The Boy I Used To Know ( A Josh Hutcherson FanFic)

Chapter 3

Annie's POV

2 WEEKS LATER

An idiot just turned the lights on. Can't he see me sleeping? I groaned and shifted, pulling the blankets up to cover my face. But turning to the other side doesn't help either. I opened my eyes. Oh, it's the sun. I stretched and gave a little yawn. The digital clock on my bedside showed 8am.

Shit!

I was late for school! Why didn't my mom wake me up? I jumped off the bed and rushed into the bathroom. My hair's a mess and I'm late. Late! "Mom! Why didn't--" I stopped. Where is everybody? The house seems awfully quiet. "Mom? Dad?" I called out. No reply. "Hello?" There was no one downstairs. None in the kitchen either. This is strange. It's a school day. Normally my kitchen would be buzzing with hungry mouths to feed and Josh banging on my back door, waiting for me to let him in.

I turned into the living room. Still no sign of anybody. Where would they've gone? I thought to myself. Then my eyes landed on a piece of paper taped to the TV screen. I picked it up and it read:

Look behind you

Behind me? I turned and saw another note on the sofa.

Did you forget?

Forget what? This is starting to creep me out. "Come out, guys. It's not funny." I said, trying to sound as angry as I could to hide my nervousness. "It's not funny." I walked up to my room and- surprise,surprise- there was another note. I didn't notice it before.

"What the--" Then I heard a soft whistle. It was Rue's lullaby from The Hunger Games. "Josh Hutcherson! Come out or I swear I'll burn the house down!" I said. It must be him. Only he can replicate the whistle so perfectly. "1...2.." I counted, turning to close the door. "SURPRISE!" There, by the door, stood Josh, Connor, my mom and my dad. "Happy Birthday, Annie!" My mom and dad gave me a hug but I stood there rigid, unmoving. 'Yo, Annie. Happy birthday." Connor gave me a hug too. I tried to smile but I just couldn't. The shock and the embarassment took over. How could I forget my own birthday? How could I even forget?! It's the biggest day of the year and after all the planning I did, I just... forgot.

'Yeah, I figured you'd forget." Josh finally said. "Come here." I hugged him tight. "Still want to burn your room?" He chuckled in my hair. He knew I would never do that. My clothes are much too precious. I let go of him and hit him in the chest. "I hate you." He smiled and said, "Love you too." Oh God, why did he ever come into my life? I rolled my eyes and headed for the showers.

"What about school?" I asked my mom. "School? Honey, it's a saturday. Are you ok?" My mom said, eyes wide, then she shook her head at me while my dad tries to keep a straight face. What a joke you must be, Annie. I thought to myself.

******************************

"This is for you." Josh said, opening a little box with a heart shaped pendant in it. "Here. You keep half and the other half is mine." He smiles and separates the magnetic pendant. Behind the pendant was "Now Til' Forever" inscribed in little curly letters. What an odd choice but I kept my mouth shut. This must've cost a fortune, judging by the weight of the silver and the delicate crystals adorning one half of the pendant, my half. "Thanks, Josh. It's beautiful." I say as he clasped the chain behind my neck. He slipped his half into his pocket.

It felt nice there, hanging from my neck. The cold silver pressed on my skin. We spent the whole day at the park, watching Connor wrestle Josh and splurging on Haagen Dazs ice creams. Life was almost blissful until Nate called.

"Hey, beautiful. Happy birthday." Nate was away in Spain for a few days now. Eventhough it saddened me that he didn't tell me he was going away until the day he was leaving, I got over it. Over him more like it. The time spent to reflect, now that he's a thousand miles away, was proven helpful. First, I thought about what I liked in Nate. There was that rare sincerity that I sometimes get from Nate or maybe it's the way he charms people to get what he wants. Then I thought of the times I actually felt nice around him. The only moment that came to mind was when he first kissed me. It was last Christmas and I was over at his place. Nate's house is a little bit of a wonder, with a fireplace and such. But after that, I blanked out. That was when I finally realised I had no romantic feelings for him anymore. So I decided to shut him out and not call him, hoping he would get the message and leave. What with the incident two weeks ago, I thought he ought to have figured by now. He didn't.

"Hello, Nate." I said grimly. "How's your day? Miss me?" His vanity annoys me. "As a matter of fact, no. Nate, there's something I have to talk to you about." I said in the same tone while watching Josh teaching Connor to fly a kite from a distance. "You fell in love with Dick Face?" I knew who he meant when he said that but decided I shouldn't sound offended. "No. Nate, we're breaking up." "What?! I've been gone four days and you don't want me anymore?" I heard a hint of hurt and jealousy in his voice which made me smile. "Yes. We're over. And by the way, you're the dickhead." I said and immediately hung up. It felt good being free at last. It felt very good.

"Josh!" I called out to him. He turned around and left Connor for awhile. "Yeah?" He said as he came closer. "I broke up with Nate." I grinned. He looked at me like i was crazy then he took a double take. "Are you serious?" He says. "Of course. It's the best birthday present ever." He smiled and gave me a hug. "I knew you'd listen to me. I'm always right." This time I didn't snap back at him, instead, I just smiled. Maybe he is after all.