He's Just A Player

Chapter 13: Boy Scouts and Wastelands

Chapter dedicated to @blanca2017!! Thank you so much for your votes and comments! I love seeing what you have to say! Follow her! :)

Chapter 13: Boy Scouts and Wastelands

      "H-he what?" I asked.

      "No, no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything," Connor said, directing me back to the tacos.

      "No. I begged you. I'm sorry," I replied, the new information still registering.

      "Look, like I've said before-"

      "I know, I know. Aiden isn't worth my time and he'll just end up using her. But I don't think this time that's the case," I cut in.

      "Why?" Connor asked.

      "Because I went out with him yesterday. He was saying how he wanted to change and all that stuff. And....he mentioned Paige. He said he wanted to try a relationship with her. And I guess this was his way of starting it," I said.

      Connor sighed.

      "I know you like him Carter. I'm really sorry about all this."

      I shook my head.

      "No, don't be. It's my fault for even liking him. I'm just an idiot. C'mon, let's get out of here," I said, pulling him away.

      Connor gave me a skeptical look, but complied anyway. I think he knew I couldn't take any questions pertaining to Aiden right now.

~

Aiden's P.O.V:

      I finished getting dressed as I picked up my phone. Today would be the day I asked Paige to formal, and I was nervous as hell.

      I punched in her phone number which I'd gotten from her the other day, and took a deep breath.

      "Hello?" She answered.

      "Uh-Paige? It's Aiden," I replied, stumbling over my words.

      "Oh hey Aiden! What's up?" She asked.

      "Nothing. Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out today?" I quickly cut to the chase, not wanting to make anymore a fool of myself.

      "Sure! Where do you want to meet up?" She asked.

      "The mall. Is that fine?" I replied, biting my nails.

      There was a couple of moments of silence on the other end before Paige came back on the phone.

      "I'd love to! I'll meet you there, okay?" She said.

      "Okay. Bye," I responded, hanging up.

      I literally had buckets of sweat pouring down my face. Why was I so nervous about asking her to formal? I was pretty sure she'd say yes, so why the extra nerves?

      Whatever. I'd just power through it.

      I quickly made my way over to Shelby and started her up, speeding towards the mall. I'd already contacted the stores there to make sure they were okay with what I had in store.

      Let me just tell you this: it was going to be big.

      I don't think I would have had the guts to do this if it wasn't for Carter. She basically opened up my eyes for the first time, making me realize I should tie myself down to one person. And I decided to start with Paige.

      Once I pulled into the mall parking lot, I made my way to the trunk of my car to pull out the items I'd brought. It was definitely a handful, but I knew it'd all be worth it.

      I grabbed everything, sprinting inside of the building. My first stop was near the food court, where all of the major stuff would be happening.

      "Hey Aiden!" Kayden greeted, dragging a ladder behind him.

      Kayden was one of the managers of the mall. He agreed to help me set up this whole fiasco, on agreeing I'd help him out when he needed it.

      "What's up Kayd?" I asked, shaking his hand.

      "Not much. So where do you want to hang the banner?" He replied, taking the sign from me.

      "Right up front, hanging from the ceiling. I really want her to be surprised," I said.

      Kayden nodded, setting up his ladder. We received a few curious glances as he hung the banner, wondering what we were doing. However, their expressions changed to ones of awe when they read what was written.

      I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, which could only mean Paige was here.

      "Hello?" I answered.

      "Hey Aiden! I'm here," Paige chirped.

      I nodded towards Kayden as he gave me a thumbs up.

      "Okay. Where are you?" I asked.

      "Near the exit."

      "Right. I'll meet you there, okay?" I said.

      "Okay!" She replied, hanging up.

      "You ready?" Kayden asked, descending from the ladder.

      I took a deep breath and nodded.

      "Ready as I'll ever be. Do you have the balloons?" I asked.

      "Yep. Got it all ready. We just need the girl," He responded, packing the ladder up.

      "Alright. I'll be back in a couple minutes then," I said, walking to the back of the mall.

      I felt my palms begin to sweat, and my heart thump as I prepared to pop the question.

      Ugh. I sounded like I was about to propose.

      "Aiden?" A voice asked, snapping my attention back.

      "Paige," I replied, spotting the small girl walk up to me.

      "What's up?" She asked, a smile spreading across her lips.

      I shrugged.

      "Not too much. But hey, I've got to show you something," I said, dragging her away.

      She raised an eyebrow.

      "Where are we going?" She asked.

      "To the other side of the mall," I responded.

      She gave me skeptical look but went along with it anyway.

      We weaved our way through hordes of people, as I tried going my fastest to get Paige to my destination. The quicker I got the question out of the way, the quicker I'd stop feeling like crap.

      "Aiden, what are you-"

      Paige cut herself short once she spotted the scene I'd set up for her. Hanging from the ceiling was a large banner that asked, "Formal?" with a large penguin to the side. Balloons were taped all around the sign, all in blues and whites.

