ch6 | ch7 | ch8 | ch9
Brandon bursts through the door, rushing up to where Paige is laying on the couch. “Dude! C’mon!” it happily shouts, tugging at the sleepy boy. “You gotta see the note!”
“Okay, okay!” Paige laughs weakly. “Don’t rush me, my head still kinda hurts.”
“You’re gonna love it,” Brandon smiles.
“Aw, what?” Paige frowns. “Did you already read the note?”
“I did—but!”
“Brandooon!” Paige whines, falling on top of the other and flailing his arms a bit.
“But, but, but!!” Brandon laughs, pushing Paige back up and grabbing his hand to lead them up the stairs. “I have a good reason!”
“What reason could you have that’s good enough for reading my mail?” Paige pouts. “Isn’t that like, illegal?”
“First of all,” Brandon chuckles, opening the door to its room, “You’re the one who sent me on this mission. Ask Brandon a favor and you get a Brandon Job.” Paige rolls his eyes. “Second of all, I maybe had a certain reason to look thatIcan’ttellyouabout,” it rushes out.
“Oh, come on!” Paige pushes Brandon lightly. “Don’t keep me waiting!”
“Okay, okay!” Brandon laughs. It tosses its bookback to the side and pulls a note out of its back pocket “Here you go.”
Paige quickly nabs the note, barely containing his excitement. He unfolds it and it reads:
“Did you know that fennec foxes are nocturnal? Sometimes I stay up so late thinking of you, I feel nocturnal too… ♥
(P.S.
What’s your favorite coloration of fox?)
(P.P.S
Here’s your hint! We go to the same school. :P)”
Paige reads the note. Then rereads it.
Then he bursts into a laugh.
“Oh my gosh,” he giggles. “Oh my gosh.”
“What? What’s so funny?” Brandon asks, clearly not expecting that reaction from him.
“Their hint!” Paige answers. “It’s so silly!”
“Oh!” Brandon laughs. “Yeah, I knew you would like that one.”
Paige’s smile is bright for a good moment as he reskims the note. Then, it dims.
“Oh!” he cries. “Oh no!”
“What?” Brandon blinks. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know the first thing about foxes!” Paige despairs. “H-how am I supposed to answer this question!?”
“Dude,” Brandon deadpans. “You can literally search for anything on this wacky thing we call The Internet.” It waggles its fingers in front of itself, trying to make a point.
“Oh, ha ha,” Paige laughs stiffly, rolling his eyes. “Sorry that I got so excited I forgot the world wide web exists.”
“Nah, don’t be,” Brandon says with a snot nosed grin. “It’s cute that you so clearly like this so much.”
“Aw, shut up,” Paige huffs, playfully shoving Brandon, who shoves back. They go back and forth for a second, both laughing.
“Okay, okay,” Brandon finally says. “Let’s go look at some foxes.”
“Alright,” Paige says, only to be interrupted by the sound of his phone going off. A text!
squeezed to meet you: Hello again, Paige! I was going to wait until tomorrow to talk with you again, but I stumbled upon another meme I thought you’d enjoy. Here you are. I hope you like it! [IMG]
Paige taps the image to load it. When it finally shows itself, there’s a picture of an orange cat holding on to a french fry. In big, impact font on the top and bottom of the image it reads:
“HANG IN THERE!
SOON YOU’LL GET YOUR FRENCHIEST FRY!”
Paige laughs. “Silly OJ!”
paige: LOL
paige: Super funny omg!
paige: TY for showing me!!
As soon as he hits send, his phone is seized by Brandon who demands to see what’s so funny. When it loads the image, playing keepaway from its friend, it also laughs its head off.
“Oh this is rich,” it laughs. “This is really rich.”
“Oh, don’t be mean to him!” Paige pouts, finally snatching his phone back. “I think it’s a cute image!”
“Heh, I bet you do,” Brandon chuckles.
“And just what’s that supposed to mean?” Paige questions.
“Ohh, nothing!” It grins. “Now, foxes?”
“Kids?” Quinn calls, knocking on the door.
“Come in!” Brandon says.
Quinn pushes her way in. “Hey, kiddos,” she smiles. “Me and Paige are gonna go home soon, alright?”
“Oh, okay!” Brandon nods. “We just need to finish something here for school, okay?”
“Oh, alright!” Quinn waves. “I’ll be downstairs with Min when you’re done.” With that, she closes the door behind her.
“We gotta hurry up and find you a fox,” Brandon says, hopping over to his computer and logging in.
“What?” Paige asks, following. “Why? I have until tomorrow to find a fox, don’t I?”
“Yes, well, you see,” Brandon says, turning in its chair. Its got a pinched, shy expression. “I… may or may not have met your secret admirer?”
Paige stares.
Then, “WHAT?”
“Don’t freak out, don’t freak out!” Brandon laughs.
“No way! I miss one day of school and you run into my admirer!?” Paige groans. “No freaking way!”
“Oh, calm down!” Brandon says, searching up fox patterns. “By the way, just so you know, I approve.”
“Aw, what?” Paige pouts. “How did you even…?”
“How do you think I got the note in the first place?” Brandon smirks.
“From the locker?” Paige says, bemused. “Just like I’ve been getting them?”
“¡Exactamente, mi amigo!” Brandon grins. “We met at your locker. It was actually by complete accident. I was going to the bathroom and saw them lurking around and well, I wasn’t about to let anyone ruin this for you.”
“Aw, Brandon!” Paige smiles. “How sweet!”
“I know. Branflakes: the sweetest cereal known to mankind!” it laughs.
“Okay, okay,” Paige says, shaking Brandon lightly. “You can’t just tease me like that, though. You’ve gotta tell me, who is it?”
“Nooope,” Brandon chuckles, shaking its head. “I made a promise.”
“And that promise would be?” Paige asks, crossing his arms.
