddox coughs. "As in my brother?"

"Yes," Cassidy manages to choke out and I shake my head.

"I don't like him," I dismiss their accusations weakly.

I hear a scoff and I can tell that it's from Maddox. Well, it's obvious that he doesn't believe me. "That's gross," he announces.

"I don't like him. But so what if I did? He's nice. He's funny," I shrug, definitely not helping my cause.

"He's nineteen," Maddox informs me. "He's two years older than you."

"Three," I mutter in correction. Again, not helping, Liv.

Jackson seems to choke on his milk. "You're 16?"

"Almost 17," I inform him.

"When do you turn 17?" Nicholas asks, veering us onto a different topic.

"December," I reply as I stab  at the food on my plate, though my appetites long gone.

"What day?" Cassidy questions further. She finally got over her laughter.

"The 18th," I sigh in a bored tone.

"My brother's not going to date a girl three years younger than him," Maddox scowls, bringing us back to the topic.

"I never said I wanted to date him! He's just cute!" I retort in slight frustration.

"And nice," Cassidy adds.

I groan aloud as I glance up at the ceiling "I don't like him!" I attempt to deny once more.

"Sounds like you do," Jackson sings.

"He's cute and nice- that's all," I snap as I wave my hands around.

"And nineteen," Maddox reminds us for the fiftieth time.

I glare at him. "That doesn't matter because I don't like him!" I point out once more.

"I'm going to see what he says about your little crush," Maddox announces as he takes out his phone.

"Maddox, don't! I grunt as I watch him.

He sighs as he looks at his contacts. "Aaron, Abby, Abby 2, Abby 3, Abel."

He presses the phone to his ear and I stare at him in shock. He's really doing this. I shouldn't be surprised but I am. "Maddox put the phone down, now," I demand with a threatening gaze on my face.

Everyone else watches in amusement as Maddox waits for his brother to answer. A few seconds later, Maddox grins brightly. "Oh, hey Abel," he says sweetly into the phone.

"Put him on speaker," Nicholas insists. Maddox does so, despite the fact that the cafeteria is loud. He turns the volume up and I hear Abel's familiar voice.

"What?" his older brother retorts and I sense that he just woke up. My face is burning red as my mind goes through all of the possible reactions Abel could have. And the fact that there are all these listening ears makes it twenty times worse.

"Hang up," I mouth to Maddox and he simply smirks at me with narrowed eyes.

"I have to ask you something," Maddox prompts the conversation. When Abel tells him to ask away, Maddox continues. "Would you date a sixteen year old?"

Abel is silent for a moment before he answers. "That's illegal, Maddox. Why are you asking me that?"

"Oh, I'm just wondering because Oli—," Maddox begins and, in a panic, I quickly grab a handful of my pasta and chuck it at him. It lands on his dark blue shirt and he quickly stops talking, exhaling slowly as he looks at the sauce dripping down his shirt. Everyone breaks into laughter at the splatter of red sauce travels up his neck and on his face. "I'll call you back," he mutters into the phone before hanging up.

I let out a sigh of relief only to see that he's glaring daggers at me. "What? You expected me to listen to you embarrass me?" I retort defensively.

He lifted up his phone and begins typing. I stare at him as a pang of fear flits through my chest. Suddenly, he shoves his phone into my face and when it comes into focus, I read: Olive likes you. It was sent to the one and only Abel. I look at him with an opened mouth and wide eyes. He immediately stands up and glances down at his stained shirt. "This is the second time you ruined my shirt."

I don't even bother to respond. I can only stare at the table in shock.

+ + +

Maddox is smirking when he comes into American Literature. He won't be smiling when he opens his locker later. I feel my stomach clench when he stops at my desk. "He responded."

I'm too scared to ask what he said so I just I sit with a scrunched up look on my face. "I hate you," I remind him in case he forgot.

"You promise?" he asks, followed by an evil cackle. I exhale slowly and think about what Abel could've said. After music class with Mr. Everson, I drag my feet down the steps to the third floor, where I pull out Maddox's locker combination. I planned on doing this during lunch but I didn't get a chance to, mainly because I was too shocked at the fact that Maddox actually told his brother about my nonexistent crush on him.

I dig into my bag and take out the fake spider that my brother tried to prank me with. Before I left, he slipped it into my bag. He actually fooled me because when I opened my suitcase in Harrington, I thought it was real and slammed my arm on the table trying to get away. I put the fake bug into Maddox's locker, on top of his books, and close it. I smirk as I walk back to class. That will show him.

It isn't until the end of the day that Maddox goes to his locker. I get permission to leave class early so I can watch him react to the fake bug. It takes Maddox longer than I'd hoped to come downstairs. Barely anyone is in the hallway now so I'll be the only one to witness it, unfortunately.

