Chemicals in Heat (Ch 7)

"How could you bend like that!" Bianca gasped when she saw me put my foot right by my face while standing up. I smiled at her and gently put my foot down. "I've been doing yoga since I was thirteen Bianca, you know that." I answered. It was a rainy Saturday, which I actually liked, when I was inside of course. Bianca and I decided to stay indoors and do some girl bonding. This being stuffing ourselves with lots of junk food, watching old-school scary movies, and talking about boys. I also forced her to do yoga with me, well I did yoga as she grunted and pouted while stumbling all over the place.

Thirty minutes and one broken lamp later, our yoga session was over.
"Poor lamp..." I dramatically said as I stared at the broken pieces and knelt to pick them up.
"Sorry E!" Bianca yelled from the kitchen while getting the broom.
"It never had a chance!" I continued to say trying to choke back laughter.
"Oh shut up Elena!" Bianca laughed.
After cleaning up the place and making ourselves some hot chocolate, we sat on my bed and talked.
"So what's up with you and Joel?" I asked her. She looked a me and quirked her mouth sideways.
"I don't know... we really just mess around, and that's kind of how I want it to stay." She responded.

"Why are you such a butt with him? He likes you still, it's so obvious!" I screamed at her nearly wanting to bite her.
"Well, yeah I guess but I just don't want a relationship right now, I'm focusing on school and especially on the Health Academy." She said calmly.
The Health Academy was this special program that our school offered certain students for free. It was like their basic nurse training. Bianca, being the geek that she is, was offered a spot and will probably save herself a ton of money on college since these classes covered about a years worth of nurse training.

"Bianca! You can still have a life and become whatever nurse you want to be," I said, exasperated at her goodness.
She gave me an annoyed look and replied, "Well yes I know that, I just don't want to."
I gave up trying to make her see reason, but I had a sudden thought. "Hmm, wait...is there someone else?"
She gave me a funny look and said, "What? No! Elena you know I'd tell you."
"Okay, well then stop sending Joel mixed signals because you know he's still stupid over you. Plus, its messed up if you just mess around with him while knowing that he wants more than that," I said feeling bad for my other best friend.

"Ugg E, I know that but..." My phone began to ring and she made a face at the song.
"What?" I questioned.
"Who's that?" she asked me, inching closer to see the screen.
"The Strokes, the song Soma, I've showed it to you." I reminded her.
"Sure... was that a text?" she asked.
"Yeah, from Caleb." I said.
"Oooh so now you have to tell me what's up with you and him. My turn to question you." She said with an evil smile forming on her lips.
"Okay, well what do you want me to say? I guess we're just friends with privileges. Well actually not that many privileges..." I said looking down at the screen and reading the text.

"What do you mean? you guys haven't like...done anything? Not even a smooch or anything?" She asked with a questioning yet humorous look.
"Kiss? No not yet." I responded with a smile.
"So you didn't kiss him, but you kissed Danny?" She asked me, giving me her something's-going-on look.
"Well, yeah, I guess..." I answered suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Was my face heating up? Oh gosh I felt my face heating up!
"See your blushing E, haven't seen you done that in a while!" Bianca happily told me and patted my knee.
"Whatever..." Was the smartest thing I could come up with to say. She shot me a look that clearly said she wasn't going to let the subject go.

"So what, you like Danny or Caleb? Or maybe both?" Bianca continued to question.
I looked at my fingernails which Bianca had insisted on painting a caramel looking color. I didn't really know what to answer her. Danny was very different form the people I hung out with usually, he was more quiet and reserved. He didn't really speak to anyone and seemed not necessarily happy, but at least content with that. He didn't try to blend in, but he did have some friends. He wasn't like the creepy loner kid, but not exactly the most popular either. That would probably be Caleb, the outgoing one. He was fun and made a joke out of everything, even life; especially life. He was a lot like me now that I lay the cards on the table like that. Bianca looked at me as if expecting a response, and so I gave her one.

