Unexpected | ✔️

50- The Kiss

A triple update! Make sure you've read the two chapters before this one or else you'll be confused.

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*Two months later* 

"Bella, are you coming to the fair tonight?" Dylan asked, leaning against the lockers next to mine. I sighed, giving him an answer with the little sound. "No, sorry. Wrong wording. I'm not asking you to come, I'm telling you that you're coming."

I shut my locker to reveal Jaz on the other side of me. "Yeah, Ary! Come on, it's been months of you moping around. We just want our best friend back." She gave me puppy dog eyes and jutted out her bottom lip to form a pout. I sighed in defeat, the guilt taking over me. She squealed and pulled me into a hug. "Yay! We'll have so much fun."

She kept one arm around me and Dylan joined on the other side, squishing me in the middle. It had been two months since Dean left and I had been lazing around. I missed him, but I was also overwhelmingly hurt by the abandonment. I took these months to process was truly happened to me. In a way, it was healing. 

"Okay, I'll come by to pick you up at seven. Jaz, I'll be at yours after," Dylan said as he pushed open the door that led to the student parking lot. 

I gave him a confused look. "Why can't I meet you there?"

Jaz answered for him. "Save the environment by carpooling! Also... we know you'll bail if given the opportunity," she mumbled the last part of her sentence.

I felt insanely guilty. I was aware that I wasn't the most pleasant company to be around lately, so I avoided my friends as much as possible. In my brain, my presence was a burden to them. They didn't see it that way. They thought I just wanted to be alone.

"Ouch, I get it, you don't trust me," I teased in an attempt to lighten the mood. I hadn't been my sarcastic self lately and I knew they missed that. They both glanced at each other in excitement and I knew exactly what they were thinking: the old me was coming back.

I was trying. My friend's constant reminders that I was abandoning them struck a nerve in me. Even though I wasn't, I knew how that felt. Instead of making them feel that way, I decided I'd try to get back to normal, even if in small doses.

Soon enough, my white Jeep Wrangler came into view and we stopped walking. "Okay, see you tonight," I smiled. "Emma and Will are meeting us, right?"

"Yup," Jaz wiggled her brows. They were still going pretty strong from what I could tell, even though they tried to tone it down during lunch.

Now that football season was over, Dylan was back to being our full-time friend. We could finally hang out on Friday nights, like tonight. 

I got into my car and dropped my smile as soon as they were far away. Pretending to be happy was exhausting.

Fake it till you make it.

Justin knocked on the passenger window, making me jump. I unlocked the car and he slid in, giving me a sheepish smile. His lips were swollen and I knew he was making out with his girlfriend. One who he hadn't introduced to the family yet.

I muttered "gross" under my breath before starting the journey home. When we went inside, he went straight to his room. I went straight to my dad's office. My mom was still at work, so I'd have to ask him. 

"Hey, Daddy?" I asked as sweetly as possible.

He looked up from the papers on his desk and gave me an amused smile. "Yeah, kiddo? What do you want?"

I pretended like offering him affection wasn't a means to get what I wanted, even though it was. "There's this fair and I was wondering if I could go? And have money-"