The Election Connection

Chapter 7

"Wait, so who kissed who first?" Tara asks.
It's Wednesday afternoon, and Jocelyn, Tara, and I are sitting on the shaggy rug in Tara's living room. We had hoped to do homework together, but it's turned into a gossip session.
"I told you, we both leaned into it!" I say to her, again. They keep pestering me about the details of Tuesday's 'Noah meet-up'.
"And he hasn't mentioned anything at all to you since the kiss?" Jocelyn chimes in.
"No, nothing out of the ordinary."
In science, we had worked together on our project fine, but there had always been that tension there. I didn't know what to say, and apparently neither did he, so we just ignored the elephant in the room.
"You liked it though, right?" Tara says, interrupting my thoughts.
I stay silent.
"Oh c'mon! I can tell from the way you described it!"
I guess you can't lie to your best friend.
"Yes, I liked it," I tell her with an eye roll.
"The real question is, did Noah like it? I say, let him bring it up first. If he didn't like it, and you bring it up, it won't go well. And if he did like it, then let him bring it up to you. Then you'll be sure that he likes you," Jocelyn says wisely.
"Is that what you did with Tara?" I ask playfully.
"You already know the story! I didn't feel like waiting for her to do something, so I kissed her on Valentine's Day, freshman year. I still can't believe it's been over a year. But the difference between me and you is that I knew Tara liked me. We had a special love connection. You and Noah have a connection, but... it's more one of hate than love."
"You love me?" Tara says, linking her hand with Jocelyn's.
"Of course, silly," Jocelyn says affectionately, and she plants a kiss on Tara's cheek.
Their cuteness is almost unbearable! It's like they were made for each other; Tara's pink hair compliments Jocelyn's blue, Tara's brown eyes match Jocelyn's, and they both play the violin. I swear, it's like the universe is pushing them together.
"Hey, you three, you're supposed to be doing homework, not yakking on," Tara's mom says, walking past us. We quickly resume our work, but Jocelyn's advice stays on my mind: let him bring it up.
~~~~
Thursday comes, and with it, science class. Today we're taking a break from working on our projects, but we still have to work with our partners on a worksheet. Noah and I sit together, and we discuss the questions. Every answer he says, every suggestion he makes, I hope that the next thing he says is what I want to hear. But it never comes. No 'I'd like to kiss you again,' no 'I'd like to talk after school,' not even an 'I'm sorry I kissed you; can we move past it?' As I walk home from school, I start to think that maybe he'll never say anything. It's probably for the best. I mean, what was I thinking, falling for my rival, my opposite? It would never work out anyways.