The Crush Plan

5

"So, let me get this straight...," Candice began, shutting her locker. "You spent the entire evening with Caden... Helping him practice math only?"

I nodded in confirmation, leaning on my locker. "Yeah, that's exactly what I did. Why?"

She scoffed, "Autumn, are you sure you want Caden O'Connor to like you?"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, exasperated. "I want him to like me. Hell, I want him to love me!"

Candice exhaled, pondering deeply for a split moment. "Okay... Then, you have to work harder. You have to show him that you're not just a math-teaching machine, but a human just like him. You have to show him that he can confide in you. Do you understand what I mean, Autumn?"

I bit my lip, embarrassed. "Yeah."

She watched me in expectation. "Do you know what you have to do for that?"

"Kinda'?" I answered, more like a question.

Candice rolled her eyes. "Okay. So, you do that by creating small talk. Ask him about how his day went—no matter what the answer, ask him why. Give him the chance to share his feelings with you. Do you get what I mean, now?"

I moved my head up and down, gulping. "Yeah."

***

At around three in the afternoon, I was waiting near the exit for Caden. Yeah, that was like our meeting spot now. Candice had informed me she had to monitor for her English teacher, so she couldn't come with me. I checked the time on my phone screen and realized I had been waiting for ten minutes, now. Huffing, I crossed my arms across my chest and proceeded to wait.

Thankfully, today I hadn't been wearing a skirt or a dress because of the fall weather. I was wearing a black leather jacket with casual jeans and sneakers. The only different thing, was my makeup. It wasn't all that annoying, but I was just scared I might start sweating any minute because of the radiator, and my foundation might dry out.

"Hey, babe," that annoying voice murmured into my ear, tickling me. Riley.

I swirled around to face him, my eyes taking on a glare. He faked a flinch, trying to mock me, but failing. "What do you want, Riley?"

"You."

"Well, you're not getting me, so you might as well stop trying," I spat, rolling my eyes at his irritating comments.

Riley chuckled, waving me off. "Oh, but, darling, I make sure to get what I want. How are you going to stop me?"

I clenched my fists. "Riley, get lost. I'm really not interested, I mean it."

"Are you sure, babe? Because—" he inched closer before someone grabbed his arm and hauled him around.

"Man, you really are desperate, aren't you?" Caden snarled.

Riley snorted, "what's that have to do with you?"

He shrugged. "Stop annoying girls, and do something productive for once."

"I do what I want."

Caden grabbed Riley's collar, glowering. "If we weren't in school, I would have punched your desperate face, but I'm controlling myself. Now, get out of here before I lose it."

He snickered. "I'm leaving, but not because you asked me to. But, I will be back."

"He's not worried about Edith finding out anymore?" I questioned once Riley was gone.

Caden sighed. "They broke up, that's why."

"Hey, man, you ready to go?" Another guy came by, watching Caden expectantly.

He smiled. "Autumn, this is Alfonso Quincy. He's my best friend. And, Alfonso, this is Autumn, my tutor for geometry."

I took a good look at the guy next to Caden. He had a pale complexion. His hazel eyes stuck out, being the most striking feature of his. He had peach lips that appeared really thin. Alfonso had spiky, dirty blonde hair. It suited all of his facial features quite well. His physique appeared tall and lean, his hard torso visible almost like he'd been working out twenty-four-seven his entire life. He wore a leather jacket, too, along with dark jeans and branded sneakers. The colors looked good on him.

Alfonso held out his hand for me, a polite grin on his lips. "Hello, Autumn."

"Hi," I returned his smile, placing my hand in his. "It's nice to meet you."

Caden led us to his car which was parked in the parking lot. He took his seat in the driver's spot, while Alfonso plopped down in the passenger seat. I sat down on the seat behind Caden. We began the drive once the car was warm enough. It took around ten minutes before we stopped in front of Caden's house.

Today, when we entered, Willa and Patricia were both in the kitchen, preparing supper.

"Welcome home, Caden. Hello, Autumn. Hi, Alfonso." Both Alfonso and I smiled at Willa. "Caden, you can proceed with tutoring. I'll call you out once supper is ready," she placed politely

Patricia waved. "Hi, Autumn. Hey, Alfonso."

After waving back at Patricia, the three of us headed for Caden's room. Caden and I sat in the same sofa as yesterday, while Alfonso laid down on Caden's bed. He decided to take a nap, as Caden and I took out his books and began to study.

"So, how was your day?" I inquired, since Willa didn't ask today and now was the perfect time to imply Candice's tip.

Caden was dumbfounded like he hadn't been expecting that. "Oh... My day was, well, hectic, to say the least."

