According to Plan

Chapter 30

Monday morning, I awoke to the usual cacophony of hair dryers on max and one of my sisters screaming, "Where's my lipstick?!" I groaned and rose out of bed. Senior year wasn't officially starting for me until next week, but thanks to my personal alarm clock (A.K.A, my sisters), I was up bright and early as usual.

"Stella! Phone's for you!" Jamie tossed the phone and I caught it perfectly.

"Hello?" I answered as I grabbed my toothbrush.

"Hey Stell, it's Leah. Can you meet me at Lina's Cafe in, like, half an hour?"

Leah was completely casual over the line, as if nothing was wrong; as if she didn't just ditch her best friends' home coming arrival for some boy she just met over the summer. If only I could just spit it out and tell her.

I sighed, "you know, Leah, I--"

"Kay, so meet you there. I have a surprise for you! Ciao!" And she hung up.

"Aaah!" I screamed and tossed the phone across the room.

After a nice, hot shower to cool my nerves, I threw on sweat pants and a large hoody. I guess after being in loose fitting clothes all summer, wearing tight jeans now kind of felt awkward.

"Lina's Cafe," I muttered angrily to myself as the entrance bell dinged above me, "what could be so important at Lina's Cafe that you couldn't just hear me out for one minute!"

Surprisingly, I noticed Billy sitting over in the far corner, hunched over a coffee. He looked tired, like this was the last place he wanted to be.

"You're here too?" I pulled up a chair and plopped down beside him.

He grunted.

Oh, that's right. Billy isn't a morning person.

About 10 minutes later, Leah stepped around the corner and her face lit up as she saw us.

Well then, someone's obviously done a little shopping while we were gone.

Despite the fact that it was 9 in the morning, Leah was dressed up head to toe. Her effervescent blonde hair was striped with golden streaks of highlights. Her blue eyes were bold against the ebony liner that seemed to transfix you in her splendor. Her lips were plump and ruby red. It's amazing how tight someone's clothes could be; Leah's black jeans were literally suctioned to her legs, which of course only added to her already slender figure; not to mention the 5 inch heels that made her seem like a model. And to top it all off, her body-hugging tank top paired with a sleek leather jacket did everything for her figure.

I squirmed uncomfortably in my baggy clothes and poked at the wet mass of hair above my head stuffed in a giant bun.

"Leah!" I rose, faking a brilliant smile. I mean, it wasn't completely fake, I did miss her. She's been my best friend since fourth grade, how could I not miss her?

"Stella!" She looked me up and down and made a face, but disregarded it and threw her arms around me, "oh I've missed you so so much!"

I grinned.

"And Billy! Get up and hug me!" She teased and wrapped her arms around him just as tight, "I missed you too, Billy!"

"Likewise," is all that Billy said, before taking a seat and folding his arms.

Leah gave me a look and I shrugged.

"So, you know we got back like two days ago, right?" Billy raised a brow, obviously expecting a brilliant excuse from her.

She bit down on her lip, "I know, I know! And I feel so bad, but everything will be explained in just a sec! But guys please don't be mad at me, we're all best friends and nothing's going to change that, right?"

She gave us her puppy-eyed face. I grinned. Okay, okay, so call me a weakling, but who am I kidding? Leah is my best friend and there's no way I'm letting some annoying tension get in the way of that.

"Ya, sure," I replied, "nothing's going to change that."

Billy rolled his eyes, even he couldn't resist her charm, "yes Leah, nothing's going to change that."

Leah clapped her hands, "good then, so, tell me, how have you guys been?" She asked, taking a seat, "Stella who's this guy you've been wanting to tell me about all summer? You know? The one you're like madly in love with."

I felt my cheeks go bright red; Cameron DiMarco. Just thinking about him made my stomach tingle and I bit down on my lip. I definitely couldn't wait to see him at school next week.

"Oooh, you're blushing, you're blushing! Tell me, tell me!" Leah pressed.

Billy gave me a look, well, in all fairness, he did suspect I had a little crush on Cameron, but he didn't think I was full on, madly in love with the guy.

"Okay," I surrendered.

"Oh, and after, I want to introduce you guys to my boyfriend. He's just gone to get some coffee for us, he should be here soon," Leah perked and giggled, she was literally glowing. Whoever this guy was, he sure made her happy.

Well, good! I couldn't be any more happier for her.

"Okay," I said again, biting down on my lip, "his name is--"

I stopped, mid-sentenced, and my eyes popped out of my skull.

Walking towards us was a tall, handsome, and muscular young man. His hair was a crisp and playful ashy brown, tossed in all different directions. His dark, neat brows complimented the astonishing jewels that were his eyes; those silver marbles pulsed with such electricity through me, increasing my pulse rapidly. His jaw structure was blunt, yet subtle in all the right places, and in all honesty, he was a walking magnet that turned all the ladies' heads at the cafe.

And just then, is when my world came completely crashing down. I thought I was having hallucinations; I thought I'd gone mad! Because what I was seeing, could not be right. But, I looked over at Billy, his chin was dropped and the expression on his face confirmed that I was not going crazy, and I was seeing, what I truly was seeing.

What happened next caused my heart to race into overdrive, then finally crash and shatter into a thousand pieces. After he placed down the coffee, Leah stood, and with a big smile on her face, she brought him close and their jaws locked in kiss.

"Stella, Billy," Leah grinned, "this is my boyfriend, Cameron DiMarco."