“That I would get the notes between you two safe and sound, no locker needed. But I can’t let you know who it is, ‘cause then where’s the fun in that?” Brandon laughs harder as Paige hits him on the head lightly again and again.
“You’re awful!”
“I’m great!” Brandon shoots back happily. “I’m gonna be the number one guarantee this thing goes off without a hitch, after all!”
“Ughh… fine,” Paige finally relents. “But I don’t want to be beaten to the punch in seeing my own notes anymore.”
“Ooh, can’t do that one either, I’m afraid.” Brandon hangs its hands in the air, shaking its head. “Another stipulation we had was I have to vet all the notes.”
“And why’s that?” Paige asks, knowing Brandon well enough to know the answer will most likely be—
“‘Cause I wanted to!” it singsongs.
“Again, the worst,” Paige deadpans, though he doesn’t mean it. Not really.
“Yeah, yeah,” Brandon waves off. “You love me. Now, come look at these cool as hell foxes I just found.”
Paige leans over Brandon’s shoulder as it scrolls through the multiple pictures of different coated foxes. The pair of them look at so many foxes for so long, chatting about random things they were reminded of, that there’s another knock at the door.
“Sweetie?” Quinn asks through the door. “You done in there? It’s about time for us to go!”
“Oh gosh,” Paige gasps then turns towards the door. “Yeah! One more minute, Mom!”
“One minute!” she repeats, the sound of her walking away coming after.
“So, which fox is your favorite?” Brandon asks.
“Oh, um…” Paige mumbles. “...The white and orange ones?”
“Why am I not surprised?” Brandon laughs.
“Oh, be quiet and hand me a pen and some paper!”
Brandon is still laughing as it does as requested. Paige takes the stuff and begins to write.
“I had to look it up, but my favorite color of fox are the orange and white ones! They look really striking! The color combination also makes me happy for whatever reason, haha!
(P.S.
I know we go to the same school! How else would you get these to me in the first place? Haha!)
(P.P.S
Tell Brandon not to be a snoop!)”
With the final word written, Paige exhales. “There, that should work.” He folds the note and holds it out, snatching it back just before Brandon can take it.
“Wh—huh?”
Paige looks at Brandon with a serious pout on his face. “Don’t look at this. Seriously.”
“Alright, alright!” Brandon laughs. “No need to break out my own Scary Face on me!”
Paige smiles and hands over the note in earnest. “Sorry. Just wanted to make sure, you know?”
“I get it man. I won’t look at any of your notes, alright?” It puts on a wry smile. “But I still get to look at Ohh… um.” Brandon coughs. “Oooh shoot! Look at the time!” It jumps up out of its seat and pulls Paige to the door with it. “Looks like it’s time for you to go!”
Huh? What was happening?
“Tia Quinn! We’re done!” Brandon calls after opening its door.
“Brandon?”
“Oh, did you wanna ride with us?” Quinn asks as Brandon pulls Paige downstairs. “Min was going to drive us.”
“Um… you know what?” Brandon gives the worst approximation of a yawn Paige has ever seen. “I’m like… really tired. Like, really tired.”
“Oh?” Quinn puts the back of her hand up to Brandon’s forehead. “Did you catch a cold or something, my little Branflake?”
“No, no,” Brandon laughs nervously. “I’m just so swamped by everything we got goin’ on at school, y’know?”
“Oh, yes,” Quinn chuckles. “I remember being in your shoes quite well.”
“Yeah!” Brandon nods. “So I’m just gonna go catch some z’s, alright?” It gives one of its patent pending Brotherly Pats On The Back to Paige. “See you t’morrow, yeah?” And with that, it scrambles back up the stairs.
What in the world…?
“Quinnsie? Paiges? You both ready?” Carmen asks, entering the living room. “We can go whenever.”
“Yes, we’re ready!” Quinn smiles, taking a hold of Paige’s hand. “C’mon honey.”
Too dazed by the sudden speed of everything that had just happened, Paige only has time to scoop up his backpack as he’s being brought to the car. When he gets in, he quickly dives into his hoodie pocket to get his phone to text Brandon.
paige: You better not forget to give the note over!
branflakes: you got it playa
Paige sighed, almost pocketing his phone again before catching a glimpse of OJ’s name in his recently texted list. He taps on it, looking at the meme OJ had sent him earlier again, smiling.
Even though they had just started talking again recently, Paige feels his heart lighten at the thought of OJ. They had only known each other for about 2 years, give or take, but everytime Paige talked to him he felt so good. OJ was just such a sweet person… so honest to himself…
Oh gosh. He was getting dreamy headed again, wasn’t he?
“Alright,” Brandon says the next day when the two teens arrive at school. “I’m off to get this note delivered. You go ahead and get to class. I’ll meet up with you at lunch.”
“Oh, okay…” Paige nods, a little put out. He didn’t really expect Brandon to just up and leave him the second they got there.
“Oh, don’t get all pouty on me!” Brandon says, pouting himself. “I’m making the magic happen! You’ll see.” Brandon gives Paige a thumbs up and a smile. “At lunch, I’ll have your note from Prince Charming, just you wait.”
“Prince…?” Paige mumbles. “So it’s a boy?”
Brandon gives him one of his patented Looks.
“What?” Paige asks.
The Look gets more intense.
Paige sighs. “I don’t think I get it, but alright.” He shoos Brandon away. “Go on then, mailman. Go deliver your letter.”
Brandon’s face breaks into a smile. “On my way to be the best Cupid ever!” And with that and a salute, he’s off.
The bell rings soon after and the day starts proper. Paige simply goes through the motions as he makes his way through his classes. Lunch was fast approaching and the closer he got the more excited and distracted he got.
In fact, he gets so distracted, there’s a shatter ringing in his ear late into third period.
“AAH!” he cries, jumping back from the measuring cup that’s now in chips and pieces.
“Paige?” Mrs. Kate calls, rushing over. “Are you alright, sweetie?”
