Chapter 12
♪ ...I'm walking on sunshine (whoa oh)
I'm walking on sunshine (whoa oh)
I'm walking on sunshine (whoa oh)
And don't it feel good (Hey!) Alright now
And don't it feel good (Hey!) Alright now
All right now yeah! (Hey!)....♫
Honestly, this was the opposite of what I was feeling right now at this moment. I was not walking on sunshine or floating around on puffy white clouds. No, I was more like walking in darkness and stomping on gray, dreary, gloomy clouds.
I was sitting in a back corner at 'Delights Cafe' drowning my sorrows in a large double chocolate milkshake, complete with enough whip cream to swim through and a large cherry on top. I was getting sick of hearing all of this happy music being played here. They've played 'I'm walking on sunshine' four times in a row already. I don't know if it's because they're having trouble with the radio or if it's just simply the owners favorite song.
Whatever the reason is, I was extremely close to giving them my harsh opinion of telling them to take off the damn happy music and play something about drowning in darkness and hating the world.
I've been coming here most afternoons, recently. I obviously haven't been coming to hear the music, but to avoid my friends. Truth is, I have avoided all of my friends this whole entire week. This includes Leah, Drew, Tyler and a few others. But, most importantly Jared. Everytime I would see one of them walk my way, I'd run the opposite direction or turn around the nearest corner. I've been ignoring their calls and messages, and I wouldn't even make eye contact with them at all in school.
I'm not insane, at least not yet. But, I'm avoiding them because I want to be alone. After what happened at Pete's Shack with Chris, I just don't feel okay anymore. It's opened my eyes to what Jared is. Which is a horrible and dangerous person to deal with. I don't feel like being bombarded with questions that I don't want to answer, although I'm pretty sure the guys filled the girls in on what happened when they'd returned from the boutique.
I don't want people to ask me if I'm alright or how am I feeling, because honestly, I'm not alright and I'm feeling like dirt. I don't want to have to fake a smile and say that everything is just dandy. I suppose that I do have a right to be a depressed teenager every once in while.
So anyways, I just find I'm better off being alone, and dealing with my own emotions by myself. Although, this happy music is seriously starting to dance on my nerves.
A group of very young teenagers sitting at a table by the window caught my attention. They were laughing and flirting and just having a great time. I groaned inwardly at the sight of them.
I looked around the cafe and all you could see were couples and groups of friends all over the place. Honestly, what am I doing here? I looked down at my almost empty glass. Oh that's right, they make the most fabulous milkshakes. I gulped the rest of the milky concoction down and slammed the glass onto the table, as if I were taking a shot. I almost said to no one in particular, 'Alright Buddy, hit me with another one.'
Hmm...Maybe I am going insane.
As a funky upbeat song filled the room, I groaned again only this time out loud. The extremely joyful teenagers looked over at me. "What?" I snapped. "Never seen someone depressed before?"
They quickly looked away from me and started speaking in whispers. Whatever. Let them.
My phone buzzed next to my glass on the table. I picked it up with a dreadful sigh and opened the message that I received. It was from Leah. Of course. It said:
Hey Kait, Where R U? Haven't Seen U In 4eva. Need 2 Talk.
-Leah
As usual I set the phone down and ignored her text. I didn't want to talk to her. There was nothing to talk about. Her boyfriend is a scumbag and she seriously needs to see that. There, end of discussion.
My phone buzzed again and I wasn't shocked to find that it was Leah again. It said:
Srsly Kait. Y R U Avoiding Me? I Miss U Mucho. We R Besties, U Can Tell Me Anything. What's Wrong?
-Leah
Once again, I set it down. I do feel bad about doing this, it's just I don't want to talk right now. I will talk to her eventually, just not now.
My phone buzzed one more time and I swear I was going to throw it on the floor. Geez she was persistent. It was Leah again and it said:
Kaitlyn Amelia Wilkes, Talk 2 Me! I Will Srsly Have 2 Take Drastic Measures Now. Reply Back. I Mean It!
-Leah
Oh please, dream on Leah darling. I am not breaking my silence that easy just because she used my full name, which usually means she's really pissed.
I switched off my phone and pulled on my jacket. Might as well head home, I thought.
I walked out of the cafe feeling even more worse than before, if that's even possible. I hated doing this to Leah, but, I just cringe at the thought of facing her right now.
As I walked down the street, I glanced around at the shops and restaurants around me. Every one of them was covered in hearts and baby cupids. There were stores already lined up with beautiful red roses and boxes of chocolates ready for your sweethearts. Up until now I completely forgot that Valentine's Day was next Friday.
I kept walking forward, this time trying to ignore the roses and the cupids. I was obviously going to spend this Valentine's Day alone.
I rounded the corner onto my street and I continued my walk home. However, when I reached my gate, I stopped abruptly, surprised at the sight in front of me. Right there on my doorstep stood Leah and Jared.
Panic shot through me with a painful shock. What do I do? What do I do? I surely wasn't about to talk to them now. It was too soon.
I glanced around me quickly and noticed a row of bushes in front of the gate. I crouched down onto the ground in front of a medium sized bush and sat on my knees.
