The Crush Plan

3

I still think this is a terrible idea!" I yelled over at my best friend, who was inspecting a maroon and white, striped miniskirt.

Candice and I were currently at her house; she wanted me to try out some girly outfits so I could be worthy of becoming a jock. She informed me of her possession of a few such clothing she'd bought back when she was a freshman, and insisted I tried them on. Although I'd refused to, Candice forced me into doing so because she knew I wanted Caden's attention more than anything.

Candice groaned, tossing the skirt at me. "Just put it on, Autumn."

After I slipped into the miniskirt and a plain, white crop-top, I stepped out of the bathroom and uncomfortably avoided eye contact with her. She walked up to me, scanning me through. I simply stared at the ceiling and waited dreadfully for her to pass on her needless commentary on how awful I looked.

"You look hot!" she exclaimed, much to my shock.

I shifted my gaze from the ceiling over to Candice, gaping at her in dismay. "Candy, thank you very much, but, please tell me you're not going to make me wear this tomorrow."

Candice smirked, biting on her lips playfully. "Oh, I am, and you're going to love the response you're going to get from Caden."

"There is no way I am going in front of Caden, wearing this," I pointed down at my outfit humorlessly.

She rolled her eyes. "Autumn, do you even remember what Caden told you the day you first met him?" Candice questioned, referring back to my narration of the whole encounter I had with Caden that night.

I raised my eyebrows, "about what?"

"About valuing yourself," Candice reminded pointedly.

"See, if you want everyone else to know your value, you need to know your own value first," his words replayed in my mind.

I peered at Candice. "Yeah, I remember. Why?"

She sighed, placing her hands gently on my sides. "You're really pretty, Autumn," Candice smiled, taking off my glasses. "I know you think your glasses take it all away from you and there's nothing you can do about it, but there is. I've got contact lenses you can use, and, trust me, without your glasses you're going to take the whole school by storm."

"You're joking."

Candice shook her head, fed up. "Do you want Caden to notice you? Do you want him to like you?" I nodded. "Then, think back to what he said, Autumn. If you want him to like you then, you need to like yourself first. You need to realize your own worth first." She paused, staring into my eyes expectantly. "Do you realize how pretty you are?"

I made a face at her like she was blind.

Candice pursed her lips. "Realize that, Autumn. And once you realize that, Caden will, too."

"How do I realize that?" I was still reluctant on following her directions, but each time I thought about backing out, Caden's words replayed in my mind.

She reached over at her dresser, raising her box of makeup indicatively. "Let's get started, shall we?"

***

"Oh, my god, is that Autumn Reeves?!"

"It's like God came down and sprinkled some beauty on her!"

"She's so gorgeous!"

There were many things I realized when I walked down the hallway at school the next day. Some good things, some bad. But, one very important thing I realized was that Candice was right.

I was pretty.

So many people who hated me for the past two years, were suddenly gaping at me with admiration transparent in their eyes. So many guys who called me hideous before, were checking me out like I was an angelic beauty. So many girls who used to wish they didn't have to look like me before, were now watching me with envy.

That was when I noticed him. Caden O'Connor, stepping out of the gym, and heading toward the direction I was coming from. His gaze was just about to meet mine, when one of his friends stepped in front of him and blocked his view from me. I kept myself from groaning out loud, and slowly trudged over to my locker.

"Enjoyed the spotlight?" Candice inquired, turning around from her locker and smirking at me.

I huffed, as she indulged in fixing the wrinkles on my skirt. She messed around with the curls on my usually straight hair, ruffling it back and forth. Candice pulled out a bottle of perfume and sprayed it around my body, bringing out a lovely scent of lavender.

"You're not struggling with the heels, are you?" Candice asked, glancing down at the white heels she lent me.

I shook my head in denial. "How's my makeup?"

She stretched her locker door, so I could take a look at the mirror hanging on there. In the mirror, I observed my foundation was fading off because of the extreme amount of sweat I was shedding. I softly pressed my pupils, making sure my lenses weren't going to come off. My eyeliner and mascara still complimented my eyelashes the same. The soft shade of pink lip gloss sparkled on my lips, carrying out a nice glint to my look.

"Let me see the foundation," I held my hand out, as Candice handed me the foundation. I rubbed it around here and there, closing the lid and handing it back to her afterwards. "I'm off to class."

It settled a wave of disappointment in me when I entered geometry, and didn't notice Caden there. I was hyper to show him my new look, but he just so had to be the only person who hadn't come to class yet. My heels, on the other hand, now seemed to be glued to the ground, as I almost slipped three times on the way to my seat. I plopped into my spot, sighing.

"Hi, Autumn," I looked beside me to notice the school's notorious player, Riley, sitting in Caden's spot next to me. "You look quite sexy today."

I groaned internally. "Oh, so I looked rubbish on other days?"

