CHAPTER 3: One Intriguing Girl
"Can't believe what is happening?" Matt asked dumbfounded.
"Nothing." she said quickly. She swung her Wal-Mart bag back and forth in her hand, holding the magazine in the other. Lori looked at him and said, "I shouldn't have said that."
"Did you say that because you're surprised that you're talking to me?" he asked.
"I just...can't believe that I'm here talking to you. I never thought you'd talk to me if I ever saw you or whatever." she blurted out.
"What makes you think I wouldn't talk to you if I saw you or if you saw me?" he asked looking at her.
"I dunno. I'm not exactly the hottest girl." Lori said in a serious tone of voice.
"You think I only talk to hot girls? I've talked to so many girls. They were all different sizes and shapes. Sure some were hot and everything, but some of the hot girls were just shallow and everything...and to be honest, you're pretty cute." he told her.
"I just have low confidence. That's all."
"Lori, why do you have low confidence?" Matt looked at her.
"Because I don't."
"But why? I mean, compared to some girls I've met...you should have self-confidence. You're cute. I think you just have to believe that you are."
She blushed and said, "Thanks." I think, she added to herself. "I should go buy my magazine now."
"What CD did you buy?" he asked out of curiosity.
She looked down at the floor then back up. "Ryan Cabrera."
"That's cool." Matt said simply.
"Yeah. I love 'On The Way Down'." She said.
"Cool." was all he said.
She walked off and headed to the front of the store where there were less people around and got in line to buy her magazine. She walked forward when the line started moving then she heard a voice say, "Lori."
As soon as she heard her name she spun around and saw Matt standing there.
"Matt? What are you doing? Did you like follow me?"
"Maybe." He laughed.
"OK then." She turned around and said, "This is...not cool." to herself.
"Does that bother you?" he asked. He popped up in front of her and looked at her. She looked at him as if he was nuts. "What's that look for?" He let out a laugh.
"I must be dreaming." She said. "I'm gonna wake up and I'll be in my bed."
"You're not dreaming." Matt assured her.
"I know. I just....I'm in complete shock right now."
"Why? You think you'd never run into any of us again?"
"Well yeah. What were the chances of any of you coming to New Hampshire? Rochester New Hampshire to get more specific." she said.
"I'm guessing you thought the chances were pretty slim." Matt joked.
"Yeah. I guess I did."
"Well, I guess you have a different opinion now, right?" He eyed her.
"I dunno what my opinion is let alone what I'm thinking."
"How can you not know what you're thinking?"
"Easily. I'm a blonde." She tried to make a joke out of her stupidness and dullness.
"You really have a lot of confidence don't you?" he joked.
"I told you I didn't." she reminded him.
"I don't understand why you don't have confidence though."
"You don't have to understand."
"I know I don't have to, but maybe I want to."
"Yeah....right." She rolled her eyes, brushed by him and put her magazine down on the counter. He watched her and said, "This is gonna be a challenge." to himself.
"Are you always like this?" Matt asked leaning on the counter and looking at her. He folded his arms across his chest and waited for an answer.
"That's going to be $4.99." the cashier said.
Lori handed her $5.00 and waited for her change. She looked at Matt and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I mean, do you always have an attitude?" he clarified.
"If you don't like my attitude you can always go see what Greg is up to." she told him.
He looked at her, down at the floor and slid his hands in his pockets of his jeans.
"Would that make you happy?" he asked still looking down at the floor. "If I left."
"I dunno. Probably." She took the penny from the cashier and put it into her pocket. She took the bag and said, "Thank you." to the cashier.
Matt watched her as she headed into a different part of the store and followed a few feet behind her. He followed her into the TOYS section and hid so she wouldn't freak out on him. Too bad she saw him. She really wanted to talk to him and have him around, but she knew she had to keep him at a safe distance. She pretended he wasn't even there and avoided him.
Lori looked at the different toys then saw Matt peaking around the corner and looking at her. She looked away and disappeared into another aisle.
"What the hell is going on? Why the hell is he following me?" Lori asked out loud.
Matt walked around the store, keeping an eye on Lori and waiting for Greg to get finished with his signing. When he saw Greg walking towards him he looked around and tried to see if Lori was anywhere near by, but she wasn't.
"What's with the look you have dude? You meet some hot girl or something?" Greg joked when he saw the expression on his friends' face.
"Just the most intriguing girl ever." Matt said simply. "You'll never believe it..she 'used to be' a Dream Street fan."
"There are still Dream Street fans around?" Greg joked. He laughed.
"She said that when we split up and everything she kind of lost interest." Matt said.
"Why did she lose interest?" a curious Greg asked.
"She said that she couldn't let us effect her lives the way we did and that she had to get back to 'reality'." Matt replied, putting quotation marks around reality.
"We effected her life? How'd we do that?" Greg asked looking at him.
"She said that in the 9th grade she let her grades drop and that she didn't care about anything else. She was obsessed and thought about us a lot." Matt replied.
"Aww. How cute and sweet." Greg sighed.
Matt and Greg laughed, but Matt stopped when he saw Lori a few feet away. She didn't look too happy with him. The look on her face was priceless. Matt quit smiling when he saw her and just stared at her for the longest time. Then she ran out of the store upset about something.
* Chapter 4 *