Chapter 7

Tyler's POV

"Aye, pass me a beer, dude."

"Tyler, man!"

I looked away from the flashing TV, just noticing Will was talking to me. "Oh, sorry. Here." I passed him an ice-cold can of Bud.

He shook his head and cracked it open. "What's up with you lately?"

"Nothing." I grunted, taking a large gulp from my beer. It had been a week since I ran out of gas with Lauren, and nothing was happening.

"Bullshit. I'm your best friend, man. Tell me." He sounded irritated.

I sighed. "It's Lauren. It's already been like a week and a half and she hasn't tried anything with me, I don't get it." I polished off my can, crumpling it and tossing it onto the table next to Will's leather couch.

He laughed in disbelief clapping me roughly on the back. "Come on, you're Tyler fucking Morris! You can get any girl you want, how is this one any different?"

What was wrong with me? I was over-thinking it. She wants me and she'll get tired of playing hard to get, eventually.

I smiled, confident once again, and cracked open another can.

__________________________

"Hey Lauren?" Brandon asked, with a shy look on his face.

I looked up from my lunch. "Yeah?"

He smiled a little and looked down at his sandwich, his cheeks painted with little pink splotches. I think I know where this is going. It was just the two of us at the lunch table.

He finally looked up, "Do you want to maybe catch a movie with me, this Friday?"

I sighed. He was cute. His green eyes were definitely alluring, they just weren't the same chocolate brown as a certain somebody's...

"Sure, I guess," I muttered, not knowing what else to say.

His eyes lit up. "Awesome! So it's a date."

Somebody kill me now. Brandon was nice, I just didn't like him that way... Oh well, maybe I would change my mind.

Luckily, I didn't have to fake enthusiasm, because the end of lunch bell rang right then.

...

By Friday, Audrey was over the moon with giddiness about my date. She insisted on coming over after school to get me ready.

"This is amazing!" She squealed.

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Whatever just do what you came to do."

That came out a little more rude than I intended, so I fixed it by smiling.

She laughed at my sour attitude and got off my bed. By now, all my clothes were unpacked so she skipped over to my closet.

I flopped onto my bed, sighing with content. My bed was just so comfortable. If Audrey didn't hurry up and pick an outfit for me, I was gonna fall asleep.

"Lauren, get up! We have two hours until Brandon gets here, we need all the time we can get!"

I sighed and got up, putting on the outfit she handed me. She had settled for some tight, blue skinny jeans, and a low cut tank top with black and white stripes.

I have to admit I admired her clothing choice for me. The skinny jeans did wonders, somehow making my non-existent legs appear longer, and the shirt showed off my cleavage, but not enough to be considered slutty.

I slipped on some black ballet flats and smiled at her.

"Yay!" She nodded in approval with a grin. "Now it's time for your hair and makeup!"

I groaned, seriously? I moved over to my desk chair in defeat when she gave me a stubborn glare.

I really have to start giving Audrey more credit; she knows what she's doing. She had teased my medium-long black hair, making it fall perfectly straight, but with a little more volume than usual.

For my makeup, she had stuck with mostly natural, giving me a little peach blush. My eyes, she had made amazing. While they were already huge on their own, she did the whole smokey eye thing, which emphasized them even more, and a touch of black mascara.

For the end result I looked better than amazing, but I had to give her a little grief. "All this for a movie date, Audrey?"

She widened her eyes trying to play off the innocent act. "Who, me? I would never go overboard on making you look perfect."

I grinned. This is why I loved her. I gave her a quick hug before grabbing my purse and running downstairs.

I quickly kissed my mom and dad goodbye, thank god neither of them had made a big deal of my date.

Brandon was waiting on my front porch, and when I emerged, his jaw dropped.

"Y-you look a-amazing", he stuttered.

"T-thank y-you," I teased, pretending to stutter like he did.

He blushed and led the way to his car. It was an old Toyota Camry, nowhere near as flashy as Tyler's, but still sweet.

God dammit I really need to stop comparing everything to Tyler.

We hadn't spoken in almost two weeks. Plus he was an asshole! A damn sexy asshole, but still.

I got in the car, wrinkling my nose. The car smelled strongly of cinnamon, a smell I happen to despise. Yes I know, who doesn't love the smell of cinnamon!?

I don't, bitch.

It was an ironic contradiction; I actually loved eating cinnamon rolls and stuff like that, but the smell all alone made me nauseous.

As we drove to the theatre, I just got more and more uncomfortable. Brandon tried to make small talk, but didn't really know what to say. See? This is why we work best as friends, normally our conversations are fun and not awkward at all.

When we got our tickets and were standing in the snack line, Brandon spoke up. "So, you wanna share a popcorn?"

I vigorously shook my head. "Thanks, but nope. When it comes to food, I'm not too good at sharing."

He laughed hard, "See, this is why I like you, Lauren."

I gulped and looked away. Great this must be going amazing for him.

I got a Dr. Pepper, a popcorn, and a box of M&Ms.

Don't judge me, I like food okay?

Halfway through the movie, I was dying of boredom. Strangely, Brandon had picked a sappy, predictable romance. I hated most romance movies. I much more prefer comedy or horror.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I whispered, and got the hell out of there.

After taking my sweet time in the bathroom, I walked as slow as I could, back to the movie.

A few feet away from the door that led me back into the movie, somebody's arm wrapped around my waist. I jerked around, staring into chocolate brown eyes.

Tyler.