Riley redeemed his words almost instantly, "oh, I didn't mean that... I just meant you look even better today."

"Sorry, not interested," I told him flatly, looking back at the door in anticipation of Caden.

He placed his hand on mine. "Oh, come on, Autumn, don't be such a bore."

"I think she made it pretty obvious she isn't interested."

Instantaneously gazing up, I spotted Caden standing beside his spot, his eyes challenging Riley.

Riley snorted. "What's your problem, Cade?" he questioned, trying to act all friendly.

"It's Caden," he clarified with a glare. "And you're in my seat."

He rolled his eyes. "And what are you going to do? Tell on me to the teacher?"

Caden chuckled, shaking his head. "No, but I think Edith will be quite pleased to know you're suddenly interested in a different girl."

"And who's going to tell her? You?"

He shook his head once again. "Everyone else has eyes and ears, too, you know. And especially when you change your seat to sit next to another girl suddenly, it's going to seem pretty obvious."

Riley immediately shot up from the seat, heading off to his assigned seat instead. Caden flashed me a faint smile, plopping down on his spot. I bit my lip, feeling the urge to thank him for what he just did.

"Th-thank you," I stuttered, but managed to get the words out.

Caden looked at me and nodded. "I just don't like it how he flirts with every girl out there."

I suddenly felt a pang in my chest that he didn't do it because it was me; he'd do it for any other girl who would be here in my place.

"Good morning, class," Mr. Owen entered, having a pile of white sheets in his grip. "I have the results to your quiz from yesterday."

With those mere words, he began to hand out the results. Suddenly, a thought popped into my mind. I knew all the answers to the questions from that quiz, which meant I might get a good grade on it. But, Candice made it clear that jocks weren't smart like nerds... Which meant, in order to become a jock, I had to get an okay grade, and not a ninety or above.

Please, don't let me get a high grade. Please, no.

"I am pleased and certainly proud to announce, everyone, which student got the highest grade in class!"

No!

"Well done, Autumn!" Mr. Owen grinned at me, handing me my paper. "You received a hundred percent!"

My eyes widened, and I had to bite my gums to avert cringing. Normally, people did so out of their disappointment in their grade, but I did so out of my fear that everyone was now going to think I would always remain a nerd.

Mr. Owen walked back to his desk. "Alright, everyone, start reviewing your quizzes and if you're in need of any help, you're free to ask Autumn."

It didn't surprise me that no one bothered to come up to me and ask to explain the problem. They were either too lazy, or didn't care at all about their grade. However, what did surprise me was, Caden O'Connor, the most popular guy in school, cared about his grade and wanted me to explain what he did wrong.

"Um," I hesitated, my eyebrows wrinkling in confusion as I peered into his sheet. "You miscalculated at the third step of the problem. You were supposed to get four-thirty-five, but you got four-thirty."

Caden reached over to gaze carefully into his paper, causing our heads to bump into one another. I winced, rubbing over my head. He quickly apologized, placing his hand on my shoulder in concern.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" I nodded, nervously biting my lip.

He retreated his hand from my shoulder and returned his attention to the paper. "How about this question? What did I do wrong here?"

I peered over, skimming through his calculations. "You wrote down the digits wrong. The information provided states thirty-six, but you wrote down thirty-five."

"Oh," Caden pouted; disappointed. "I had five minutes left at that time."

I exhaled, clearing my throat. "Happened to me so many times before. It's just... If you rush through such problems, you mess up easily. You should always take your time, regardless of the time. It's always better to do the fewest amount of questions and still get them right than to do all the questions and get them all wrong."

Caden nodded, letting my words sink in. "You're right, Autumn. Thanks for helping. I wish I could be smart like you, but, oh well."

"You are smart, Caden. You just have to concentrate and practice more," I assured him.

He raised his eyebrows, like something just clicked. "Practice... Oh, right!"

I stared at him in amusement. "What?"

"Hey, do you think you could tutor after school? I would totally appreciate it!"

Shock overtook me. Tutor Caden O'Connor? Me? Duh! Of course, I didn't mind!

I smiled at him. "Sure, I don't mind at all."

"Great," Caden grinned thankfully. "What time?"

I shrugged. "Whenever is good for you."

He grinned even wider. "Today, after school?"

"I'll see you at the exit."

Ding!

Caden grabbed his schoolbag and stood up from his seat. I slowly gathered my books, when I noticed he was still standing there. I tilted my head to look at him questioningly, wondering why he was still there.

"What's your next class?"

"History," I responded, swinging my bag onto my shoulder.

Caden smiled. "I'm going that way, too. I'll walk you."

"Oh," I stared at him; clearly dumbfounded. "Alright."

While I passed through the halls, I had one, and only one thought running through my mind.

I was going to tutor Caden! Oh, my gosh!