I could faintly hear Leah and Jared saying something, so I moved a bit closer to hear them clearer.
"I texted her a couple times and then she turned off her phone." Leah said.
"Really?" Jared asked.
Leah sighed. "Yes, I just want to talk to her. She's avoided me all week."
"Well, maybe she's just really embarrassed. You know, since Chris rejected her." Jared told her.
Rejected?!
"I don't know, I don't think it's that." Leah said, looking unsure.
"Listen, me and the guys were right there. Kaitlyn was all over him. He didn't want to be harsh or anything, but he thought that she was too desperate."
Oh My God. I can't believe what I'm hearing. This is the story that he's feeding Leah? That I was the one all over Chris and left because I was rejected? Okay, this is a new low.
I tried to listen in a bit more, but I heard this weird tap noise coming from the left. I looked down and was shocked to find a small squirrel standing their, just staring back at me.
I made a go away gesture in it's direction but it woudn't move. Well, it's out in the daylight so maybe it's sick? I thought. No, wait. It's raccoons that are sick if they come out in daylight. This isn't a raccoon, at least I don't think it is.
Maybe it's hungry? I rummaged around in my bag for something to feed it, since it was making no attempt at leaving. I found a bag of Lays chips that I was saving for later on and decided to feed it some chips anyway, might as well help the poor thing. Wait. do squirrels even eat chips?
I flung some chips on the floor and pointed at them. "Go get the chips...er boy." I kept pointing and murmuring, "Go get it, get the chips." But, the squirrel wouldn't move. Well, I probably am most definitely insane for sure now, because I'm pretty sure normal people don't just sit around behind bushes and talk to animals. This day just gets better and better.
Suddenly, the squirrel made a strange sound and jumped at me. I screamed, and went barreling through the bushes onto my front lawn. I looked back at the deranged squirrel and saw that it was running across the street carrying a round object in it's mouth. A Lays chip.
Nice.
"Kaitlyn?"
I looked up to find Leah and Jared cautiously walking towards me. "Kaitlyn, what are you doing there?" Leah asked.
"I...I was..." I mumbled.
They came a few steps closer and without thinking I abruptly got up and ran quickly down the street. I could here their footsteps behind me. "Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn! Wait!" I heard Leah call.
When I reached the end of the street, I turned at the corner and kept running. I kept running until I was out of breath and my lungs felt like they were about to burst. When I felt about ready to drop, I slowed down and stopped in front of a small antique shop to catch my breath. I glanced back down the street in the direction that I had come to make sure that Leah and Jared weren't still following me. There was no sign of them.
Thank God.
~*~
I lay in my bed for a long time, just thinking of today's events. It was around eleven o'clock at night and I couldn't get to sleep. I could hear my parents moving about downstairs in the kitchen, cooking something that smelled sweet and spicy as well. I never understood how my parents could eat this late, but I guess since they have their late shifts, they come home hungry and have gotten accustomed to eating around this time.
I wasn't looking forward to school tomorrow. There was no doubt that Leah would try to confront me and probably with Jared at her side. There was no way I'd want to talk to them after embarrassing myself like I did today.
After I began to drift off, I heard a soft knock at my door. "Come in," I said.
The doorknob turned slowly and in came Dylan. He walked over to my bed and took a seat near my feet. "Hey," He said.
I sat up and looked cautiously at him. "Hey, what's up?"
He sighed and ran a hand through his light brown hair. "Well, Leah called me. She said that she's been trying to talk to you but you keep avoiding her."
I rolled my eyes. "Look, I don't need you to give me a lecture on how I'm her best friend and how I shoudn't be avoiding her because she's always there for me. I already got that one from mom and dad."
It was true though, Leah had contacted my parents too. They gave me a long lecture on how Leah's always been there for me and I shouldn't be treating her like this. I felt like a kindergartner and Leah had just tattled on me.
"She told me what happened. You know, about the Chris thing. And honestly, I think you're being a bit childish. I mean, he rejected you, so what?"
I sighed. "No, Dylan. You don't even know the half of it. That's not what happened. Not at all."
He raised an eyebrow. "Then what did happen exactly?"
I laid back down and pulled my warm blanket over my head. I couldn't tell Dylan what really happened. It'd be way to embarrassing, and very awkward by that.
Dylan pulled my blanket off of me. "What happened?"
I sat up again, and took a deep breath. "It was the other way around."
"What was?"
"The thing about Chris. He was...all over me."
"You mean he tried to-"
"Yeah," I told him, before he could finish.
Dylan got up from the bed, suddenly. "Okay, where does he live? I'll give this kid something to be all over." He said, angrily.
I smiled. It was sweet of Dylan to actually want to hurt Chris for what he tried to do to me.
"Dylan, it's okay. You don't have to hurt him or anything. I'd rather just never see him again."
Dylan smiled. "I can make that happen."
"Dylan. Seriously. It's okay. I just want to forget him."
Dylan went back to my bed and took a seat, he began playing with a loose thread on my blanket. "Okay, so if this Chris kid is the problem, then why are you avoiding Leah?"
