Crazy About You (Chapter I)

Chapter I
HE IS EVERYTHING THAT ANNOYS ME



I was in the office proofreading the layouts for the next day’s school paper. I finished almost half of it when I started yawning… and I am getting pretty bored. I planned to do my homework for Chef Nikolav’s Eggs Cookery instead so I will get distracted and get a breather. I hesitated to start on it, I feel so drained already. I had a very busy day today and I just wanted to have a dip on my tub. The humidity of this day is not helping me have a peace of mind. Then I just decided to finish what I was doing at home but I realized that I am meeting Dorotha by the end of her practice with the pep squad. So I am left with no choice but to do the layouts again. Luckily, I saw a good way of distraction. The soccer team was out in the field for their daily afternoon practice. I spotted Liam having rounds around the field together with some other varsities.

I am on the entertainment page already. Checking the crossword puzzle never fails to give me a fresh breather. It is just like a rain after a hot day walk on the desert. And after some more minutes… I am glad that proofreading is over! It is pass five already but there is no sign of Dorotha in my office. I am thinking of flaking with Aunt Mary’s barbecue night and just go home by myself. I was about to arrange the layouts together in one piece when my phone rang and the caller id registered my best friend’s number.

“M! You still there? Wait up a bit… practice is almost over. Don’t plan to walk yourself home. My mother is expecting you for dinner. Okay? Bye.” She hang-up the phone without waiting for my reply. It sounded more of a voicemail rather than to be an actual call.

What am I supposed to do now? I have nothing left to do and I cannot be starting my homework by this time… it is kind of late already.

[blog…] a ball hit the window and I almost screamed out of surprise. Laughter came after the dubbing of the ball into the ground. Liam popped-up behind the window and picked the ball from the ground. Then he smirked that smile.

“What’s funny?” I recovered from a shock.

“Surprised sweet chick?” he can’t hold back the laughter inside him. The words sounded it was forced out of him.

“Not really dumb ass… I was just disappointed that you can’t catch a ball.” I replied cutting the grin that is forming in his face while I talk.

“Waiting for D? I think they are on over time as we are… regional is right of the curve and we can’t be fooling around now…” he speaks as he perspire pea-sized sweat all over him.

I then noticed that he was shirtless, showing off a real beautiful man in front of me. His well-chiseled six-pack is really tempting already not to consider the nicely toned chest and his arm-candy biceps. He is soaking wet from his hair down to his training shorts and I can’t pull out my sight from his well-endowed body until he found me peeking on him.

“Oh-oh… what we have here Mr. Editor?” he teased as he played around my hair tapping my head as if I was a sixth grader getting scolded by a senior.

“Hey… what are you doing?! Would you like to go back there and deal with your own business???” I took his hand over my crown and pointed his team behind him.

“Or wouldn’t you like me to stay here… I don’t think I should be the one saying that to you… This thing you peeking at is my business and not of yours.” he continued playing with a husky voice while pointing out his sweating body while he talks.

Liam Stratner… 17 years old quarterback who played the role of West Side High’s soccer team leader. He happens to be my best friend’s boyfriend and be everything that annoys me. Liam started fooling around and picking on me when he found out about my little place of Alcatraz. But back before when he started dating Dorotha, he is not like that… he was so nice and very caring. Above all… he is utterly cute and godly beautiful. What else can my bff wish for more? But now, here he is… making my senior years like hell. I was left with no other options but to wait for the time he gets bored on fooling around. And I think I have to be more persistent because he is not showing any surrender by now.

“Cut the crap out and go back to your practice you big pervert!” I commanded. I sounded pissed-off already.

“Yeah… that’s how I like it babe!” but he is enjoying.

“D won’t miss a thing… don’t make me.” I warned as if I am very convincing about that.

“I think your best friend that happens to be my girlfriend won’t mind if we fool around. Or maybe it will be just you fooling around with this… right?” He replied with that smile again. But instead of getting into the tête-à-tête, he turned his back on me and ran to the field back to his team.

“Good donkey.” I smirked while he is running back into the field.

Since I can’t go home yet, I decided to have some refresher for the upcoming midterms. I opened my pc and connected to Ms. Dwaine’s site to check on the available on-line reviewers. I filled-up the necessary blanks and started answering the forty points quiz. Since I was taking the Physics review, the questions focused more on the relation between different kinds of forces that affects gravity. It is kind of confusing or if I am right, I haven’t read thoroughly the notes I had for this topic. It is not a do or die quiz, as I planned--just a refresher… I hate loosing… so I hit the “x” icon on the window to close the website. I’ll take it later after I finished doing a thorough review of the pointers. As soon as I put the pc on a shutdown, someone knocked on the door.

