Another Chance

Chapter X

Chapter X

~Jessica’s POV~

I was taken aback at what Elise said. Why would Hannah cook for us? I thought that they broke up? I mulled silently. I glanced up and saw Hannah and Phillip walking together hand in hand. I met Phillip’s gaze and saw him stare at me intently before ushering Hannah to her seat. Dinner went by smoothly, partly because I had Colton with me. He catered to me like a doting boyfriend and I noticed Phillip throwing sharp glances at us. Why does he even care if Colton treats me affectionately? I thought that he only sees me as a friend and nothing else? I asked myself. I saw him looking at me and I met his gaze for a second then I saw him offer me a smile but I couldn’t let go of the pain he caused me so I shifted my gaze to Colton and from the corner of my eye, I saw his smile falter.

Hollie and Joshua suggested having a bonfire after dinner. So, once everybody was stuffed, they went out to prepare everything we needed for the bonfire leaving Colton, Phillip, Hannah and I on kitchen duty. Colton and I decided to be in charge of loading the dishes into the dishwasher while Hannah and Phillip took care of the leftovers and the table. We all did our chores in relative silence and after a few minutes of overwhelming tension, I could no longer bear to be in the same room, so once we were done with our tasks; I grabbed Colton’s hand and led him to the deck. “What are we doing here Jess?” he asked. “The bonfire is in the backyard.” He added. “I know… I just needed to talk to you and hopefully get this huge weight off my chest.” I told him. He nodded and led me to one of the lounge chairs where he sat down and pulled me to his lap. “I can sit on the chair…” I told him. But he refused to let me go and kept his arms around me.  “What do you want to talk about?” he asked. “I know you’ve been wondering why I was crying earlier today.” I told him. “Oh… that… What about it?” Well, I wanted to tell you what happened but you have to promise me that you won’t do anything to the other person involved.” I told him. He nodded and waited for me to continue. “I confronted Phillip about his feelings for me… I thought that he and Hannah broke up and that he wanted to be with me.” I said, trying hard not to let my emotions conquer me. “But I was wrong, he could never offer me anything other than friendship.” I told him. “I know I should stop thinking about him, but something feels off…” I added. “I want to learn how to like you in the same way, but I don’t want to rush my feelings without finding out if he really meant all of the things he said! It wouldn’t be fair to you if I would give you a chance, knowing that I’m still not convinced about everything that Phillip told me. ” I told him. He gazed at me lovingly and said, “I don’t want you to rush your feelings too… I know you still want to accomplish a lot of things.” Find out if Phillip really meant what he said… No matter what he would say… I’m here to support you.” He added. I just stared at him, wondering what I might have done in my past life to be blessed with a guy like him. I hugged him and said, “Thank you Colt! You’re a great friend.” “So I’ve been told…” he said laughingly. “Has the weight been lifted off your shoulder?” he asked and gave me a peck on the forehead. “Yeah…” I replied. “Let’s go join the others then.” He said and then stood up.

 I took Colton’s hand and led him to where they set up the bonfire. We sat on the grass and he wrapped his arms around me seeing as it was an unpleasantly cold night. I noticed Phillip and Hannah walking affectionately to where we were seated. They sat down a few feet away from us and started talking to the others. Joshua brought out a guitar and handed it over to Colton. “Sing a song, Sing a song, Sing a song…” they all chanted. Colton looked at me and winked. He then started strumming the first notes of the song Love the way you lie and I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of the song he chose. I glanced at Phillip and saw him looking at me while he was singing along with Colton. Then I remembered something that happened while we were rehearsing for the finale.

~Flashback~

“Jess, are you ready? We need to be in the studio in an hour. I’ll wait for you in the car.” I heard him say. “I’m ready… I’m just going to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.” I told him. I ran to the kitchen and got 2 bottles of water. I went out and saw him already seated in the car looking at me. I had to look away or he might have seen me blush from his stare. “I got a bottle of water for you.” I said and then handed it to him. “Thank you.” He said. I was having difficulty managing the seatbelt so he said, “Let me help you with that.” He leaned towards me and started fixing my seatbelt. My heart started pounding wildly that I had to take deep breaths to calm myself. “Why are you so wired up? He asked then winked at me. “Nothing…” I replied and started fidgeting my phone to distract myself. “Done…” he said then laughed. “Thank you…” I told him then I reached out and turned on the radio. “Nuh-uh… I’ll sing…” He said then turned the radio off. “Oh, okay… sing your heart out.” I joked. He then started singing Love the way you lie.

~End of Flashback~

I glanced up and I saw him still staring at me, as if he saw what I remembered.

~End of Jessica’s POV~

~

~Phillip’s POV~

I saw Jessica grab Colton’s hand and lead him out of the kitchen. Sighing, I turned my back on the door and faced Hannah. “Are you sure you want to push her away?” Hannah asked me. We were standing in the kitchen stuffing the leftovers in the fridge. “I don’t want to push her away, I just want her to focus on her music first.” I said. “It’s your choice Phil… But you might lose her in the process.” She said. “I know that Hannah… But what if I tell her the truth and people start judging and hating on us?” I asked her. “It’s a risk that you have to take. But it won’t always be that way… People are going to learn to accept you as a couple.” She said. “It’s just too much of a risk Hannah… She’s worked her entire life to get to this point… I won’t let it slip through her hands.” I explained. She just shrugged then continued with what she was doing.

“Let’s get this over with…” I told Hannah after we’ve done our chores. “I didn’t know you knew how to act.” Hannah said laughingly as I led her outside while slinging my arm over her shoulder. “Just bear with me.” I said with a simple smile. I saw Joshua bestow Colton with a guitar. Colton looked at Jessica and winked at her. I saw her smile back at him and I felt my heart drop. That should be me she’s smiling at… not him. I thought to myself.

Colton started singing Love the way you lie and I joined along. I felt a twinge of guilt when I saw Jessica staring back at me. I suddenly remembered singing this song to her when we were on our way to the studio for the rehearsal. All of a sudden I stood up and walked towards her; I could no longer stop what I was feeling and knew that I had to tell her the truth. I knew that I could handle the public backlash our pairing might bring as long as I had her by my side.

~End of Phillip’s POV~

~End of Chapter 10~