Silence.
Not even just silence, probably the most awkward silence that I had ever endured.
That’s what had engulfed the living room full of people as nobody talked. Holly had turned the TV off and now we were all just sitting in the living room with the words of the news broadcaster reverberating off of the walls and sinking into everybody’s skin like some terrible disease. I wanted to speak, but I had no idea what to say at all. I knew that Holly knew, but Holly didn’t know that I knew that she knew so now everything is complicated. Not even considering the fact that neither Andy or Elle had any idea about anything at all, I don’t think. So what should I say? I really didn’t know.
Holly opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. She did this multiple times, but no sound came out at all. I think that she was in just as much of a confused state as I was, not knowing exactly what to say that would knock down the prevalent awkward silence barrier in the room that was probably the size of a whale. A big whale.
That news lady had just announced my relationship with Jackson in front of everybody, and even though most people knew about it, it was still incredibly embarrassing. Incredibly. A kind-of-sort-of secret relationship with my best friend’s brother is absolutely not something that I wanted to be announced to all of Australia.
We remained in that silence, internally begging somebody to say something, for maybe five minutes before somebody coughed. I don’t know who, but it was the first glimpse at sound any of us had, so it was a beautiful cough and I loved it. It was like a symphony of sound and I mentally thanked whoever it was that coughed for doing so.
“Well,” Andy was the first one to speak, as if that cough had induced her vocal cords. “I guess it’s a good thing that you’re walking down the aisle together. I mean, am I psychic or what?” She said with an awkward smile as if she was trying to lighten the mood that had fallen over everyone.
“We’re going to go.” Elle murmured, standing up and pulling Isaac with her. “Erm, goodnight everyone.” And then she was pulling Isaac out of the living room hurriedly, but not before sending me a subtle wink. I wish I could do that, just escape this awkwardness. Unfortunately, because I’m at the root of the awkward situation, I knew that I had to stay and deal with this mess.
We were in silence for a little bit longer before Ryder got tired of it and filled the void of sound.
“For the love of humanity, somebody say something.” He demanded with an eye roll.
“Shut up, Ryder.” Andy snapped.
And again, we were engulfed in silence until it became unbearable for me. I cleared my throat and decided that I should be the one to break the silence this time, since it was kind of my fault that the silence was born, I should end it… right? “You know, I think there was a shark in the background of that picture.” I announced softly, referring to the picture that was on the news just ten minutes ago.
This made Jackson laugh beside me. “You’re ridiculous.” He nearly whispered, as if he didn’t want to disrupt the unwelcomed silence.
“No, I’m serious.” I insisted. “I saw the fin.”
The mood was lighting up a bit, but that all diminished when Holly stood up from where she was sitting by the TV and surprisingly bolted out of the room and then into the kitchen. Kale began to stand up to go after her, but I was already on my feet, chasing her into the kitchen in a rush of panic.
“Holly!” I yelled as I ran after her into the kitchen and then out the door that led to the beach. “Holly, wait!”
I caught up to her when she stopped running beside the ocean, where the waves were lapping at the sand and then falling back into the water. Her back was turned to me and I thought that she was mad- I would be if I was her- but when I got closer, I saw her shoulders shaking and I heard her sniffles. She was crying. Holy crap… she was crying.
“What’s wrong?” I asked in shock. I was expecting her to yell at me or something, but I really didn’t expect her to be crying. I thought she would be mad or maybe happy, but crying? That wasn’t something that I was expecting at all. My best friend sensed kicked in and I hurried over to her, ready to console her or take a beating.
“I’m such a terrible best friend.” She wailed. “How can I be so ignorant that you can’t tell me who you’re dating, that the news station needs to broadcast it for us to communicate?” She ranted tearfully.
“Holly,-“
“No, don’t try to make me feel better, I’m such a bitch.” She grumbled, turning away from me.
I pushed myself forward and wrapped my arms around her, comforting her. I know that she was acting bitchy earlier, but that doesn’t make her a bitch, not in the slightest. “You’re not a bitch.” I soothed her. “So don’t say that.”
“But it’s true.” She insisted with a dry sob.
“No, it’s not.” I told her, more firmly this time. “Why do you even think that?”
She rolled her eyes and pulled out of the hug. “I know that people think that I’m a terrible best friend, everyone thinks so. I’m being a really shitty person, but I-“ She let out another loud, painful sob. “I don’t know what to do here.” She whimpered.
