Chapter Twelve: Brighton & Board Games Pt.1
RACHEL
I packed in silence and Chris didn't question me once. He seemed too excited by the prospect of spending time with his best friend who he hardly ever saw. I tried to talk my way out of going once I got into the flat but Chris stated that PJ had also invited me and that now I was part of their friendship group so we'd be going to Brighton together. I admitted defeat and excused myself to start packing.
"Are you nearly done Rachel? We have to leave soon."
Chris popped his head around the bedroom door and I couldn't help but chuckle by his messy appearance. His hair was all over the place and his glasses were falling off his nose. I shuffled over and straightened his glasses before attempting to flatten the hair, Chris tried to swat my hand away but I had some strength.
"Chris, how does your hair get so messy?"
He shrugged his shoulders and leant down planting a kiss on my nose before walking away from me. I gasped as he ran his hands through his hair again messing it up. I picked up a nearby cushion and threw it at the back of his head; Chris turned around and smirked at me before picking up the discarded cushion. My eyes went wide as he took a step towards me.
"Don't you even think about it Christopher."
I ran back into the bedroom and tried to find something else to defend myself with. But before I could pick up a pillow from the bed something soft came down hard on my head causing me stumble and fall face first onto the bed. I rolled over and scurried backwards until my head hit the headboard and I was trapped.
"We could always skip the trip."
Chris crawled onto the bed and positioned himself on top of me resting his arms either side of my head. I shouldn't want to kiss him after the bombshell Amber dropped but there was something that Chris did unintentionally that drew me in every time. He captured my lips and a small moan escaped my lips, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer.
On the table Chris's phone vibrated which pulled us out of our make out session. Chris groaned and pushed himself off me and grabbed the phone. I took the opportunity to slide from underneath him and trot into the ensuite to fix my hair and makeup. It wasn't that messed up which I was thankful for, I just had to reapply my lipstick and I was ready to go.
"Dan and Phil are heading to the station now. We should head off to."
I nodded at Chris in the mirror as he stood in the doorway behind me. He scratched his head and walked away. I took a couple of deep breaths and plastered on a smile.
CHRIS
Rachel had been acting odd since she came back from town, had I done something wrong? Well I knew had done something, because I kissed Amber which was technically cheating and I didn't have the balls to confess to Rachel because I didn't want to lose her. I was a coward and if I didn't find a way to tell her soon then the truth would eventually come out and Rachel would be hurt and embarrassed.
"Stop daydreaming Chris."
Rachel poked me in the side as she swung her bag over her shoulder. This trip to Brighton might just be what we needed to forget London for a couple of days. I poked her back playfully and ushered her out of the flat, she went ahead and pressed the lift button. A cough drew my attention to the flat opposite us where Amber stood beaming in the doorway. She raised a single eyebrow and smirked before closing the door behind her. What was she up to?
PHIL
Dan and I arrived at the station a few minutes before Chris and Rachel. At this time we didn't see any fans which was a relief, we didn't need them knowing that we were going to Brighton because word would get out and we would be swamped. It had happened in the past and PJ didn't want a repeat.
"I'm going to get a coffee, do you want anything Phil?"
I shook my head and Dan dumped his bag by me and headed off to the nearest Starbucks, I swear that boy is obsessed. As soon as Dan left my sight I caught a glimpse of Chris and Rachel walking towards us, they were a cute couple as they were both wearing their glasses which made them look geeky.
"Phillip."
Rachel dropped her bag and threw her arms around me; I laughed and hugged her back. She was a hugger just like me which meant we got on just fine. She let go and stepped back as Chris also engulfed me in a hug.
"Where's Dan?"
I motioned towards Starbucks and Rachel's eyes lit up, like Dan she was obsessed with that place.
"Chris I'm going to Starbucks do you want anything?"
Chris shook his head and watched as his girlfriend began skipping in the same direction as Dan. I couldn't help but laugh at her; she was silly which meant she got along famously with the rest of us. Chris plopped himself down on a chair and I followed suit making sure not to leave Dan's bag behind.
Chris didn't look too good, as soon as Rachel was out of sight and earshot he turned to face me with a grim expression. What was wrong with my friend?
"Are you okay Chris?"
He shook his head and looked down at his lap where he was playing with his fingers.
"I did something stupid Phil which could ruin what Rachel and I have."
I couldn't think of anything that Chris could do that would put his relationship with Rachel in jeopardy. He was the kindest and most honest guy I knew so the fact that he was keeping something big from the girl he loved must be eating him up inside.
"What did you do?"
"Don't hate me but I cracked. A few days ago when Rachel and Dan were out in town, Amber came over to the flat."
The second I heard Amber's name my heart sunk in my chest, okay now I could name one stupid thing that Chris could do to ruin his perfect relationship. I sighed and shook my head before leaning back against the metal seat.
"What did you do Chris?"
He mirrored my movement.
"She asked to borrow our Wi-Fi until hers was set up so I let her in because I didn't know the code off by heart. Once I gave her the code she turned around and kissed me, I should have stopped her straight away but I didn't and I kissed her back. I enjoyed it Phil but then I remembered Rachel."
My mouth dropped open; he had cheated on Rachel with Amber of all people. We all assumed that Dan would be the first to crack but it looked like Chris was the weak link. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Chris you messed up. You need to tell Rachel, I wouldn't put it past Amber to blab if she doesn't get what she wants. It's best if Rachel hears from you and not from someone else. She might forgive you more that way. But you can't blame her if she gets pissed, if I was her I would get angry."
