The Battle of the Bands ✓

The Battle of the Bands | 19

"Oh god, this is hopeless," I groaned, closing my eyes and hoping really hard that my problems would just disappear.

"Hm, why don't we just get Nick and Jack to threaten him into shutting up about it?" she suggested.

"Maybe, but I don't know. Carter's the kind of person who's made it painfully obvious that he doesn't give a shit," I sighed, thinking back to how many times he'd gotten into fights for running his mouth. It had been several.

"What if you just transfer schools? You could go to McKinley with Charlie and Max and Trevor!"

"There's no way in hell my mom could afford that," I replied, staring up at the ceiling.

"But you're dad could! He's rich and he owns that accounting firm, right?"

I nodded my head but let out a sigh, " They wouldn't let me transfer schools without a valid reason, anyways. Boy problems is not a valid reason in the parental guidelines," I replied.

"Well honestly, I have no idea. Maybe just talk to him?" Kenz said, popping a bubble with her gum.

"I doubt it'd do any good, but I could try." I sat up, cracking my head on the headboard, "Ow, fuck," I groaned, closing my eyes.

That was surely not helping my headache.

"Alright, I'm gonna text him and tell him to meet me at my place. Wait, my mom's home. On second thought, we should probably go to his house. Wait, no, he might try to lay one down on me. Actually, let's just go to the park," I thought aloud, gripping my phone in my hand before clicking on Carter's contact.

I quickly shot him a text telling him to meet me at the park in ten, hurrying out of Kenz's room and calling out a goodbye.

"Thanks for your help, Kenz! I love you!" I yelled as I left the house, hurrying out to my car. I felt around in my pockets until I found my keys, stepping towards my car, and quickly unlocking it.

I slid into the driver's seat and revved the engine to life, backing out of Kenzie's driveway and making my way to the park.

After a few minutes of driving, I pulled into the parking lot, stepping out of my car and leaning against it. A couple of minutes later, I saw Carter's black car pull into the parking lot, and I let out a sigh of relief.

He'd actually bothered to show up, which meant that he might actually give a shit.

Oh, who was I kidding, this was Carter Jacobs. He didn't give a shit about anyone but himself.

Once he'd stepped out of his car, I tried not to let my nervousness show. I didn't need him thinking I was intimidated by him, though I totally was.

"So..." he started, leaning against his car with his hands tucked in his pockets.

"Can we, uh, can we talk?" I glanced up from my shoes, and he must've seen the nervousness I was trying so hard to hide because, for a moment, his eyes softened.

"Yeah," he replied, following me as I moved towards the walking trail. When I was sure we were alone, I let out a deep breath.

"Can we- I don't- ugh," I groaned, rubbing my hands against my face. I was a hot mess.

"Whoa, calm down," he said, gently grabbing my arm. I quickly jerked my arm out of his grasp, not missing the look of pain that flickered through his eyes, though as soon as it was there, it was gone.

"Carter, I don't want anything between the two of us. I mean it," I stated, staring into his eyes to let him know that I was serious.

"So then what was last night?" he asked, anger slowly creeping into his voice.

"I don't- I don't know," I sighed, running a hand through my hair, "I don't know," I repeated, more to myself than to him.

"I was drunk, and we were talking, and it just happened," I sighed, closing my eyes briefly before quickly opening them again.

"Alright, whatever. Is that what you brought me out here for? To tell me that you didn't want a relationship with me?"

I nodded my head before sighing again, "That, and I don't really want you to tell anyone."

Carter rolled his eyes with a bitter laugh.

"Of course, you don't want me to tell anyone, either."

"What do you want out of me, Carter?" I met his eyes, my voice slowly rising, "Do you want me to lie and tell you that I like you when I don't? I lost feelings for you long before we broke up, I was just too stupid to realize it!"

"Oh, so that's what this is about? Us breaking up?" he yelled back.

"No! This is about last night and how it didn't mean anything! I don't want you getting the wrong idea about this!" I replied, attempting to calm myself down, "I just didn't want to lead you on," I added, my temper slowly diminishing.

"Well, it's a little late for that," he replied, the bitterness of his smile reaching his voice.

"Carter, I—"

"No, it's fine. Whatever, I won't tell anybody, but I can't promise that no one already knows," he said, before stalking off in the opposite direction.

Confusion washed over me, my eyebrows furrowing slightly. What did he mean 'I can't promise that no one already knows'? What did that even mean?

I shook it off, figuring that Carter was trying to get into my head. I sighed slightly and headed back towards my car. That could've gone better, but with Carter, it probably couldn't have been much better.

My headache had increased, along with my blood pressure, probably. I took a deep breath and unlocked my car, slipping into the driver's seat and leaning my head on the steering wheel.

I was not ready for school on Monday.