#20: I won't say

"Lee.." I groaned into the table I was currently face planting.

"Yes?" She sounded uninterested. We were currently lounging in the back room of an ice cream shop that belonged to Megan's aunt, and where she would occasionally help to get some extra cash. I did the same when I could, but today I wasn't helping. Today, I was in some pretty deep shit that I needed help to get out of.

Deep shit that goes by the name of Crush.

"Help me."

Megan sighs and looks up from her phone. "I don't know what you want me to do, Eleanor. You have a crush on Ryuu Gavril, good for you. But so does half of the school population."

That didn't make me feel any better. "I know."

I've been pestering Megan all morning about my newfound crush on Ryuu, and l could tell she was done with me. But what did she expect? Being single from birth and having crushes on celebrities only makes me inexperienced, and she was the only one who l could turn to for help.

She let out another sigh, and then made me lift my head from the table to look her in the eyes. She gave me a small smile while l pouted in despair. "It's just a crush, girl. It's not the end of the world. It's part of being a teenager, right? Make the most out of it."

"Lee..."I resisted the urge to add senpai.

She patted my shoulder. "Now go outside and see if you could help behind the counter. Get your mind off this crush business, yeah?"

I nodded. "Okay."

As I left the break room, I grabbed the black apron (that belonged to me through an unspoken rule) hanging by the door with the shop's logo on it and pulled it on.

Two people were working behind the counter, Cherry and Ashton, both college students who had so much chemistry that made me ship them.

"Here to help, Eleanor?" Ashton asks just as he finished giving a customer their change.

"Yep," I reply as I held my arms out to the sides.

Cherry looks around the shop, a tray of two banana splits in her hand. The business was a bit slow since it was a Sunday morning. "We're doing okay for now, but can you deliver this to number four by the window? I'm going to take a bathroom break."

"Okay." I shrugged and took the tray from her.

"Thanks." She grinned and made her way to the back room.

Just as she opened the door, Ashton called out after her, "Lazy!"

Cherry gave him an icy glare, then calmly brushed her hair over one shoulder, before flipping him off and disappearing into the back room. Ashton threw his head back as he let out a loud laugh.

I shook my head with a smile and then turned on my heel to deliver the cold treats to whoever ordered them. However, when I spotted the table, I felt like l had just

devoured the two banana splits as my stomach went cold. Sitting there was none other than Ryuu Gavril with a pretty girl sitting across from him, both smiling and talking about something very funny.

I felt a hand land on my shoulder. I almost jumped. I looked over my shoulder at Ashton, who was giving me a worried look. "You okay?"

Seeing as he wasn't carrying anything, I held out the tray to him. "Could you deliver this? I'm suddenly not feeling so well."

He raised a brow at me, then looked to where Leo and the pretty girl were seated, then back to me. He lowered his voice as he asked, "Is that your boyfriend?"

That made me laugh a little. "Oh, hell no." I shook my head. "No. I just…felt dizzy for a second there."

He wasn't buying it, but he nodded anyway. "Okay. You going to go home?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"'Alright. Take care." He gave me a comforting smile, and gently squeezed my shoulder.

All I could do was nod again and hurry back to the back room with my head down. Megan looked up from her phone when l entered and asked why I was back so soon, but I didn't answer. I took off my apron, tossed it to one of the chairs, and left with Megan calling after me. I felt like crying but knew it would be overreacting. It was just a crush. We weren't dating, he wasn't mine in any way shape, or form. But damn, it still stung like a bitch.

Why did my crush have to be the most handsome guy at school?

I sighed as I pulled into my driveway and turned off my car's engine. For a second, I just sat there, thinking of all my life decisions that lead to this moment. Then my phone vibrated. It's been doing that since l left the ice cream shop. When I checked it at a stoplight, it was from Megan. She called and texted, probably going crazy with worry.

Feeling sheepish for putting on such a dramatic show, I decided to ease her worry. But the recent text wasn't from her.

Ryuu:

"(picture of ice cream)"

You jelly. bruh??

P.S. The guy who served us was glaring at me. What did I do??? My cousin said l probably stole his girl or something…

Now I really wanted to cry.

Of course, it was his cousin...

Some people like having crushes, but I don't. I don't like having a crush one bit.