HOLY SHIT WE GRADUATE IN 2 MONTHS!
2 fucking months!
It seemed like yesterday when I was walking through the hallways freshman year on my way to first period.
And now I'm getting ready to move to fucking Paris in a few months.
Yes, I'm still going.
After watching Jess have a total freak out about me getting in and possibly going, it only made me want to go even more.
I know that sounds bad but let me explain.
All my life, I've been surrounded by people holding me back and setting certain expectations for me to follow.
Getting into design school in Paris was the first thing I've done for myself.
Obviously, Jess inspired me to follow my dreams but since I've been supportive of his career, he should be just as supportive of mine.
He apologized a few weeks ago but he still never mentioned anything about long distance which pisses me off.
He's trying to push this aside as if it were no big deal.
And any time I bring it up, he changes the subject.
It's getting annoying.
Jesse's currently in LA playing at another gig.
He and his band have been traveling back and forth for the past couple of months trying to catch the eye of a record executive.
He's coming back tomorrow and I'm fucking nervous.
Tomorrow is the night I'm finally gonna sit his ass down and talk to him about our future.
I'm going to Paris whether he likes it or not.
I'm just hoping he'll accept it and we can try and make long-distance work.
I love Jess and if we break up it will fucking break me.
Anyways, as for the rest of the group, things have been...fucking weird.
We barely ever see Lina and when we do she always tells us that she's been practicing for her Juilliard audition.
She mainly spends time with Cassie and Ava if she isn't practicing.
Asher has come back to school but he's clearly very depressed.
We all know something happened between them, something bad but neither of them will tell us anything.
And the rest of us are pretty much the same.
I decided to invite everyone over and try to mellow out the drama between Asher and Lina but Lina said she couldn't make it.
So the rest of us made a plan to try and get Asher to tell us what was wrong.
I know we may seem like bad friends for trying to pressure him but we really are just trying to help him.
Once everyone's in the house I just get straight to the point.
"Asher, what the hell is going on with you and Lina?" I ask and everyone immediately directs their attention to him.
He slowly puts his drink down and his face starts to heat up.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He mutters.
"Dude we're not fucking blind," Xander says.
"I never said you were."
"We're just confused because you and Lina were all over each other a few months ago and now it seems like you two don't even know each other," Arya says.
"Things just don't work out sometimes." He mutters.
"Asher, Lina really liked you! I mean she would blush like crazy any time you were mentioned and she-"
"IT JUST DIDN'T WORK OUT, OKAY!" He yells before slamming his hands onto the table.
We all flinch at the sudden outburst and look at each other in shock.
Asher buries his face in his hands.
Suddenly we hear a few sniffles and now we're all looking at each other even more in shock.
Did she break his heart or something?
What the fuck is happening?
I slowly get up and take the spot next to him.
"Ash...please tell us what's wrong."
"I DID IT!" He yells suddenly.
Uhhhhh...
"You broke up with her?" Ryan asks.
"No." He mutters.
"What did you do?" Axton asks.
"I- I'm the one who set the church on fire." He whispers.
We all fucking gasped.
He did-
What-
Holy-
I think my heart just stopped.
"The one that almost killed Lina?" Cam asks.
"Yes." He mumbles.
"You tried to kill Lina?" Xander asks.
"NO! This was before I even knew who Lina was!"
I'm actually fucking speechless.
"So I'm assuming she found out," Arya says.
"Yeah..."
"Oh god." Ryan gasps.
I look over at Asher and the poor thing looks like he's ready to die on the spot.
As bad as what Asher did is, I'm sure he never intended for it to come back to Lina.
Actually...why would someone want to burn down a church in the first place?
"Why did you do it?" I ask.
Everyone's attention is back on him and he stays quiet for a moment.
"I decided to go through my dad's files and I found some shit that no child should ever find out. I was pissed at the information I found and decided to get revenge on the person." He says nonchalantly.
"How did you know the person was at church?"
"He uh- he works there." He mumbles.
He works there?
Who the hell-
"PASTOR BEN?" I gasp.
"Yeah..."
Holy fucking shit.
"What did Pastor Ben do?" Axton asks.
Asher looks uncomfortable about the question and I notice him glance at Madison who looks just embarrassed as he does.
Does she know something?
I don't even know at this point.
"He hurt my mom...badly."
"Holy shit man." Xander sighs before pinching the bridge of his nose.
"And when Lina told us the story in Hawaii I immediately knew it was the same church I set on fire. I remember watching the news after because I was freaking out and I saw the paramedics rolling out a girl with a huge cut on her back. I knew it was her." He explains.
Jesus Christ.
This is a lot to take in.
"I told her I loved her on her birthday." He blurts.
Holy shit this story just keeps getting more and more chaotic.
"Did she say it back?" Cam asks.
"Yes."
"And then she found out about what you did?" I ask.
"Yep."
Well, now everything makes sense.
"Why did you look through your dad's stuff in the first place?" Arya asks.
"Before my mom passed away, she just didn't seem happy. I always knew something was up between my parents and I've heard my mom mention divorce a few times but eventually, she just gave up. My mom has never been a quitter. So, one day I decided to go through my dad's files to try and find something that can answer my questions. What I found out...wasn't the best." He says.
"What did you find?"
"He paid Pastor Ben to hurt her so she wouldn't divorce him."
"A pastor hurt someone? Doesn't that literally go against everything they believe?" Ryan scoffs.
"Yep, so you can probably imagine how shocked I was."
This is some type of shit you would read in a Colleen Hoover book.
I love November 9th.
I'm totally getting off track.
It's the shock.
"Did you explain all of this to Lina?" I ask.
"I didn't get the chance." He says.
"She was probably too upset to listen to him," Axton says.
I mean I would be too if this were Jess and me.
Speaking of Jess...how the hell am I going to tell him that his best friend of 13 years committed a fucking crime that almost killed his ex-fling?
This is too fucking stressful.
"Please don't tell anyone guys. Especially my sister." Asher begs.
I don't even think I can repeat this story even if I wanted to.
"We won't." We all speak at once.
Obviously, we're all still shaken up by Asher's confession and trying to absorb it all but Asher's our friend and we knew that what he did was never meant to be malicious towards Lina.
We all care about both of them and we'll be there for both of them.
I decided to order a few pizzas for us all and we decided to put on a movie.
I hear my phone ring in my pocket.
I know who it is based on the ringtone.
Jesse put one of his own songs as his ringtone.
I still don't know how he did it.
I excuse myself and make my way up to my room.
"Hey!"
"Hey, babe! How's California?" Ask as I take a seat on my bed.
"It's fucking amazing! Look, I know I said we would talk tomorrow but we just booked another last-minute gig tomorrow, so I'll see you Friday." He says.
"But-"
"I gotta go, talk to you later! Love you!" He yells.
"Love-"
The line goes dead.
Jesse has been gone for 2 weeks and he keeps extending his fucking trip!
We haven't talked on the phone for over a week!
I can't fucking take it!
Is this how things will be if we decide to do long-distance then maybe he's right.
Maybe we shouldn't bother trying long distance.
I don't know if I can handle balancing school and a relationship.
And I don't think he can balance his rockstar lifestyle and me.
I fucking hate growing up.
----------Author's Note----------
One couple gets back together and another falls apart.
Why can't everyone just win?
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!
-Pradabagg
Word Count: 1442