Into You - BEING RE-WRITTEN

Two: Changes

Driving with Wesley was oddly relaxing. He had a 2015 silver Corvette that he usually drove with the top down. His music taste wasn't terrible so I guess you could say I was enjoying the ride. The bickering continued throughout the way but it got a bit more provocative. Neither of us seemed to mind. However, we began having an actual conversation when he asked about my date. 

"How was that outing with Prince Charming?" He questioned. 

I couldn't tell him what I really thought. "It was fun. He's a good kisser," I lied. The whole night was just bland. 

"That part I didn't need to know." He took a second and chuckled to himself. "Who would've guessed he had it in him?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. 

"That guy has no depth to him, Naomi. I didn't think he'd be a good date for you but I guess I was wrong." 

Since when does he care so much about who's a good date for me? I mean him and Chad never have gotten along but I didn't think much of it. They're just completely different people. 

The car came to a sudden stop at an In-and-Out drive thru. He ordered his food and asked me if I wanted any. I couldn't resist getting In-and-Out so I told him what I wanted. I took out my wallet to pay him back but he refused and shoved it back into my purse. This was getting really weird, really fast. Why is he being so nice to me? I was used to his meaningless flirting but this almost seemed genuine. 

"What are you staring at, Lowell?" he bugged. 

And he's back. "Nothing. You're just acting really strange today." 

"Whatever you say," he said, looking at me oddly, muttering something I couldn't quite make out. 

I brushed it off and focused on the greatness that was food. Wesley was getting jealous that he couldn't eat because he was driving so I came up with a system. I'd feed him part of his meal ever so often every time he said something nice about me. He started saying things like "I like your eyes" and then got deeper into saying things like "You do a cute thing with your face whenever someone says what you want to hear". 

Wesley Rule #1: Never hang out with him outside of school. He'll start acting like he actually likes you.

I wasn't going to deprive him of his food because I felt a bit uncomfortable so I just kept going. By the time we got to my house, he was almost done with his food. 

"Thanks for the ride, Ridges." I said. 

"Don't mention it."

I smiled at him and messed up his hair before going inside. This whole day was just bizarre. I mean it's not like we were never nice to each other. It was just never direct. For instance, if he heard a rumor about me, whether he knew was untrue or not, he'd always defend me. I would do the same. One time I heard girls talk badly about him because he rejected one of them and I jumped in to argue and defend him. It was a mutual understanding that we never spoke of. Like I said, we had a strange friendship. 

I stopped overthinking the situation and looked for my brother all over the house. I knocked on his bedroom door. No answer. I peeked and there he was - knocked out on his bed. I would usually jump on his bed and bother him until I got bored but I decided to let it slide this time. He was back for the weekend from finals week. Jesse was the type to have all nighter cramming sessions and then hibernate once it was all over. I don't know how he did it but somehow he was getting some of the highest scores. 

I tiptoed back to my room and texted Chloe, another one of my close friends. She was hanging out with her boy toy, Lorenzo. They had been an off and on thing for the past few months and I thought they were cute together but there was something off about him. I was invited to go to a beach bonfire with them later tonight. I had nothing else to do so I agreed. 

Hours passed filled with countless Netflix shows and I realized it was about time that I got ready. I had no clue who would be at the party so I went with something cute that may catch a cute boy's eye. A white off-the-shoulder shift dress was the way go along with a black bikini underneath. My caramel colored hair was let loose in messy waves. I didn't feel like doing much else other than basic makeup so once I was finished getting ready, I texted Chloe to come pick me up. 

She looked stunning. Her blonde locks were put into an intricate braid and her outfit made her look like a beach goddess. Chloe never ceased to amaze me and I was the kind of friend to let her know every time. 

"But look at you, Naomi! You look so adorable," Chloe swooned. "Won't all the guys gawk over her, Lorenzo?"

He agreed and laughed to himself. She was a character. "Of course, babe," he replied.

Lorenzo was the kind of guy who would do anything to please his girl. Everything about him was ideal except his lack of commitment. You could tell he only had eyes for Chloe but he wasn't ready for a relationship. For the longest time, she thought it was her. She went through hell trying to "fix" herself until she realized it was him. 

When we got to the beach, I was separated from the love birds when a flock of teenagers from school all attacked me with hugs and kisses. These were underclassmen who I had taken under my wing and advised them about the do's and don'ts of high school life. I gave them a speech on how they should take care of themselves at this party and then waved them off to have fun. 

I didn't mind being alone at parties. I typically just enjoyed people watching. Sometimes I'd overhear some conversations and have to try my best not to laugh. Drunk people say the funniest things. 

I went to the tiki bar and flirted my way to get a margarita. I looked around and found a couple in the middle of a drunken fight, a guy hitting on a girl way out of his league, and Wesley getting harassed by one of my littles. I always had a feeling Ariella had a thing for Wes. Her eyes would always light up when he was brought up in any conversation. She would also get a little bitter when we'd casually flirt with each other. 

By the looks of it, she wasn't following my rule about not getting too tipsy at parties. Ari was tracing his chest with her finger and smiling goofily up at him. I couldn't keep watching this, he looked too uncomfortable and it was even creeping me out. I marched right over to them and ripped them off of each other. 

Okay, so that was a little dramatic; but I really did get them a safe distance away from each other. 

"Naomi! Just the person I was looking for," Wes exclaimed with a relieved expression on his face. 

"I just got your text, I was looking all over the place for you." If there was one thing I was great at, it was lying. That's how I got out of most sticky situations. "Oh hey Ari, I didn't see you there." 

She smiled but I could tell she was annoyed. He, on the other hand, embraced me in a huge bear hug and whispered a "thank you" into my ear. 

I didn't want to give our little act away so I pretended to whisper something cute in his ear when in reality I was just giving him instructions. "Pretend I said something cute and keep me close to you." I pecked his cheek right after and he pulled me to his side by my waist. This amount of PDA was new to him and I. 

"Well I think I'm gonna go find my friends. I'll see you guys later." Ariella waved and stormed off. I felt bad but I know he didn't have the heart to flat out reject her. She was only a sophomore; she was like a baby to us. 

"Jesus Christ, I thought I'd never get rid of her." He sighed. 

"She just has a crush on you. You're just too cute to resist." I mocked by pinching his cheek. 

He smiled smugly. "Well now you're just stating the obvious."

I rolled my eyes and then realized we were still in the same position as before. I slyly moved away and made small talk with him. It wasn't awkward but it wasn't the usual. I guess we were past that stage now and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it.