Changing Tune

21. Somebody else

Chapter 21: Somebody else

Ellie's POV

*****

A huge smile was stretched across my face as I walked back home. My afternoon spent with Kyla was probably one of the best I had had in a while. I had to admit, seeing Leah there upset me. I couldn't help but remember all of the times we had gone to the mall together. The times spent with her had always been good, and in a way, it hurt me to talk to her the way I did. 

But I didn't regret it. 

She was making fun of Kyla, and that set me off. No matter how much I still loved her, I wasn't going to allow her to hurt Kyla that way just because she had some sort of unfinished business with me. Business which I myself still couldn't understand. 

Meeting Leah there in the same place where we used to spend hours only months before hurt me, but being there with Kyla taught me a lot. It was funny how I needed a real friend to make me see the problems in my friendship with Leah. Not once did Kyla tell me that I looked bad in something, and not once did she interrupt me as I was talking to show me something she had found like Leah would. 

At the time, I thought that Leah was just telling me something didn't suit me because she was looking out for me and being honest. I would believe her and put it back, and Leah would then take it from the racks and try it on for herself. She always looked gorgeous in anything she wore, and would end up buying it. 

I was never jealous of the fact that she was prettier than me, nor of the fact that some things fit her more than me. She was my best friend, and I always wanted to be supportive. I thought that she had been doing the same to me, but three hours with Kyla told me that Leah was doing anything but that. 

I found it hard to believe how low Kyla's self esteem was when she looked incredible in everything she tried on. There was a dress she liked, and she was gorgeous in it. She refused to believe it when I told her that she looked good, and quickly put the dress back on the racks. I, being the person I was, was far more stubborn than Kyla. That was why I bought the dress for her. 

The thought of the glimmer in her eyes as soon as I told her that I had bought it for her and not for me was unforgettable, and I couldn't help but feel proud of myself. 

It hurt me to think about how blind I was when it came to my friendship with Leah, not realising how toxic it had become towards the end. I certainly seemed to do that a lot. Friendship was about both parties building each other up, and not tearing each other down. I couldn't see that until true friends stumbled into my life. 

Not only did Kyla not interrupt me whenever I tried talking, but she was the one who actually asked me to talk about what was going on, both in my life, and in the band. As I was talking I felt bad that she had never been introduced to the rest of the people her brother spent so much time with. I had to remember to talk to Blake about it. If she was going to be staying for good, then she had to know about the guys. 

It was about four o'clock in the afternoon, leaving me only two hours to get ready to meet with Luke before the party. Noah's words kept echoing in my head as I got dressed, making me stop from what I was doing momentarily. 

Luke and I weren't going on a date, I had certainly made that very clear. Yet, I didn't know what that night could lead to, nor if I was ready for it. No matter what happened, I knew that Noah was right about one thing, and that was to always follow my heart. 

I felt myself getting nervous as the time to leave drew nearer, and knowing that I had a couple more minutes to spare, I decided to use that time to talk to my brothers. A sense of nostalgia hit me as I knocked on Noah's old door, something which I hadn't done in quite a while. I was glad that they had decided to stay for the weekend, I knew that I would certainly need them.