I frowned in confusion and put a hand on her shoulder. Either my best friend was turning into a lunatic, or there was something that she wasn’t telling me. I was hoping for the latter, because I don’t think any friendship, no matter how strong, can handle two lunatics at the same time. “Holly, what are you talking about?”
“Kale’s going away next semester.” She croaked, tears staining her cheeks and dripping into the sand below us. The sun was setting, so the sky was a pretty bright orange and it reflected in her tears. “To England. And I know I shouldn’t be that worried, but look at what distance did to you and Brendon, you fell out of love so easily.”
“And you think that would happen to you and Kale?” I asked with raised eyebrows. Everything clicked in my head in that moment, actually. Why she’s been so distant with me and clingy with Kale, and why she’s been annoyingly happy when we hang out. She does that when she’s stressed, which is weird, but this is Holly we’re talking about. I should have seen it. “Holly, you and Kale are not me and Brendon. For starters, he never took me to Paris, I never threw him world’s best birthday party or learned baseball, we were never as in love as you and Kale are.”
“I can’t lose him.” She croaked. “I didn’t realize, though that as I was worrying about losing him, I was really losing you.”
“You’re not going to lose him.” I assured her, pulling her into a huge hug. “And you sure as hell aren’t losing me, Holly Thorne.”
This time, she hugged me back and it sounded like she was calming down the sobs that had been escaping. “I’m so sorry, Libby.”
“Me too.” I whispered as we just stood there and hugged each other beside the ocean. “I guess we’ve both just been so caught up in our own problems that we didn’t see each other’s.”
“Well, that needs to stop right now.” Holly declared, sitting down in the sand and then tugging me down to sit down beside her. I complied and rested my head on her shoulder with our hands interlaced as we watched the sun set over the ocean.
“I agree.” I added.
“So… My brother, huh?” She teased and I could practically hear the grin on her face.
“Yeah.” I squeaked.
“That’s so cute.” She cooed. “Disgusting to some degree… but cute, nonetheless.”
I laughed softly. “I’m really glad that you’re not mad.”
“Well, I’m really glad that you’re not mad.” She countered. “Anyway, back to you and Jackson. Tell me everything.”
I smiled at that, finally- we were best friends again, I could feel it. “Okay, well, it all started on Tommy’s birthday…”
~~~~
“Get up, it’s breakfast time, lazy heads!” I was woken up with Andy and Elle giggling in my ear.
My eyes opened softly and I sat up to see both girls walking towards me and Holly, who were sleeping in my bed at the moment. After I told Holly everything last night, and she told me everything about Kale and England, we decided to have a sleepover in my room.
And that sleepover was now coming to an end with Andy and Elle hovering over both of us with grins on their faces.
“Wha?” I grumbled.
“Breakfast!” Andy cheered.
“Since when is breakfast so exciting?” Holly asked beside me, just as half asleep as I was.
“Carrie is here and there’s sugar bacon.” Elle announced.
“Carrie?” I asked just as Holly was up and out the door, screaming for her sugar bacon.
“Yep.” Andy cheered, pulling me by my wrist out of bed. “So get up and let’s go before Holly has a spaz attack or something.”
I sighed and followed Andy and Elle out of my room in my pajamas. When we got to the kitchen, the dining room table was full of people, everyone from the house was there, except for Ryder, and Carrie Hill, the blonde country singer was sitting there too.
Jackson and Holly were at the kitchen counter, debating the rules of sugar bacon like they always do when he cooks the diabetes on a stick. I silently wondered why he chose this morning to do so, but didn’t question it as I sat down beside Tommy with an empty chair to my left.
“Hey, Carrie.” I chirped with a friendly smile. I didn’t talk to Carrie Hill that much, but she was really nice and an amazing singer. I know that she’s close to Tommy- with them both being singers- and she’s close with Andy, too. I also know that she had a complicated relationship with Ryder that nobody could keep up with, and we don’t talk about that at all.
“Hi, Libby.” She replied politely. “How are you?”
I shrugged. “I’m doing really good. And you?”
She let out a long sigh. “Alright, I guess.”
“No way!” Holly protested loudly at the counter with a frown on her face. “That’s so not fair, Jackson!”
“Fair or not, it’s the only way you’re getting your bacon.” He told her matter of factly with the plate of bacon above his head so that she couldn’t reach it.
“How can you do this to me?” She wailed. “I thought you were my brother.”
“Hey, take it or leave it.” Jackson said smugly.
“Fine.” She huffed, clearly unhappy about whatever agreement they had just made. “Just give me the bacon.”
“So you’ll do it?” Jackson asked her, now the whole table was attentive on their conversation.
