Chapter Fifty-Seven: I Didn't Get Dumped.
FOR three days, I didn't talk to him.
And don't get me wrong, not just three days, I won't be talking to him anytime soon.
I think Jayden Flynn knew that he deserved it so he didn't dare try to connect with me again although for the last three days, there were more doorbell ringing than usual and frankly, I hadn't bothered to check them.
But if I was being honest to myself, I did want him to beg for my forgiveness, to crawl to the ground and grab my feet but I knew better that it won't be happening and I had much more self pride than that.
I uncomfortably shuffle in my bed, staring straight at the ceiling and torturing myself by thinking about the incident that happened three days ago. It was 8 pm and mom and dad weren't home, and I've seen Blake screaming into his computer screen a while ago in his gaming room, though I couldn't hear anything now, I didn't want to get off of my bed.
Speaking of Blake, he had tried to talk to me about the thing, but every time he did, I turned around to make my back face him so I don't have to recall them ever again, yet things weren't easy.
I think Cal Finer had enough decency in him to not tell my brother about anything that happened between us. Blake was stupid, but not stupid enough not to know that somethin definitely went wrong with the date.
My eyebrows knitted together when I heard something- a loud shouting match coming from one of the house in the neighborhood, though muffled, and rolled my eyes. It stops after a few minutes.
Couldn't find a better time to fight with each other.
My thoughts went back to my life again.
And at last but not least, me? Well...I guess I was kind of doing okay.
The minus point of the whole Jayden thing was I had to go to school alone and come back alone now, since Rose still ignored me skillfully and had changed her seat in History class. The worst thing was she was now mingling with the Charlies Angels a little too much, though I wouldn't say she looked enthusiastic about it.
And for Jayden, well, we didn't have any classes together so it was hard to get a glimpse og him, and it might even be my imagination but I think he was avoiding me on purpose, be it school or home, because every time I stepped out of the house these days, I could swear I distinctly heard the door of their place slammed shut.
It should've made me feel good but it didn't.
I felt so hopeless that I didn't know what else I was supposed to do. The tournament is in a few days and now that I wasn't even talking to Jayden, it made everything so much harder. But there was plus point in everything.
Since Jayden and I weren't seen together anymore, I think the culprit had postponed the day of their ambush a little behind. It was good, because I don't think we culd've done anything about it if we stayed apart from each other...
Ding dong.
I groaned, having a guess about who it could be. I wasn't going to face him now, not that I could anyways, so I screamed, "Blake get the door!"
There was no noise.
Another ring.
I raised myself up an inch. "Blake?"
Nothing.
"Blake!"
Another. I cursed. Whoever that was, had a low patience level, not that it could be someone else. And of course my brother had chosen to not be in home right now.
I make up my mind.
I'd just tell him to get out and slam the door on his face. Yeah, it'll be easy.
Slowly, I raise up from my bed, dragging my body to the door. It takes me almost three minutes to reach downstairs, not to mention I hadn't showered today and everything felt heavy and smelly and lazy.
Another one rings in the mean time.
"Goddammit," I muttered under my breath, racing toward the door.
Even when he was messing with my head for the last two months, I couldn't help but feel my heart pounding inside my chest, whether in excitement or anger- I didn't know. But I sure as hell knew that I wanted nothing more than to open that door right now.
Putting on a hard face, I grabbed the door knob and twist it open, ready to call him off. "I'm not going to talk right now so please, can you leave?" I opened my eyes to look at him, my heart rate at it's highest when something throws me off.
It wasn't Jayden.
It isn't anyone I was expecting either.
"Hey," Austin chimed and without letting me speak, he bumped me away with his hips and entered.
I turned around to face him, my heartbeat dropping in an alarming manner. I wasn't expecting this at all.
Austin Stonestreet was wearing a sunglass at this hour, his hair tousled like he's sprinted merrily on the way and was wearing a red and black letterman jacket with faded dark jeans- a style I would say was very Austin-ish.
