woman like me - j.f✔️

XLIII

Remember the drama that was bound to ensue? Yeah, here it was. Rowan had caught sight of her girlfriend and the boy she'd tried so desperately to get rid of. Nothing broke these two apart, it was infuriating. There was no night like homecoming, so why not have some fun?

Love felt at peace, but she'd created a war in Rowan's head. Her cheeks burning red with rage, she stormed away from her friends and left the hall they were standing in. Love broke away, hearing the thudding of Rowan's heels over the music. Justin had also noticed this, detaching his hands from Love's waist. Their moment now completely shattered, he sighed.

Judging by her sudden want to kiss him, he knew she had finally come to some sense regarding her relationship. He turned to her, seeing her shaky and taking small breaths. "Are you ready to end it for good?"

She was glad he knew how she felt without a word between them, and she nodded hastily. Love began her march outside, following Rowan as she walked into the parking lot. Justin hot on her trail to watch it all unfold. The girlfriends stood opposite each other, a great distance between them. It was something out of a western cowboy movie. He was waiting on them to count down and pull a gun on each other.

"What the hell is your problem, Ro?" Love shouted. She had all the confidence she could muster up, never feeling better. And she was far from backing down again. Rowan turned, a scowl on her face as she watched the happy couple stand there defensively.

"My problem? What about your problem? I've done nothing by protect you since your precious bestie arrived, and all you do is ignore me and continue on with him!" She scorned, raising her hands in the air. Rowan made no sense, protecting her from what? He'd done nothing wrong.

"You were never protecting me, you were manipulating me! Any friendship I ever formed was diminished by you. I was yours and only yours. I didn't have anyone besides you, whilst you have a permanent entourage of friends." Love argued, anger levels rising but slowly lowering as she felt Justin's hand on her shoulder. "You've always been jealous of every friend I have, you see them as a threat, but where do my feelings come into consideration? I want to be my own person."

It was more sad than anything, Justin wanted to pull Love away from this situation and hug her until everything was okay again. She wanted independence so badly, but Rowan held it just out of reach. He was glad she was finally being rid of this controlling, toxic bitch. But it wasn't just him hit in the gut by her speech, Rowan had been too. Her fury dropped and her face looked sympathetic for Love.

"Love, I love you. After every fight, I go crawling back to you. And I know I shouldn't, but I can't stop. I want to work past this. I love you." Rowan mumbled, just enough for Love and Justin to hear this. Justin thought this was it, they were back to square one and he'd be in the friendzone until he dies. But Love hadn't let her guard down.

"I can't.." Love replied softly. "I can't do this again. I don't love you anymore." As hard as this was for Love, it was for the best. She'd never forget the good times with Rowan, and how much she'd helped her with, but it was better this way. Justin reached for her hand, pulling her away from Rowan before anything progressed further than it should've.

"You." Justin heard from behind him. It was like Satan had burst through the concrete floor and towered over them. "You did this. You wormed your way into our lives and ruined it. It's your fault, all your fault. I hope someday Love realises that too, because she will. You should've never come here."

Those words wouldn't have meant much if he hadn't heard the last part. It sounded familiar. Those words had rung through his head a million times before, but where from? Love pulled him into the school once again and they waited in the dark hallway outside the gymnasium. The faint sound of music and laughing teens, but Justin was unnerved. He knew exactly where he'd heard that before.

"Justin? Are you okay?" Love questioned, watching as he frantically pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his phone to find the messaging app. He twisted the phone go show Love, who read the message slowly and analysed the number. She was horribly forgetful, so the number meant nothing to her as of yet.

"I got this message before I left town, do you think it was her?" He asked. Love had pulled her own phone from her bag, clicking on Rowan's contact and reading out the number. They matched. Love gave him a disheartening nod and shoved her phone back into her bag. "Can you pinky promise me something?"

Love looked at Justin, his suggestive face could mean anything. But she waited for his response. "Promise me you won't let Rowan back into your life, you don't deserve that kind of person, Love." Love nodded and pulled him closer, the pair losing themselves in a kiss.

"Woah..." Justin backed away with his hands raised. "Take me on a date first." He joked, as she'd deepened the kiss. All Love could do was giggle, throwing her hands to her sides.

"That's a bet. I'm babysitting my sister soon whilst my mom visits my uncle, how about you come over?" He nodded and they shook on it. Their first date agreed on.