{Chapter Five} 

To say my mom was mad was an understatement, she was furious. She yelled at me for over an hour last night before finally telling me if I ever do something that disrespectful again she will punish me severely. I decided not to find out what she would do to punish me and vowed to never skip a day of this shadowing assignment again.

“Lev?” I snap out of my thoughts and turn to Lydia in question. She rolls her now-black eyes and takes another bite of her burrito.

“Yeah?” I question and she sighs.

“Did you hear a word I said?” She demands and I shrug.

“No,” I reply honestly. She rolls her eyes once more before explaining once more.

“I have a date with Victoria tonight since it's Friday. We continued shopping after you left and really hit it off. I think I really like her,” Lydia explains honestly and I stop eating in surprise. Oh sure, Lydia has had numerous girlfriends over the years but she never had much interest in them. As horrid as it is, Lydia only dated her exes to get in their pants. She would do anything to have a good time, and anything means anything. So if she says she likes someone, then she really must.

“Really? You don't just want to get down her pants?” I add and Lydia shakes her head in disagreement.

“No, I really like her, Lev. She's so nice, and she gets me. I've never felt like this before, I think she's going to be something serious.” She adds, sounding awed by the idea.

“Well that's great, Lydia. I'm so happy for you.” I reply with a smile though I can't help the pang of jealousy that runs through me because she gets to date the person she likes; while here I am, if I so much as think of Jer I'm basically committing a crime. I sigh and glance at the time.

“We better get going, we only have a few minutes before we have to leave.” I state, secretly happy to have a way to change the subject. She nods in agreement after checking the time and after throwing her trash away she follows me out to my car.

I pull up to Lydia's mom's work not a minute later, allowing Lydia to get out once I park the car. When she gets out I call out to her; “Good luck!” She nods and gives me a thumbs up. I know she'll definitely need it today as she decided to wear black contacts, die her hair dark red, and wear a short black dress.

When I tried to tell her that she may be pushing it, she merely waved me off so I decided to stay quiet. I remember the last time I tried to give her fashion advice when she wore a nearly transparent white cut off shirt; she told me to shut up then proceeded to slap me for apparently insulting her fashion taste. I didn't try to explain I wasn't insulting her fashion taste, I was merely trying to warn her before a teacher saw the shirt and marked her with a dress code violation. That very thing happened though, and every time she complains about the apparently strict dress code, I can't help but tell her I tried to warn her.

The school really doesn't have a very strict dress code policy. Basically, if a student is fully clothed and is not wearing something overly sexual, the school doesn't care. Honestly, a person has to all but walk around naked, or near naked, to even be written up. So obviously Lydia's shirt was pretty bad.

I shake those thoughts away though when I park in front of the large building under the same tree as I have been doing for nearly two weeks. I walk into the office and just go to Jer's office because that's where I've been frequenting the most the past week. When I walk in Jer glances up in surprise from his desk but seems to smile a bit when he realizes it's me.

“Ah, hello, Levy. Why don't you take a seat, I don't have much to do today so I can just tell you about the processes we go through to get everything in stores.” He explains and I nod, taking a seat on the couch. After I do he begins explaining the process while I listen intently, wanting to remember everything so I can start writing the next half of my paper.

~ ~ ~

“I'll see you Monday,” my mom says to Jer when we're leaving. He simply nods from his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper so my mom motions for me to follow her so we can leave. I follow her out of the building and glance at her curiously.

“Isn't Jer – emiah, Jeremiah leaving?” I ask curiously, correcting myself before I call him Jer because I'm sure my mom would get mad about being so informal.

“No, he stays at the office pretty late.” She explains and I nod in understanding but I can't help the slight pity I feel for him. Does he stay so late because he doesn't have anyone to go home to? It's quite sad actually, but I decide not to think about it and instead part ways with Mom. I get in my car and head to a local coffee shop to finish my paper.

After I order a coffee I take my laptop out of my bag along with my notes I took throughout the week, and begin writing. I only stop to retrieve my coffee and drink some before I continue writing.

