I Heart You, Archie de Souza Read online

  ‘Who wouldn’t want to go out with you?’ Limps corrects herself.

  It’s nice that she says that, but Limps will say anything if that’s what she thinks I want to hear. The fact is, she doesn’t know Archie, so what she thinks has really just come through me. I want to hear Hazel’s final opinion. She’s the only one who’s actually going out with someone. And the someone she’s going out with is one of Archie’s best friends.

  ‘What do you think, Haze?’ I prompt.

  Hazel scratches her head. ‘Like I told you, I know Archie likes you. I also know he’s quite shy, and that’s probably why he hasn’t asked you yet. The other thing is that Leo tells me Archie’s super busy with soccer. He trains three nights a week and plays on Sundays. So, maybe he’s worried he might not have time for a girlfriend, you know?’

  I think about it. It’s pretty good news, actually. ‘If that’s why Archie hasn’t asked me out yet, that’s not such a big deal,’ I say, trying to convince myself. At least Hazel thinks he likes me. ‘So, do you think it’s okay for girls to ask guys out?’

  I’m kind of hoping for yes or no answers, but it’s not what I get.

  ‘Karen Leopold asked Bruno Lars,’ Jess declares.

  ‘Jeez, Jess,’ Olympia says. ‘That’s a tragic example, since she’s about two hundred kilos and he’s a complete hottie. He ran away from her when she asked! I think Edi may have a bit more of a chance than Karen, hey?’ Olympia is on a roll. ‘I’d so do it if I were you, Edi,’ she says. ‘I mean, you would never seem desperate.’

  I’m pretty sure Olympia wouldn’t ask a guy out herself, so it’s weird that she expects me to. Sometimes it seems like she’s more plugged into my life than her own. But she also seems to think I’m totally different to everyone else, like I have some sort of immunity against getting hurt. Which I don’t. I have my fair share of feeling crappy — not that anyone really knows about that.

  If I actually managed to work up the courage to ask Archie and he said no, that would definitely hurt. I would feel like a complete loser. But I’ve been waiting forever.

  ‘Maybe you should try to set things up so you spend some more time with him?’ Hazel suggests. ‘Then you could see how you feel. You could wait until he asks, if that feels right, or you could just ask him when you feel ready?’

  Olympia rolls her eyes. ‘Yeah, Edi should just sit back and wait while life passes her by,’ she says.

  But I can see that Hazel’s idea is a good one, even if I am sick of waiting around. Maybe Archie and I need to spend some time together, and things will happen naturally.

  ‘Actually, I think I like Hazel’s idea,’ I say. I can almost see Olympia’s mind reversing over her last comment.

  ‘We could find out when Alice is going to catch up with Archie next, and then you could just happen to be there,’ Olympia says.

  Alice hangs out with us sometimes and she’s a family friend of Archie’s. I think she’d be cool with it, but that could take ages. I’m starting to wonder if this will work.

  ‘Or I could go and tell him that you like him,’ continues Olympia, ‘and that you want him to ask you out.’

  Hazel looks squirmy. That’s how I feel too. It’s pretty babyish to do it that way. It’s the sort of thing we used to do in primary school.

  A better idea jumps into my head. ‘Are you seeing Leo over the weekend?’ I ask Hazel.

  Hazel shrugs. ‘We haven’t planned anything, but we might hang out at the skate park tomorrow,’ she says. ‘Sometimes we do that.’

  That’s another thing with Hazel. Most of the kids in our year who are going out with someone just avoid that person. It’s like, as soon as they’re boyfriend and girlfriend, everything gets awkward. Like, when I was going out with Oscar Poulson earlier in the year, we hardly spent any time together. Except at the blue-light disco, and that was more about hooking up than hanging out.

  But Hazel and Leo actually hang out together. Maybe it’s because Leo is a bit older. Archie is a bit older too … and tomorrow is Saturday, which means he won’t be playing soccer.

  ‘Why don’t you text Leo and see if he can get Archie to go to the skate park, too?’ I say.

  I look around the table. Jess and Hazel are smiling, but Limps isn’t. She’s probably not happy that I didn’t go with one of her ideas, but I think this is the way to go.

  ‘And you could come along with me, I suppose?’ Hazel says with a grin.

  ‘Thanks for asking, Hazel. I might just be free,’ I say.

