MY IMPOSSIBLE SCHOOL CRUSH

Three Years of Loving an Idiot AMELIA'S POV; "He's looking at you." I nearly swallowed my tongue. "What?" Grace Miller leaned across the cafeteria table, her eyes wide with excitement. "Adrian Black. He's looking at you!" I immediately lowered my head. "Stop lying." "I'm not lying!" "Grace, please. It's too early in the morning for your nonsense." "It's lunchtime, Amelia." "Exactly. I'm hungry. Let me eat in peace." Grace gasped dramatically. "You're impossible!" I ignored her and concentrated on my sandwich. Or at least, I pretended to. Because the truth was that I had been secretly watching Adrian Black for the past ten minutes. And now Grace was telling me he might actually be looking at me. It was dangerous information. Extremely dangerous. Especially for a girl who had spent the last three years developing feelings for a boy who probably couldn't remember what colour her schoolbag was. I stole a quick glance toward the other side of the cafeteria. There he was. Adrian Black. Sitting with his usual group of friends, laughing at something Lucas Hayes had said. His dark hair was slightly messy, his school tie was loose, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He looked unfairly handsome. Honestly, it was irritating. Why couldn't handsome boys look ordinary sometimes? Why did Adrian have to look like the male lead in every romance novel I'd ever read? I looked away before my staring became embarrassing. "He's looking again," Grace whispered. "Grace." "What?" "If you don't stop talking, I'm going to pour this juice over your head." She grinned. "You wouldn't dare." I picked up my juice carton. Her eyes widened. "AMELIA!" I burst out laughing. She slapped my arm, and we both started giggling like idiots. Unfortunately, my laughter attracted attention. Including the attention of the one boy I desperately wanted to avoid. "What's so funny?" I froze. That voice. That ridiculously familiar voice. I slowly turned my head. Adrian Black stood beside our table, holding a bottle of water. Lucas was standing behind him with a mischievous smile. Oh, no. No, no, no. Why was he here? Why was he talking to us? And why had I suddenly forgotten how to behave like a normal human being? Grace, the traitor, smiled brightly. "Nothing much. Amelia was just threatening to pour juice over my head." Adrian looked at me. "Seriously?" I shrugged. "She deserved it." He laughed. Actually laughed. And because the universe clearly enjoyed humiliating me, I felt my heart skip a beat. "You look innocent," he said, looking directly at me. I raised an eyebrow. "That's because I am." Lucas snorted. "Nobody who threatens people with juice is innocent." "Nobody asked you, Lucas." He placed a hand over his chest. "Ouch. The disrespect." Adrian laughed again. Then he looked at me. "So, Amelia, are you coming to the welcome party on Friday?" I stared at him. He knew my name. Of course he knew my name. We were in the same class, after all. But hearing him say it still felt like winning a small lottery. "The party?" I repeated stupidly. "No, the funeral," Lucas replied. "Obviously, we're talking about the party." Grace kicked him under the table. He yelped. Adrian shook his head. "Ignore him." I swallowed. "Maybe." "Maybe?" "I haven't decided." Adrian tilted his head. "Why not?" Because you'll be there, you handsome i***t. Because I'll probably spend the entire evening watching you laugh with other girls. Because I have absolutely no control over my feelings whenever you stand this close to me. Instead, I said, "I might have other plans." "Like what?" I blinked. @&Rizawrites#$ Was he seriously asking me questions? Adrian Black was having an actual conversation with me. Somebody needed to write this down. "I don't know yet." He smiled. "Well, I hope you come." Then he walked away with Lucas. Just like that. No dramatic music. No romantic confession. No sudden declaration of love. He simply walked away. Meanwhile, my heart was behaving as though I'd just become the heroine of a bestselling romance novel. Grace slowly turned toward me. Her mouth hung open. I stared at my sandwich. Neither of us spoke for three whole seconds. Then she grabbed my shoulders. "OH. MY. GOODNESS!" I covered her mouth. "Please shut up!" "HE ASKED YOU TO COME!" "He asked everyone!" "He asked YOU!" "Grace!" She removed my hand and squealed. I buried my face in my palms. Three years. Three entire years of secretly loving Adrian Black. And all it took to ruin my peace was one invitation to a school party. I was doomed. Completely and hopelessly doomed. THREE YEARS EARLIER I first noticed Adrian Black during my first week at Westbridge Academy. I was fourteen, painfully shy, and convinced that everyone could tell I was a scholarship student. Most of the girls in my class seemed to know each other already. They discussed expensive holidays, shopping trips, and birthday parties I couldn't imagine attending. I spent most of my time reading. Books were easier than people. They didn't judge my shoes, my secondhand schoolbag, or the fact that I sometimes wore the same hairstyle for an entire week. Then one afternoon, I got lost. I was standing outside the science laboratory, staring at a