This, That & The Third

Chapter 6

There he is. The least suspicious guy around. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration.

His name is Stanley, Stanley Smith. He is just a few short centimetres taller than I was. He is tan, with simple brown eyes. Pretty simple, I suppose. "Simple pimple." As Zoella always says.

Yeah, simple pimple.

I met Stanley at the end of our Grade 9 year. Here's the story on flash cards :

i. We had a 'thing' for a little while until I decided to call it quits. (It was just infatuation on my side anyway.)
ii. As tradition would have it, we weren't in contact for months.
iii. I decided to take the first step mid-September of last year to mend our friendship. It was shortly after my birthday, so I felt mature and kind.
iv. We got quite close, but it seemed like he caught feelings. I didn't exactly back off, because, quite frankly, I liked the attention.
v. This year rolled around and we were still going strong, our friendship, I mean. Besides him asking me out a few times, things were cool.
vi. He suddenly wanted a relationship. Only problem was, he wasn't willing to ask for one in person.
vii. Flash forward a few more months & here comes the drama.
Who would've thought? I guess I should've known, it's just my luck.

____________

They sneaking out the back door
He only want me when I'm not there
He better call becky with the good hair
He better call becky with the good hair

Beyoncé's Sorry plays in my head on repeat all day. I smile inwardly. How did Bey know her name was Becky?

Slay Queen B, slay.

I see her. My "best friend". She hasn't seen me yet, but we're heading two separate directions. Time freezes. Her eyes register with mine and for a brief moment, we forget we're no longer friends. We nearly smile at each other, but before I could stop myself, I feel my face turn into a scowl and I throw daggers her way.

Serves her right, little bitch.

Guess she must've have told her sweetheart about this, because shortly after our meeting, I get a request from him to speak with me at break through his friend in my class. Apparently, it's urgent.

He wants to speak with me?

I think about what he could have to say. Hesitantly, I accept. The siren goes and my head is spinning with possibilities.

Be strong, babygirl. Don't let him sense your weakness.

"Max, what's eating at you?", Rae, the third and final addition to my close school friends asks, taking me out of my haze. "It's just tha..."

There his is. Stanley approaches my group of friends and I. I am suddenly angered by his face and become fierce. "What do you wanna talk about?", I ask, sounding more confident than I have in days. "Could we please do this in private?", his voice sounds small. After I brief look at Zoella and Rae, I oblige. We walk and stop at a secluded spot.

"I need you to stop being mad at Becky.", these words fall out Stanley's mouth like hail.

WHAT?

"If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me. Not her.", he says after reading my face.

WHAT?

He pauses, waiting for a reaction. To tell the truth, I was too.

"I'm sorry, what?", I ask. He doesn't realise this is a rhetorical question and is dumb enough to answer. "Becky told me that you aren't talking to her, she also told me that we can't be friends, because of your friendship. So please just start talking to her again, because this is hurting her."

Hahaha, he's joking right? He has GOT to be joking.

"And you think this is easy for me? You think I like that the both of you hurt me in a way so sneaky and unexpectant? You think I like being hurt?", I ask, my voice nearly breaking. "What about what you did to me?", he asks.

What the hell is this boy talking about?

"Last year, when you broke up with me? The day before Valentine's Day? That wasn't easy for me.", he says the hurt evident on his face.

He's bringing this up now?

"I never mean to hurt you, Stanley. I did that for you. I couldn't lead you on any longer.", I explain. He looks away. "I thought you loved me.", he says and faces me again. "I was infatuated and you deserved more than that. It seemed selfish to hold you from someone who could've given you that.", I confess.

And then it hits me.

"Is that why you did this? Is that why you went after my 'best friend'?", I demand. "Did you do all of this to get even? I didn't mean to hurt you, Stanley. I couldn't!" His hand comes towards one of mine, but I force my own in my jacket pocket.

"Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place.", sings Taylor Swift.

He's still. "Why did you do it though, Stanley? Why her? Weren't you aware that we were friends?", I'm practically begging for an answer other than the one I was expecting. "No, I did it because I was ready for a relationship. I didn't know you knew her."

The one thing I couldn't give him. And he goes to her for one. How couldn't he know we were friends anyway? We were EVERYWHERE.

I'm fuming as that pretzel is forming again. I can't look at his stupid face any longer. I look over at where my friends are. Becky.

What the HELL is she doing there? What the actual hell is her stupid ass doing over there? Did she set all this up?

Of course she did, little bitch.

Stanley follows my eyes and sees her too. I lunge forward, heading in her direction.

I heard his side, might as well hear hers.

He grabs my wrist firmly and stops me. "Lemme go, Stanley! I'm doing what you want me to do, I'm gonna talk to her." He steps in front of me, "No, Max not in this way."

WTF he mean 'not in this way'?

But something other than Stanley stops me from confronting her, it's who she's with. She's with Miguel, my cousin.

I look Stanley in the eye and ask, "Bet she didn't tell you that you aren't the first guy she stole from me, did she?" His eyebrows shot up, giving me my answer. "You tell her that I want both of you to stay out of my way.", I say while looking him in the eye before walking off. The siren marking the end of break goes.
Becky seems to have evaporated.

So then it looks like I've learnt something new about her:
i. Little bitch can't keep promises.
ii. Little bitch can't tell the truth.
iii. And apparently, little bitch can't fight her own battles.

My stomach-pretzel turns into burning stone as I remember the day we exchanged our friendship bracelets. I rip mine off my wrist abruptly. It bleeds a bit. It burns.

Little bitch.

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Hey guys, please go back and read my entire story. I did some improvements & it really is so much better.

Also, lemme know what you guys thought of this Chapter. I made it extra eventful. ;)

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