A/N A day earlier than expected woohoo! This chapter is dedicated to @tearinmayaheart for being a dedicated reader.
thank you to TheUnicornEmoji for the gorgeous cover! it's beautiful.
Chapter 25
I've recently came to the conclusion that Christopher doesn't like me back. And to be fair, it doesn't bother me as much as it should.
Who am I kidding? It bothered me a lot. Truth is, it made me question myself. Was I just not good enough? I mean, when you compare me to him, I'm certainly not good enough.
I managed to catch a few hours of sleep, but other than that, I kept tossing and turning. I didn't bother looking through my presents, but now that it was six o'clock in the morning and I had nothing better to do, I resolved to get started on them. So with a sigh, I dragged myself out of bed and grabbed the pile of presents, dumping them on my bed.
Let's get this started right, shall we?
I threw my hair into a sloppy bun before going through my presents. The first one contained a note inside which read: 'Happy birthday, sweet cheeks. From your best friend for ever and ever and ever, Delina.' The corner of my lips twitched upwards as I pulled out a sweater with the words 'I love Vegemite' imprinted on them. A short laugh escaped my lips as I folded the sweater and put it to the side.
The next birthday present was from Jasmine, who also handed me a note. 'Wear this for Chris ;). Happy birthday, Dani!' I wanted to sigh as I spotted the black piece of lingerie inside. My cheeks heated up as I threw the lingerie at the back of my closet. I'd have to do a lot of explaining if somebody spotted that.
The next birthday present was from Mason, which was a charm bracelet that contained the letter 'D' hanging from it. I clasped it around my wrist and then titled my head to the side, admiring its beauty. It looked rather expensive. Mason also went as far as to write a letter, which I decided to read after I finished examining the charm bracelet. 'Happy birthday, Dani.' He drew a small smiley face at the end, causing a wide smile to appear on my face.
I ended up looking through the remainder of my birthday presents, which caused smiles to appear on my face from time to time. Most of them were from my parents, while the other ones were from Christopher's family and his friends.
At last, one present laid and I snatched it, laying it on my lap. In a hurried manner, I unwrapped the wrappers and gazed down at a small box positioned there. I furrowed my eyebrows as I opened the box to reveal a silver necklace. My lips curved into a wide smile, and the smile eventually morphed into a grin.
He remembered. My eyes caught sight of a note, so I picked it up and allowed my eyes to skim through the words. 'Happy seventeenth birthday, Daniella. From, Chris. P.S. This cost me a fortune, so you better wear it.' He ended his small speech with a drawing of an angry face and I resisted the temptation to chuckle.
I grabbed the necklace and stared down at it with a smile. I specifically remember spotting this particular necklace at Myers, but since it was so expensive, I didn't buy it. I guess Christopher spotted me eyeing it like a piece of candy.
I'll wear this every day, Christopher, I promised. Hauling myself off bed, I stood in front of the mirror and wrapped the necklace around my neck. I figured I'd start wearing it later on in the day, after I take a shower. With a sigh, I turned back to face my bed that was scattered with wrappers.
Better get to work.
I commenced cleaning up my room, throwing every last wrapper into the garbage bin. At just about seven o'clock, I was pretty much done. After brushing my teeth and pulling on a hoodie, I resolved to head downstairs and take a look at the sunrise. I've perpetually been a fan of sunrises and sunsets. The assortment of colors truly fascinate me.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and stared up at the salmon sky. A slight breeze passed over, but other than that, the weather was lovely. You know, other than the fact that it was immensely cold. I fumbled out a long breath, causing a brief fog.
My eyes roved around the front yard and I felt myself freeze from top to bottom as I spotted Christopher leaning against the wall. Thankfully, though, he hadn't noticed me yet, chiefly because he was too busy smoking.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, I planned to dash back inside, but my momentary euphoric relief was cut short when Christopher's head snapped upward.
Crap.
Before he could do anything, I quickly rushed back inside and let go of a sigh.
I guess Jasmine will be ten dollars short today.
+ + +
After wrapping my hair in a towel, I decided to wait for it to dry. And what better way to wait for it to dry then call Delina? "Hi, Delina," I crossed my legs.