      It looked pretty awesome if I said so myself.

      "So Paige, will you go to formal with me?" I asked, sticking my hands in my pockets.

      Her mouth hung slightly ajar as she gaped at everything. She didn't say anything for a really long time, which worried me A LOT. What if she thought I was too forward?

      "Are you serious?" She asked, enveloping me in a hug.

      "I take that as a yes?" I asked, spinning her around a few times.

      She nodded and kissed me, smack dab on the lips.

      I heard various "awes" in the crowd, as I knew tons of people were watching us.

      I smiled as my eyes wandered to the food court, where I spotted a man wearing women's clothing. He had on a messy blond wig, and dragged a girl behind him.

      Wait- that wasn't just any girl. That was Carter! And....the guy was Connor?

      Why were they here? And why the hell did Connor look like a woman?

~

Carter's P.O.V:

      I plopped myself onto a patch of green grass, pulling my knees up to my forehead. Why did I always fall for the same thing? Aiden would be kind to me, show me his good side, and BAM! I'd fawn all over him. But later, he'd go off and woo other girls that were far off from looking anything like me.

      I felt a presence sit beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

      "Going to tell me that Aiden's not worth my time again?" I asked.

      Connor smiled, taking off his wig.

      "No, because I know you'd punch me square in the jaw," He replied.

      I felt the corners of my mouth tugging up, as Connor's eyes lit up.

      "See? There's your smile!"

      "Okay, okay. You got me there. But I'm still bummed out," I said, laying down onto the grass.

      "Understandable."

      "Can I ask you something?" I said, tracing out the clouds in the sky.

      "Sure. You can ask me anything," He replied, laying down on his stomach.

      "Am I wasting my time going after Aiden?" I asked.

      Connor's facial expression dropped.

      "And you want honest opinions?" He questioned.

      "Of course I do! I don't want false hope," I responded.

      He sighed, raking through his hair.

      "Okay. Truthfully, I think Aiden is always going to be this way. He'll always be your best friend, no doubt, but he'll always be a player. So.... I really do think you shouldn't go after him."

      As I digested his words, I couldn't help but feel a little bit hurt. Yeah, he gave me his honest opinion, but a part of me still hoped that he'd say Aiden DID want me.

      "You alright?" Connor asked.

      I sat up and squinted at the sun.

      "You know what Connor? For once, I think I am."

      And it was the truth.

      For once, I wasn't totally crushed over the fact Aiden had asked another girl out. I wasn't totally crushed that he'd only ever look at me as a friend. I was.....okay with it.

      So, if I was okay with it, what did that mean? Was I moving on? Did I still hold a secret love for him? Was I going bananas?

      Or maybe, just maybe I was beginning to like someone else a little bit more.

      Maybe.

~

Connor's P.O.V:

      If you asked me, Aiden was a complete douche bag who didn't deserve someone as forgiving as Carter. I mean, he was such a dick to her! One moment he'd be superman, and the next he'd treat her like she'd caught the plague.

      Grade A asshole.

      And I knew Carter liked him a lot. Like, way more than a best friends type of way. I think everyone but Aiden knew that. However, with Aiden's lack of brain cells, he kept continuing to bang girls around Carter.

      What a saint.

      "Hey Connor?" Carter asked, dusting her pants off.

      "Yeah?" I replied, standing up.

      "Last one to your car is a rotten egg!" She screamed, sprinting off.

      Challenge accepted.

      I bolted off, gaining a tremendous amount of speed on her. That, or Carter was just really bad at running.

      "You're the rotten egg!" I stated, placing a hand on my car.

      She frowned, her face contorting into a cute little pout.

      "No fair! You're a guy!" She said defensively.

      "And?"

      "And.....you're naturally faster since your body was built like that," She reasoned.

      I shrugged.

      "Whatever the reason, I'm still the victor! Where's my prize?" I asked, throwing her a grin.

      "Your prize is me not punching your gut," She said, strolling onto the passenger side of my car.

      "Nah, I want something else. You want to do something fun?" I asked, twirling my car keys in my hands.

      She raised an eyebrow.

      "Like...what?" She asked.

      "Can't tell you," I whistled, buckling into my seatbelt.

      "Then I refuse to go," Carter said stubbornly.

      "Ah, ah, ah! You promised that you'd do something for me after I printed the newspapers for you, remember?" I said, throwing her a sweet grin.

      She face-palmed herself, knowing she'd lost there.

      "Remind me to NEVER make deals with you," She groaned.

      "Aw, why? They're so fun," I said, starting the car up.

      "I feel like I'm going to die," She said.

      "Why?" I asked.

      "Because, knowing you, you're going to throw me into some crazy situation," She replied.

      "Kit-Kat, I promise that I won't throw you in a crazy situation......well, not TOO crazy at least," I cackled, driving off.

      Carter groaned, thumping her head against the window.

      "Fine. Bring me to my death. But Connor?" She asked.

      I tilted my head towards her.

      "Yeah?"

