I woke up with the thought of last nights events running through my mind. It was so incredible. Chase. He was so incredible. The kiss was amazing. He just made all of my problems disappear. It was like time stopped.
I got up from my bed and went to the kitchen to get breakfast. It was early and no one was awake yet. I sat at the counter and chopped up an apple. I grabbed the peanut butter and took a spoonful out to slap on my plate.
It had been a while since I had this. It had been a while since I had anything good to eat. I promised Chase last night after the kiss that I would keep eating. I was going to keep the promise. I wanted things to get better and he showed me that they do and can.
As I ate my apples I kept thinking about what the kiss meant. I loved it so much but what does it mean for Chase and I now? I mean we can't just ignore it. I assume we both enjoyed it and we both wanted it. We couldn't possibly have a relationship. I mean what would the guys think? And try explaining that to William. Oh, Chase and the new girl living in the house are dating. It would be incredibly awkward to show affection for Chase in front of them.
"You're eating?" a deep voice asked.
I jumped in my seat and turned around, startled as I was caught in my thoughts. I faced Chase and he leaned on the counter next to me looking at my food. He took a slice of apple from the plate an dipped it in the peanut butter.
"Yeah," I said casually, trying to play off the fact that I was thinking about him. My body became tense when he reached over for another apple slice. Things were different now. It was... Weird.
He smiled at me as he bit into his apple. "I'm glad." I grabbed a slice for myself and continued eating silently. We both ate in the awkward silence and waited for more of the guys to come down.
Wesley was the first. Then Ethan. Then Keaton. Then William. Then Oliver and Logan together. William came right over to Chase and sat on his lap. I had cut up another apple since we had finished the first one, and William took a piece.
All the guys sat at the dining room table and began talking about random stuff. Chase tickled William while he squirmed in his lap. I just quietly watched and ate.
"So guys, we were thinking that we would all go down to the lake on Saturday," Wesley suggested. The other guys nodded but I could see Chase tense up next to me.
He stopped tickling William and just sat there staring at the counter. "What do you think Chase?" Ethan asked.
He didn't say anything. He just looked straight ahead. Then he nodded. "Yeah, that's good," he finally said.
What was his deal? Why did they clear it with him? He lifted William up as he got up from his seat. He placed William back on the seat and he walked upstairs.
I looked at Ethan who looked at Wesley and they motioned to the other room. I got up with my plate of food and went with them. I sat down on the cozy red couch and Ethan closed the door behind him as he walked in. Wesley sat next to me and Ethan took the ottoman. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"What's up with Chase? Why did he get all weird when you mentioned the lake?" I sat with my legs crossed.
"It's not the lake that bothered him," Wesley said.
"It's Saturday," Ethan finished.
"Okay what's Saturday?" I asked.
Ethan took a deep breath. "You know how you asked about Brandy before?" I nodded. "Well, she didn't move like William told you. That's what he thinks and that's what Logan, Oliver, and Keaton believe as well."
"But she didn't move," Wesley continued. "Four years ago when Chase was a freshman he was best friends with Brandy. They had been best friends for a long time, but towards the end of the year Brandy was-"
"Going through a tough time," Ethan interrupted. "She was in a rough place and she killed herself." They both got quiet, like they didn't know what to say next.
"I'm so sorry," was all I thought to say. "I can't even imagine how hard that must have been for Chase."
"Yeah, no one can," Ethan said. "This is the toughest time for him each year. Saturday is the anniversary of her death. Every year the family goes somewhere to celebrate her."
"Last year we went to a field and we lot lanterns and let them go into the air. This year we were thinking about going to the lake that we used to go to each summer with her and her family," Wesley explained.
"This is going to be even more difficult since we are going somewhere that they used to spend a lot of time at together," Ethan said. "But I think in the end he will be glad that he got to go and just remember the good times that they spent there."
"But Chase doesn't like to talk about it and he doesn't like people knowing," Wesley said frantically.
"Don't worry. I won't say anything," I said reassuringly.