“Ah… um…” Paige takes stock of himself quickly. Everything’s intact, he was just startled. “Yes, I think so.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Mrs. Kate sighs. “You’ve gotta be a bit more careful, alright?”
Paige nods apologetically. “Yes, Mrs. Kate. I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” she smiles. “Just sweep this up and no harm no foul, yeah?”
“Okay.” Paige walks over to where the broom and dustpan are kept to retrieve them before getting to work. That was close, he thinks to himself. I can’t be so head in the clouds in a class like this…
Luckily for Paige, the bell rings almost as soon as he’s done dumping the shards of glass.
“Clean up before you all go!” Mrs. Kate says. “Your teachers all know you have Home Ec, don’t worry about being a little late.”
“Yes, Mrs. Kate,” the whole class drones. Paige goes back to his desk to clean with everyone else.
“H-ey,” Paige hears with an accompanying tap on the shoulder. He turns around to face Bro. “Y-you okay?”
“Huh?” Paige blinks. “Yeah, I’m okay. Why do you ask, though?”
“Y-ou dropped s-something pretty h-ard t-to drop when you’re paying at-tention,” Bro explains. “Plus, y-you’ve had this weird lo-ok on your face s-ince class st-arted. S-so I thought maybe something was wrong…”
Paige’s face grows soft. “That’s so thoughtful of you, Bro,” he smiles. “I’m okay though, really. Just… a little distracted by something.”
“Oh? L-ike what?”
“Oh, you know!” Paige laughs awkwardly as the late bell rings. “Oh, look at the time! Gotta jet!”
“B-but…?”
“Talk to you at lunch!” Paige rushes out, shoving everything he needs into his bag before making his getaway.
“Gotta jet…?” he mumbles to himself as he trudges to Algebra 2. “What an old phrase… I haven’t used that since I used to share every class with OJ…”
Algebra 2 comes and goes, and with that, Paige has finally made it to Lunch.
He’s a little late, but as he walks into the cafeteria, he can immediately see the Lunch Squad hard at work. Mr. Memphis, Ms. Meredith and Mr. Merlyn were all making their rounds. Mr. Memphis is going around the tables and making sure kids sit properly. Ms. Meredith is at the line, making sure no one skips. And Mr. Merlyn… well. He sure was standing there menacingly.
They were ultimately just nuisances to Paige, a little miffed he wouldn’t be able to get a fast lunch and hurry to the table he and The Bro Crew shared, but oh well. Cookies and crumbles and the like.
Paige waits what feels like an agonizingly long time to get his meager serving of mozzarella sticks and milk. Finally though, he hustles over to his table where the rest of the Crew are.
“Paige,” Sue greets first, a small smile on their face. Bro simply waves, although they’ve got a worried expression on their face. Brandon, however…
“Yo!” he greets happily. “I got got the note!”
Paige lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding as he sits at the table. “Oh, thank goodness.”
“What?” Brandon pouts. “You didn’t believe in your main man? Your brother from another mother? Your—”
“I think he gets it, Brandon,” Sue cuts off, taking a bite of their sandwich while looking over a book.
“Oh, c’mon,” Brandon huffs. “You don’t steal a guy’s thunder when he’s in the middle of making it!”
“Unless it’s you,” Sue says playfully, sticking their tongue out.
Brandon scoffs, holding a hand to his chest and looking as hurt as he possibly can. Which, to be fair, is actually really funny. But Paige is so anxious to see the new note, he can’t find it in himself to laugh at the silly exchange.
“Can I see it?” he asks instead of commenting, practically bouncing in his seat.
“Oh, yeah! Sorry, here you go.” Brandon pulls out the note from his backpack and hands it over. Paige does his best not to simply snatch it out of the other’s hands.
Today’s note reads:
“Did you know cats conserve energy by sleeping up to 14 hours a day? If I could sleep that long, I hope I would dream of you… ♥
(P.S.
What’s your favorite thing about cats?)
(P.P.S
I thought the hint would be useful to confirm! And, just so you know, I told Brandon what you said. He didn’t like it very much! LOL.)
Paige immediately bursts into a fit of giggles. Oh, oh, oh…! He was quickly falling head over heels for this mysterious admirer. If they kept this up, he’d have to ask to meet them soon!
“Good one today?” Brandon smirks. All Paige can do is nod happily.
“What is that?” Sue asks, snapping Paige out of his happy little bubble. That’s right… he never actually told the rest of the Crew he was getting secret admirer notes, did he? He supposes he could do it now, but…
Before he can even decide, Sue has plucked the note from his hands and is reading it over.
“Wh—hey!” Paige cries, trying to grab the note back.
Sue holds out a hand. This is effective in stopping Paige immediately. Then, once they’re done, they hand the note back over without a word.
“Sue?” Paige asks, beyond confused.
“I’ve seen all I need to see,” is all they say, cryptic as always.
“W-well I didn’t!” Bro huffs. “Is th-at why you w-ere all weird t-today in Home Ec? Wh-at’s even o-on that?”
“I…” Paige mumbles. “I was debating on whether or not to say anything… but then Sue decided to take things into their own hands. Literally.”
“I’m allowed to know everything,” Sue shrugs simply. “Besides, now that you know about your eye quirk, you might have tried cheating by closing your eyes again. Thought it’d be easier just to look myself.”
“Aw!” Bro pouts. “S-so everybody but me gets to know?”
“Don’t sweat it, Bart,” Brandon says. “We got more important eggs to crack.”
“I would love to study you,” Sue says with seemingly no further context.
“Right,” Brandon says, rolling his eyes. “Anyways, our project?”
“O-oh, right.” Bro puts a sleeve covered hand to their chin. “I th-ink it m-might still be in class?”
“Awesome,” Brandon says, standing. “I just gotta get something from my locker and then I’ll meet you there? I think Lunch is almost over anyways.”
“S-sure,” Bro waves. “See you s-soon.” Brandon shoots a finger gun back as he walks away.