“Finally!” my voice is relieved for the fact she is here already. I was so happy that I could leave the campus assuming it was Dorotha behind the door.

“Yeah… finally.” A husky voice replied… and it seemed satisfied.

I didn’t have a hard time guessing who it is… I darted outside the window and I became so sure. I opened the door and proved that I was right. Damn! Practice of the soccer jocks is over… and I haven’t noticed it.

“What do you want now? Leave me alone!” it seemed to be a threatening recommendation.

My sight was trapped again on a beautiful man’s body… not knowing I looked so silly. This time, the shorts Liam was wearing were pulled a little closer to show more of his pelvis. And a more manly scent jammed my sense of smell… it is so captivating, and it is impossible to get out of his spell. I started to bat an eyelid about the reality… maybe I am just dreaming. But no! After I restarted… Liam was in front of me… closer than the limits the prejudice served us.
.
“How do you like it Mythos?” the voice is as tempting as the body that I see in front of me. He started to play with my hair again… tapping the crown of my head over and over. “This is your chance… no one is around… definitely D isn’t here.” His sinfully enticing voice is working already.

“Liam… cut the crap out. I am not planning to play any games right now!” I wanted this to end… but not for him to go away. I went back to my table to finish compiling the layouts and then just leave the campus without Dorotha. I think she wouldn’t mind and I am very sure her mother as well. “I am going now… so if you have no business to do… please leave now.” I talk while I walk closer to my table. My heart accompanies the stomping of my feet with its own beating… it feels like movement of rubble underneath the ocean floor, slowly but very pronounced.

A tugging sound runs after behind me and a body-crashing sound ended the chase. I saw Liam already over my table crumpling and crushing my layouts with his wet body.

“Oh my goodness… get out of there!” I shouted at him while I get so furious seeing the layouts get wet with his perspiration.

I quickly rolled over my hands to rescue the layouts before it get worst and before all my boring afternoon of proofreading goes to the waste bin. While I tried pushing him off my table, I accidentally landed my right hand over his lower abdomen and found my left hand clutched on his right chest pressing so hard that I could feel his own heart beating.

“See you liked it!” He never ran-out of grins while he moans as if he were getting a nice rubdown.

“Please get off my table… this is due tomorrow… I only have one print-out of these!” I can’t help myself but to plead but I hesitated. Then suddenly, something came into my mind… what if I take the chance of making out with him… right here… right now. This is the chance and I might miss the pleasure if I’m not going to.

I thought I was dreaming… it felt like Nirvana. Liam grabbed my left hand over his chest and he successfully pulled me closer to him that almost our faces collide to each other. And then I found myself… my face… my lips… and my eyes fixed to him… it was too close I could almost take the chance.

“Do it… D will be oblivious to anything… I promise.” The urgency in his voice sounded that he desperately wanted me to kiss him… but it disappeared at his last note as if he were choking out of laughter inside him.

I pulled back my hands to free myself from him but I wasn’t strong enough to manage to loosen to his monstrous grip. The layouts got crumpled and crushed due to our persistence of keeping our objectives clear. I am loosing it… and I am going to kiss him now. It is now or never… I hope Dorotha will understand. But suddenly, a glimpse of me flickered in my mind… it was earlier when I was doing the proofreading. I think that my mind is telling me the importance of the layouts beneath Liam’s smoldering body… and most importantly the fact of betraying my very best friend. Then I got back to my senses.

“Please get off Liam… I am not playing this to you. I am not what you are thinking of me.” My voice is in the right tone. I am calm… and I am still in the right consciousness.

Liam’s face shifted as if he loose on the battlefield. I came triumphant. He got off the table leaving the crushed layouts behind. He then picked a page or two on his back that stocked behind him because of his sweat. He went down to pick up some more pages of my battered tomorrow. I saw everything all at once in slow motion… and I could clearly see his face full of despair… as if he is keeping so much pain inside him.

“Now I am really dead…” I concluded. I grabbed the remaining pages of my layouts while Liam handed me the pages he had in his hand.
“I am sorry.” He sounded like he really means it.

“I told you I am not playing this crap to you! I am really dead and so are you!” I ignited like a motorcycle that is so furious. “Now I needed to re-do everything from the start Liam!” I followed.

“But you liked it right?” a grin formed at his face while preparing to laugh out loud.

“You’re such an asshole!!! Get out or I shall call Dorotha now!” I threatened him.

“Ahemmm…” someone cleared her throat… but definitely I know the sound. “What’s happening M? Dorotha asked while standing by the hallway.

“Ask this donkey how dumb he is.” I throttled while pointing to Liam just beside of me.