There was also a small red patch on his cheekbone that I noticed.
But I didn't get it.
"Why are you here?" I frowned and closed the door, while Austin jumped on the kitchen counter, making himself comfortable there.
"Shouldn't you be greeting me instead, Shorts?" he blew a raspberry, bobbing his legs up and down before coming down from the counter then walking across the place to the living room and settled himself on one of the couch instead.
I leaned on the doorway of the place, watching him spreading his legs and tanking them up on the coffee table without any care to the various magazines and my homework on top of them.
Austin somehow felt me looking at him because he froze, then slowly averted his gaze to me although it was hard to decipher with his sunglasses. "The fuck you looking at?"
I sighed. "Jayden sent you, didn't he?"
His eyebrows shot up. "Oh did he now? Fancy knowing that."
"Just tell the truth."
He squinted his eyes at me, giving me a look-over before saying, "So you think Jayden sent me to look after his queen-baby-boo, and I've came here all the way from my shitty father's house, leaving my important tasks, to accompany her?" He scoffed. "I have a life, you know."
I chuckled. "Yeah and that life consists of spending night in everyone's' place in turn because you have nothing to do."
Austin threw his hands up excitedly. "Not my fault my daddy throws me out every single weekdays!"
"Why're you here, Austin?"
"To accompany you."
"And who told you to do that?"
"So I can't come to look after my best friend after she gets dumped? " He snapped and a smile crawled its way up my lips, a real one after what seemed like eternity.
That was freaking sweet.
The smile turned into a grin as I crossed my arms, still looking at him in the eyes. "Who told you to do that, Austin?"
"Fine, FINE!" He bellowed, making me grin even wider. "Nobody did, I saw Jayden whining about someone called Cal Finer in the group chat today evening, ran all the way to the town, punched him in the face ten minutes ago and here I am."
"Oh," I raise my eyebrows. "So it was you people."
"What do you mean?"
"I heard somebody screaming earlier." I shrugged, walking into the living room to take a seat beside him. "It was hard not to, you people bicker like babies."
Austin drops his head on the backrest of the couch. "Of course you did."
"I didn't get dumped, by the way, I dumped him, Cal Finer," I glanced at him, remembering what he told me a minute ago. "Not gonna lie, it felt awesome doing that."
"You did tell him to shove the food up his ass didn't you?" Austin hopefully inclined but I felt a surge of regret when I thought about it. I could've done things better than that,
"No," I said and my sorrow filled the word. "But after agreeing that we'll split the bill in half, when he started to lose his side about some argument we had, I said 'You'll have to pay by the way'."
"Ah," Austin half-nodded in approval. "Weak but yes, we raised you well, child." He patted my head and I swatted his hands away, scowling but smiling at the same time.
"But I felt bad, you know," I said, sighing. "I know he misbehaved because he wasn't winning the argument but what he said was true. I think I overreacted because of that, because we're the victim and we know what's actually going on."
"And what did he say?"
"He said we were in the wrong here, after saying that what the stalker did wasn't right too." I couldn't exactly pinpoint the words but I think it was something like that.
Austin thought about it for a second then shook his head. "Damn, he thought shits well, so both of the party couldn't get offended."
We sat in silence for a long time, before he broke it, with a loud groan. "This is stupid. Shorts, make me something."
How dare he?
I glared at him. "Make your own food. And I'm not short, I'm 5 feet 6."
"Sure, Shorts."
I huffed and stood up, and walked toward the fridge, wondering whether something was there or not. "What do you want?"
"Actually on second thought," Austin suddenly said with a eyebrow raise. "Forget it, they're bringing food anyway."
I frowned. "Who're bringing food?"
Austin stared at me for a couple of moments, open mouthed then a smirk spread over his face. "Shorts, you actually couldn't think I'd come here alone do you? That'd be depressing for both of us."
No sooner had he finished his speech than the doorbell ring throughout our house, giving us a sign there were someone out there. Or maybe... some people.
