CHAPTER 19 – Losing The Deal

** CHAD’s POV ** 

Courtney and I went downstairs after our tutoring session. I told her to stay at the living room with Cindy—who’s watching her favorite cartoon, while I go help my mom prepare dinner.

Surprisingly she didn’t ague with me on that and she immediately went to where Cindy was seated. I on the other hand went straight to the kitchen and offered my help to mom.

“Hey mom.” I greeted her. She was about to pull out the roast pork out of the oven but I immediately intervene. “Let me get that for you.”

“Thanks honey. Careful it’s hot.” She cautioned.

I settled the dish at the island table and turned to her. “This smells delicious, mom.” I said without hesitation.

“Thanks, dear. So, how’s tutoring?” She asked. Her tone was indifferent. It has a hint of something in it.

“Hmm. Fine.” I said casually. I reached for the mashed potatoes and stirred it.

My mom turned and looked at me. Her eyes were sparkling. “Your girlfriend is cute.”

I was taken aback by my mom’s words and spilt some of mashed potatoes in the process. I could see my mom from my peripheral view that she was fighting the urge to laugh.

“Mom. She’s not my girlfriend.” I told her as I continued to stir the rest of the potatoes.

“What? Why not? I could see that you both like—“

“I’m not and she’s not. No, just, no. No way. Nah ah. Case closed.” I told her in a firm tone. I wasn’t sure but her suggestions were sending chills down my spine and making me cringe.

Mom is totally losing it. Not because a girl came over doesn’t mean anything, right?

Besides, Courtney came here for a different reason. She had a plan in mind. If only my mom knew about this bet—about the pranks and the extent of it, I’m pretty sure she will never even allow Courtney to step into the porch.

“I still think that the girl likes you. She will not come here on a Saturday if she’s not.”

Oh Mom. You don’t know anything about Courtney Collins.  “She’s not. She’s just here for tutoring, mom. So stop with the thinking. Okay?”

“She seems nice and I li---“

“Hold it right there, mom!” I was quick to cut off my mom’s sentence. I perfectly know where this conversation was going and I didn’t want to go on that path. I wouldn’t want to lose this deal. “Don’t. Don’t say anything. Okay?”

“But---“

“No buts mom. You’ll just make things complicated and besides---“

“Aww. My baby is a man now.” She gushed. My mouth hang open, not really sure what she was trying to say. And then as if on cue, she continued. “You’re getting flustered over a girl. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.” She finished with a wink.

I was about to protest but then she already walked out on me and called the attention of everyone. “Dinner is ready.”

Man?

Flustered?

Seriously mom? What are you talking about?

And secret? What secret?

If only you knew that this girl is actually different from what you’re thinking. She’s not actually nice, well she’s sort of nice, but this is just a scheme.

* * * * * *

“Wow Mrs. Treyson, these foods look delicious.” Courtney said as she entered inside the dinning area with Cindy.

My mom blushed at her words, of course mom loves compliment when it comes to her cooking skills. “Oh thank you, dear.”

And that’s not a good sign.

I glared at Courtney, sending her a silent code to shut up. But she just ignored me and continued to smile at my mom.

This girl really knows how to win over someone, huh. And my mom literally took the bait.

We all took our seats and my mom immediately handed Courtney the mashed potatoes. “Chad made them.” She told her and then she gave me a wink.

What are you trying to do, mom? I was completely clueless!

“I did not make them.” I said in a firm tone.

“He helped with the stirring.” Mom immediately intervened. Oh right. She’s trying to make me sound interesting to Courtney, huh.

“Chaddy is a great cook.” Cindy said in a proud tone.

Oh god, seriously? Why so sudden my secrets were out of the bag? I’m not trying to win this girl over, so stop with whatever you’re doing.

“Now, now Cindy. No need to say those things. Just eat, okay.” I helped Cindy with her mash and gave her some pork and sprouts. She protested about the vegetables but after promising that I’ll watch spongebob with her, she finally agreed.

I looked up and saw Courtney, who was sitting across me, smiling at me. I furrowed my brows at her and she instantly looked away.

Okay, that was weird.

We started to say grace and begun digging our food.

Mom asked Courtney lots of questions. About school, her family, her friends. Which was very embarrassing!

Jeez mom, she’s not even my girlfriend so please stop with these non-sense questions.

But surprisingly Courtney was actually being nice. She was answering all of my mom’s questions with confidence. She told stories that I haven’t heard of before. Like how she and her friends met. They’re all best of friends and known each other since they’re young.

