Seth's Point of View
Liz pulls a plastic cup out of her cabinet and pours me a glass of water. She's still in her pajamas, because it's only nine in the morning.
"This is a surprise," she tells me.
I barely slept last night, thinking about what I'd told Logan. I love Peyton, but I'm not going to tell her. I don't want to mess up whatever she has with Miles. I should've manned up and told her how I felt freshman year. I fucked up and now I have to live with it.
That doesn't mean I should keep stringing Liz along. She doesn't deserve this and I know I don't like her like I like Peyton. It's not fair to her.
Obviously, if I break up with her I'll be losing the bet I made with Peyton, but I'm going to do it anyway.
"Liz, we need to talk," I say, awkwardly. I've broken up with more than few girls, but I never cared about any of them like I care about Liz. Sure, I don't love Liz, but I respect her.
She scoots the water over toward me, "Here you go. You're breaking up with me?"
I look at her, shocked. She says it nonchalantly, as though discussing the score of a baseball game.
She sighs, "It's Peyton, isn't it?"
"I'm sorry," I tell her, honestly. "I never meant to hurt you."
"Just tell me, did anything happen between you guys?"
"I kissed her," I admit. I figure that I owe it to her to be completely honest.
"And?"
"She slapped me."
Liz smiles, "She did seem feisty. Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"You should tell her," she suggests.
Liz leads me over to her kitchen table and we both sit down. "It's not that easy."
"Want to know something?"
I nod and she continues, "We're afraid of getting hurt. It's natural and it's normal. Sometimes fear is a good thing, because it keeps you safe. You wouldn't pet a bear because it's bigger and stronger than you, so you're scared of it."
"Peyton's a bear and I shouldn't pet her?"
She glares at me, jokingly. "Come on, I'm trying to give serious advice. I'm just trying to say sometimes the bear is worth it. Too much fear isn't healthy. Life is about taking risks. Even if you get hurt, at least you can say you tried."
"She has a boyfriend."
"So? Talking to her isn't exactly cheating. Tell her how you feel. From there, maybe she'll say she likes you, too. Maybe she'll stay with her boyfriend. The worst thing you can do is not try."
"He's my best friend."
"They've been dating for less than a month, chances are he isn't in love with her. If he's really your friend he'll hear you out."
She gets up and starts walking me toward the door.
"I hope we can still talk sometimes. You're a good guy, Seth. If we're being honest, I don't think I'm over my last boyfriend."
"Can I call you sometime?"
She smiles, "Any time."
* * * * *
"Hey, Paul."
'Hey, man. I haven't seen you around in a while. Trouble in paradise with your little lady friend?"
"Sorta. Can I get a coke?"
"Sure. You wanna talk about it? It's a pretty slow night in here." I look around the pub. Slow is an understatement. The pub is empty except for me and a person who could be a woman or a man, I'm not sure.
"I want to talk about anything except that," I say with a smile. Then the door to the pub swings open with a breeze of air and the bells jingle. I turn to look.
"Logan? What are you doing here?"
He looks terrible. I've seen Logan hungover. I've seen Logan when his parents haven't been home in two months. I've seen Logan high, Logan who hadn't showered in a week, and Logan with a bloody nose.
I have never seen Logan look this bad.
"Oh my god, sit down. What the fuck happened to you?"
Logan sits down at the bar stool and just stares blankly at the wall behind Paul's head. I gesture for Paul to get him a drink and Paul get's him a glass of beer. Silently, Logan downs the whole glass in two gulps.
"You've got me scared shitless," I tell him.
FInally, he turns to me and laughs.
"I don't know what to do. I'm going crazy. I can't eat and I haven't slept in three days. I wanted to tell you at McDonald's, but you had so much shit going on with Peyton and Miles. I didn't want to worry you. But, Seth, there's no one else I can talk to about this. It's over between Kate and I."
"Oh my god," I whisper. Paul, sensing the crisis, pours him another beer.
"She said we fought too much. She said she wanted to be single in college. She said our relationship wasn't healthy."
He looks me in the eye, "Then she told me she was sorry. She ripped my heart out, but damn her if she didn't apologize! So she's out there right now fucking guys with a clean conscience! Three years and she leaves me with an 'I'm sorry'. Was I blind? We fought a lot, but that was what we did. She was a stuck up bitch and I was an ignorant ass! It's what made us work."
"Come on, let's get you home."
I slip Paul a twenty, which is more than enough to cover us, and lead him out the door. We run straight into a girl on her way in.
"Oh, sorry," I apologize. "Peyton? What are you doing here?"