"That's a whole different thing. It all has to do with Jared, who lied to Leah, saying that I was the one all over Chris when he clearly knows it was the other way around. In fact, he's the one who told Chris to do it. But, Leah won't believe me when I tell her that Jared's cheating on her and-"
Dylan held his hands up. "Okay, stop there. I don't want to know about this drama that's going on. It's better if I don't know anything about it."
He got up then and walked over to my door, he turned the knob quickly and stepped out into the hallway. Before leaving he turned to me. "But, Kait, always know that I'm here for you okay?"
I smiled at him. "Thanks, and I'm always here for you."
~*~
"Alright guys, so the glittery red hearts go on the top half of the wall and the pink and white ones go on the bottom half. Any questions?" Britney asked.
Everyone looked around at each other and then shook their heads. "Great," Britney said, clapping her hands. "Now, I need some of you guys to help me with the streamers."
A couple of girls and guys followed behind Britney, as she led the way to the janitors closet to get some ladders.
Britney is the vice-president of the Student Council. My brother is the president, but he couldn't make it, because he has other plans this week so now, Britney's in charge of setting up for the Valentine's Day dance. Britney is stunning, with long silky dark brown hair and big green eyes, surrounded by long dark lashes that make her look like she's wearing mascara and eyeliner when she's not. She may be beautiful but, she's tough to deal with. She's the type of person that if you don't do something correctly, she'll throw it in your face and make you start all over. She's also high on the social chain, she's Miss Head Captain of The Cheerleaders, Miss Top of The Class A student and Miss I'm the Definition of the Word Popular. And one harsh look from her and her friends, makes you want to crawl under a rock.
Lucky for me, she has the hugest crush on my brother, so she tends to be nice to me. However, it doesn't mean that I'm always safe from Britney explosions all the time, sometimes if she's extremely stressed she goes hard on me too.
I decided on getting started on plastering the hearts onto the wall, seemed like the easiest job. I still can't believe Mr. Walsh is making be on the Student Council. It's ridiculous.
I began putting up the glittery hearts, which were a bit difficult to deal with since the glitter kept coming off of the heart and falling onto my face. After I put up about ten of them, I stood back to look at the wall. It seemed to look fine to me, although, some were a bit crooked. Oh, well. Britney won't notice, I thought.
Spoke to soon. As soon as I was going to start on the bottom half of the wall, Britney click-clacked over to me. She took one long look at the wall and then turned to me. "What is this?" She asked, her lips pursed.
"Oh, you know, they're hearts. The things you see almost everywhere at this time of the month." I told her.
She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Are you trying to be funny? Do you not see the mess you made?"
I took another look at the wall, just for her benefit. I knew nothing was wrong with it, she's just being stupid. "I guess they're a bit crooked."
"No, no. They are not a bit crooked. They are a lot crooked." She walked over and ripped one heart off of the wall and then she threw it at me. "Fix. It."
As she walked away, I muttered. "Freak,"
"Heard that." She said without even a glance back at me.
I began to pull the glittery hearts off of the wall. Sure I wanted to rip Britney's head off , burn it and then feed it to a dog, but, I had to stay calm and not get into anymore trouble. If I do, who knows what Mr. Walsh will assign me to next.
While I was fixing the barely crooked hearts, I heard someone walk up behind me. "Need any help?"
I turned around, startled to find Leah. I looked around me anxiously. I doubt that I could run away from her now.
"Oh, uh. Hey,"I managed to say.
"Please don't leave." She said. "I really want to talk to you."
I looked around me one more time and sighed. "Okay, we can talk."
She smiled, "Great," She took a seat on the floor and I sat across from her.
"Okay," She began. "I'm really sorry that you're upset. I know what happened on the group date, you know with Chris. I know you feel embarrassed and rejected, but Kait, it's okay. I know that you must've liked Chris a lot, and your crushed because he doesn't feel the same way. But, there are a lot of other guys out there, and I'm sure you'll find the right one for you soon. So, please, stop avoiding your friends Kait, especially me. I wish that you told me about this. I would never judge you."
I stared at Leah then, completely speechless. I had no clue as to what to say to this. It was so sweet of her to say this. I wasn't expecting this, at all.
Instead of telling Leah all about how Chris is the one that was all over me and that Jared's a liar and put Chris up to it, I decided to go along with the whole 'I Was Rejected' scenario. I realized that whatever I said, Leah wasn't going to believe me, she was going to go with Jared's words no matter what. Maybe, I'll be able to set her straight later on.
"I'm sorry too," I said, finally." You're so right. I'm just so embarrassed that he rejected me. I feel like such an idiot and I didn't want to face you guys. Mostly, I'm really sorry to you Leah, because you always come to me when things go wrong, and I just avoided you. So, thanks Leah. You're the best friend that I could ever have."
I tried not to cringe as I said the lies about being rejected.
Leah smiled brightly and reached over to hug me. "Now, you see? Things are better now because we talked. So are we good now?"
I hugged her back tightly, because the truth is, I have missed her a lot. "Yeah, we're good."
At least we are until I have rock hard solid proof of Jared's cheating ways. Operation Expose The Lying, Cheating, and Idiotic Ways Of Jared, is still on the move.