I was quick to judge her before and make fun of her so-called friends. I even call them her minions not knowing that what they had was true friendship all along. I could tell in her tone that she was proud to have friends like them.

I wondered for a moment there if she was telling the truth, but then something made me think that maybe she was just doing this because of our latest bet.

Wow, Courtney. Was this all because of these glasses?

But then something inside me was telling that this was not an act for winning my mom’s approval. Sure she was a good actress, but still. She shared her most personal story to us. Like her mom died when she was still a child and her father was always away. It was too personal but she was telling it anyway.

“So Courtney, how did you and Chad become friends?” Mom asked.

Actually, this must be the most interesting question of them all. I wondered how Courtney would answer this.

Courtney looked at me with sparks in her eyes. How’s it gonna be, Collins?

“Actually it’s a long and funny story.” She started.

Lies.

We both know that it’s not that long and it’s not even funny. But constant bickering is somehow funny, so yeah, it’s kind of the truth anyway.

“But to make the long story short. Chad, being so helpful and kind, saved me.”

“Oh really? Like a knight in shining armor kind of saving?” My mom asked in pure interest.

Seriously?!

“Just like one of Chaddy’s bedtime stories? How he—“

“Cindy. That’s totally different, okay?” I immediately cut Cindy’s sentence, in case she might say something that will cause a misunderstanding here.

What is wrong with my family? Could they at least act normal just once?

Courtney chuckled and decided to continue. “Actually, he was close to that knight in shining armor thing.” She turned to me and smirked. I fought the urge to scoffed to this.

Now, what are you trying to do, huh?

“I’m not actually doing good at school lately, and Chad knew about this. He offered me free tutoring so I can catch up with my subjects. He’s really a great guy. So, from then on, we started hanging out.” Courtney then looked at me and gave me a small smile. It wasn’t a smirk, or it didn’t look like she was mocking me or something, it was different.

It’s genuine.

I wasn’t even sure if that whole sentence was a lie or not. It was broad. If you actually set aside the deal and the pranks, that must be what it looked like. In a normal world, it would appear as a girl failing and a guy offered a free tutoring then they started hanging out. But let’s face it, this is Courtney Collins we’re talking about. And a normal world doesn’t suit this situation.

She just made things look normal.

And their conversation lasted for few more minutes. They’re talking about the food now and how delicious it was. My mom even asked Courtney her favorite dish and promised to cook it the next time she will come over.

I wanted to protest and tell her that there’s not going to be a next time, but I perfectly know that it was useless to intervene two women in their own bubble of thoughts.

By looking at it, Mom looked like she was having fun talking to Collins. And on more surprising note, Courtney looks like she was enjoying it too.

Cindy was the first one who excused herself and walked away the dining room making my mom and Courtney snapped out of their own world and decided to end their conversation.

Finally!

I thought this conversation would last till tomorrow.

They both stood up and mom ushered Courtney back to the living room. I was the only one left and cleared out the table. I was busy putting the plates at the dishwasher when suddenly Courtney came out of nowhere.

“Hey Chad!” She chirped.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” I told her as I continued to put some more plates inside the washer.

“Just want to help.” She said casually. This made me laugh.

“Courtney Collins washing dishes? This is a good storyline for Monday’s school paper.” I teased. I closed the washer and turned to face her.

She was glaring at me while her hands were at her hips. “I can do it you know. Stop making fun of me.” She said with a pout.

This just made me laugh even louder. She walked towards my direction and hit me, hard. “Ouch!” I protested.

She shoved me aside and then she took one of the remaining plates in the sink and attempted to wash them.

“What are you doing?” I asked her.

“Washing plates. What else?” She said in a smug tone.

I leaned at the countertop and watched her do the dishes. “Oh, should I make some popcorn and watch you do it all night? This is better than any comedy movies.” I said with humor in my tone.

Courtney turned to my direction and splashed me with water.

“Oh no you didn’t.” I told her. She just laughed and splashed me with some more.

“That’s for making fun of me!” She said with a giggle.

I walked towards her direction. She must have sensed what I was trying to do because she started to run away, but my reflexes were quick enough to grab her by her waist before she could even walk away.

“Ahh. Let me go!” She said with a laugh.

“No way!” I said. Now, it’s my turn to splash her with water.

My grip just got tighter when she tried to get out of my hold. My left hand was wrapped around her waist and my free hand was sprinkling her with water.