"I'm sure you're still confused. If you have any questions please just ask us and not him," Ethan pleaded. I nodded. "Thanks Ellie." Ethan gave me a smile and got up to leave.
"Chase really needs a friend during this time, though and I think you're a good thing right now," Wesley said with a smile.
He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him back. As we pulled away the doorbell rang. I gave him a questioning look. "Who's here this early?" I asked.
Wesley smirked and then got up. I raised an eyebrow at him and picked up my plate to put it in the sink.
"Ellie, why don't you get it?" Ethan said.
I gave him a questioning look as well and walked towards the door. What the hell was going on?
I slowly opened the door and saw two people standing in the doorway. One was a small brunette and the other was a talk blonde who was overly colorful for the morning. When I realized who it was I thought it was a dream. Why would they be here? I was tempted to pinch my arm, but then the blonde spoke up.
"This is no way to treat your guests," she said. That's exactly the kind of thing she would say.
A huge smile spread across my face and I tried to keep the screams inside, but manages to escape. I wrapped my arms around my two best friends and pulled them into the house. I could see that Lydia was getting out of the car and making her way to the door.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.
"Well," Kristen started. "Someone named Chase called us a few weeks ago and said that you needed us. He said things were getting kind of messy here and they needed our help. So Bella and I dropped everything, packed our bags, and got our tickets."
I hugged both of them and I could feel tears wanting to bust through my eyes, but I wouldn't let them. After hearing the story about Brandy, I was so happy my friends were here. "So I assume Lydia picked you guys up from the airport?" I asked as she walked through the door.
She smiled and I let go of my friends to hug her. "Thank you so much," I said mid hug.
"Of course," she said. She put her keys down and went to the kitchen.
I turned back to my friends and brought them upstairs. They put their bags down on the floor and sat on my bed with me. "How long are you guys here?" I asked.
"Only a few days," Bella said. "We have to get back to school but we needed to see you and make sure you were okay," she said with an almost sad expression.
"I assume Chase told you about everything that's been going on," I said ashamed.
"Well not entirely but he did tell us about these," she said reaching for my arm and looking at my wrist. Kristen had her own problem with cutting a few years ago so it was comforting to have someone who knew what it was like with me. I didn't think Bella had ever done anything to hurt herself but that didn't mean she didn't have her own problems that she had to get through. We all had to be strong in different moments.
"What the hell is this?" Kristen asked. It was jokingly and that was Kristen's approach to heavy topics.
"Can we not talk about this right now?" I asked. "You guys just got here and I don't want to start off on a downer."
"Fine, but we are coming back to it," Bella said strictly. Bella had a different approach than Kristen. She was more serious but she did try to lighten it at times.
"Yeah, let's go meet the hot guys," Kristen said.
"Okay, calm down." We got up and walked down the hallway trying to find the guys. William, Logan and Oliver were still downstairs so I decided to introduce them later.
We found Keaton and Wesley in Keaton's room. "Hey guys," I said while knocking on the door frame. "This is Kristen and Bella," I said gesturing to them beside me. "This is Keaton and Wesley," I said to them.
They all waved at each other and Keaton was making googley eyes at Kristen. "Awe, you're so cute," she said to Keaton.
Wesley stifled a laugh and Keaton pouted. We left the room laughing and moving on to Chase next. His door was closed so I knocked on it and waited for a response. "Yeah?" he said.
I slowly opened the door and poked my head in first. "Hey," I said and saw that he was sitting on his bed looking at a picture.
He looked up and gave me a half smile. "Hey, what's up?"
"Kristen and Bella are here," I said opening the door more so he could see them.
"Hey," he said waving to them. "I'm Chase."
Kristen walked in with her arms folded in front of her chest and her heels clacking against the hard wood floor. "So, you're the infamous Chase?" she said looking him over.
"I guess so?" he said as he looked at me. I shrugged.
"I'm Kristen." She stuck her hand out and shook his.
"I'm Bella," Bella said from next to me. She waved at Chase and smiled.
He smiled back at her. "Nice to meet you."
As Kristen started to walk out of the room I whispered in her ear, "He's mine," when she passed me.