  Jess and I lean over Hazel’s shoulder as she texts Leo. When I glance over at Limps, she has her arms crossed and a grumpy look on her face. Like she’s being left out when, actually, she could come and stand with us if she wanted to.

  ‘Limps, come and check the message before Hazel sends it,’ I say.

  She gets up straight away and comes over. Just like I thought, she doesn’t look grumpy anymore. It’s pretty easy to snap Limps out of her little moods.

  Hazel presses send. It’s done.

  For any normal teenager, it would be easy to make it out the door by 11 a.m. on a Saturday. But Saturday mornings in our house are one long, fun session of chores for everyone. I have to clean both the bathrooms while Mum vacuums and Dad mops the floorboards. By the time I finish, I’m late to meet Hazel.

  ‘You smell like … Pine O’Cleen, or something,’ Hazel says as we walk to the skate park.

  I groan. ‘I hope Archie doesn’t notice,’ I say. Hazel reaches into her backpack, pulls out a bottle of perfume and sprays me on the wrist. Lifesaver.

  ‘So, are you actually going to ask him?’ she says. ‘Like, how? Are you nervous? What will you say?’

  I thought about this last night before I went to sleep. I decided if Archie doesn’t do it today, then I will. I wasn’t nervous then, but I do feel a bit wobbly now. Just stick to the plan, I tell myself.

  ‘What’s the plan?’ Hazel asks as though she’s read my mind.

  ‘Okay,’ I say. I go in front of Hazel and walk backwards so I can see her reaction properly. ‘The four of us will be sitting at one of the bench tables at the skate park. You and Leo will be chatting like you always do and Archie and I will get a chance to talk. Right?’ I ask.

  ‘Good so far,’ Hazel confirms.

  ‘So, after a while, when we’re all sort of relaxed, I’ll give a signal for you to take Leo away and leave me and Archie alone.’

  ‘What’s the signal?’ Hazel asks.

  ‘Hmmm,’ I say. ‘How about I kick you under the table?’

  ‘As in, gently,’ Hazel says with a giggle.

  ‘Of course,’ I say and I must be more nervous than I think because when I think about kicking Hazel under the table I get the giggles.

  ‘So, you’ll be alone with Archie and then what will you say?’ Hazel asks when we recover.

  ‘How about, “Will you marry me?”’ I say. It feels good to be the funny one for a change and we both crack up all over again.

  ‘Perfect,’ Hazel says.

  We still have the giggles when we arrive at the skate park. It’s a nice, sunny day, not too hot or too cold, and there are loads of people. First of all, I notice that all of the tables and bench seats are taken. It looks like people are really settling in because there’s food on each table and the smell of barbecue in the air. If I’d known that, I would have brought a picnic rug. So much for my plan.

  ‘Leo’s over there,’ Hazel says, pointing. I look to where heaps of skaters are doing turns and tricks on the ramp. Then I spot Leo. He isn’t skating, he’s leaning against the graffiti wall. Archie doesn’t seem to be with him. Hazel waves and we walk around the ramp towards Leo.

  ‘Hey, Hazardous. Hey, Edi,’ says Leo, and it’s pretty cute how he reaches for Hazel’s hand and holds it. With his free hand, Leo points a finger and moves it along. It takes me while to get what he’s pointing at because the ramp is so crowded. But then I see.

  Archie is an awesome skater. He twists his way through all
the others and comes up the lip of the ramp. His skateboard flies over the top and then he turns it around and flies back to the other end.

  ‘Pretty cool, hey?’ Leo says. ‘You know, Archie only had that board for a few months. He never even skated before that.’

  ‘He’s a freak,’ Hazel agrees. I’d like to say something but I’m too busy watching Archie. He’s wearing a yellow T-shirt, which is my favourite colour, and when he moves I can see the muscles in his arms.

  ‘Do you skate?’ I finally ask Leo, my eyes still glued to the Archie show.

  ‘Nah, Archie’s the sporty one,’ he says. Then he grins and looks at Hazel. ‘I’m the smart, handsome, arty one,’ he says.

  ‘Don’t forget modest,’ Hazel says, taking her hand out of Leo’s so she can give him a little punch in the arm.

  ‘So, which one’s your latest?’ Hazel asks Leo.