“Lunch is almost over…” Paige mumbles, looking at the clock on the wall. “Wow… time flies.”
“O-okay,” Bro says, “But s-eriously. What’s th-e paper about?”
“Oh! Um…” Paige bites his lip and looks at Sue worriedly.
“I’m not going to say anything, if that’s what you think,” they say plainly. “It’s your decision.”
“B-but you…!?” Paige says, incredulous.
Sue chuckles a bit. “Like I said, I’m allowed to know anything I want.”
Paige just sighs in defeat. “Fine, fine. It’d be wrong of me to not tell you now so…” The teen takes a deep breath and lowers his voice. “I… have a secret admirer!”
“Woah!” Bro gasps. “R-really?”
“Yes!” Paige nods, cheery smile on his face. “This is the… fourth note? I think? Hold on…” Paige counts on his fingers. “The first cat one… the cherry blossom one… the fox one… and now this second cat one! Yep! Four of them in total.”
“Wo-ah! L-look at M-mr. Popular over here!” Bro teases, punching Paige lightly. “Ma-ybe I sh-ould do something like th-is…”
“You? A secret admirer?” Paige gasps. “To who?”
For the second time that day, Paige is met with The Look from both Bro and Sue for some reason.
“What?” he asks. “What am I not getting today?”
“Oh my god,” Sue blinks, some sort of realization crossing their face. “You really don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Oh my god.” Sue turns to Bro with a wry smile on their face. “Bro. Bro, he doesn’t know.”
“O-h m-my god,” Bro giggles. “O-h, th-that’s almost funnier th-an him kn-owing. Oh m-my god.”
“Who?” Paige asks, teetering on begging. “Who is it and how come Sue knows and I don’t?”
“Oh, you know,” Sue says. “It’s just so funny that you think you don’t.”
“...What?” Paige asks. The bell then chooses that exact moment to ring.
“Looks like it’s time to go,” Sue chuckles, closing their books and standing.
“Wait!” Paige cries. “I wanna know who!”
“See y-you later, Paige,” Bro laughs, waving after they gather their stuff. “I’m s-ure you’ll figure it out.”
“Aw! Guys!” Paige pouts as the other two leave. “Ugh!” He stomps his foot as he too stands. “You’re awful,” he mumbles to no one in particular.
With a sigh, Paige continues his school day. Besides Gym, which he opts to sit out as they’re playing another game of dodge ball, he finds it hard to pay attention to anything. There are so many thoughts swimming in his head now… who his secret admirer was… who Bro wanted to become a secret admirer for… what he should reply to the note with…
Oh! His reply!
Brandon isn’t in Writing when he gets there, probably still working on his project with Bro. But the sub is gone from the previous two days Paige had been here.
“Okay everyone,” Ms. Tacari says, clapping his hands. “Today’s assignment? Spin me a tale that would knock Dr. Seuss’ socks off! That is—write me a poem that starts mundane and explodes into insanity, won’t you?” With that, he takes a seat at his chair and does whatever it is that teachers do at their laptops all day. Probably working on future lesson plans or something.
Ah, but Paige had no time to be thinking about that! He had to do his assignment… and more importantly, he had to think of a reply!
Okay, okay. Reply first. He pulls out a scrap piece of paper from the back of his notebook and begins to scribble down what he can think of.
“My favorite thing about cats… Well! That’s hard to decide! But I think the way they move their bodies is what really makes them interesting to me. The way they move like liquid sometimes is so cool! It makes me wish I could do the same, haha!
(P.S.
Are you an animal person too? Three out of the four things you’ve asked me have been about them! I’m curious!”
(P.P.S.
It’s good that he didn’t like it. It’s rude to snoop in people’s mail!”)
Good. Something sizable for once!
With that done, Paige does his assignment as he was tasked to do. He’s actually having quite a bit of fun when the bell rings to signify school’s out for the day.
“For homework you’re to finish those poems, alright?” Ms. Tacari calls as the class begins to shift around. “You’re presenting them tomorrow!”
Some of the class groans, while some of them give a less than lively cheer. Paige himself was indifferent to it, but he was looking forward to finishing what he had started.
As Paige leaves the class he gets a text. When he checks it, it reads:
branflakes: gonna hang w bart tn 2 work on this here project
branflakes: dont w8 up. ill get the note tmrw
Ah…
First this morning and now this afternoon…
Sure, it wasn’t like Paige and Brandon had never been apart before, but with how sudden a departure it was from their normal setup… well…
Let’s just say Paige wasn’t exactly the happiest camper right now.
But, as he stares at the text near his locker, there’s a tap on his shoulder.
“Huh?” he blinks, turning.
“Hello, Paige!” OJ greets, huge smile on his face. “How are you?”
Oh! OJ!
“Hi, OJ!” Paige smiles. “I’m okay! How are you?”
“Well and good,” Orville replies. “I’m very glad to see you in good health once again. It’s been quite some time!”
“Yeah, it has been, hasn’t it?” Paige comments. “What was that phrase you used to say? Long time no see?”
OJ giggles. “That was it! Sonic tended to say it a lot. It was one of the things I picked up from him.”
“Oh yeah!” Paige nods. “Didn’t you used to be obsessed with Sonic?”
“Used to… is not very accurate,” OJ chuckles. “But I am… less obsessed with it these days, I can say.” He grabs Paige’s hand gently. “That’s besides the point though. Shall we do some hanging out like we planned?”
“Yes!” Paige smiles.
“Wonderful.” With that, OJ begins to lead Paige off of the school grounds.
“So, what’s up?” Paige asks. “I feel like we haven’t… palled around in ages!” he laughs. “I really like that phrase you used.”
“Oh, thank you,” OJ says sheepishly. “It’s, um… thank you.”
“Why are you thanking me?” Paige laughs again. “You just used a fun word!”
“Well…” OJ rubs the back of his head. “Not everyone likes when I use… unique words like that.” He sounds a little like a wounded puppy. It makes Paige frown a bit.
