chapter eleven.
peanut butter chips.

•

The next few days passed quickly. On Friday morning, I went up to Edwin's locker the moment I saw him.

"Hey," he greeted me, a smile erupting on his face. "You okay? You look a bit tired."

I returned his smile and nodded. "I'm fine. Um, hey, I was thinking, maybe we could hang out downtown or something today—I was thinking about getting some ice cream. I don't have work, and I told my parents I do so they wouldn't really know the difference."

"Oh," he said. "Maybe. I'll have to talk to Nathan first, because he'd need to drive me."

"Well, he can come along if he'd like. Maybe that'd convince him." I offered.

Edwin shrugged. "Knowing him, he'd ask to come along anyway if it involves ice cream, so good thing you offered it," he chuckled. "How about you invite someone too? So I don't feel awkward about bringing a plus one to a hangout that was supposed to be just us two."

My heart fluttered at his words. "Yeah, sure. I have a friend—Nadine. I'll ask her to come along. Nathan will like her, you will too."

"Sounds awesome," the two minute bell rang, cutting our conversation short. "I'll see you later. Text me the details once you've got them sorted, okay?"

"Okay."

I watched as he walked off, my heart pounding.

🌌

"Hey, Ky."

I turned around, seeing Edwin and Nathan walking up to me as I stood outside the ice cream parlor. I glanced at Nadine and she grinned.

"Hi, Edwin." I answered. "How's it going?" I directed the question towards Nathan.

"Good, thank you." he replied.

The four of us walked inside the parlor, discussing what types of ice cream we'd like.

"I'm thinking about strawberry or something. You?" Edwin asked me, nudging my side with his elbow. I shrugged.

"I dunno. I don't eat ice cream much."

"Really?" He looked surprised. "Why?"

"My parents never buy it, nor do I ever go out and get ice cream ever. I mean McDonalds has an ice cream machine but it's just chocolate and vanilla," I tell him. "I don't know much about these fancy flavors and all that."

"Well, then let me order for you. Are you allergic to anything?"

I shake my head. "No."

"Perfect. Go find us a seat and I'll surprise you with something I'm sure you'll like." he patted my back before joining Nadine and Nathan who were a few steps ahead of us, getting in line to order.

I walked away, finding a cozy booth in the corner big enough for the four of us to sit. I took a seat on one side and looked around the busy parlor, feeling a bit on edge suddenly. It's not like I was always socially anxious or anything, but sometimes being in new places surrounded by strangers made me feel a bit uneasy. Okay, maybe I do have social anxiety.

My eyes landed on Edwin, saying something to Nathan and Nadine that made them laugh. Despite myself, I felt a smile tug at my lips at the sight of his wide smile.

The three joined me a few minutes later, all carrying different types of ice cream with them: Nathan with a simple chocolate waffle cone, Nadine with vanilla and sprinkles in a cup, and Edwin with the strawberry like he mentioned before. In his other hand, though, he held—

"Dark chocolate with peanut butter chips on top," Edwin announced, setting the cup in front of me. I stared at the ice cream and the pink plastic spoon shoved into it, my heart pounding.

"Thank you," I said, feeling heat rising to my cheeks. I didn't know why, but for some reason I didn't think he was being serious about picking out an ice cream for me. The gesture made my stomach drop with nerves.

The four of us began eating—and, of course, the peanut butter and chocolate ice cream tasted amazing.

"Wait, how old are you again?" Nadine asked Nathan. "All you said was that you're older than Edwin."

"I'm nineteen," he replied. "I just graduated high school last year."

"Oh really? I was a freshman then...how come I never saw you?"

"Oh, uhm," he looked nervous. "We just moved here a few months ago. We used to live in Los Angeles."

Nadine widened her eyes. "Really? Why'd you move?"

Nathan fell silent. I looked at Edwin and he had an uncomfortable expression on his face. "I don't think we need to know that much about others." I supplied, making a face at Nadine that meant Shut Up Please. She understood and nodded profusely.

"Sorry. Let's change the subject, then. So, Edwin, do you like to read?"

The next hour flew by quickly, and soon enough it was time for me to leave so I didn't raise suspicion from my parents.

The four of us walked outside and to the sidewalk after throwing our trash away. "We should do this again sometime," Nathan said, putting his arms behind Nadine and I's shoulders and shrugging us close. "You guys are really cool."

"Really?" Nadine looked up at him, a smile on her face.

Nathan nodded, "Uhm, yeah." he quickly dropped his arms and took his car keys out of his pocket. "I'm gonna go start the car. It was nice meeting you, Nadine." he smiled and rushed away before she could respond.

I watched my friend purse her lips uncomfortably before turning to face me and Edwin. "Well, that was a blast. My mom is here to pick me up so I'll be leaving now...see you guys at school." She hugged me quickly before leaving, walking down the sidewalk to where her mom's car was parked.

"I think she likes him." Edwin chuckled.

"Ew, I hope not," I answered, screwing up my face. "He's way too old for her. She just turned sixteen a month ago."

"There's nothing wrong with her liking him, I guess is what I meant. It doesn't really matter, Nathan wouldn't go out with her anyway. Like you said, she's too young for him," Edwin wrapped his arm around my neck, sighing dramatically. "Also, he's already got a girlfriend."

"Really?" I looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah. She's in college, though. UCLA. They haven't seen each other in person ever since we moved. She's really pretty, too. Big brown eyes, blonde hair, freckles..."

"Sounds like you like her too," I teased, a laugh erupting from my chest.

"Oh, God no," he groaned. "First of all, I'd never date someone my brother dated, that's weird. Secondly, she's TWENTY and I am SIXTEEN! Third of all, I don't even like girls!" he laughed.

My heart skipped a beat. "I'm sorry what?" A wave of excitement began to crash over me.

Edwin fell silent, pulling his arm away from me. "Never mind," he spoke quickly, a hint of panic to his voice. "Ignore what I said. I'll see you tomorrow." he began to walk away but I reached out a hand to stop him by grabbing his arm.

"No, hold on," he turned to face me, fear evident on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I didn't mean to tell you that. If you think I'm gross now, you can just tell me. I'll leave you alone from now on."

"What? No, I don't care that you're gay or whatever. Why on Earth would I be homophobic?"

Edwin stared at the cement. "I dunno. It seems to me that most people are, nowadays."

"Well, not me," I replied, squeezing his arm gently. He caught my gaze and I noticed tears threatening to fall from his dark brown eyes. "Hey...don't cry..."

"I'm sorry," he wrenched his arm away and wiped at his tears, turning away from me. "I'm sorry. I gotta go, Nathan's probably wondering what's taking so long."

"No, no, it's okay, please don't leave, I—"

"Please just leave me alone, Ky," tears were streaming down his face. An uncomfortable feeling swelled within me at the sight—especially with the knowledge that I was the cause of those tears. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye." And with that, he walked away quickly, rubbing at his eyes.

I stared at his retreating form, feeling sick to my stomach.

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a/n;

fun fact this is the first chapter i wrote after deciding to rewrite/continue this book lol everything before this was from 2019 while this chapter and onwards are from 2022 :0