Because of Haven Beach

16 | gauche

gauche (adj.)

lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward

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DELANEY and Aubrey were buzzing with excitement during Calculus on Monday. It was like someone pumped their veins with pure caffeine at seven in the morning. As soon as I walked into the classroom ten minutes before class, Delaney ran over to the door and towed me by the hair to our seats.

"Spill," she said as soon as we sat down.

"What?" I asked breathlessly.

"C'mon, you know what I'm talking about." She shared a small smile with Aubrey.

"No, I really don't," I said slowly.

She huffed, "Stop playing games. Why did we have to hear it from Ethan of all people?"

"Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking about," Aubrey muttered.

"Hear what from Ethan?"

"You and Eli, duh," Delaney said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Okay... me and Eli what?"

Aubrey quietly laughed at the sheer confusion on my face."D, I think she really doesn't know."

"No, I really don't know. Could someone please enlighten me?" I asked, trying to conceal my nerves with agitation. Did I do something bad? Was there a rumor about us that I was unaware of? My head spun with all the possibilities. I took a sip of my water in an effort to cure the dull throbbing.

"You and Eli are dating... What did you think I was talking about?" Delaney scrunched her freckled nose. "I thought you'd be more excited about it."

I started choking on my water. She slapped my back a few times, trying to help, but it made me start coughing uncontrollably. "Not... My... Boyfriend," I wheezed.

"He's not your boyfriend?"

I nodded my head as I took another sip of water to soothe my scratchy throat.

"No," I rasped, clearing my throat. "No, we're not dating. It's a misunderstanding. Ethan's just trying to mess with us."

The glittering happiness vanished from their eyes.

"Why do you guys look so disappointed?" I laughed, trying to ease the awkwardness.

"You guys would make a cute couple," Aubrey said.

"Yeah, team Elotte all the way."

"What?" I asked nonchalantly, as if I hadn't spent hours creating ship names for us. Elotte and Charliot were two of my favorites.

"Your ship name. Elotte is what you get when you combine Eli and Charlotte."

"Okay," I drawled. "I don't see what the big deal is. We're friends. You don't see me making ship names for you and Ben."

Her face contorted in disgust. "Why would I want to go anywhere near that pig?"

Aubrey snorted, "You guys have slept together for years. Does that ring a bell?"

"Of course I remember. He was being a dick yesterday, so I'm choosing to not waste my breath," she glared at her phone. "Enough about me. If you're friends, then why did Ethan tell Aubrey that you guys were dating?"

"I already said that it was a misunderstanding," I groaned. "Eli apparently didn't like the way one of the college guys was looking at me and said he was my boyfriend. It was just part of a stupid male pissing contest. That's all."