“Did someone tell you that?”
“Something like that.”
Paige rolls his eyes. “Then they’re stupid.”
“Huh?” OJ blinks, looking unprepared for that answer.
Paige smiles. “I like all your unique words. They’re very… you! And you’s the best you you can be, you know?”
OJ’s tight expression slowly melts away, making way for a smile of his own. “Yes, I suppose so, huh?” He chuckles. “I like your unique way of phrasing things as well.”
“Thanks!” Paige beams. “But yeah! What have you been up to?”
“Oh!” OJ begins flapping his unoccupied hand. “In lieu of Sonic, I’ve found a love of steampunk! You see…”
The teen goes on and on about the intricacies of his new interest. Honestly, it’s a lot of big words that Paige has either never heard before, or the meaning is slipping his mind, but he enjoys listening anyways. He liked spending time with OJ no matter what they were doing, really.
Speaking of what they were doing…
“Oh, OJ,” Paige cuts in. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt.”
“It’s quite alright,” OJ nods.
“I was just wondering, where are we going?”
“Oh? Didn’t I tell you?”
“You didn’t.”
“My bad!” OJ laughs. “Well, that’s quite alright as well. We’re here, after all.”
Paige blinks, looking up at the awning. It reads: El Piña Pizzería.
“Oh!” Paige grins. “Pizza!”
“Yes indeed!” OJ grins back. “I live around here, so I visit this pizzeria a lot.” He pushes the door open and pulls Paige in. “Come on, I’m sure we can get a table near the window.”
OJ remembered he liked sitting near the window? How sweet!
The two enter and quickly nab a seat near the windows just as they were hoping to. They put their bags down to claim it before going over to the ordering station.
“¡Hola!” the cashier greets. “¿Qué quieres?”
OJ turns to Paige. “What would you like?”
“Oh! Um, I actually speak a little Spanish myself!” Paige says, a little shy. “Can I try?”
“By all means, Paige!”
Paige nods and gulps a bit before turning to the cashier himself. “Um… ¡hola! Yo… tengo… pizza de queso?” Both OJ and the cashier chuckle a bit and Paige can feel his face flush. “What? Did I say it wrong?”
“Un poco,” OJ says, pinching his pointer and thumb together. “But it’s okay.” He turns to the cashier. “Mi amigo es muy inteligente, ¿no?”
“¡Sí!” They nod. “Yo comprendo. ¿Y tú?”
“Yo también, por favor,” OJ says. “Con carne.”
“Comprendido. Un momento, por favor.”
“Nosotros estaremos en esa masa.”
“OK,” they wave, getting to work.
“We’ll… that table…” Paige mumbles. “Be at?” He tries to look over at OJ for confirmation, but the other teen has already started to walk to their table. Paige is quick to follow behind.
“So, Paige,” OJ says as the other sits down. “What’s up with you? Have anything exciting happen to you recently or anything?”
Paige thinks. “Um… oh!” he gasps. “Yes! Something very exciting is happening to me right now!”
“Oh?” OJ asks. “What is it?”
“Okay, um…” Paige becomes extremely shy suddenly, bending over close and lowering his voice. “You can’t tell anybody, okay?”
“Okay,” OJ nods, interest clearly piqued. “What is it?”
“I…” Paige stops and looks around before continuing. “I have a secret admirer!”
“Oh my!” OJ gasps. “How exciting indeed!”
“I know, right?” Paige gushes. “They’ve sent me four notes so far. I’m so excited to get my reply to them tomorrow.”
“Reply?” OJ prods.
“Oh, we go back and forth with the notes! I have Brandon as a currier currently. Somehow it met up with them! And now it won’t tell me who it is…”
“Isn’t it more fun that way, though?” OJ smiles kindly. “Personally, if I had a secret admirer I’d try and get to know who they are first. Have you been asking questions about them?”
“Just the one!” Paige says. “I asked if they could give me a hint as to who they were, and guess what they said!”
“What?”
“They said we go to the same school!” Paige giggles. “As if I wouldn’t know that considering they left the first couple of notes in my locker.”
“Hmm…” OJ hums. “Perhaps they simply thought it was… good to make sure?” he offers.
“They said something along those lines,” Paige nods. “But still! So silly!” He sighs. “But so sweet…”
“You sure seem to like them a lot,” OJ smiles.
“I do,” Paige says earnestly. “Even if we don’t know much about each other yet, just the thought of someone liking me enough to do this…!” he swoons.
“I really love that for you, Paige,” OJ says, somber. It intrigues Paige, but before he can ask, the waiter comes by with their slices.
“¡Para dos personas!” they chirp as they slide the plates down. “¡Disfruta!”
“Gracias,” OJ thanks at the same time Paige yelps a quick, “Gracias!” caught off guard.
OJ chuckles at him, getting ready to take a bite. “Do you not constantly keep an eye on your surroundings?”
Paige blinks with his mouth slightly ajar, pizza hanging in the air. “Um,” he says smartly. “...Nnno?” he answers, unsure.
OJ swallows his bite. “Oh, that’s not surprising. Most people answer no to that question, don’t fret.”
Paige lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and takes a bite of his pizza finally. “Oh!” he gasps. “This is good!”
“I know,” OJ nods. “There’s a reason I’ve come here almost every day of my life.” He takes another bite. “Well, that… and also…”
“Sweetie~!” flows sweetly from the back of the pizzeria. Following it, a person with long, flowing black hair with a purple headband comes out. They've got on nothing but purple, a small overshirt on top of a regular one, and a long skirt.
“Mami!” OJ beams. He puts his plate down (he was eating his pizza from off his plate? Like with it held up to his face?) and jumps up, rushing into the person’s arms.
“OJ?” Paige blinks, confused.
“Oh, sorry,” OJ apologizes, but his mouth is wide as he says it. “Paige, this is my mami, Sam. Mami, this is my friend Paige!”
