Chapter Thirty One: Friday I'm in Love

After that night, something in the air had shifted between Landon and I. Of course we'd still poke fun at each other whenever we had the chance and argue over which songs were better than others, but sometimes we'd have these moments. I'd catch him staring at me, an unreadable expression on his face, but he'd look away as soon as I noticed. Sometimes it was really hard not to shout 'BUSTED' when I'd catch him.

"What's the point of math?" Landon groans, burying his face into one of my pillows.

We were currently trying to have a math tutoring session, that wasn't exactly going as well as I'd hoped. It was pretty damn hard to stay focused with Landon whining every five minutes, cracking jokes and strumming his acoustic guitar. Who brings a guitar to a study session? Landon apparently.

"Don't be such a whiny bitch." I smack him lightly with another pillow.

"Wow Gem, that actually hurt." He says, his voice slightly muffled by the pillow.

"Come on, Landon. Finish the page at least." I sigh, dragging him back to the math textbook.

"Fine." He groans, scribbling down his answers onto a sheet of paper.

The door suddenly opens. "Hey Dee-" I look up to see Ryan stood there, staring at Landon. Shit. I turn to Landon who's gaze is also fixated on Ryan.

My brother coughs, breaking the awkward silence that has managed to fill the room within seconds. "I'll talk to you later." He quickly leaves, shutting the door behind him.

That was weird.

I turn back to Landon. "That's the first time you two haven't ended up with bruises around each other."

Landon shrugs, changing the subject. "Did you get 5.3 for the last question?"

I smile and nod. "You did it!"

"Oh thank fuck." He discards his books to the side and picks his guitar up instead.

"You can't stay away from it for even a minute, can you?" I shake my head at him, putting my own work away.

"Guilty." He gives me a cheeky smile, and starts to strum familiar chords, which I instantly recognise as The Cure's 'Friday I'm in Love'.

"I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's gray and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday I'm in love." He sings.

How ironic, it's actually Friday.

"Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love."

I know I've heard Landon's voice before, but each time he sings it has a different effect on me. My mind unintentionally wanders back to Axel, and I think of the times we spent here in this room singing together. My eyes filled with admiration for him, but now all I associate him with is hatred.

"Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate."

My attention turns back to Landon. A long lock of his soft brown hair falls over his forehead, and I can't help but smile. The way he plays with so much passion and love is mesmerising, even the way he roughly sings manages to captivate me and everyone else in the room. I find myself silently scoffing- Axel has nothing on him.

I rest my elbow on Landon's shoulder and join him.

"I don't care if Monday's black
Tuesday, Wednesday heart attack
Thursday never looking back
It's Friday I'm in love."

He smiles down at me, and sings with me. "Saturday wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday never hesitate"

A loud crashing sound from outside my room interrupts us. Landon and I run over to my door and open it to see my dad, holding a video camera in his hand.

"Dad! What the hell?" I exclaim.

He awkwardly laughs. "I knocked over the vase by accident..."

Landon folds his arms, an amused expression on his face. "Where you recording us, Mr Thompson?"

"No. Maybe. Yes." He sheepishly rubs the back of his neck.

"Dad! Oh my god, this is so embarrassing." I cover my face with my hands.

I hear Landon's soft chuckle besides me. "I was just leaving anyways. Thanks for the help, Gem." He gathers his things and makes sure to kiss my cheek, before making his way out. "Bye Mr Thompson!"

He just kissed me in front of my dad! It wasn't a kiss kiss, but still! Could this get any more embarrassing? I resist the urge to shout 'LANDON FREAKING KNIGHT GET BACK HERE.' down the stairs.

I turn to my dad whose mouth is wide open in shock. "Dad, it's not what you think."

"I think I'm going to have a heart attack." He deadpans.

"Dad, I love you but I really do hate you sometimes." I give him an unamused look, and sit back on my bed.

My dad laughs and joins me. "Have you told him you like him?"

"Nope."

"Has he told you he likes you?" He questions again.

I shake my head. "Nope."

"It's complicated?"

"It's complicated." I nod. "I told him about Axel."

"That's a big deal, Dee." He nods his head thoughtfully. "You must be serious about him."

"I don't know. We have such a great friendship and what if I tell him and he doesn't feel the same way? It's like whenever we start to move forward, something holds him back from doing so."

He puts a hand on my shoulder. "Love is a huge thing. I'm sure he's just as scared as you are about it. Give him some time." The next part comes out as more of a whisper. "Landon's been through a lot, I can see why he's so hesitant..."

"About his dad? I know." I sigh.

"Not just that. There's other things that-"

"DAD I THINK DINNERS ON FIRE." Ryan shouts.

"Shit. I'll catch up with you later, Dee." He quickly rushes out of my room, not finishing whatever he was about to tell me.

I groan, burying my face into a pillow.

Why does it always feel like I'm back to square one when it comes to figuring out Landon?

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Hey my lovelies!!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't really know what to say in this authors note so HI!

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