The Fallback Guy

Calls and Baking Cookies

This is dedicated to my friend Emilee. AKA @littlebookworm7 everyone who is reading this it would be amazingly amazing if you follow her! She would cry happy and slightly creepy tears! <Edited>

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In anguish I took my IPhone out of my pocket only to see Derek's face. It suddenly looks less appealing at the moment. What am I thinking? I have a boyfriend. Derek is my boyfriend. I want to be with him, right?

"Hello."  

"Hey Chloe. I just thought I should call. Maggie said that you went MIA. so I was wondering how you were doing."

"Shoot. I did forget to leave a note for her." I say more to myself than to Derek. "I'll call her thanks for letting me know." I kind of rush him off of the phone because I'm not really in the mood for talking. 

'Okay-"

"I've got to go." Derek takes a long pause.

"Bye I guess." I hang up. Now I feel like the conversation was open-ended and I should have finished by saying goodbye. I turn to Nick and he gives me a weird look.

"I know. Ugh. Don't look at me like that." I run my hand through my hair. Why does this stuff always happen to me? I want to be with Derek. This is the way that I have been wanting things to go for me. Derek is the best possible candidate for a boyfriend. He's an athlete with a huge heart. Lately though, I've been wondering if that huge heart is even enough to fill the spark I've been waiting for.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Nick asks me. I nod my head yes not wanting to look him in his eyes again. Nick takes me "home" and we stand outside next to each other.

'I'm sorry about all of that tonight. It was stupid-"  Nick ignores what I say and pulls me close to him. he looks as though he is about to kiss me but he hugs me instead.

"Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing."

"Do you want to just start over?" I say. Hoping to end the awkwardness between us. He gives me a dazzling smile.

"Yeah. That would be great."

"Chloe?!" I hear Maggie scream from inside the house.

"I better go." I say. Nick just nods his head. I turn around and walk back to the house. 

"Where were you?" Maggie yells at me with her hands on her hips. 

"I went to a party with Nick." Her eyebrows shoot so high up her face that I'm afraid they might stick to the ceiling but they don't. 

"You were out with Nick?!" She yells at me and her face is red as a tomato. "I was worried sick and you were out with Nick!"

"Yeah, that's what I said." She looks as though she is about to yell at me but she stops suddenly.

"Where was Derek?" 

"I don't know. He wasn't there. It was just Nick and a bunch of his friends."

"Are you-" I cut her off before she even tries to finish her sentence.

"We are just friends. He understands what I'm going through and actually want to talk about it and help me through it. Derek tries to avoid that conversation. He doesn't get it. Lately I've been wondering whether or not we should even be together if we can't talk about the single most important thing in my life right now. Sorry if that seems shallow. Trust me, I don't want to be, but we can't just talk about football and favorite colors all the time." I take a deep breath when I realize I had been holding it in since I started talking.

"I think you should talk to him about it."

"You're right."

"I get that a lot." We laugh together and I tell her all about the party. She couldn't believe Nick got in a fight for me and that we almost kissed. 

                       The next couple of weeks passed in a blur. I talked to Derek about my parents and gave him all of the details he wanted. Nick and I haven't talked a lot lately for some unknown reason. Derek and I also haven't been going out or talking to each other as much either. My cellphone buzzes as I sit on bed reading. I pick it up and see Derek is calling me. I smile to myself.

"Hello."

"Hey Chloe, whats up?" Derek's voice sounds weird today.

"I'm just reading, whats wrong?"

"I just don't think that this is working out. It's not anything you did its just-"

"It's fine," I cut him off, my voice tight trying to hold back tears that really want to spill. "You don't have to explain. I get it."

"Chloe, don't cry."

"I'm fine. I have to go anyway. Bye" I hang up before he can even say anything back to me. I cry for a good ten minutes before I hear Maggie call to me that It's time to eat dinner. I wipe my tears away and put on a happy face.

"I think I'm gonna bail tonight for dinner. I'm not too hungry tonight." Maggie gives me a funny look and her face drops.

"He told you didn't he. Well, you were right to break up with him. He had no right to cheat on you for this long. I mean the week after he asked you out!? Stupid Watershed cheerleaders." I start to cry again.

"What?" I say in despair. 

"Oh," She says with a sad look on her face. "He didn't tell you." I run out of the door. I run for a mile or more and I find myself near the lake where I just came from the party. I walk to the lake where the party was with tears streaming down my face. 

        Why did he do this to me? And with a Watershed cheerleader no less. The Watershed football team was this towns rival when it came to football. Practically everyone here hated them. He is so self centered. I cry myself to sleep as I look up to the stars wondering what I did wrong.

        I wake up to find myself laying down on some really gross grass in front of the lake. I then remember all of the things that happened last night. I take a deep breath or five and I check my phone. No one called me but I did have one text from Maggie.

                                                                Where r u? Come home. Plz stay safe. Don't do anything stupid. I'm srry I should've told u b4. 4give me plz. :'(

        I check the time and realize Maggie should be leaving the house soon. I walk around the lake for a couple of minutes then I walk back to the house. Maggie should be long gone and her aunt could be who knows where. I get to the house and enter through the back door just in case her aunt is home. No one appears to be there so I shower and slip on some clothes. I take my purse, a bagel for lunch/breakfast and I take my car keys. I write a note addressed to Maggie's aunt saying that I was fine and I was going out on a drive.

        I hop into my car and I ride around to out of  town to go shopping. I have been saving up a lot of money for a huge shopping spree with Maggie but I decide to just go alone. I have a lot of money left over from my birthday. I pick out a couple dresses, shirts, jewelry, etc. and I hang around the mall for a while.

"Hey." I hear a low rumbling voice behind me say. I turn around and lo and behold it's Josh. One of the last people I want to see.

"Hi." I say coldly not wanting to hang around him.

"So you shopping today?"

"I'm not really the best person for small talk. I was leaving anyway." I start walking outside and I notice that Josh is following me. "You can leave now." I say aggravated as I place the last of my shopping bags in the back of my car.

"What if I don't want to."  Josh says. I start to panic when I realize that we are the only ones in this parking lot at the moment.

"We don't always get what we want." I say as I fumble with my keys trying to quickly unlock my car.

'Well, I do, and I want you." My breath catches in my throat. Josh grabs me and pushes me in my car. I scream but it's useless, nobody hears me.