The Crush Plan

4

There were two kinds of people in existence: those who were confident and up for any challenge that came their way, and those who were anxious and only cared about getting things over with. When it came to challenges, I was rather hyper and although I wanted to get it all over with, I couldn't help but give whatever it was my best shot.

That afternoon, once the bell rang for dismissal, Candice and I instantly headed to the exit without bothering to indulge in locker change. Although she insisted I went alone to meet Caden, I coerced her into accompanying me. Mainly because I was nervous and needed to have someone to steady me when I'd almost faint after locking eyes with Caden.

"Autumn, I need to get home early today. Can I go?" Candice insisted once again, whining like a seven year old.

I persisted in stubbornness. "No, you can't."

She pouted, "please?"

"Seriously, no," I pouted further.

Before Candice could argue any longer, she and I were standing right in front of Caden. I gulped in nervousness, blanking out on what to say. He smiled once he saw me, tearing his gaze from his phone to me.

"Hey, Autumn," Caden waved, glancing at Candice.

She smiled, "hello. I'm Candice."

He nodded, "Hi, Candice, I'm Caden."

They shook hands and Candice took the opportunity to flee from there, leaving Caden and me standing alone. I peered around awkwardly, avoiding making eye contact with him.

"I was thinking we could go to my house and do this. I'll drop you home afterwards," Caden signified, his voice having a tint of reassurance in it.

I shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

Caden and I made our way over to his gray, luxurious Murano, and he held the door open so I could enter. I thanked him quietly, sliding in as he shut my door and crossed over to his seat. He placed the key into the ignition and started the engine, taking a deep breath.

"I really appreciate you doing this," Caden began once we were gliding down the road.

I looked over at him, grinning like an i***t. "I'm not doing you a favor. I enjoy such things." Mentally, I wanted to slap myself for saying that, because jocks didn't like such things. More specifically, tutoring. Now, Caden was going to know that I wasn't a jock; because of my stupidity, this whole crush plan would be a wreck.

Caden smirked in amusement. "You enjoy tutoring?"

"Yeah...," I muttered, embarrassed. "Let's just forget I said that."

He raised his eyebrows, questioning me. "Why? It's a good thing."

I looked down sheepishly. "No, it's not."

Caden had his eyes set on the road, but it seemed he took those three words of mine as a challenge.

"You know, Autumn, learning is a vital part in life. We're bound to learn so many things - some good, some bad - others boring. But, only rare people find enjoyment in learning. We learn because we have to, but there are people who learn because they want to, and you're one of them. You're rare, Autumn."

His words took away my words. I couldn't form the proper response, because my brain blanked out on what the correct response would've been. I smiled, without thinking, because his words somehow inspired me.

Caden glanced over at me, his car coming to a halt. "We're here."

I could sum up my reaction to viewing Caden's neighborhood with one word. Shocked. This guy wasn't just popular—he was clearly very rich.

His lawn was huge and spacious, greenery showing all around. Apart from the Murano now parked right across from the red-bricked house, there was a white Range Rover placed right beside it. Caden motioned for me to follow after him, as he led our way to his grand home.

After ringing the doorbell, we waited a few seconds for the door to be opened. Once it did, I was introduced to Caden's gorgeous sister—who had his eyes—Patricia.

Patricia was a freshman in our school, as far as I could recall. She had dyed blonde hair, which was curled and straightened depending on the occasion. She had a blemish-free, pale complexion. Her sharp nose went well with her thin lips.

I'd seen her around a few times, but never really talked to her. However, according to everyone else, Patricia wasn't a jock. She was a simple girl—lacking any stereotypes. She had a few close friends and was quite happy with her family; not that she was conceited, she was said to be fairly polite.

"Hi, Cade," Patricia greeted him. "Hi, I'm Patricia," she said, holding her hand out for me to shake.

I placed my hand in hers. "Hey, I'm Autumn."

Patricia nodded, stepping off to the side so Caden and I could enter.