Chris gulped and dropped his head into his hands and shook his head. He loved Rachel and everyone knew that but this had the potential to ruin the strong trust the two of them had. I didn't want to pick sides if they did break up because I'd known Chris longer but then I'd grown close to Rachel so I'd have to balance the both of them. Though that was a worst case scenario, and I hoped they resolved this without breaking up.
DAN
I was standing in the queue when I felt arms wrap themselves around my waist which caused me to jump backwards in shock. A girl giggled behind me and I turned around only to come face to face with a grinning Rachel who looked proud of herself for scaring me. I put a hand over my chest; thank god it wasn't some random fangirl.
"Rachel you nearly gave me a heart attack."
She pouted and batted her eyelashes at me which made me less mad, damn this girl knew how to get under my skin.
"I think we might be Starbucks addicts Dan."
I chuckled and shook my head at her comment, I wasn't obsessed despite all the times Phil told me I was. I happened to like overpriced caffeinated drinks every now and then, okay maybe more than normal people but everyone was allowed one guilty pleasure.
We both ordered the same thing we got every time, as we waited for our names to be called I glanced over at Rachel who had a defeated look on her face. I wondered what was bothering her as she seemed so perky a few minutes ago. I put my phone away and nudged her shoulder; she smiled weakly and bit her lip.
"Dan can I tell you something? It's eating me up inside and I need to tell someone."
"Rachel and Dan."
I smiled at the lady behind the counter and grabbed our drinks before handing Rachel hers. What did she need to tell me?
"What's on your mind buttercup?"
She shrugged her shoulders and made her way out of the shop, she stopped a few meters away from me and sighed heavily before turning back around to face me.
"You know the other day when we were in town and Chris rang me about Amber asking to borrow Wi-Fi?"
I nodded, I remembered that day because Amber wouldn't leave me alone in Starbucks while Rachel talked to Chris outside. I took a sip of my drink and motioned for her to continue.
"Well Chris invited her in and she kissed him but then Chris kissed her back without even thinking about me."
I nearly spat my drink out, that didn't sound like a Chris thing to do. I thought I'd be the first to crack under Amber but obviously I was stronger than the others gave me credit for. Rachel slumped down in a nearby seat and I sat down next to her. I probably wasn't the best person for this situation but it looked like she had no one else to talk to.
"How did you find out?"
"Amber told me when we shared a lift together earlier. I want to believe that she was lying but it seems like something she wouldn't lie about. She wanted to break us up somehow and she targeted Chris and I. She seemed shocked that Chris hadn't told me sooner."
Yeah, Amber was very truthful as I knew all too well. She wouldn't lie about kissing Chris especially if she wanted to get back at us. Why would my best friend be so stupid to fall under her spell again? Chris was an idiot and now he ended up hurting the girl he loved because he couldn't keep it in his pants.
"Chris should have told you earlier, he's in the wrong Rachel. You can't control what happened. Come here."
With my free arm I wrapped it around her shoulder and pulled her towards me so that her head was resting against my shoulder. She was being strong and holding back tears.
"Do I tell Chris that I know? Do I wait until after Brighton? How can I last knowing that when he kisses me that he kissed her and liked it enough to hide it from me."
"Rachel I want to sit here and tell you that everything will get better once you confront him but you can't be sure that Chris will admit to the fault or deny kissing her. If he denies it then you have to make a big decision about your relationship. You two are perfect with your geeky glasses and nerdy conversations. I'd hate to see you break up over something like this."
She laughed and pulled away from me.
"Damn Dan you give good advice. I might have to come to you with more of my problems in the future."
I laughed along with her, no one would think me as some sort of agony aunt but apparently I said something that reassured Rachel that everything could be okay if all the pieces fell into place.
"We should get going before Phil thinks we've hooked up and fled the country Rachel."
She punched my shoulder and stood up. I followed her and placed an arm around her shoulder playfully and for once she didn't swat me away. I liked to think that out of Phil and me that Rachel had the strongest bond with me because she could talk to me about problems and I knew that I could talk to her without the guys mocking me.
"If we hooked up and fled the country, where would we go Daniel?"
I shrugged my shoulders and took another sip of my drink.
"I like hot places so maybe Spain, if that's good for you?"
She nodded and beamed me a big smile.
"Spain is good for me; did you know that I can speak Spanish? So we would be able to survive."
"There you two are, I was worried that you'd ran away together."
Rachel and I shared a look before staring at Phil and bursting into a fit of laughter, I knew that Phil would think the worst of us as he always did like to be dramatic. Rachel detached herself from me and walked past Phil but not before patting him on the chest.
"Dan was right about you Phil. Besides if we were to run away together then we planned it out on the way back over here."
Phil blushed and shook his head trying to get his hair to cover his blushing face. I laughed and Chris joined in, but when I looked at Chris and how normal he acted I couldn't help but feel a little mad inside because he had hurt Rachel and didn't appear to be moved by what he'd done. If Chris didn't confess by the end of the trip then I would confront him on behalf of Rachel and see then if he acts like nothing has happened.
"Shouldn't we be getting on the train now? It started boarding five minutes ago boys."
Rachel pointed up at the electronic board above us and all our faces paled, damn we were always late to board our trains. I grabbed my bag and the others followed me towards the platform we were supposed to be on five minutes ago. Following me probably wasn't the best option because I had made mistakes in the past and got us on the wrong train.
RACHEL
I felt better getting it off my chest and Dan genuinely gave me some good advice and as a shoulder to cry on I'd be using him in the future. Especially since I didn't know how Chris and I were going to work out after he confessed his wrong doing to me.
What do you think will happen in Brighton?