I groaned and went to open the door, knowing what's coming next and the moment I yank it own, it was like letting inside several hurricanes.
Vanessa, carrying at least ten shopping bags in each of her arms, entered the house first, howling like a madman about the cold weather outside. Next came Mia who was scowling and had two backpack on each of her shoulder. Following her entered Sam who looked as detached from this world as ever, his glasses askew and slipped down on the tip of his nose. He too was carrying several shopping bags but didn't look much bothered about it.
It would've been the end of it but to my utter surprise, another person came in after all of them, an individual with mint hair and pink highlights.
Oh wow.
"Jay Minho," I blurted our without knowing I did that and saw the guy grin in approval.
"So you do remember," he said and entered and for some reason, even though I've failed to notice it all this years, he didn't look much older than us. A couple of years? Maybe. But middle aged like I always thought he was? No.
I finally get to meet Jay Minho.
I smiled back and reached my hand out to shake it. "So great to finally meet you."
"You too," he grinned back, and suddenly didn't seem as much creepy as Eliot made him look like.
When he got inside with the others while they annihilated our living room, I closed the door and came back there, grinning so wide that if my family was here, they would've been surprised at my lack of misery, since all I've done after I came back from that date was coming to eat and going back to my room after I was done.
"So we need food and what else?" Vanessa quickly says as though the train was running off to somewhere and Sam, apparently had the same idea.
"Can't you calm down just a little bit?" he said with the mildest note of exasperation in his voice and otherwise completely nonplussed.
Vanessa scowled at him. "Don't you see we're short of food here?"
"We have casserole in the fridge." I weakly informed and everyone's head turned.
"No." Austin and Mia said at the same time and I hold up my hand before Vanessa could say something more.
"Let's just order in," Jay Minho, or Minho, because I felt I should stop calling him by his full name, said and Sam nodded expectantly at Vanessa who looked back blankly then shook her head.
"Whatever."
Sam and Minho did a hand slap with each other while Mia dialed the phone number.
But I needed to get some answers though...
"Guys, why... are you here?" I asked weakly to Sam, who looked at once when I started speaking since everyone was back to talking among themselves again.
"Oh, we heard Jayden and you fought, so we came here to accompany you since there's no uh, Rose, you called her? Don't worry, we're not here as substitutes, we're still your best friends."
I groaned, putting my face in my hand. "You guys don't have to pity me, goddamit."
"Oh no, we're not pitying you, don't worry." Sam blinked at me. "We do this with everyone. Last year, we had to guard Austin's home for fifteen days straight when he threatened to burn it down to the ground for an argument he had with his dad."
I think I heard that story.
He frowned, then looked at Austin. "Austin, what happened that time when we had to stay in the streets?"
"Mia kicked us out when we stalked her and her ex."
I think I've heard this too. Part of it anyway.
"Ohh yes," Sam nodded. "That was pretty fun until the drug gang tried to sell us roofies."
"Did you buy them?" I tentatively asked.
Austin waved his hand. "Oh c'mon we're better than that. It's not like we even go to any real school to do that."
I scowled at that. "What does that mean?"
Austin looked like a frozen deer in the middle of the road, ready to get rolled over by a truck.
" I-I just meant you know, to see what they actually feel like... Not-Not to drug anyone, of course n-"
"Shut up man," Vanessa slipped in to the conversation: seemed like she was listening to it for a while. Austin looked pretty relieved at the interference and he slowly melted away to the kitchen, to do what god knows.
"Hey, Eve, pepperoni or pineapple?" Mia whispered urgently at my direction, coming over to us. I didn't decipher the question in my head before saying "pepperoni" when she turned around and said 'pepperoni in the phone.
"You know, why is pineapple on pizza a controversial theme?" Sam thoughtfully asked us. "I personally don't think its that bad."
I lightly scratched under my jaw. I never really thought about it to be honest. "I mean I guess it's okay as long as the crust isn't too chewy."
