CHASE - #1 in the hometown series

CHASE - 3

Chase Sullivan

11:45 PM
Me: I saw your video.
Me: You sound real good blondie
Me: I proud of you
6:45 AM
Me.: Still want me to drive you to school or not blondie?

Ellie wasn't answering my texts still because of what happened saturday night and barely talked to me during lunch yesterday after church but I was parked in her driveway anyway. She was about to walk out in
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"Get out of my driveway!" She yells.

"How you gonna get to school then?" I raise an eyebrow at her. She huffs and stays in her spot while stomping her way to my truck and slaming the door shut once she was inside.

I know I pushed her buttons the other night. From the video incident - which by the way, I still think she should take it down, but I won't tell her that - to me almost kissing her (I wanted to so bad) and then teasing her about Reese.

I don't think I've ever seen her this worked up with me. But I'm not saying she shouldn't be.

"Not picking up your little girlfriend?" She asks me.

"No, just my stubborn and high maintenance best friend." I respond trying to make her laugh. Does work. This is going to harder than I thought. "Alright. No school today."

Her eyes pop. "No, Chase, I have-"

"I'm sure you'll find a way to make it up, Blondie."

She stops arguing, knowing I'm right.

I first take us to a dinner in the first town over where it's a little more populated than our town. We do this everytime we skip. Only Ellie is taking this opportunity to drain out my bank account by ordering basically everything on the menu.

"And for you, hun?" The old lady asks me.

"I'll have the breakfast platter, no toast and a black coffee."

"Comin' right up, sweethearts."

We are left alone and Ellie is on her phone. I snatch it out of her hands. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to come onto you like that yesterday. And I promise, nothing is going on between me and Reese. I just want to protect you, darlin'."

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

"What did you call me?"

"Mh?"

"Don't play dumb, Chase. You have never called me anything like that."

"Can we focus on what I said before that?" I laugh nervously. We don't need any more reasons to make this anymore tense.

"I just want you to trust me. This is going good for me. I wanna be a singer. I wanna write music. I wanna put myself out there. I think you can do it too. You sing like an angel and you can play guitar like no one else."

I shake my head "You know I ain't made for that lifestyle."

"You make it whatever you want it to be. I just don't want you to waste your potential."

"Not if you sign a label you don't."

She shurgs. "I don't care about that." I loved how confident she was. How she was going to make herself the life she wanted. But she's too high in the clouds sometimes. "And about Reese... You aren't lying right?"

"I wouldn't lie to you."

I see her shyly smile. Finally cracked. "I'm sorry I ordered all that food."

I smile. "Now you have to eat it all."

She pouts. "Nuh uh."