"I guess I like them both, but I think more Danny." Bianca gave me a weird look as if that didn't fully settle in her brain.
"Seriously? But he's so weird and I would think you'd like Caleb since you guys are like soulmates practically!" She said putting her hot chocolate down on the bureau.
"Soulmates? Wow, you need to stop reading love stories Bianca. And I think things with Caleb wouldn't work out precisely because we're too much alike." I replied with a smile.
"So like the whole opposites attract thing?" Bianca asked.
"I'm not living my life by quotes B, no its more just that I like being around Danny, because well I don't know, I guess all the while I'm around him, I'm trying to figure him out." I said with all honesty that I could only share with my best friend.

"I guess I understand what you mean, and that's not a good thing considering you have a weird mind." Bianca told me with a mocking smile.
"Butt hole!" I cursed at her. She laughed.
"Well all in know is, Caleb thinks you guys might be more, so you might want to clarify things with him, take your own advice Elena." She said seriously.
She was right, I had just told her to let Joel know how she really felt, and I was doing something similar.
"Your right. Okay" I said and made up my mind to let Caleb know I wanted nothing more than friendship with him. Now with Danny...
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It was Monday, my weekend was over and instead of feeling mad about that, I felt happy. I actually liked school, I liked learning and I liked seeing my friends. Today though, I was especially happy about seeing one friend in particular.
I saw him walking towards our next class, third period Social Studies. He walked really fast as if he couldn't get away from people fast enough. His head down looking at the floor as his hair covered his face. I too walked fast and caught up to him quickly.
"Hey Danny." I said with a smile.
He looked sideway at me and didn't need to look up since the top of my head was at the start of his neck.
"Hi Elena." He said with a quick smile and looked back down. Butt hole.
"How was your weekend." I decided to ask seeing as it was the most nonchalant thing I could come up with.
He licked his lips, and replied, "Good." Then we entered the class room and he hurried to his seat.
I stood at my desk for a while with thousands of thoughts racing through my head. Why was he like this? Why all of a sudden?
Mr. Honeycutt announced that it was a test day and asked me to sit down.
I couldn't concentrate on anything.

I constantly looked to my side at where Danny sat; in the back. I noticed he sat in the back in all the classes we had together, which were third, fourth, and fifth. He hardly talked, asked questions, or even made notice of his presence in the classroom. He simply did his work and had good grades. He did have friends, or at least they considered him a friend, I'm not sure how he saw them. In lunch he was never alone, people were always around him but he didn't really talk to them. Just looked around as if studying them. I had become his friend sometime back, mostly just flirting, but his friend still.
He glanced once at me, then once more and held my eyes. Then he looked down and stayed that way for the remainder of the period. I had made up my mind to ask him what was wrong. No, not ask, demand.

He didn't rush out of the classroom this time as we went to fourth. He actually waited for me and smiled as I approached him. His smile made me mad. How dare he smile when I was going crazy over what was wrong with him.
"Hey," He said.
"What's wrong with you?" I asked out right not.
He looked at me for a while and scrunched his face as if he had no clue what I was referring to.
"What do you mean Elena?" He asked.
"I mean what's wrong, you looked mad." I stated as we began to walk to our next class.
"Nothing's wrong, my head was hurting," he said and abruptly changed the subject, "Do you want to go to a Football game this weekend? "
I looked at him and replied, "What? Why?"

He laughed and said, "A football game, like where a lot of guys throw a ball around and try to make touchdowns. We are going to be the spectators there."
I smirked at his teasing comments, "I don't need the definition, Who's playing?"
"UCLA and the USC, so you wanna come?" He asked me as we entered our next class.
"Okay, what time?" I asked.
"Ill pick you up at about 9 am, we need to be there early." He said.
"Okay, I hope it doesn't rain." I told him as we continued talking since our teacher was eating donuts and not seeming to care.
"Yeah, or else my hair's gonna get curly." he said ruffling through his hair.
I laughed and asked, "Do you straighten it?"

He smiled then touched his hair and said, "Yes, don't you see it all burned"
"Ha-ha, yeah it is, you weirdo." I told him jokingly.
"Okay kids, butts in the seats." Mr. Mason suddenly said and everyone began to move around.
Danny went to his seat. I thought about this weekend and found myself giddy about the game. Maybe outside school he was different.
Maybe I'll get to know him more.