"But how did it start though?"
I shrugged. "No idea."
"I, personally think, pineapple on pizza is horrible." Austin materialized beside us from literal thin air with a packet of expired Poky sticks, which made Sam shriek. "As a conservative eater, I think pizza should be left alone from fruits."
I sighed. "Austin that's expired."
"Just a month ago, it won't kill me."
Vanessa looked at us from one to another, then groaned. "Are we really talking about this? Eve, c'mon bro, give me the juicy details?"
"There's not much, Vanessa." I grinned. "I dumped someone on the first date in a restaurant, I'm never talking to Jayden again, and I have literal zero information about the stalker, which was originally why I wanted to go to this date on the first place and now I'm miserable."
"There you go, it was much." Austin slapped my back.
"I mean..." I started talking then stopped, suddenly remembering something. "I didn't get... zero information." I slowly finished. "I got something.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
I tried to remember what Cal had said about the jocks. "Cal .... said something... I mean normally, I don't know about other sports, but the football team is mostly associated with each other because most of of the players have been playing since sophomore year, but Cal said to me that the jocks had connections and friendships with people other than the jocks themselves too."
"Mm, what the fuck does that mean?" Austin disdainfully chewed the poky sticks.
"Well I'm not saying it's not absolutely abnormal, being friends with people outside of the circle, but what if the person who's doing all this... wasn't part of the jocks?"
"But didn't Jayden..."
"I know, he was sure it was one of the jocks but what if it isn't? Just a possibility, that's what im saying." I shrugged, but thought about the idea hard. What if they really wasn't someone from the football team? And like Jayden said, there could be other sport members too I don't know but the most popular is the football team and I'm kind of pretty sure everybody's pretty jealous of Jayden because of his popularity.
"The jocks have like weird power over the school." I say again, rubbing the nose. "They have connections to the board, it's not exactly as simple as something like jealousy. But the problem is why would they get ME involved?"
At this point I was talking to myself, not bothering whether they heard me or not.
"Well, whatever it is, you do realize you have to talk to him about it at some point don't you?" Vanessa said something that had been bothering me for quite a while and I sighed, pinching my eyes shut.
"I know."
"Well then I have the perfect solution!" She chirped. "Let's call him over and force him to apologiz..."
"No." I cut her off before she could finish that sentence.
There was probably a strange kind of energy in my voice because she stopped talking in an instant with a small yelp. And for Vanessa, that was a lot. But I didn't want that to happen, forcing to apologize I mean.
"If... If he's apologizing on his own, then he'd do it, I don't want you guys to do that for me." I looked at them. "I love you guys but if you end up forcing him to apologize to me anyway, I'll be disappointed at you."
My eyes went behind them then realized the house has gone really quite for some reason. Minho and Mia were looking at us from the couch, their eyes wide with attention. It made me a bit self conscious so I hastily said, "Mia, did you order pizza?"
She shook her head, coming back from the trance and everyone else went back talking to themselves again. "Oh yes, three."
I rolled my eyes. "What are we gonna be doing with three?"
"I love pizzas."
"Makes sense."
"Alright people," Vanessa clapped his hands loudly. "Let's come to this agreement. Eve," She pointed dramatically at me. "Talking to Jayden, you don't have to do that, but let's think about it, without him, we wouldn't even be able to do what we're going to be doing."
I stayed silent. I know it was true.
"So what I suggest is," she continued, "that idiot comes with us, but you don't have to talk to him unless you desperately need to. You can do the talk through us."
I almost laughed at how idiotic the plan was, but they were right, for what we were about to do, we needed Jayden.
"I mean think about it," Austin chimed in. "Without us, everything will be stupid, can you imagine yourself around Jayden in the situation you're in, Shorts?"
I rolled my eyes, but inside I knew Austin was right too.
"So what d'you say?" Vanessa said, throwing an arm around my shoulder. "Let's do it, yeah?"
"Not like I have a choice," I deadpanned.
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im back. for good.