      "Just please take off that wig and make-up. You're really starting to creep me out," She shuddered.

      I laughed heartily.

      "Will do Kit-Kat."

      Oh this would definitely be a fun day.

~

      "Where are we?" Carter asked, glancing out her window.

      "You'll see," I replied, pulling into an empty parking lot.

      "You're going to kill me, huh? That's why you dragged me out into the middle of nowhere, isn't it?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

      "Oh, yeah. Totally," I responded sarcastically.

      "I always knew there was something wrong with you," She tisked, exiting my car.

      I followed behind, navigating her body towards a building.

      "Okay, seriously. I'm getting creeped out Con-Con," She babbled.

      I rolled my eyes.

      "Carter, I'm not going to kill you. Scout's honor," I replied.

      "So you're a Boy Scout now? That's interesting," She laughed.

      I shook my head at her dorkiness. How did my friends ever find her funny?

      "Ha. Ha. Now let's head inside. I'm freezing my ass off," I replied.

      We entered the building, as a gust of warm air whipped our faces.

      "Connor? Is that you?" A voice asked.

      I turned around and spotted an all too familiar face.

      "Oh, hey Em! What's up?" I asked.

      She smiled.

      "Nothing much. What about you?" She replied.

      "Just bringing Carter here to play a game. Carter, this is Emily. Emily, this is Carter," I said, introducing the two.

      I saw Carter shift uncomfortably, as I knew this was probably awkward for her.

      "Hi," She said quietly, holding out her hand.

      Could she get any more adorable?

      "Hey," Emily replied, giving Carter a tight smile.

      Awkward.

      "Okay. I'm going to check us in Kit-Kat. I'll be right back," I stated, quickly walking to the check-in counter.

      I needed to do this as fast as I could, because I knew something bad might have happened if I was gone too long.

      "Name please?" An older man asked.

      "Connor Wright. I've brought a guest today named Carter Ly," I replied.

      He penciled in our names and ripped out two tickets.

      "Have fun. And try not to get hurt," He warned.

      "Thanks," I said, taking the tickets.

      I jogged back to where I'd left Emily and Carter, hoping they'd got along alright.

      "Connor! You're back," Emily said happily, wrapping her arms around my neck.

      "Well, nice to see you Em. Carter and I have got a game to get to. Bye," I replied, peeling her off of me.

      An annoyed look crossed her face as I grabbed Carter's hand and dragged her out of the room.

      "Sorry about that," I apologized, once out of earshot.

      "It's fine," Carter mumbled, her gaze not meeting mine.

      "Something wrong?" I asked, searching her face for any emotion.

      Her eyes flickered to mine.

      "No."

      "Really, Carter. Tell me what's wrong. Did Emily say something?" I asked.

      "Let's just go do whatever you planned. It's not important," She replied, walking ahead of me.

      I shook my head and caught up to her, leading her outside.

      "Why are we in a wasteland with random barrels and nets?" Carter asked, looking around.

      "You'll see," I replied, walking off.

      I returned a few minutes later with two padded vests, like the bulletproof ones that cops use.

      "What are those?" Carter asked, raising an eyebrow.

      "Padded vests. And you're going to need these too," I replied, throwing her a pair of sunglasses.

      "I don't like what you're up to," She muttered, slipping the items on.

      "Are your pants and shirt thick?" I asked, zipping my best up.

      "No."

      "Okay. Well, you're going to need a jacket," I stated, jogging to the back of the facility.

      When I came back, Carter had her arms crossed with an irritated expression on her face.

      "Connor, may I ask what the hell is going on?" She questioned irritably.

      I tossed her the jacket and pulled a gun from behind my back.

      "We're paint-balling."




(A/N) Woah. More paint-balling action in the next chapter. Should be quite interesting to see Carter's skills in action!

So for this chapter, I decided to do a lot of point of views. Connor's, Carter's, and Aiden's. I hope you liked getting inside their thoughts! Especially Connor's!

Hmmm, what do you think went down with Carter and Emily? Was Carter just upset because Emily was all over Connor? Or was something else bugging her? Oh, the suspense.

And I guess Aiden really DID ask Paige to formal. Interesting. How do you think THAT'LL play out? Will he finally keep a relationship? Or will he revert back to his player ways? More for you to think about.

I'm REALLY REALLY sorry about this chapter. I felt like it was too choppy/awkward/poorly written. I don't know. I just really didn't like this chapter all that much. More of a filler chapter, I suppose. But I PROMISE YOU, the next chapter is gonna be AWESOME. Seriously, I've got it ALL planned out!

Teaser for the next chapter: Massive paint war and D-R-A-M-A!!!!!!!

Song of the Chapter: Popular Song my MIKA and Ariana Grande. Describes Aiden mostly, since he's quite popular. Carter, on the other hand, isn't so much. Really like the upbeat tune! Take a listen when you've got time! :)

Anyway, thanks for the reads!! I'm so happy with the comments and votes! Keep it up! :D


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