Taking a good look around his house, I observed it was a lot bigger from the inside than the outside. The living room had a group of blue sofas forming a circle. The walls were painted a matching blue, while the tiles were made of wood. The curtains were plain white with floral blue prints on them.

"Hello, Caden, how was your day, baby?" a brown-haired lady—presumably Caden's mom—came with a wide grin, giving Caden a warm hug. Her hair was short and wavy, reaching just below her middle back. The way she walked held such poise it made me wonder if the whole O'Connor family was so charming.

He hugged back with a smile. "It was good, how was yours?"

She pulled back, shrugging. "Eh, okay." Her eyes shifted to me, scanning through. "Hi, you!"

"Hi, miss O'Connor," I murmured quietly.

"Oh, call me Willa." Her smile widened more, glancing at Caden. "Is she your girlfriend, sweetheart?"

Caden shook his head, scratching the back of his head cheekily. "I wish."

My face became all hot, for I decided to take his joke seriously. Patricia and Willa chuckled, and Caden's eyes laced with mine for a split second.

"No, but, seriously...," he started, eyeing me in curiosity. "Autumn is really nice and smart. Any guy would be lucky to be around her."

Patricia jumped in, "she's really pretty too, right, Mom?"

Willa nodded in agreement. "Certainly."

He cleared his throat, placing his right hand on the upper side of my back. "Alright, I'll show her around the house and then, we'll be in my room, if anything."

The two of them nodded, as Caden and I strutted over to the hall that led to a round of stairs. Climbing them up led to three rooms. He opened the door of the first room, allowing me to take a good look at it.

There was a queen-sized bed placed in the middle of the room. A sofa and a coffee table were placed off in a corner. The curtains were velvet red and matched the prints of the bed-cover and carpet. Whoever's room this was, they had put it together rather well.

"This is my parents' room," Caden filled me in, closing the door once I was done looking.

The next room was all pink and purple. The bed was full-sized and had countless cushions tucked in, making me want to fall asleep then and there. The color combinations were beautiful; wonderfully organized.

"This is obviously Pat's room," he told me, smiling, and then closing the door afterwards.

Caden and I then entered the last room. It had a full-sized bed in a corner. His closet was placed in another corner, next to which was placed a sofa and a coffee table. His room was mainly black and white; sports material thrown around messily. He had a poster of Lionel Messi pasted onto his wall—just behind his bed.

"And this is my room," he said, grinning sheepishly.

I sat myself down on the edge of the sofa, as he sat down next to me. "Your house is beautiful, and so is your room."

Caden grinned, slipping out a notebook from his schoolbag. "Thanks... And, if you don't mind, can you jot down a few problems I can practice and look over?"

"Sure," I told Caden, taking his notebook and pencil, starting to scribble down random questions. "Here you go," I said after a while, handing his notebook back to him.

For at least a few more hours, the two of us kept practicing and looking over more questions. Ones he understood, I just elaborated further on so he wouldn't mess up again. Ones he didn't understand, on the other hand, I asked him to practice continuously.

"I think that's enough for today," Caden exhaled, rubbing over his temples.

I nodded, standing up and grabbing my bag. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

He stood up and grabbed my wrist just as I was about to walk out. "You're not going home alone. It's dark out."

"Oh, but I can manage."

Caden grabbed his gray hoodie, shaking his head. "I'm driving you, let's go."

After exchanging goodbye's with Willa and Patricia, we headed straight to my house. The car ride was immensely silent, mainly because Caden was clearly bummed about all the calculations he'd been doing all evening. I would've tried to reassure him that he was going to be fine, but I figured the worry was normal, so I didn't say anything.

"Alright, Autumn," he uttered once his car was parked before the address I'd told him. "Goodnight."

I slung my bag around my shoulder. "See you."

As I watched him drive away that night, I realized something else about Caden. Other than the very fact that I liked him, I realized I now admired him.

Caden O'Connor was a jock... But, he was different.