I'm sitting outside of the bathroom, digging around my book bag to make it look more realistic, when Maddox walked over to his locker. Twisting the lock, he opens it and put his hand on his books. He immediately retracts it like he'd touched fire and shrieks like a little girl. He slams his locker shut and shakes his hand out like it's infected. I don't bother hiding my laughter and he turns to me with a hateful glare on his face. "You did that?"

"Yes, I did," I confirm as I walk over to his locker. I input the combination and take out the spider. I pretend like it's real before throwing it at him. He represses a yell, lets out a guttural noise. and moves to the side. After realizing it's fake, he kicks it away from him and scowls at me. I continue to laugh at him, replaying the scene in my head.

"How did you get my locker combination?" he interrogates me.

"Your brother," I confess.

He swears before grabbing his books and shoving them into his bag. I laugh again as we walk downstairs together. Well, I follow him, mocking him with my laughter. "Can you shut up?" he snaps once we reach the landing of the first floor. I don't and he turns to me. "We get it. That was funny and embarrassing. We're equal."

My laughter slowly quiets down as I sigh. "Did you edit the book? And add in the pictures?" I question him as a second thought.

"Yes," he tells me. "We're handing it in tomorrow."

"Good," I confirm. I feel a question burning at the back of my mind. "Did you understand the homework Mr. Herman passed out?"

"Yeah," he nods without glancing at me. "It's easy."

"Yeah, totally," I mutter as I stare at the gravel of the parking lot.

"You don't get it, do you?" he snorts.

"No, I didn't get last classes homework either," I scoff. "My old school's curriculum was completely different. We were reading an actual book and analyzing it as a class."

"Sucks for you," he concludes with a fake frown on his face.

"Maddox," I groan pointedly. I've already asked Mr. H for help three times and each time, he tells me the same useless information. I don't know anyone else in the class so he's my best bet until I can try to get a tutor.

"Sorry, but I have homework of my own to struggle with," he dismisses me.

"What homework?" I wonder aloud with crossed arms.

"Algebra two," he answers me.

"I took that last year. I'm in Pre-Calculus this year," I inform him. "If you help me with American Literature; I'll help you with Algebra 2."

He narrows his eyes at me. "Okay," he agrees with a slow nod.

"Great, when do you think you can help me?" I ask him as I tip back on forth on my heels. "No rush but this homework is due tomorrow."

"I'm free today," he states after a moment's thought. "Unless this is your sick attempt at seeing my brother, then I'm not free today or ever, for the matter."

I glare at him. "Shut up." I hadn't even thought about the fact that his brother was going to be at his house. "What time?"

"You might as well come now," he confirms as he grabs his keys from his pocket. I shrug, figuring that my aunt wouldn't be home either way. I shoot her a text message, telling her that my project is due tomorrow and I need to work on it some more. Hoping she won't freak out, I tell her that I'll be home before six.

"You're not going to wait a half hour before driving home?" I wonder aloud and he scoffs..

"Just shut up and get in the car," Maddox insists.

+ + +

"Get out of the car," Maddox grunts when he sees that I'm digging around on the floor of the passenger seat. My stuff had spilled out onto the floor when he braked a little too hard. I sigh and shove it back into the bag before stepping out of the car and slamming the door shut. As I walk up the steps to his house, I notice the familiar jeep in the driveway and feel my heart beating faster. Now I have to face him. Maddox chuckles when he sees that I observed this.

We're working on our homework for an hour before someone descends from the second floor. I try to sink back as far as possible into the couch but Maddox, deciding to make it as awkward as possible, gets up and walks over to the kitchen. The first thing I notice when Abel appears from the second floor, rubbing his eyes and yawning tiredly, is the fact that he's shirtless. His hair is ruffled and he has a pair of black pajama pants on.

It takes a moment before he realizes that I'm sitting on the couch. He looks over and smiled tiredly, offering me a sleepy wave. "Hey," he greets me.

Red faced and embarrassed, I nod back. "Hey," I reply quietly with my eyes locked on my homework. I glance at him out of my peripheral as he moves around our backpacks.

He drops down on the recliner when he sees our books spread out along the couch. "Did you walk here?" he wonders as he looks at the time.

I shake my head. "No, Maddox brought me," I clarify with a shrug.

"Do you want a ride home?" he asks me and before I can say no, Maddox jumps into the conversation.

"Of course she does, Abel!" he smirks as he plops down in his spot. "Don't want to break tradition, right?"

Abel ignores him and looks to me for an answer. I shrug in response, deciding not to make anything awkward. "Sure," I agree.

"Now go away, we're trying to study and we can't have her distracted, right, Olive?" Maddox asks with a grin, seeming to enjoy the slightly awkward aura that surrounds us.

"Shut up, Maddie," Abel grunts as he gets up. "Olivia, when you're ready to leave, just text me."