“Here is your savior now…” Liam teased while he tried to bite off my finger that is pointed at him.

Dorotha Garcia… my best friend. We have known each other since childhood. We have a lot in common to share so that’s why we became best of friends. The only difference we have is that I am made from Spain and she is produced here in the United States. Dorotha and I are like brother and sister. We grew up having each other like we are really from just one maternal source. We played more than just best of friends, and brother and sister. We were often missed doubted of just being bff’s because of the way we treated each other. She is as well a senior like Liam and me. I share the top positions of the Student Council with her as her vice-executive officer. She is the pep squad leader since our junior years and still doing great with cheering our varsity teams. She is as well versed in Academics like I do. This girl is the apple of the eye of every male student of West Side; unfortunately to all of the guys in town, Liam hooked her up when we were in 8th grade.

The scene is always like this… Liam fools around with me… I get pissed-off… and she comes to salvage the remaining sanity in me. Our picture in our yearbook will be incomplete if anyone of us is not present… and it really mattered to me and to Dorotha that Liam should always be beside us all the time, especially to D because they are so together as the best couple in West Side. Being with both of them makes me as popular as they are… having a chance to enter their own personal “bubble” makes me such a lucky guy who kept on being envied by the rest of the school. As if I needed them for me to go around and ring a bell…I have my own guts to standout of the crowd.

“Hey babe… why are you here? Don’t tell me you are playing with Mythos again.” Dorotha asked.

“You bet!” I don’t understand why do Liam acts such like a fool.

“Where is your shirt?!” Dorotha followed and darted on the topless lad beside me. She looked straight to Liam’s eyes as if she were telling something I should not be hearing.

“Maybe he forgot to bring an extra shirt for practice today as usual…” I interjected on the conversation while I do my exit. I started picking my stuff while trying to evade all of Liam’s effort to play on me again. And I put extra effort on avoiding Dorotha’s gaze… I am sure that while I am moving right now, every inch of my actions are being watched. “D, I think I cannot come for dinner to your house later.” I let Dorotha seek some of my irritations to Liam without sounding too pissed about what just happened to my layouts.

“Why? Something came up?” Dorotha curiously asked.

“Not really… there was a big nasty monkey who needs to get laid because of the hot temperature of today. I went to take on a breather and when I came back, my layouts-which are due tomorrow morning-became an interest to someone’s pet. And now… I needed to re-do all of it so Mrs. Ravens wouldn’t kick me out of the school organ.” I protested keeping my tone low… as if I wanted Liam to be horrified again.

“What have you done asshole?!” Dorotha parted a wild shot to Liam.

“What?!” Liam asked as if he sounded denying the fact.

“Just forget it D, it is fine… but remember to keep your pet in his cage so this won’t happen again.” I compromised. “I’ll just ask my associate to send me the file for he layouts so I could print it right then. I am hoping it is the exact file for this.” I set each of my words with so much sarcasm while pointing out to the crumpled pages of the layouts. “I should be going now… send my regards to Aunt Mary.” I followed. I tried to end it short so I could walk my way home already.

“No problem… but for sure, mom will still ask why…?” she wanted more conversation.

“Just tell her it was a long story… promise… I’ll do come the next time.” My tone supported my words.

“Yeah… do tell Mrs. Garcia that Mythos had a great time touching a rock-hard abs… hehehe… I bet he will be having wet dreams tonight.” Liam mumbled silently on his last phrase.

I retreated from the fight with a smug face. I hate whenever Liam tried picking on me. It is a “no problem” really when he makes fun out of me but I really hate the fact of doing the layouts all over again. I parted my goodbye to Dorotha and kissed her on the cheeks. I walked out the office leaving them behind.

“Ouch!” Liam cried out loud then chuckled…

Before I finally leave them and walk my way out of the hallway, I looked at Liam behind Dorotha’s back while they are hugging each other. Liam darted a salute as if I were his officer and he was the private. I can’t loose my senses here… I decided to go home now. I left the two inside the office giving each other a passionate kiss, as if they missed each other for a long time. Well, they are so in-love… and what can I either say or do about it?

I finally went out the campus with no more added struggles. I was about to turn left to my street when a car buzzed its horn calling my attention. And then I saw Liam’s car rushing closer to me.

“You sure you’re not coming?” Dorotha had mastered using her sweetest voice.

“Oh please D, don’t do this… I am not coming.” I replied. I stood on my decision of flaking the dinner with Aunt Mary. And I think that I reached my limit of my Liam-mo-meter for the day. So I waved goodbye again to both of them.

The car took off immediately, leaving me behind. Before it goes too far, I saw Liam staring at me with a grin through the side mirror.

Then I started to walk my way to the street, trailing my way home.