Him and His Hoodie novel Chapter 4

If there was one thing I hated, it was being woken up from my naps. That was possibly the worst thing someone could ever do to me and if anything, it just made me really grumpy. I thought everyone who knew my understood that, and that they wouldn't risk waking me up otherwise I would make their lives miserable.

So when someone was shaking me awake, I was tempted to grab my firm pillow and hit them across the face with it.

Even when I opened my eyes and saw it was Jerome, I still felt like it. It didn't matter that I had a crush on him. Nobody woke me from my peaceful sleep without me getting revenge on them.

Jerome was lucky I didn't hit him with my pillow but instead, covered my head with the pillow and pulled my blankets over me. "Go away."

"Oh, come on, that's no way to talk to your best friend, is it?" Jerome asked.

"Who said you're my best friend?" I muttered.

"Me," Jerome said. "For various reasons. One, you said I'm your only friend so I think that makes me qualified as the best. And we're both gay, and gay people are the best, so we deserve to be best friends. And as your best friend, I am going to take you out somewhere."

I groaned and this time, actually threw my pillow at Jerome. However, his reflexes were too quick and he caught the pillow instead, so I stuck my tongue out at him before pulling my blanket over my head. If he didn't go away, I was going to end my crush on him.

Well, not really because he was too kind and funny and amazing and handsome and...

Stupid Jerome.

And of course, Jerome didn't leave me alone. The two of us were both very stubborn so I had a feeling this argument was going to last for a very long time.

"Okay, fine, I didn't want to have to do this," Jerome said. "But you gave me no choice."

"You gave me no choice," I mocked.

"Are you... are you mocking me?" Jerome asked.

"No, I'm not, even though I clearly just repeated what you said in a mocking tone."

"You don't have to be so rude."

"Me? Being rude?" I removed the blanket from over my face so I could look at the hypocrite. "You woke me up from my nap. That's more rude than me mocking you."

"I only woke you up from your nap because I wanted to take you somewhere, like I said," Jerome said. "You've been feeling so down and left out lately, so I wanted to help make you happy, especially by bringing you to a very certain place I know you like."

"You don't know anything I like."

"It's a miracle!" Alan said when he saw me. "He's out of his room!"

"Someone alert the media," Orchid said. "This is the most shocking thing ever."

I immediately glared at the both of them. I hated it when my family made such a big deal about me being out of my room. Sorry for not feeling like I fit in and for being socially anxious. What else did they want me to do?

"And I'm going back upstairs," I said, turning around and beginning to head there, but Jerome grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him.

"No, you're not," Jerome said before looking at my parents. "Poppy, Grayson, I'm taking Nolan to the boardwalk."

"Okay," Dad said. "Have him back by midnight."

"The triplets' curfew is at eleven on school nights," Mom said.

"Yes, but Nolan is more responsible than Orchid and Alan," Dad said. "And he'll be with Jerome."

"Okay, rude," Alan said. "But can I go too?"