“Oooh~!” Ms. Sam singsongs. “Is this the little one you would talk about all the time back in 9th grade?”
“Aaah, Mami!” OJ blushes. “Shhh!!”
“You talked about me?” Paige asks, smiling small.
“All the time~ sweetie!” Ms. Sam giggles. “It was quite cute of you, my dear Orville!” She pinches his cheek.
“Mamiii…” OJ drones. Paige can’t help it. he starts giggling himself. “Don’t laugh!”
“I’m not laughing at you, I promise!” Paige explains. “This is just so cute.” He shakes himself out before presenting a hand to Ms. Sam. “Hello, Ms. Sam! Like OJ said, I’m Paige!”
“Yes, hello Paige!” Sam holds out her own hand, which Paige notices sparkles in the overhead light.
“Oh!” he gasps. “My bad! Mrs. Sam!”
Mrs. Sam laughs heartily as she shakes his hand. “You can simply call me Sam, my little turtle dove!” she beams. “You’re practically family with how much Orville has told us about you.”
“Oh, okay!” Paige nods. He looks over at OJ, who is positively red. “Don’t be embarrassed, OJ! I think your mom is really cool!”
“That’s not why I’m embarrassed…” OJ mumbles, just barely hearable. Before Paige can even think to ask what he means, his phone rings.
“Oh, one second,” he says, pulling it out of his pocket. The caller ID says Mom. “Oh, it’s Mom!” He picks it up. “Hello?”
“Paige, honey, are you alright?” Quinn asks. “Min said you didn’t come home yet…”
“Oh, I’m sorry Mom!” Paige cries. “I went to hang out with OJ… I meant to say something, but it completely slipped my mind.”
“Oh, that’s okay then,” Quinn sighs. “I was just worried! You get home soon, but have fun!”
“Okay, Mom! See you later! Love you!”
“Love you too, sweetie! Mwah!” And with that, the line cuts off.
Paige flicks off his phone and pockets it again. “Sorry, Mom wanted to know where I was.”
“It’s quite alright, Snowy.” Sam says, hands clasped in front of her.
“...Snowy?” Paige blinks.
“Ah, my mom likes to give everyone little nicknames.” OJ rubs the back of his head. “Oftentimes people have said I get my… quirks from her.”
“I can see that,” Paige says, not unkindly. “But, while it was nice to meet you, I think I should go soon.”
“Where do you live?” Sam asks. “I can drive you home!”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that!” Paige gasps. “I can take the bus just fine!”
“I’m sure you can, Snowy!” Sam says, already turning around and billowing her skirt, “But I can drive you there faster, more comfortably and in style!” She disappears around the corner she came out of to begin with, returning with a large set of keys.
“In style?” Paige asks.
“Oh, she means the RV,” OJ answers. “She… what’s the word Ma used, Mami?”
“Dani tricked it out!” She says it with such enthusiasm it’s clear she’s exactly as happy to say it right now as she was the first time. “It looks awesome!”
“It is rather cool,” OJ nods.
“Come, come,” Sam beckons, going towards the door. “Antonio! Hold down the fort whilst I’m gone, will you?”
“¡Sí!” they nod.
“I… don’t seem to have a choice in this,” Paige says.
OJ laughs. “You don’t.” He once again grabs Paige’s hand gently. “C’mon. The RV’s cool. I think you’ll like it!”
This might as well happen! Paige thinks. At least I won’t have to wait for the bus this way, huh?
OJ follows his mom and tugs Paige along the street.
“So, what’s it look like?” Paige asks.
“You’ll see in a moment,” OJ says. Paige can hear the smile in it.
Lo and behold, the moment they turn the corner, Paige sees it. It’s a huge RV covered in a pattern that can only be described as extremely groovy. It’s orange, a lighter orange zigzagging through with a random pattern. It looks like wallpaper that was carefully plastered on, but when Paige reaches the car and feels it, it’s smooth.
“This is a paint job?” he gasps.
“You betcha!” Sam smiles, unlocking the car.
“That’s amazing!” He stares in awe. “I’ve never seen a car look this cool!”
“Dani loves cars,” Sam chuckles. “I’m sure she’ll be super happy to hear about this~!” She climbs into the RV. “Come, come, get in!”
OJ opens the door and motions for Paige to climb in ahead. How kind! He slips in, OJ following behind and closing the door once he’s in. They both buckle up.
“Where do you live, honey?” Sam asks, fixing her rear view mirror.
“16528 Pacific Road,” both Paige and OJ rattle off at the same time.
“You remember my address?” Paige blinks.
“Of course I do,” OJ replies simply as Sam taps the address into her GPS.
“Oh,” Paige says back.
Something is dancing in the air… a feeling is tugging as Paige’s heart…
And then The Less I Know The Better begins playing over the radio. Just like that, whatever was happening is over and Paige shakes his head a bit.
“I love this song!” he smiles, looking away from OJ and turning towards the front. “It’s so… snazzy!”
“Ooh, a 12th grade word!” Sam grins. “Aren’t you advanced, Snowy?”
Paige blushes and rubs the back of his head. “More like a 7th grade word,” he says.
“Nonsense!” Sam replies, taking a turn. “Unless you’re a Squeeze, words like snazzy don’t often rise to the occasion in one’s head!”
“Rise to the occasion…?”
“Most people find it an unorthodox word to use under normal circumstances,” OJ explains. “Therefore, a 12th grade word.”
“Oh, okay!” Paige smiles awkwardly. “Whatever you guys say!”
“So, how are you doing these days, turtle dove?” Sam asks. “I haven’t heard updates about you in a little while!”
“Mamiii,” OJ drones, sounding shy.
“Oh, that’s probably because me and OJ don’t have any classes together this year,” Paige answers. “We kinda just drifted apart.” He turns back to OJ. “Sorry about that, by the way.”
