I had finally made up my mind after a week of intense thinking. It had been a month of watching him from a distance. Alright, let's do this! I strode into my brother's room without a second thought.
"Jake! We need to talk!"
Jake looked up in surprise, pushing one side of his headset off his ear.
"Whoa, what's up? You don't usually come into my room."
"Your friend Oliver. Hook me up with him."
"Oliver? I'm gaming with him right now." That was when I realized Jake was mid-game.
"Clara? Well, hello there."
"Ugh! Shi—"
Hearing Oliver's voice through the headset, I accidentally blurted out a curse and quickly covered my mouth. Talk about bad timing. Did he even hear that?
"I didn't realize your sister was this interested in me, Jake," Oliver laughed through the headset. My face heated up, and Jake barked into his headset.
"Don't even think about touching my sister!"
"No way!" I snapped, though Jake didn't even look at me.
"Calm down, Jake. I was just teasing. But I wouldn't say no to hanging out with Clara. I already knew she is the most popular girl, Jake. Everyone knows that."
"Hi, Oliver. I'm actually listening. How are you?" I slid closer to Jake and spoke boldly through the headset.
"Oh, hey there, Clara. Didn't expect you to say hi back. I'm good, just gaming with Jake as usual."
"Do you have time to hang out this weekend?"
"Are you insane?" Jake yanked off his headset immediately and stared at me like I'd lost my mind, mouthing, "What the hell are you doing?"
"Actually, yeah, I'm free this weekend. Any particular reason you want to hang out?"
"Umm, because I think you're cute. Oh, shoot! Sorry, Oliver! Jake's so mad at me, so I'll just text you instead."
The moment I bolted from Jake's room, he came chasing after me. His protective streak always kicked in when it came to me, and I knew he wasn't just mad—he was worried. Still, it annoyed me sometimes.
"Clara! What the hell was that?"
"What?? I just talked to Ollie. That's it!"
"Ollie? Since when do you call him Ollie?" Jake glared at me, and I refused to back down.
"Right now!"
"And you just confessed to Oliver in front of me and him?"
"None of your business!"
"How is it not my business when it's my best friend?"
I was momentarily speechless. My face was on fire, but the relief of finally letting it out outweighed the embarrassment. The die was cast. I poked at the one thing Jake cared about most.
"Duh! Hey, I'm your sister. Family comes first, Jake!"
"That's... actually true, but... ugh, this is so annoying! I don't even know what to say to Oliver now."
Jake's mood had deflated. Momentum was important in these moments.
"Because you have nothing to say to him. Now you don't have anything to do!"
"I have plenty to do!"
"Like what?"
"Like... like... dodgeball practice!"
"Then just do it! What is wrong with you?"
I could see Jake thinking for a moment before he spoke.
"But you really like Oliver? For real?"
"For sure."
I gave him a serious look, and he seemed to lose his anger completely.
"Fine, but I'm not going to give you his number."
"Then what am I supposed to do, send a carrier pigeon?"
"Ugh... I can't believe this."
That night, I found Oliver's Instagram and slid into his DMs.
[Clara]: Hey. It's Clara. Jake's sister.
[Oliver]: I was wondering when you'd finally show up.
[Clara]: So, Saturday? If not, I'm gonna be stuck at home with just Jake. My dad is going to be out of town.
Then he replied, "Sure. I definitely don't want you stuck with Jake all day."