It was kind of fun. We’re both laughing and I could tell that she was having fun too.

“Take that, Collins!” I laughed out loud. Her back was now pressed to my chest and her eyes were closed from too much laughing. For a second there, I found myself starring at her face longer than the usual. And it was very unusual for me to stare at her like that!

“What’s happening here?”

I immediately let go of Courtney the moment I heard my Mom’s voice.

I distanced myself away from Courtney. We’re both startled of what happened. But then Courtney composed herself and she started laughing.

“He started it. I was just trying to help.” She said while pointing at my direction.

“Wait, what?” I furrowed. “She’s the one who started it, Mom!” I defended myself.

“Oh dear, you’re drench in water.” Mom walked towards Courtney and immediately handed her a clean towel. “Chad Andrew Treyson, it is not nice to do that to a girl. That’s bullying.”

“But mom—“

“No but mom. Clean this up, now.” She said.

I just nodded and obeyed her.

That’s bullying? But she’s the one bullying me. I said in my thought.

Mom escorted Courtney out of the kitchen and I was left again with another cleaning. I wanted to be pissed off but I couldn’t. Truth be told, it wasn’t even annoyed.

I was happy. I was laughing.

It was… fun.

* * * * * *

After I cleaned the kitchen, it is also the time I suggested that Courtney should go home. It’s not that I didn’t want her here; it’s just that it’s kind of late already. Courtney didn’t mind my suggestion. In fact, she agreed that she had to go home now.

Courtney turned to my mom and thanked her for her hospitality and for the great meal. “Thank you for having me, Mrs. Treyson. And thank you also for the wonderful meal.”

“Anytime dear. Don’t hesitate to come back, okay? I’ll cook your favorite lasagna.” My mom replied with a smile.

“I’m looking forward to that.” She said, and surprisingly my mom hugged her.

Okay, what was that all about?

Mom let her go and made a surprising suggestion, “Would you like Chad to take you home?”

What are you talking about, Mom? My jaw literally dropped at this.

“Oh… thanks for the offer but it’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“Mom! That was embarrassing…” I murmured. “I’ll just walk her to her car.” I offered. Mom gave me one of her satisfied grinned and said it was a great idea.

She’s losing it. Why do I have a feeling that I’m going to lose our recent bet?

I dismissed the idea. Well, as long as my mom won’t say it—that she likes Courtney, I guess I’m still safe, right?

And so with that, I walked Courtney towards her car.

“Hey, Chad. Thanks for having me.” Courtney said with sincerity in her tone. “Thank you for tutoring me and I’m sorry if I caused any trouble.”

“Oh, I should be the one apologizing. Sorry for my Mom’s questions. I know you felt uncomfortable. It’s just that she’s thrilled when I have friends over. Which… is… a very rare occasion.” I finished almost hesitantly.

Instead of pressing on the subject, Courtney just chuckled. “Your mom is really cool, Chad. You’re so lucky to have her. Besides, it’s really fun talking to her. So that’s how it feels like to talk to a mom, huh.”

And I somehow know what she meant by that. I placed my right hand to her shoulder, a gesture of comforting someone I guess? “Feel free to come anytime. Just make sure to alert me first, okay?”

Courtney’s face lit up. She was now smiling from ear-to-ear. And what happened next really caught me off-guard.

She threw her hands to my shoulders and hugged me. “Thank you for everything, Chad. It’s fun.” She said, her tone was full of glee.

I wasn’t sure why but I found myself hugging her back. “Anytime.”

She let go and she immediately looked away. But there’s something about her face that really got me intrigued.

She’s blushing.

“I’ll go now, bye.” She said in a rush and went inside her car in a swift and drove away.   

Okay. What was that?

What was I supposed to feel?

The night was so silent; all I could hear was my heart—beating fast, as if it would burst out any moment.   

Was this still part of your plan, Courtney?       

I walked inside the house only to see my mom still on the porch. Oh don’t tell me she saw everything?

She was smiling at me, I just furrowed at her.

“She’s a very nice girl, Chad.” She started. And before I could even interrupt whatever she was about to say, it was too late. “I like her.”

Oh, boy.

I lost.

-- END OF CHAPTER 19 --

CHAD LOST! It only means one thing… :)

Anyway, please check out my first ever attempt to write a One Direction Fanfiction entitled “Loved You First.” With Harry, Louis, Zayn, Liam, Niall, and Emma Watson.