Fifteen: Free Fallin'

Chapter 26: Doo Wop (That Thing)

Avery sat in Ellenton hall waiting for the rest of the crew to get there for dinner. He lost himself in his thoughts while he waited. Everything seemed to be working out for everyone, including him. The swim team was amazing and his numbers were exceeding what his coach originally projected. He knew that had a lot to do with the fact that he was breathing and eating all things school and swimming. He didn't have the luxury of being with the girl that still had his heart after all this time.

He knew there was nothing he could do about Brooke. She was happy and in a relationship with Jaden and she deserved that. She deserved to be with someone who knew her lifestyle and even knew her before he did. He just wanted to apologize for Colorado. He wanted to apologize for how he treated her a Fish Fest.

Avery just wanted to say sorry for everything and explain why he was such a complete dipshit, but he was too afraid to do that. He was afraid he'd apologize and it'd be too late. So, he kept his mouth shut and as he watched her and Jaden walk hand in hand towards him, he plastered on the fakest smile and started up conversation.

"What's up man," Jaden dabbed him up before pulling out Brooke's seat. "Nothing much just ready for everyone to get here so we can eat. Coach worked us extra hard today, so I'm starving." Jaden nodded in understanding. "Your meet is against Winchester isn't it?" Brooke asked genuinely interested. It brought a real smile to his lips.

"Yeah, they're Texas U's rivals and apparently they have a member that's a real shark." To be honest, Avery was a little worried about the competition and Brooke could tell. "You're going to do great, merman." The mention of the nickname had Avery looking deeply in her eyes. He hadn't heard that in what felt like forever and it tumbled off her lips as if it were nothing.

"Why y'all fools just sitting here? It's dinner time!" Preston announced as everyone tumbled in behind him. Jaden shook his head as he grabbed Brooke's hand. "We were waiting for you guys." Preston shook his head and grabbed a plate. "When it comes to food I'm not waiting on no man." "We know." They all chorused and laughed.

Once everyone had their food and were seated they all began going over the events of their day. "Guys, our show is in 3 weeks!" Sophia Kate exclaimed taking a bite out of her chicken parmesan. "This is the fire show, right?" Daisy inquired. "Yeah and you're all going!" Aria instructed pointing her fork at them.

"Of course, we'll be there. I just can't believe it's a part of Parents Weekend. My dad can't seem to stop talking about it." Jaden informed. "Ugh, Parents Weekend," Preston sighed. "It's going to be fun, little big brother!" Tyler smiled. "You guys will get to meet our Moms." They all smiled at this.

"Who all here has a parent or parents coming?" Aria asked. Preston, Tyler, Faye, Olivia, Jaden, Caleb and Stefan raised their hands. "Technically, it's my older brother, but he just wanted an excuse to come to a college and party." They all chuckled. "It'll be fun having Victor around," JT smiled. "Y'all are going to love him. He's like a cooler version of Stefan."

"So, your mom is coming?" Aria asked Caleb who looked perturbed. "Yeah." He was short with her and Aria knew why. It wasn't so much that his mom was coming, but rather that his father was not. He had made up some excuse on the phone while they were in bed together and she knew it hurt him.

"I'm excited to meet the woman that made the perfect man for me." She whispered in his ear before sucking his earlobe in her mouth. It garnered a quiet groan from his lips before he squeezed her bare thigh. "You're going to get it once we're alone." Aria wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Promises, promises."

"I think we should all match for the ball." Olivia spoke up earning her looks. "What I think it'll be cute! It doesn't even have to be on a couple's kick. We all just pick a color and go from there." They all looked at each other and sighed at her adorableness.