“Um, excuse me,” I glance up in surprise, yanking my earbuds out to hear better but I freeze. I'm met with the grayest eyes I have ever seen, to the point that it's actually a bit eerie because his iris nearly blends with the whites of his sclera. His dark brown hair is swept out of his eyes, making him look slightly older.

“Yeah?” I squeak, feeling heat rise to my face as I clear my throat in embarrassment and take a sip of my coffee to make it seem like the heat of it is causing the pink tint of my face.

“I'm sorry, I just had to come over. I saw you when you came in and wanted to talk to you and now I'm going to leave because I'm rambling and embarrassing myself.” He says quickly, turning red as he averts his gaze and turns but I laugh a bit.

“Wait, wait. It's okay, why don't you have a seat?” I offer and he turns, looking relieved as he takes a seat in the empty chair across from me. I close my laptop and place my notes on top before I turn my attention back to him.

“I'm Ian Kelly.” He says, extending his hand to me. I smile and nod.

“Levy Newark.” I reply with a smile and clasp his extended hand to shake it. He nods and glances at my laptop and notes in interest.

“Are you writing a paper?” He questions and I nod, tilting my head to side slightly in confusion.

“Yeah, I am. Do you go to the high school?” I ask because I haven't seen him around school, I would definitely remember those eyes if I had run into him.

“Oh, no, I go to the private school a few blocks away.” He explains with a shrug and I nod, grinning slightly.

“So do you have to wear uniforms?” He chuckles and his face turns bright red once more. It's weird but I can't help but like his reactions to the simplest of questions.

“Yeah, it's not that bad though.” He explains with a shrug. I nod in understanding because although I've never personally had to wear a uniform, I never thought it would be as bad as everyone says it was.

“Are you a senior?” He asks and I nod. “Me too.” He adds with a bright smile. It's the kind of smile that makes you want to smile, even if there's no reason to smile. It's nice.

“I may be really wrong, and this is probably sudden. But will you go out with me?” He blurts and I tilt my head.

“On a date?” I confirm and he nods but speaks quickly.

“But I mean if you don't want to, that is completely fine. I just blurt things out when I shouldn't and then I ramble, like I am now. I'm gonna go ahead and shut up because you're looking at me like I'm crazy.” He continues, looking mortified and I can't help but laugh.

“It's fine, really.” I assure but I don't say if I will go or not. Ian seems really nice and all but I can't help but think about Jer. I still like Jer, that much is obvious but it's also painfully obvious that there is little to no chance of anything happening with Jer. He's older than me, not to mention it would be illegal if anything happened between us. That relationship would be nearly impossible, but I could have a relationship with Ian. It could work, would be safe, legal.

“Okay,” I agree at last with a smile and he seems to sigh in relief.

“Oh thank God, I thought you were mad that I asked. I mean, I didn't even know if you were gay and I asked you out. Not that you look gay or something, quite the opposite actually. I mean you don't look straight either, I guess. Oh God.” He groans and drops his head in his hands while I laugh.

“It's okay, really. I think that was a compliment anyway.” I assure and he sighs in relief once more.

“Wow, thank you. I mean, I can't believe you're even still sitting there. Most people get tired of my rambling but it only happens when I'm nervous, sort of. I mean, I ramble a lot but it gets worse when I'm nervous.” He explains quickly and I arch a brow, amused by him.

“So you're nervous right now?” I question and his eyes go wide.

“No, I mean, kind of. I should probably just get your number before you change your mind.” He adds. I chuckle and shake my head, scribbling my number on a piece of paper and handing it to him.

“I have to get going, actually. But call me. I'm free all day tomorrow and Sunday.” I explain, packing up my things.

“Oh okay, I'll definitely be calling you. Wait, that sounds like I'm desperate. I'm not desperate, I swear. I mean, I've never actually been on a date, or even had a boyfriend. But I'm not desperate. I chose to be single. Oh shit, that makes me sound like a lonely, bitter, forty-year old with a hundred animals. I don't have a hundred animals, I swear, I only have two. Wait, do you like animals?” I laugh more at the look of insistence on his face.

“Ian, it's okay. I love animals, I used to have a dog actually. I'll talk to you later.” I assure and he nods, looking relieved. Then I leave the coffee shop, getting in my car to start the short drive home.