"I don't have your number," I mutter awkwardly.

"I'll give it to her; now go, Abel," Maddox scowls. "You're distracting her. She can't think straight with you in the room, especially because you're shirtless," Abel gives him a flat look before walking up the stairs. I stare at his back for a moment, admiring it before I turn back to Maddox, who looks disgusted.

"And you say you don't like him, right?" Maddox asks me with a quirked brow.

+ + +

When it's time for me to leave, I uncomfortably sit there as Maddox texts away on his phone. Abel walks down the steps, fully dressed- thankfully- and ready to go. Abel smiles and nods for me to follow him and I do, gripping my bag tightly. "Remember- whatever you may want to do, Olive, it's illegal!" Maddox calls from the couch.

I noticed his shoe sitting by the door and I throw it at him. It hits him in the back as he sits sideways on the recliner. "Ouch!"

I shoot him a glare once he turns around to face me but I'm guessing I don't look as threatening as I would've liked because of my red face. All he does is cackle and sit back in the recliner, laughing loudly. I notice Abel holding the door open for me so I slip out of it. I thank him once and then again when he holds open the passenger door for me. Sighing, I get into the car and buckle my seatbelt. This is going to be an awkward ten minutes.

"I'm sorry about Maddox," Abel mutters as he starts the car.

"He's Maddox, I expect nothing less," I conclude with a weak shrug.

"I know this is going to be awkward, but I have to ask, is what Maddox said true?" he wonders aloud.

Urging to melt into the seat, I shake my head. "No, I mean, I said that you're cute and nice and then he went on a tangent talking about how I'm sixteen and how you wouldn't date a sixteen year old. Next thing I know, he's telling you that I like you," I explain with a pleading look on my face.

"So you don't like me?" Abel asks and I shake my head. He sighs in relief. "Good, because I'm not good at rejection." I gape at him in slight shock and he gives me a helpless look. "What? You're sixteen! I would get in trouble for that!" I roll my eyes at him as I fight back a laugh. "But I mean, I know someone who looks pretty similar to me and is completely legal."

I gave him a flat look when I catch on. "Don't even," I threaten and he chuckles quietly.

"So I can't even?" he asks me. I only glare at him, which gets a laugh from him. "What? It's true! Though I'm much more handsome, Maddox looks like me whether he likes to admit it or not. And I mean, he's seventeen. I should ask him if he'd date a sixteen year old."

"Please don't," I mumble. "Maddox wouldn't let it go if he thinks I like him. Besides, I don't want to mess things up between him and Raven more than I have already."

"What do you mean?" he asks with a raised brow.

"Well, there was a party. I went and so did Maddox and his friends," I start out.

"Your friends," Abel corrects me. "They rarely let people into their group. They definitely consider you a friend."

I want to tell him that some of the things they do don't seem too friend-like but fight the urge to. Instead, I shrug and nod dismissively. "Okay, well, they were there. And Maddox was drunk. I didn't know that he was an overly happy, touchy-feely drunk, so when the girls brought me over there, he kissed me. I mean, it wasn't anything drawn out. It was just a peck, but Cassidy got a picture of it. Nicholas, in a joking manner, set it as his lock screen for his phone. And at the carnival, Raven saw it and she didn't seem happy with me and Maddox."

"Wait, is that the party he got a black eye at?" I nod. "How'd that happen?" Abel wonders as he tries to piece it all together.

"I punched him," I explain as if the answer was obvious.

"How...pleasant," he mutters with a small smile.

I shrug. "He kissed me and I didn't want him to, so I hit him," I summarize and he nods in understanding.

"Did he apologize?" Abel asks hesitantly as if expecting an answer.

"Yeah, but that doesn't give me back my first kiss," I grumble as I stare out the window.

"That was your first kiss?" he questions, risking a glance at me. "Aww!"

"If you weren't driving right now, I'd hit you, too," I grumble with crossed arms.

"That's cute!" Abel coos.

"No, it would've been cute if Maddox liked me, and if I liked him, and if he was sober, and if we weren't at a party with people watching," I retorted with a scowl.

"If it was that bad, then don't count it as your first kiss," Abel shrugs

I sigh. "I'm not going to." I mean, it's not like I was saving that for someone special. It's not like I would thoroughly avoid doing anything with guys at any of the parties I went to just to save myself for a person I had feelings for.

We slow to a stop in front of my house and he laughs. "You're so innocent."

"Shut up," I snap.

"What do you want for Christmas?" he asks. "A pony?"

"What are you? Santa?" I retort with a roll of my eyes.

"I'm pretty sure Santa takes requests from people sitting on his lap. I can be Santa if you want me to be," he winks jokingly. I immediately blush and look away.

"You're disgusting. Goodbye," I dismiss him as I close the door. "Illegal!" I call out as I reach the porch. He waves at me as before driving away.