  ‘This one,’ Leo replies, gesturing to a weird picture of a girl in a bikini with a sash that says, ‘Miss Everything’. She has super-sized feet. Underneath, he’s written, ‘Filling the Big Shoes’.

  ‘You like it?’ he asks.

  ‘Yep,’ I say. To be honest, I don’t really even get it, but Leo’s not listening to me anyway. It’s Hazel’s opinion he’s after.

  ‘It’s great,’ I hear Hazel say, but when the two of them start talking about how he painted it for her, I zone out and keep watching Archie. It’s been a while. I wonder if he knows we’re here. That I’m here. I test it by waving. Archie waves back. Then he keeps skating. The tricks are getting a bit repetitive.

  ‘If it’s up to Archie, he’ll be out there for another hour,’ Leo says when he and Hazel have finished their latest loved-up chat. He must’ve noticed that I’m getting impatient. ‘Don’t take it personally, Edi. Seriously, he just gets carried away. But I know a trick to get him here if you’re up for it.’

  Actually, I didn’t think I’d need a trick. But Archie isn’t showing any sign of stopping. ‘Okay,’ I say. ‘What’s the trick?’

  ‘A caramel milkshake from the shop across the road will do it,’ Leo grins. ‘I’ll go get one.’

  Leo and Hazel go to the shop together and I’m left by myself at the side of the ramp. Things aren’t exactly going the way I’d planned. Then, suddenly, Archie flicks his skateboard up, catches it and starts walking towards me.

  ‘Hi, Edi,’ he says. ‘Um … sorry if I … um … took too long.’ His skateboard is tucked under his arm and he’s looking down and kicking the grass. It’s so cute. It’s weird to think how confident he looked while he was skating, because he’s obviously nervous now.

  ‘That’s fine,’ I say. ‘You’re really good.’

  ‘Oh, well … um, thanks,’ he says and finally he looks at me. ‘Man! You look … um … nice today.’ He taps his forehead. ‘Oh, that sounds like you don’t look good other days. Um … that’s not how —’

  ‘I know,’ I say. ‘Thanks.’ I smile at him. The smile he gives me back is so gorgeous I could get lost in it. Up close, I can see his yellow T-shirt is old. There’s a section on the chest that’s almost transparent, like the fabric’s nearly worn through. I wonder if it’s his favourite.

  I don’t say anything for a while. If I wait, maybe he’ll ask me out and I won’t have to ask him? That would be perfect.

  But Archie doesn’t say anything either. We’re just kind of standing there. Then I see Leo and Hazel coming back from the shops. They definitely have things to talk about. I look at them and the way they’re chatting makes us just standing here feel even more awkward. Archie spins the wheels of his skateboard.

  ‘Skater boy!’ Leo says when they reach us. ‘Nice moves.’ He hands Archie the milkshake. Hazel is carrying a parcel of hot chips.

  ‘Thanks,’ Archie mutters, balancing his board in one hand and milkshake in the other. When Hazel offers him a chip, Archie gives her a how am I going to manage that? look. It’s seriously cute.

  ‘Let’s go sit over there,’ Leo says.

  It’s not a bench seat like I planned, and the grass is a bit wet, but at least we find a spot and sit down in a row — Leo, Hazel, Archie, then me. Hazel shares her chips, and I have to lean across Archie to get more.

  ‘Check out the little dude,’ Archie says. He’s pointing back at the skate ramp. To tell the truth, I’m a bit sick of watching and I wouldn’t mind if we just talked between us for a while, but at least he’s talking to me.

  The little dude looks about six years old. He’s wearing a stripy beanie and baggy jeans with his undies sticking out the top. It’s a cute look, but full-on for a six-year-old. He jumps his board in the air every few metres.

  ‘He’s pretty good,’ I say. ‘But you’re way better.’

  Archie doesn’t reply. Now I feel embarrassed about what I said. It probably sounded too keen or something. We seem to have stalled. Hazel and Leo break into the silence between Archie and me.

  ‘You have to get to episode three,’ Hazel is saying, ‘that’s when it gets really good.’

  ‘Nah, don’t think I’m going to make it there, Hazel. I’m just not into it.’

  ‘Yeah, but you will be into it if you keep going,’ Hazel insists. ‘Remember, persistence, Leo!’

  Leo grins. ‘What about passion and zeal?’ he asks.

  I sneak a little smile at Archie and he smiles back. Our school motto is ‘passion, zeal and persistence’.