“It’s quite alright,” OJ replies, almost sounding like it’s an automatic response. He pauses though, and then says, “Well, it’s not… alright, but… it’s… alright…?” He sighs. “I’m unsure if that made any sense…”
“No, I think I get it,” Paige says. “Like… it was nobody’s fault? But it’s cool that we’re fixing it. Right?”
“Exactly,” OJ smiles. “Thank you. Sometimes I find it difficult to word things simply.”
“That’s okay.” Paige smiles brightly. “That’s what I’m here for again!”
“Aw, aren’t you just the sweetest thing, Snowy?” Sam coos. “Oh! You know what? I just thought of something a-mazing~!” She stops at a red light and turns to face the back. “How would you feel about coming over this weekend? On Sunday? You could make it a sleepover and everything!”
“A sleepover…?” OJ blinks.
“Yes!” Sam turns back around and pulls off with the green light. “It’d be the perfect thing to help you two catch up!”
“That sounds fun, actually!” Paige beams, clapping. “Don’t you agree, OJ?”
OJ’s face is a little red and he’s looking away from Paige. “I-indeed,” he mumbles. “Fun indeed.”
Oh no, had the sudden plan overwhelmed him? Paige knew OJ was a little sensitive to certain things like he was, like loud and sudden noises, the way some food felt like to eat or tasted, and the feeling of wet socks. But he also had some other things that would bother him, like things happening that he didn’t plan for.
“If it’s too sudden for you, I don’t have to come,” Paige says softly, hand hovering over OJ’s. He doesn’t want to touch, just in case that would also overwhelm him, but OJ surprises him by grabbing a hold of his hand and squeezing lightly.
“It’s alright, really,” he assures. “Just… caught me off guard, is all. Honest.”
Paige smiles. “Then I guess I’ll have to tell Mom I’m busy on Sunday!”
+++
Sam and OJ wave as they drop Paige off, a little bit earlier than his actual stop. He wanted to visit his Aunt Carmen before heading home.
“See you on Sunday, then?” OJ asks.
“Yep!” Paige nods. “Text me your address.”
“Oh, no, no, no!” Sam chuckles. “I’ll be the one coming to get you, of course!”
“I-I’m sure I can get there by bus!” Paige gasps. “Really, it’s okay!”
“Nooo~!” Sam lavishes, falling over the steering wheel. “Let me have an excuse to drive this baby around more, please~?”
OJ sighs, but he’s got a smile on his face. “You might as well say yes.”
Paige laughs earnestly. “Okay, okay! You can come pick me up. Text me when you’re on your way?”
“Certainly,” OJ nods before waving again. “See you then!”
“See you!”
And with that, they drive off.
Paige walks up to the front door of the Aguja household and rings the bell. Before long, the door opens to show his aunt.
“¡Mija!” he crushes the teen in a tight hug, peppering kisses on his face. “I’m so happy you’re alright!”
“Aunt Carmen,” Paige laughs weakly, “I just hung out with one of our friends for a bit.”
“Yes, but you didn’t tell us!” Carmen cries. “You know how it is here in Queens!”
“I know, I know,” Paige mumbles. “But really, I’m okay.” He yawns as Carmen sets him back down. “I’m really tired, though. I just came to let you know I was home.”
“How did you get here?” Carmen asks.
“OJ and his mom Sam dropped me off.”
“Oh, how nice of them,” Carmen smiles. “Well, it’s good to know you’ve got sweet friends.” He pats Paige on the head. “Go get some rest, sweetie. Talk to you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay!” He smiles softly. “Goodnight, Aunt Carmen.”
“Goodnight Paige!” With that, he closes the door.
Time to go home.
+++
Paige is nodding off when there’s a knock on his door.
“Sweetie? You still up?” Quinn asks through the door.
He blinks awake. He had gotten home a while ago and done everything he needed to get ready for bed. He just had to finish his homework… but it seems his tiredness caught up with him.
“I am,” he yawns. “You c’n come in.”
“Evening, honey,” Quinn says, pushing into the room. “You alright?”
“Big day,” Paige replies. “I’m going to be hanging out with OJ on Sunday?” He yawns again. “I think… I honestly might’ve dreamt that up…”
“Well, how’s about we get you into bed so you can think with a clear head in the morning?” Quinn suggests, scooping him up.
“Mooom…” Paige whines, but he doesn’t mean it at all, clinging to his mom. She drops him off like a baby sloth into his bed.
“Goodnight, sweetie,” she chuckles, giving him a kiss on his forehead and pulling the covers over him. “Rest well, okay?”
“G’night…” Paige murmurs, already nodding off again. Goodnight indeed.
That night, Paige dreams of a dinner for two consisting of pizza and an anonymous face. They spin in the air whimsically and Paige feels at peace as they chat in a fake language, both laughing every so often.
When he wakes up, he feels a little dizzy.
+++
“Here’s the note for today, Brandon,” Paige says, handing the piece of paper off to his best friend. “Be careful with it!”
“As always,” Brandon grins.
“This is the second time ever,” Paige says deadpanned. Brandon simply laughs as he salutes and walks away.
Another day of waiting for lunch while snoozing through ELA, barely participating in Science, dodging questions in French and finally being the king of the castle in Algebra 2. Then, and only then, once the bell rings, it’s time for lunch.
“Finally,” Paige sighs, sitting down at The Bro Crew’s favorite table with his Friday Pizza. “I feel like today lasted forever!”
“It’s not over yet?” Sue points out, confusion in their voice.
“No, but now I get to read the note from you know who!” He turns towards Brandon. “You got it, didn’t you? Please say you got it.”
“Of course I did, homeslice,” Brandon grins cheekily, pulling out the new note and handing it over. It reads:
“Did you know trees can make friends and talk to each other? I'm glad that we're friends, and perhaps, someday, something more...? ♥
(P.S.