The noise of her heels stopped abruptly. "What?!" she shouted and Chase looked at me confused.
I smiled and giggled as we left his room. I closed the door and we walked upstairs to see Ethan.
"Damn, how big is this house?" Kristen said as we walked towards Ethan's house. They had both been admiring the house and when we stopped in front of Ethan's room, they barely noticed.
"Hey Ethan, this is Bella," I said pointing to Bella, "and Kristen," I said pointing to Kristen. "This is Ethan," I said to the two of them.
They both smiled at him and wave. "Hi," they said simultaneously. It was like thy were star struck. They both looked at Ethan with their eyes wide and jaws dropped.
"Hey," Ethan said and reached his arm up to scratch the back of his neck, looking sexy and astonishing on purpose.
I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head as I caught onto what he was doing. "Remember," I said, "you have a girlfriend.
Kristen's head shot right over to me. "What?!"
"Awe," Bella said quietly.
I just laughed at them. "Yup, now it's time to go," I said grabbing both of their arms and pulling them back to my room.
When we got back to my room I closed the door, knowing they were going to ask about Chase considering what I said earlier.
I turned around from closing the door and they were both facing me with their arms crossed. "So what's up with you and the hotty?" Kristen asked.
"Nothing is going on yet," I said.
"Yet?" Bella asked.
"Yeah, we just kissed, but nothing's-"
"You what?!" Kristen asked-shouted.
"We kissed, but it wasn't that big of a deal," I said casually.
"It must have been something if you felt the need to tell me he's yours, miss defensive," she said.
I was silent. I knew it was special, but how did I explain it. Just thinking about it put a smile on my face and now I was smiling like an idiot.
"Awe, you really like him, don't you?" Bella asked.
I paused then nodded. "But we aren't dating yet or anything."
"Wow, it's gonna be really easy to sleep with him," Kristen said.
"Kristen!" I said.
"What?" she asked looking at the both of us. "I'm just saying, since you live together."
"I'm not going to sleep with him," I said even though I technically already had.
Kristen started to laugh. "You are kidding yourself, Ellie. You are going to sleep with him eventually and you know it. You don't have to act prude," she said with a laugh.
I rolled my eyes and changed the subject. "How are things in Oregon? Tell me everything."
"Well," Bella started, "Stacy is captain of the debate team."
"And Alice is captain of the soccer team," Kristen said.
I could tell this wasn't the gossip that they wanted to talk about. "What else?" I asked.
They looked at each other then back at me. "Jessica and Jason are still together," Bella said.
"And she's the captain of the cheerleading team," Kristen said.
"And Jason's the captain of the football team," Bella added.
"Well Chase is the captain of the football team here, so Jason can suck it," I said as if he were here. It annoyed me that he was doing well. I wanted him to suffer. "Promise me you guys will make his life hell when you get back." I said. They just looked at me. "Tell him about Chase. Make sure he knows I'm okay. Tell him I'm better than okay. I'm fantastic," I said spreading my arms out wide.
"Are you fantastic though?" Bella asked.
That wasn't even a question. Of course I wasn't fantastic. I had just stopped cutting and just started eating again. I shook my head.
"We are here for a reason," Bella said. "We can help."
"I'm better, but I'm not the same." I said starting to explain it all. I told them about Jared and how I got tangled up with him in the first place then I began to explain seeing him kissing the other girl, then breaking up, then seeing him by my locker, then the notes, then seeing him again with her and what she said about me. By the time I had finished, Kristen looked like she was ready to cut her head off.
I explained the cutting and the eating and then Chase and how he found out and what he said the other night. That part made the both of them melt. "I approve," Kristen said. "You two can just get married now."
I laughed at her reaction. "I really like him, and I want us to be more."
"Then you should talk to him about what you want," Bella said.
"I'll talk to him later. I'm with you guys now," I said pulling them into a big hug. I was really grateful. After hearing about Brandy, I realize how lucky I am to have them with me and by my side through everything. "Thank you," I said to them. They smiled at me and we kept talking about the gossip back home.