“Yes.” Holly sighed.
Jackson smiled as if he’d just won something, and then handed her the plate of bacon after they pinky promised. She brought the plate to the table and sat down beside Kale and Andy.
“Let me have a piece.” Kale suggested dangerously.
Holly glared at him with a piece of bacon in her mouth. “There is no ‘we’ in sugar bacon. Besides, you have no idea what I had to agree to for this bacon.”
“What’d you do to her?” I whispered to Jackson as he sat down beside me.
“I bribed her, of course.” He replied, wrapping his arm loosely around my waist that felt so weird, with everyone sitting at the table, but it was a nice weird. A really nice weird.
I rolled my eyes. “I figured that, what was it about?”
“I made sure that she wouldn’t give Ryder a hard time.” He told me in a hushed voice.
I made an ‘o’ with my lips as it settled in. “You’re a good friend.” I commented.
“No, I’m a great friend.” He corrected me.
I chuckled and grabbed a few pieces of normal bacon and some toast that Harris had made and placed them on my plate.
“So you and Holly fixed everything?” Jackson asked.
I nodded. “Yep, we’re peas again.”
“I don’t know what that means.” He laughed.
“We should totally do a triple date.” Andy chimed with a huge grin.
Holly playfully glared at her. “Oh, yeah, because that ended so well last time.”
“Do you really think that’d happen again?” Andy asked her with a small smile. “I mean, what are the odds that you’ll get another questionable text in the exact moment that Kale has your phone? Not very likely. But we can make it a quadruple date, with Carrie and Ryder, if you want to go, Carrie.” Andy suggested.
Carrie’s blue eyes became downcast onto her breakfast plate. “No thanks.” She muttered softly.
I could tell that Holly was having a hard time not joining in with the subtle teasing, but she knew that her sugar bacon was at risk if she opened her big mouth, so she remained quiet.
“Well, think about it.” Andy chirped.
“Andy, you’re really mean.” Tommy pointed out teasingly, causing her to stick her tongue out at him and they fell into a play fight that we all zoned out due to the mushiness of it.
“Okay, but seriously, I think we need a girls night.” Elle piped. “And the guys can have a guy night or something.”
I nodded in agreement. “I second that, and we can-“
“Carrie?” A tired voice stopped me mid-sentence. The whole table turned to look at Ryder as he stood in the doorway to the kitchen, his hair was messy and he was shirtless, so it was obvious that he’d just woken up, but his eyes were wide with what seemed like panic and they were fixated on the blonde singer on the other side of the table.
She didn’t say anything, only awkwardly began stabbing her food. Suddenly, she stood from the table and forced a smile at Andy. “Thank you for breakfast, I’m going to go unpack now.”
“You can have Jackson’s room, I’ll show you where it is.” Andy informed her, standing up as both girls hurriedly left the room.
“What the hell is going on?” Ryder demanded with his arms crossed, but nobody had an answer. I had no idea what was going on, or why Carrie was here, and if I did- I sure as hell wouldn’t want to be the one who was going to break it to Ryder.
“She’s the maid of honor, dude.” Tommy informed his best friend. “She kinda has to be there.”
“It’s only a few weeks until the wedding, I think you can handle your heartache until then.” Jackson teased him, causing Ryder to glare at Jackson.
“You’re such a hypocrite.” Holly huffed with a scowl at her brother.
Jackson grinned at his little sister before standing up from the table and pulling me to my feet with him, much to my surprise. “I’m allowed to be, because I made the bacon.”
“Why are we standing up?” I asked in confusion with my last slice of toast in my mouth.
He leaned over, kissing my cheek in front of everybody, causing me to blush slightly. “We’re going upstairs.” He told me.
“Oh, okay.” I sighed. “Well, I’ll see you guys soon, we’ll go to the beach later.” I told Holly and Elle.
“Much later.” Jackson corrected, tugging my hand away from the table.
“Ew, just go already.” Holly cringed, causing me to blush even more before I waved one last goodbye to the table full of people and then followed Jackson towards the stairs.
“You’re so weird.” I giggled as Jackson led me into my own room.
“I didn’t see you at all last night.” He pouted, shutting the door behind us. “And I wanted you alone for now.”
I smiled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. “Well, now you have me.”
“I know.” He grinned cheekily before he leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead. “And I love you.” He told me softly, kissing my shoulder this time and pulling me close to him by my waist.
I giggled and arched my back so that my body was pressed into his. “I love you too, Jackson Thorne.”
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