Valentine - Part Two

Josh and I decided to walk to the bus stop together, and while we were waiting for the bus driver, we found out a lot of things we had in common. We agreed that we were the only two people in the world that liked peanut butter with Oreos, and we both hated chocolate ice cream, and even like the same music, alternative/indie. I couldn't believe that we hit it off so fast. I was on cloud nine. When the bus finally pulled up to our feet, we waited for the doors to open and stepped on. They closed with a hiss and we both surveyed the bus for a place to sit. Josh motioned to a seat near the back and I looked at him curiously. Did he really want to sit with me? The bus jerked forward and fate pushed us into a seat together. This time it was Josh's turn to blush. I giggled, and the whole thing was very awkward, until we came to Delilah's stop. The doors hissed again and she boarded the bus, her pretty ponytail swinging behind her. When Delilah reached our seat, a look of confusion spread across her face

"Candy?" She said, "Is this seat taken...?" I looked at her, then at Josh. Josh looked back at me. His expression changed, and it seemed to say, "It's either me or her." The rest of the kids at Delilah's stop were getting impatient. The bus started again.

I looked at Josh. I asked, "Can she sit with us?" Josh scoffed, "No." Delilah blushed. "Fine, then you won't sit with me either," I pronounced. I grabbed Delilah's wrist and we quickly walked to a seat near the back.

"Why were you sitting with him?" Delilah asked once we were seated, "Don't you know who that is?" "No!" I said, answering her question, "Who?" She sighed, and pulled a yearbook out of her cute, vintage Betty Boop bag. "This is H.G Bentin Middle School's yearbook from last year," she explained. "And...?" I prodded. Delilah rolled her eyes, "Josh Miller? Eighth grade womanizer? Dated at least 20 seventh and eighth grade girls last year? Kissed exactly 15 of them? Ring any bells?" I was still clueless, but I didn't want to seem stupid. "Oh yeah..." I said, tapping my chin. She opened up the yearbook and flipped a couple pages, then stopped. She held it up, and pointed to a picture with her long, manicured finger. I scooted closer to look at the page. "That's him alright," I confirmed. Delilah flipped a couple more pages and help up the book. "He was voted 'Most Flirtacious' of the seventh grade class. And from the looks of it, you were his next victim. The first of the year..." She pointed at me, and I swiped her finger down.

"How do you know all this?" I asked incredulously. "Older sisters are very valuable tools when it comes to starting middle school. Sandra told me all about him. You know she was an eighth grader last year, right?" Delilah said, and she looked at me, expecting me to answer. "Yep, go on," I told her. "Well, he dated her. She was the 13th girl he kissed. I'm not even kidding, he writes it down in a little green notebook!"

I swiveled my head to look at Josh, and he was flirting with a blonde, curly haired, unsuspecting seventh grader, just like I was less than 15 minutes ago. "Are you serious? What an ego-maniac, look," I said, motioning for Delilah to look at him. We both stuck our heads in the small space between two seats and tried to be subtle. We both giggled at what we saw. Josh had pulled out his cell phone and was using the black screen to stare at his reflection. I scooted back into the seat, smiling at Delilah. "Thanks for warning me. He's super charming, seriously. He almost got me," I said. Delilah patted me on the back saying, "Anything for my Candy." She grinned.