Chapter Twenty One

Two weeks passed since the homecoming and Mila was excited that she was turning sixteen in just two days. Her parents were giving her a sweet sixteen birthday party and she couldn't wait for the day to arrive.
With the help of her friends, they passed out invitations to almost everyone. And almost everyone wanted to go. Somehow, she thought it was mostly for Evan and Jared than for her, but she didn't mind. She just wanted everybody to have a good time.
The bell rang through the halls, and she was the last person out of the classroom, not realizing time was going by so fast. She didn't even have any of her things put away in art class. Not even bothering to put her art book and sketchpad in her backpack, she quickly rushed and was out the door just to smack right into Evan.
Her books and papers went flying everywhere.
"Oh, shit! My bad!" Evan bent down to help her pick up all her belongings.
"What were you doing outside of my classroom, Evan?" Curiosity overshadowing her shock when she realized it was him that she had run into.
He put all her stuff that he had picked up on top of the stack that was already in her arms. "Waiting for you." He answered with a grin.
She smiled as they both stood up facing one another. "For what?"
"I wanted to see if maybe you'll go out on a date with me." He stated casually as if he was stating that the sky was blue.
She almost dropped her things again, completely surprised but also completely pleased that he had just asked her out. She had waited for years for him to do so and finally he had done it. She felt herself get red in the face as she completely became shy all the sudden.
"Are you being serious right now? Like this isn't a joke, right?" She couldn't help asking, trying very hard not to put too much hope into it.
"Um, yeah, I am. I know it's your party and all and I already planned to be there anyways, but I was thinking maybe that it could be our first date you know." He shrugs, putting his hands in his jean pockets.
She tried very hard this time not to feel disappointed. She didn't want a date for her own birthday party. Doesn't that kind of beat the purpose of it? Even though she wanted to object to this kind of date, she still heard herself say,
"Yeah, sure, that's fine."
"Great! Well since its at your house guess I don't really need to pick you up." He laughs. "I'll just see you there."
He walks away feeling good about himself, leaving her standing there in the now almost empty hallway just staring after him. He had finally asked her out, granted it was to her own party, and there was going to be dozens of people from their school present. But then why didn't she feel ecstatic about it or any overjoyed happiness?
She had waited and waited for this to happen, but now that it actually has, she felt...well she felt that it was way overdue. She walked to the other end of the hall, opposite where he had left and went out the back doors, needing to get to her next class before the tardy bell rang.
***
"Jared, did you hear me?" Selena asked for what felt like the tenth time since she has been trying to get his attention.
She knew her brother was ignoring her on purpose. Actually, he had been ignoring everyone for the past two days and she had an absolute feeling about why, even though he wouldn't admit it to anyone.
She shook his shoulder this time, getting fed up with his cold demeanor. "Jared!"
"What?!" He turned to stare at her with an angry look on his face.
She quickly backed away as she didn't expect the harsh features to be flown her way like that. "Are you going to go or what?"
Jared turned back around at his desk in his room, trying to finish another project that wasn't due until after Christmas break. It was the beginning of November, and it was the night of Mila's birthday party.
"You go. I have to get this finished." He told her, looking down at his barely written paper.
"Really?! That thing isn't due for another two months!" She practically snaps at him in disbelief.
When he didn't answer she gave an exasperated sigh and nearly fell on his bed. Evan wasn't there tonight since he decided to stay home. Which actually surprised her. Jared on the other hand seemed relieved.
"Please go Jared. You know she would be upset if you didn't."
"She wouldn't care one way or the other. We can't stand each other remember." He sounded a bit dejected.
He then started searching for something and when he found what he was looking for he handed it to her. His eyes weren't as bright as they usually were, and his shoulders slumped a little.
"Give this to her for me will you."
Selena grabbed the small box wrapped with birthday paper with the cutest little pink bow she had ever seen.
"It would be better if you gave it to her yourself. It would mean a whole lot more to her." She said softly, feeling a bit down herself.
"Yeah, well...she probably wouldn't even notice that I'll hand it to her or what was inside so what does it matter." He turns back around to face his desk again.
She had seen the pain flash in his eyes before he did, and her heart went out to him. She didn't need a confession from him to know he had some deep feelings for her best friend. Somehow, she thought that maybe she always knew. She got up and threw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. She put her head on his shoulder.
"Are you sure you won't go?"
He gave a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm sure."
As soon as she left his room, he threw his homework in the drawer and got up. It was just an excuse for him to use for not going to the party, but somehow, he didn't think it fooled his sister. He stared out the window and hated himself for feeling so hopeless. He was glad Evan wasn't here and wouldn't be for a couple of days.
He needed time to be by himself. He wanted to hit something, and he hated himself even mor that he wanted to hit his best friend. When he found out about the date between Evan and Mila, which spread throughout the school like wildfire, he simply got up and walked away not saying a word. He had heard people calling out to him, but he had just ignored them all.
He also ended up avoiding Evan and Mila.