  ‘Yeah, while you’re at it, get some zeal going too,’ Hazel says, laughing.

  ‘Zeal is very underrated,’ Leo says. ‘You keep forgetting passion though.’

  Hazel puts her head on Leo’s shoulder. ‘No, I don’t,’ she says. Honestly, the two of them are so made for each other.

  Some of their perfection must have rubbed off because Archie reaches out a hand and puts it on the small of my back. I’ve never really thought about the small of my back but it tingles where he touches it. I hope he never takes it away.

  ‘Thanks … er … Edi,’ he says, picking up from my comment about five minutes ago. ‘I like skating, it’s sort of a new hobby for me, but soccer is my main thing. Do you like soccer?’

  His hand is still there. Hmmm.

  ‘Yeah, soccer is great,’ I say. It’s only a little lie. In fact it might even be true. It’s not that I like soccer or don’t like soccer. It just hasn’t been on my radar. But it could be. I search my mind for any little soccer fact that might have randomly got in. ‘I like how nobody is allowed to touch the ball with their hands,’ I say.

  ‘Except the goalkeeper,’ Archie says.

  ‘Except the goalkeeper,’ I agree, as though I already knew that.

  Archie’s hand has been on my back for all that time and he’s looking me almost right in the eyes now and I have this funny feeling like he just might be going to ask me. Then his mobile rings. Archie takes his hand off my back and reaches into the pocket of his cargo shorts. He stands up and walks away to take the call. I shift closer to Hazel.

  ‘How’s it going?’ she whispers, so Leo can’t hear.

  ‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘I had a feeling he was going to ask me, but then he got that call.’ I shrug.

  ‘Do you want to kick my leg?’ Hazel asks. I’d almost forgotten about the under-the-table kick I’d planned. But Archie is so shy, maybe there would be more chance of him asking me out if Leo and Hazel went away for a while?

  I lift my leg and give Hazel a little kick.

  ‘Leo, let’s go and look at the ducks,’ Hazel says and she gets up and pulls Leo up by his hand and they go. I wait for Archie. Finally, he comes back.

  ‘Sorry, Edi,’ he says, ‘that was … er … my cousin. He’s been living with us but he’s found a flat and he wants me to help him move out this afternoon. So I … um … better go.’

  There’s a little frown on Archie’s forehead as he talks and, for a moment, I wonder if something is bothering him. I nearly ask if he’s okay, but he’s the first one to talk again.

  ‘Where are Leo and Hazel?�
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  ‘They’ve gone down to the lake,’ I say. I’m really hoping that Archie will sit down again and something might actually happen, but he picks up his skateboard. He seems like he’s in a hurry to go.

  ‘Can you say bye for me?’ Archie says.

  I make myself smile, even though I totally don’t feel like smiling. ‘Yeah, sure,’ I say, standing up.

  ‘Well, bye,’ Archie says and that’s going to be it. As in nothing. It would be too weird for me to ask him now. Too random.

  ‘Bye,’ I say.

  I watch Archie walk away, his skateboard tucked under his arm. I lie back on the grass, close my eyes and fling my arms over my head. Nothing has gone to plan. Not. One. Thing.

  ‘Edi?’

  I open my eyes. Archie is kneeling next to me. His head hovers over me. He’s come back!

  ‘I was … um … just wondering …’ It’s weird seeing Archie’s face from this angle, but he must think I’m really weird, lying down on the grass like this. ‘We’ve got soccer … um … semifinals tomorrow. Since you’re into … er … soccer … I just … um … wondered if you’d like to … um … come along? We could sort of … catch up … after the game.’

  I smile, and this time it’s genuine. ‘Yep, absolutely,’ I say and I totally don’t care about plans anymore because this is good. It’s awesome.

  ‘I’ll text you the details then,’ Archie says.

  ‘Do you have my number?’ I ask.

  Archie nods and smiles and I don’t know how he got my number but the fact that he has bothered to get it from someone is a good sign.

  I can’t wait until tomorrow!

  ‘Hi, Edi. I saved you a seat.’ Alice says. She’s wearing an oversized soccer T-shirt that makes her look like a boy. She’s pretty clueless about stuff like that, but she’s nice.

  ‘Hello, love,’ Archie’s mum says. ‘You look cold.’ Before I know it, she’s produced a blanket and spread it over my knees.