rivals | colby brock ✔️

fifty-six.

After hating each other for years... I am here in love with him.

The room spreads with more silence.

My palms begin to sweat waterfalls, and the next thing I know, my eyes begin to cry oceans.

I slouch down onto the couch and bury my face within these cold hands.

These hands that have touched my best friend's boyfriend in the wrong way.

Ellie whispers, "Ashlyn, stop crying, it's oka-"

"Actually, no," Colby interrupts with a strong voice.

I peer up at him with soaked eyes.

"You've got it all wrong," He says. "Ellie, it's not all completely true. I liked her before we were together. But then I started to date you, and I thought that I could learn to love you. When we hung out El, it was probably the most fun times I've ever had, and being your boyfriend was quite an adventure."

He smiles lightly, "Your amazing personality made me always feel like I could be myself, and the way you knew how to make me laugh never fails because you almost always know how to put a smile on my face. The times when we'd walk down the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard just to pretend we're like lost tourists, running across the beach at night just because we got bored of society's busy life, and dangling our feet over the hood of the car to just eat In N Out."

Ellie smiles at him, hearing him remember those memories and say those kind words.

"However, you don't deserve having me as your boyfriend..." He ends.

She seals her lips, "Wait, w-why?"  She questions.

Colby sighs, "I don't deserve to be your boyfriend because during all those times, I tried my hardest praying that maybe one of them, while I'm with you, something will click in my head and I will then be able to genuinely say that I love you more than any other girl in the world, but that didn't happen. Throughout those times, I found something with a different girl. I did not want this to happen, I didn't want to face the fact that I am cheater, but I felt something with this girl that I wish I felt with you."

My heart pounded at his words.

"Ellie, your boyfriend should love you... and I'm sorry you wasted your time with such a guy like me. Haha..." He begins to chuckle lightly to himself. "Hah, sorry this isn't the time to laugh," He smiles, wiping his dry tears.

He gives a small laugh again but calms, "Ha, I guess I'm emotionally unstable because I'm so sorry that you ended up liking a douche bag like me, El. Ha, wow I feel so bad, that I'm crying because I love a different girl! Damn, my life is pretty fucked up.  God, I wish I could rewind time because if it weren't for me who just wanted to patronize Ashlyn on her graduation goodbye party, I wouldn't have asked you out and none of this would have happened."

At this point, pins being dropped could be heard.

Ellie or Colby may not deserve each other, but I don't deserve them in my life either.

How I wish I could turn back time and not have bought lunch that day in the lunchroom.

Ellie begins to let tears fall down her cheeks. It hurt me more than it really should have.

"Wh-why'd you stay with me when you had feelings for her all along?" She whispers, covering her mouth to soften her small sobs. "Why could have you just broken up with me before I fell hard? It would have been easier for everybody if you didn't lead me on, didn't you ever realize that?"

Sam nods, "You can't have two girls at the same time, Colby. You can't have them both. We all knew you liked Ashlyn, why use her best friend as an experiment to test your theory?"