timetable I couldn't understand, when a group of boys came down the corridor. One of them was Adrian. He had been laughing at something his friend said, but he stopped when he noticed me. "Are you lost?" I looked up. My first thought was that he had beautiful eyes. My second thought was that I desperately needed to get a grip on myself. "A little," I admitted. He took the timetable from my hand. "What class are you looking for?" "Literature." "That's on the other side." "Oh." He pointed down the corridor. "Come on. I'll show you." I followed him. He didn't make fun of me. He didn't ask why I was carrying a timetable like a confused tourist. He simply walked beside me, talking about how terrible the school's food was and how Lucas had once fallen asleep during mathematics. When we reached my classroom, he handed me my timetable. "Here you go." "Thank you." "No problem." Then he smiled. A simple smile. An ordinary smile. And he walked away. I stood outside the classroom for nearly a minute after he left. That was how it started. Not with a kiss. Not with a dramatic accident. Not even with a love confession. Just a boy who had helped a lost girl find her classroom. I didn't know then that I would spend the next three years remembering that afternoon. Or that the boy who had shown me the way to literature class would eventually become the boy I couldn't stop thinking about. PRESENT DAY "You're doing it again." I looked up from my notebook. Grace was staring at me. "Doing what?" "Writing his name." I immediately covered the page. "I wasn't!" She leaned across the desk. "Amelia Rose, I can see the letters through your fingers." I looked down. Unfortunately, she was right. ADRIAN. His name was written in large letters across the corner of my notebook. I grabbed my eraser. "This means nothing." "Of course." "It's just a name." "Absolutely." "Lots of people have that name." "Thousands." I glared at her. She smiled. "You're in love." "I'm going to transfer schools." "Great. I'll help you pack." I threw my eraser at her. She caught it and burst out laughing. Sometimes I wondered why I remained friends with Grace. Then I remembered that she was the only person who knew about my crush and hadn't immediately tried to set me up with someone else. She teased me constantly, but she never made me feel stupid for having feelings. And I loved her for that. Even if I occasionally wanted to strangle her with my school tie. The classroom door opened. Our literature teacher walked in, carrying a pile of books. "Good afternoon, everyone." The class responded in a chorus. I straightened in my seat. Finally. Something to distract me from Adrian. Unfortunately, the teacher had other plans. "For this term's literature project, you'll be working in pairs." The classroom erupted into complaints. "Sir, can we choose our partners?" "No." "Can we work alone?" "No." "Sir, what if our partner is lazy?" "Then you'll learn patience." The class laughed. I opened my notebook and silently prayed for a decent partner. Someone hardworking. Someone quiet. Someone who wouldn't distract me. "Amelia Rose." I looked up. "Yes, sir?" "You'll be working with Adrian Black." My pen slipped from my fingers. Somewhere behind me, Grace made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a dying kettle. I turned around. She was practically vibrating with excitement. I wanted to disappear. The teacher continued assigning partners, completely unaware that he had just destroyed my ability to concentrate for the next several weeks. Adrian turned in his seat and looked at me. Then he smiled. "Looks like you're stuck with me, Amelia." I forced myself to smile back. "How unfortunate." His eyebrows rose. "Excuse me?" "I mean, how fortunate." Lucas burst out laughing from the next row. Adrian shook his head, still smiling. "You're funny." I looked down at my notebook. If only he knew. If only he knew that I had memorized the sound of his laugh. @&Rizawrite$ That I knew his favourite subject, his favourite football team, and the fact that he hated carrots. That I had spent three years secretly collecting tiny pieces of information about him while pretending not to care. If only he knew that working with him on a literature project was both my greatest dream and my worst nightmare. The teacher clapped his hands. "Excellent. Since you're all so enthusiastic, you'll submit your first project outline on Monday." A chorus of groans filled the classroom. Adrian leaned toward me. "Library after school?" I stared at him. "What?" "Our project. We should get started." "Oh. Right." He grinned. "Unless you're planning to threaten me with juice too?" I laughed before I could stop myself. "No promises." He chuckled and turned back to the board. I stared at the back of his head. Then I slowly lowered my face onto my desk. This was bad. Very bad. Because I had just made a decision that would change my entire school year. I was going to spend more time with Adrian Black. The boy I had loved in silence for three years. The boy who probably saw me as nothing more than a classmate. The boy who had no idea that I was secretly counting down the minutes until our library meeting. And the worst part? I was already looking forward to it.