I flipped through his Geometry textbook. "How come?"

"Well, I had a soccer meeting. Apparently, I'm the captain, now, and the coach handed a bunch of responsibilities to me. And if that doesn't suck enough as it is, I had to take a test for chemistry. It was thirty-five questions long," he filled me in.

I nodded, scribbling some problems down for him to work on. "Well, I hope tomorrow goes better for you."

Caden grinned, "well, it should go better, since it's Saturday."

There we go. I was such an i***t! How could I forget it was Saturday tomorrow? Now, he was going to think I was just saying that for the heck of saying it.

"Thanks, though," his grin widened, as his eyes met mine.

We continued to stare at each other for a while more, until Alfonso's snoring startled both of us. Caden's eyes shifted to him in shock, not believing his friend was snoring in such a loud volume. He looked at me, embarrassed, and I tried my best to make sure my face was straight. But, I couldn't contain the laughter menacing to spill out.

I gazed at Caden, and our eyes locked again for just a moment before we both began to laugh uncontrollably. I giggled harder, for Alfonso's volume increased even more. Once I noticed ladies don't laugh so loud and hard, I covered my mouth to stifle it, but Caden grabbed my hand. I glanced at him in confusion.

"Keep laughing," he said in request, my hand still in his.

I scoffed, like he was crazy. "What?!"

Caden let go of my hand, "seriously. Keep laughing."

"Why?" I questioned, letting my hand fall to my lap.

He shrugged. "Because I love your laughter, and... You look nice when you're this happy."

I couldn't help but smile. "Oh... Um—thank you."

His eyes bored into mine, making my heart flutter. "Guys, supper is ready. Come out, okay?" Patricia peeped in, letting us know and then, leaving.

"Well, I guess I should wake Alfonso up," Caden cleared his throat, standing up.

I nodded, also standing up. "Yeah, you do that."

He looked down, as he scurried over to his bed and shook Alfonso. "Alfonso, wake up." No reply. "Dude, wake up!" Caden give him a harder shove. "Wake up!" A stir came in reply.

"Maybe you should try to grab his arm?" I suggested.

Caden obliged, grabbing Alfonso's arm softly before Alfonso pushed him hard, making Caden stumble backwards and fall. I covered my mouth, but since he "loved" my laughter, I decided to go on and laugh. So when I did, I earned a glare from Caden. But, I decided to continue anyway.

"Stop laughing!" he exclaimed at me. "It's not funny!"

I chortled. "You said you loved my laughter, didn't you?"

Caden rolled his eyes, rising to his feet. He huffed and looked down, shaking his head in amusement and looking back up at me. "I did. And I still do love your laughter."

"Oh, my god! Cade, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that," Alfonso shot up from his bed and peered at Caden with pleading eyes.

He diverted his gaze from me to Alfonso. "It's alright, man. I know you're really avid about your sleep." Caden glanced at me, exhaling. "Anyway, let's go eat."

The table was full for supper. Lasagna, fried rice, potato casserole, and balsamic stake for meals. As for drinks, there were different fruit milkshakes available. Willa and Patricia were seated next to each other, waiting patiently for us.

"Alright, guys, help yourselves, okay? If you need anything, let me know. Enjoy!" Willa smiled.

Caden sat in the middle, across from Willa, as Alfonso and I sat on his sides. I served myself some lasagnas and a bit of the potato casserole. When I ate from it, I caught my mouth watering. Willa really did take her time with this.

"How is it, Autumn?" she asked, her eyes gleaming with hope.

I chowed on my lasagna. "Really good. You're a great cook."

Caden jumped in, "I know, right? I keep telling her that, but Mom doesn't believe me."

"Oh, stop it," Willa blushed, chomping on her stake.

Patricia offered Caden the bowl of lasagna. "Take some. Mom made it exclusively for you."

He took it, serving himself the rest of it. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, sweetie. I know it's your favorite."

Oh... So, that was what Caden liked most.

Willa eyed me in thought. "Do you know how to cook, Autumn?"

I looked up from my plate. "Oh... No, not really... I just know how to cook lasagna," I added the last part cleverly.

"Oh, really?" she was surprised. "You cook lasagna and that's Caden's favorite."

I pretended to be shocked. "Really? Wow. I mean, I'd love to make some for Caden."

Caden glanced at me, "are you sure?"

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind."

He grinned. "Great."

Once we finished supper, Alfonso said he was going to head home. Caden and I decided to go do some more geometry, and I observed he had improved a lot. But, throughout that evening, I had one particular thought at the back of my head. I was going to cook lasagna for Caden... I had to make sure it was good, because...

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, right?