Let's Play Anna - Chapter 3.5

I'm falling for Anna. As I've been watching her these past few weeks, I've noticed the way her eyes widen when she smiles, and the way she bites her lip when she's thinking about something she's unsure about, and the way her whole face gets red when she's embarrassed, and especially how jumpy she is. I'm almost disappointed with how empty my phone is, but that changes once February rolls around.

As soon as I've finished all of my homework, my phone vibrates.

She's probably one of those girls who doesn't like one-word responses, so I continue.

I almost send something else about that sounding a little mean, but the "..." appears, showing me she's replying finally.

I really don't understand girls. As I'm trying to figure out what to say next, my eye catches the paper from history that explains a project we're doing in groups of two. I don't like anyone else in that class, so I ask her to be my partner. She accepts, so I ask her if I can go over to her house tomorrow.

She accepts with a smiley face.

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At lunch the next day, I slide my chair ever so slightly closer to hers before she sits down. Her cheeks turn rosy, showing me she noticed. She's even more peppy today than usual, which definitely makes me happy.

"So Anna, got any plans for Valentine's Day?" Mimi asks suddenly.

I'm going to kill her someday. I swear she winks at me. Anna answers no, which all but begs me to ask her out. I will, but not here.

In history, I learn that Anna's an only child, that she moved here from another suburb, and that I can't get any work done when I'm around her. I follow her to p.e., then have to split up to go to our separate locker rooms. When we meet up again, we're instructed to run laps around the gym. Anna isn't as fit as I am, so I slow down to match her pace. I tell her about the remaining six members of our circle of friends while we run so that she doesn't have to waste precious air. When we stop and stretch, I see again how flexible she is. She can bend all the way over to each side and touch her toes while sitting. Her shirt pulls up again, but she's wearing a tank top this time.

Anna takes forever to get dressed, and even when she walks out she's not done. I take her bag, and we stand off to the side so that she can put her coat on. By this point, we're the only ones left in the hallway. I'm not nervous about meeting her parents or anything, but I'm so focused on that that I don't notice Cameron behind me until he trips me. I catch myself on my knees and hands, but when I get up, he's got a hold of Anna, and she has a look of terror on her face. Cameron says something slurred about my girlfriend, then raises his hand to hit her. I rush to stop him, but something makes me stop.

Anna's head and arm that's covering her face turns slightly transparent, and veins of 1s and 0s are running through the transparent part. The worst part is that Cameron's arm is going through her head.

I teleport Anna's glasses to her hand and push her away, then wipe Cameron's memory from the past few seconds. I grab Anna's arm and pull her to the bus. Once we're seated, I notice the worried look still on her face. "Are you okay?" I ask softly. She nods, looks up at me, then blushes. I continue to explain Cameron, and she continues to stare at me with wide eyes.

When we get to her house, she twists the knob and pushes the door open, and I'm greeted by two dogs. Anna drops her stuff and pets them, saying, "The tall one is Solomon, my labradoodle, and the small one is Colby, my toy poodle."

I pick up Colby and pet him, ad he licks my chin. Both of her dogs are a cream color with curly hair. "I see you've met Anna's pride and joys," says a voice from down the hall. I look up to see a man who must be Anna's dad.

We chat for a while, then Anna and I sit down in her living room to actually get some work done on our project. Her mom kindly makes us lasagna which tastes more homemade than my castle's. I look over at Anna to see her slouching, but trying to fix her posture. I slouch a little to make her feel better. I know I have better manners than her, and I know she can tell.

Anna's dad seems to get along with me, so I talk a little business with him, even make a joke, and he laughs.

"Anna here is quite the writer," he says eventually.

I look at her blushing face and smile a little. "You never told me that."

"I never tell anyone that," she mutters.

"You should let him read something sometime, sweetheart!" her mom exclaims.

Anna shakes her head quickly, throwing her blonde hair around her shoulders, then turns to me and bites her lip. I suppress a smile; she's pretty cute when she's flustered.

After dinner, we do our actual homework together. Anna and I are about equal in speed for finishing, but I have no way of knowing if she's trying hard to keep up with me, or if she's holding back. Eventually I know I have to leave or my father will get upset. I don't say this, of course. I don't let on anything about who I really am, but then again neither is Anna.

When I leave, she almost looks disappointed. I must be imagining things to satisfy my ego.