Blossom 🌸

SIXTY ONE 🌸

"Aren't you going to tell your dickfaced friends that we didn't hook up?" He leaned over and grabbed another slice of toast from Cams plate. Cameron pushed the plate towards him so he could have it all.

"You just did." He pointed out and I scowled at him.

"We didn't hook up." He confirmed monotonously, spurting bread crumbs everywhere.

"But it's none of your fucking business anyway." His leg once again continued to bounce.

"I'm so fucking hungry, this toast is shit." He stood up and left the table, going to the food counter.

"I bet he fucked you good and proper didn't he Fearne? You're one of Arlo's little sluts now."

With Eli's words I coiled up inside myself. The inner darkness drowning me like the bath water. I didn't want to be 'one of Arlo's little sluts.' But I was, even if we didn't hook up because in my mind we did. Often.

"Eli! What the fuck!" Lexi cut in.

"You know he'll never settle on just one person, especially not you. He's bisexual, you know how much competition you've got? Take a look around. How could you possibly give him what he gets from a guy?"

"That's enough! You're being a disrespectful asshole and I don't like it!" Cam spoke in my defence and Eli laughed at him.

"Oh yeah? And what are you going to do, swish me with one of your dresses?" The soccer team laughed and Cams face reddened.

"No, I'm gonna hit you with my fucking fist." And that was it. A huge fight broke out and I got lost screaming and crying somewhere in the middle.

Cameron was a skinny guy, his arms and legs were like twigs and his tall figure made his stomach pull completely flat. So it was lucky Jordan and Zak managed to pull the fight apart before the soccer team did any real damage.

After breakfast Chelsea Gibbons was already on a wooden stage singing a country song in an off-key. Everyone danced and cheered even though her performance was talentless.

"Hey Fearne, where's Arlo?" I wiped away my tears on the sleeve of my hoodie and shrugged one shoulder. Carlton was the last person I wanted to see. "He has my chain and I'd like it back."

"I really don't care Carlton."

"Rude, you should care. He took my chain for you." My head zipped towards him and my eyes narrowed. "Came into my room last night and kept talking bullshit about getting you a necklace to apologise for something he did. Then he stole my chain, you're not having it Fearne. I want it back."

"You didn't go into the forest with him?"

"Forest? No." He lied to me, why?

"Thank you Chelsea, who is up next?" Principal Moore announced down a microphone.

The crowd started chanting his name but he wasn't here. Until I noticed him, getting pushed to the front with his hood up shielding his face. He protested, he didn't want to get up on stage but as always he played to the crowd until they had successfully got him up there. 

Well, no.

I marched up to the stage and grabbed a microphone telling Principal Moore it was duet. The crowd simmered to whisper while Arlo whispered to the orchestra band. He came to the centre stage and side glanced at me nervously.

"You lied." I said loud enough for his ears only.

"What?"

"Carlton didn't go to the forest. You lied, why?"

"Wait, he didn't?" Relief washed over him and he smiled to himself.

"You lied to me, you hurt me for no reason. I want to know why?" His smile grew to a laugh. A smirk.

Suddenly the band started playing around us, the intro to Love Story by, you guessed it - Taylor Swift.

"We were both young when I first saw you..."

I gripped the microphone tighter, I wanted to bash him on the head with it. Something had revitalised him. His hood came down, his words fell out in a harmonised melody that just completed the song in the most beautiful way and he danced. He danced like he owned the stage, like he could take on the whole world and win.

My face got more and more annoyed the further he got into the verse, especially at the sight of his peers lapping up the performance like he was some fucking rockstar. When the song got to the chorus and I hadn't uttered a single word he stopped singing and glanced at me with expectations.

I gestured my hand across my throat to the musicians and they stopped playing right away. Arlo's eyes widened, he glanced down, his breathing becoming more rapid and his cheeks turning red.

I don't know what he expected me to do in that moment but when I started singing he looked up in shock.

"Cause baby now we got bad blood..."

Everyone started screaming and I threw everything I had into my words, singing with maximum sass. My eyes looked down on him like he was a disgrace to the human race. The musicians picked up quickly and I circled him, singing my words aggressively. There was no way I was going to sing a love song with him, not after this.

"You think you can win me at a swift off? You've seen my playlist."

He shook his head at me and I shoved my hand into his shoulder pushing him back slightly as I sang, he laughed it off and my lips twitched with amusement because no matter how mad he made me, he always seemed to make me laugh. My anger slowly dispersed into the sound waves.

"Snakes and stones never broke my bones, so..."

He counteracted with the song 'You need to calm down' picking up somewhere in the middle, the musicians changed track quickly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

He squared up to me, hitting me with a wave of his fruity soap. His height towered over me. But I waved my hand at him and walked away. He followed, singing the words at me like he meant them with every piece of him. He spun me around to face him.

And I highered the microphone to my lips and sang my next rendition; Mean. He rolled his eyes at me but then joined in with the song, playing off the words with me.

"All you are is mean"
"And a liar"
"And pathetic"
"And alone in life"
"And mean and mean and mean and mean."

"I can keep going all night baby, in more ways than one." He winked at me and my eyes narrowed.

"Why did you lie?" I snapped back, the musicians still playing on without us.

"Don't do that here, not in front of everyone. Please?" I was instantly transported right back into the moment. I forgot about the crowds. I got lost in the singing and the theatrics.

"Fine, love story?" I agreed.

"Love story."

"We were both young when I first saw you..."

This time we sang together, amicably sharing the stage. Once the song came to an end everyone erupted into cheers and Arlo grabbed me. Hoisting me up to his waist and spinning me around.

"Are you sure he didn't come to the forest?"

"That's what he said."

He brushed his fingers through my hair and pressed his lips against mine. "I'm sorry." He kissed me again. "Fuck, I'm so sorry. I gotta go talk to him, then I'll come talk to you, yeah?"

"Okay."