Clary—not in a million years—but that didn’t stop me from wanting her.
“Just checking,” he said. “So, I guess the question is: how do we turn her from a hater to a fan?”
I shrugged. I was lucky if I ever got more than a one-word conversation out of Clary at school. Nothing I’d ever done had worked before, so I had no idea what would work now.
“Why don’t you just try being yourself around her?” he suggested. “You can actually be a decent guy sometimes.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I mean that in the nicest possible way,” Seth said with a grin. “I’ve seen you around Clary, and you act differently. It’s like you can’t help but try and push her buttons.”
He wasn’t wrong. There was nothing I liked more than pushing Clary’s buttons. Riling her up was like an itch that constantly needed scratching. I was satisfied while I was doing it, but as soon as I stopped, the itch came back more intensely. It couldn’t be normal. I probably needed help.
“So, that’s my advice,” Seth finished with a shrug. “Be less of a dick.”
“That’s your advice. Be less of a dick?”
“Yep.”
“Why are we friends again?”
“Because I make sure to deflate that huge head of yours whenever it gets too big.”
“And the punches keep rolling,” I replied with a chuckle.
“Well, it’s not the job I wanted in life, but it’s the one I’ve been given. This town loves their star quarterback, and if I didn’t keep you down to earth, who knows what would become of you.”
“Well, it’s lucky we never have to find out.” My days as our town’s beloved high school quarterback were over now that I was about to graduate.
Despite what my friend said, I was glad to see those days behind me. Football was always something that had come easily to me, but I was never in love with the game like most guys on the team. The attention that had come with it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be either. There was a whole heap of expectations, which I really wasn’t going to miss.
“So, what do you think of my advice?” Seth asked.
“I think I need to find a new best friend.”
Seth rolled his eyes. “Aside from that, are you going to do what I suggested and be yourself around her?”
“Because that worked out so well the last time,” I grunted.
“Dude, that was forever ago.”
“For you maybe.” It didn’t feel like forever ago to me, and I really wished I hadn’t brought it up. I usually liked to pretend my failed attempt at asking Clary out hadn’t happened. It had been on my mind since the moment she set foot in my house though.
It wasn’t just the rejection I hated remembering; it was my whole reaction too. It was the first time I’d been anything less than kind to her, and I’d been riding that train ever since. I hadn’t stopped liking her though. Not for one second.
“You’ve both changed a lot since then,” Seth continued. “I think you’d be surprised by how much Clary would like the guy you are these days.”
I focused on the basketball in Seth’s hands as I tried to find the words to explain how I felt. The thought of being myself around Clary scared me. Flirting with her and teasing her was like a protective coat of armor I needed whenever she was close. It hadn’t been in place the last time I’d asked her out, and I was devastated when she said no. I wasn’t sure I could open myself up like that only to get rejected again—which would almost certainly happen.
I shrugged as I looked back up at Seth. “It’s going to be a little hard to win Clary over by being myself when she hates me.”
“Well, maybe she wouldn’t hate you if you didn’t constantly irritate her.”
“But we wouldn’t be Clary and Aiden if I wasn’t irritating her. It’s our thing.” And, I liked that we had a thing, even if it meant she hated me. What would I even say to her if I weren’t trying to get under her skin? What did I say to most girls? I couldn’t even think of the conversations I had with them because girls didn’t really date me because they wanted to talk.
“You need help,” Seth replied.
“Tell me about it,” I grumbled. “So, any other bright ideas?”
“I mean, you could try to do something nice for her,” he suggested.
“I’m listening…”
“Well, actions always speak louder than words, and girls love it