I am very much an animal person! I love animals dearly and I love studying them! Mammals get me particularly, but I appreciate all animals, large and small. Personally, while I'm not a fan of deep sea creatures or insects, I respect their role in nature deeply. I try my best to scoop and remove any time I find a lone bug in our house, for example.)
(P.P.S
Sorry for rambling. Do you tend to ramble? I think you'd sound cute rambling. ♥)”
“Oh my goodness,” Paige swoons. “Oh my goodness.”
“Yeah, this one was pretty good, I must say,” Brandon nods. “And before you yell at me for snooping!” he says, prematurely cutting off Paige from saying anything, “He ran it by me before solidifying it.”
“He?” Paige gasps.
“Oh, damn,” Brandon curses. “Look, you didn’t hear that—”
“YO!” A styrofoam plate slams down on the table, rattling things very slightly. “Paige! It’s been ages!”
Paige blinks up at the new arrival—scratch that, arrivals. In front of him stands Kevin Sharp and Piper Peter, two of Paige’s old friends.
Or, well, Kevin was an old friend of his. Piper was an addition after him and Kevin had lost connection. He knew they went to the same school again, but with how different their little groups had grown, Paige thought it best to let them come to him.
And come to him they finally have.
“Oh, hello Kevin!” Paige beams, having forgotten himself in the moment. “It’s been forever since we talked!”
“Yeah!” he smiles, rough voice scratchy as always.
“H-ey,” Bro waves.
“Hey to you too,” Kevin says, nodding their head his way. “We gotta hang out soon again, man.”
“S-sure, whenever,” Bro nods.
“Awesome.” Kevin looks back over the table. “Anyways, I’ll be honest? I came to ask you about somethin’.”
“Us?” Brandon asks. “Like all of us?”
“Yeah, sure,” Kevin shrugs, sitting down and pulling Piper down with them. They lean in real close to the table and speak in a hushed tone. “You guys hear about someone in the school getting secret admirer notes?”
Paige gasps. “W-who told you!?”
Kevin stares at him, confused at first. Then, something crosses his face and he lights up like a Christmas tree.
“Oh my god,” he giggles. “Oh my god, Paige. No way.”
“D-did you…” Paige starts weakly. “Did you not know…?”
“Not until just now, no!” They reach over and give Paige a clap on the shoulder. “Congrats, man! That’s so cool!”
“You can’t tell anyone!” Paige rushes out. “I-I don’t want to scare them away by this becoming something big in the school or anything…”
“Lips are sealed,” Kevin says, zipping his lip and throwing away the key. “I mean, Seb’s the one who told me, but I doubt he’ll be telling anyone else. He practically broke down just telling me.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Paige sighs.
“Kev,” Piper prods, elbowing Kevin. “Didn’t you ask Mic too?”
“Mic?”
“You mean Michelle?” Brandon asks. “That girl from Chorus? That loud girl from Chorus?”
“That would be her, yes,” Kevin nods. “But don’t worry!”
“Don’t worry?” Sue chuckles. “A good amount of information I own comes from Michelle.” They look Kevin head on. “You have made a mistake.”
“Ah, geez!” Kevin gasps, pulling back a little. “Do you have to do that?” They look between Paige, Brandon and Bro. “Do they always do that?”
“No,” says Bro.
“Sometimes,” says Paige.
“Yes,” says Brandon.
The three of them look between each other now, blinking.
“Do they not…?” Brandon starts, pointing weakly at the other two.
“I play favorites,” Sue says simply, effectively cutting off the distraction. “Let’s get back to the mistake.”
“Wait!” Brandon cries, “What was that supposed to mean?”
“Mic is a very gossip heavy person,” Sue continues, ignoring Brandon.
“Hey!!”
“She is,” Kevin agrees, also ignoring Brandon. “But she normally doesn’t tell anyone secrets.” They pause. “Well… no one except for Sean.”
“Sean’s quiet,” Piper informs. “He won’t be saying anything to anybody. Trust.”
“Okay…” Paige sighs. “I guess that’s good, then…” He looks down at the note wistfully. All this excitement over something so small…
“Anyways,” Kevin says after finally taking a bite of their food, “We seriously haven’t hung out in forever. I didn’t realize how much I missed you, man!”
“O-oh, yeah!” Paige agrees, shaking his head a bit. “I missed you too, Kevin!”
“We should hang out tomorrow,” they decide, just like that. “If you’re not busy, ‘course.”
“Oh, um…” Paige’s face crumples with unease. “Just us? Or?” While Paige had nothing against Piper per say, he also didn’t know him very well. The idea of hanging out with his old best friend’s new best friend made him feel bad for some reason.
“Pipes is probably gonna be there,” Kevin shrugs. “We’re practically attached at the hip, heh.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Piper teases, snuggling up close to Kevin. Kevin just laughs.
Well… while it was good that these two were such good friends, he wasn’t with both of them. There wasn’t any way he would be able to hang out with them alone. Something would happen, he was sure of it.
“Can me and Bart come too?” Brandon asks, glancing over at Paige and giving him a wink. “We wanna hang too, right Bart?”
“S-sure, man.”
“Then it’s settled! We can all go!”
“No thanks,” Sue says. “I have a museum trip with Lani tomorrow.”
“No one invited you anyways!” Brandon says, sticking his tongue out playfully.
“2.18.2020,” Sue says, gathering their things.
“WHAT!?” Brandon shouts. “What, what, what!? Explain yourself!” he whines. “Explain yourself right now!”
Paige laughs, bubble of anxiety finally bursting with the antics, as well as the knowledge he wouldn’t be going alone anymore. He could absolutely hang out if Brandon and Bro were there. It would be fun, even!
Kevin’s been laughing too. “This is awesome. You guys always crazy like this?”
“Sometimes,” Paige smiles softly. “By the way, where are we going to go?”
“Hmm…” Kevin hums. “How about my skate park?”
Brandon stops mid-whine, blinking. Then his head snaps towards Kevin. “You own a skate park!?”
Kevin laughs again.