"Hey!" she exclaimed in a loud voice, causing me to wince. "Did you take a look at your presents?"
"Yes, and I loved them. In fact, I'm wearing the sweater you bought me right now," I replied, briefly looking down at the sweater.
"Good! I spent so much on it! It was ten bucks. Wait, let me put you on speaker." I rolled my eyes and remained silent for a moment.
"We kissed," I blurted in a mumble.
I heard some shuffling on the other end. "Who kissed? When kissed? Why kissed? How kissed? Where kissed?" Delina's voice came, urgency leaking into her tone.
"I kissed Christopher."
"Did you hear that, Jasmine?" Delina shouted. "Give me my ten dollars. Wait, here," she told me. I nodded as she hung up on me. Minutes afterwards, I received a video and curiously opened it. I wanted to roll my eyes as Delina came into view with a wide grin on her face.
"The ship has sailed!" she screeched, jumping up and down. She pulled Jasmine up and they began excitedly jumping around the room. Delina even went as far to to commence twerking while shouting 'It has sailed the harbor, my friend!'
A smile threatened to make its way onto my face as Delina called me. I lifted the phone to my ear and played with a loose thread on my bed. "Girl, you don't even know how happy I am for you! I just want to scream my lungs out!" she shrieked.
I winced with a smile on my face. "Well, he's ignoring me."
I heard some shuffling and another voice sounded throughout the phone. "I'm ten dollars short because you guys were too horny! Give us the details, now!"
"Uhm," I stammered as memories of yesterday rushed through my mind.
"Actually, never mind. You are cordially invited to my house," Jasmine replied.
I snorted. "When did this happen?"
"Now. We'll come pick you up. Be ready in ten!" And with that, Jasmine hung up on me and I sighed. After drying my hair, I decided to keep my sweater on and convert my gray sweatpants to black jeans. I hurriedly threw on a jacket before throwing my wet hair into a ponytail.
I nodded at my reflection in the mirror. Good enough. Moments later, I received a text message from Jasmine. She told me to meet her at the front of Christopher's house, so I climbed down the stairs. Along the way, I spotted my mother walking by, so I cleared my throat in order to draw her attention to me. "Mom."
"Yes, honey?" she replied, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
"I'm going to Jasmine's house. I'll be back before long, okay?"
A slow smile lit up her face. "You seem to have forgotten about your friends back home."
I rolled my eyes in a playful manner. "Mom, I text them, like, everyday."
She, too, rolled her eyes. "Be back soon!" I nodded and slipped out the front door. I felt rather weird hanging out with Christopher's friends; they were his friends, not mine.
Jasmine frantically waved her hands around in an attempt to draw my attention and I shook my head as I made my way over towards her car. "Hey," I greeted her casually, closing the door behind me.
"You're acting way too calm for a girl who had a tongue shoved down her throat," she responded as she started up the engine.
I threw a confused look in her direction. "Who said we used tongue?" In return, she handed me a flat look and I sighed. "Okay, so we might've used tongue, but—."
"Oh my gosh, that's so cute!" she squealed. I ignored her and stared out the front window. Cute. Yeah, it's so cute when Christopher ignores my existence every time I walk past him or attempt to speak to him.
Truth is, I'd rather have him insulting me than ignoring me. It hurts, it really does. I mean, was I that bad of a kisser? I suddenly lamented my actions. I should've never done that. Honestly, who even does that? Which sane person forces them self upon a guy?
The only exception is if they're some sort of famous celebrity.
I quietly sighed to myself. Clearly, I'm an idiot.
Minutes later, we reached Jasmine's house and I followed her out of the car. She opened the door and guided me towards her room. As soon as I opened the door, Delina welcomed me with a humungous grin that barely fit her face. "Well hello there, you sneaky bastard."
I rolled my eyes as I stepped into Jasmine's room. "You guys are blowing this way out of proportion. Seriously, we only kissed. Big deal."
Delina shook her head as she sat beside me on Jasmine's bed. "But you don't understand."
I rested my chin in the palm of my left hand. "Well, then, enlighten me."
"You see," Jasmine began as she took a seat beside me. "Chris hasn't liked a girl in a very long time."
I snorted. "Who says he likes me?" I let out a sigh as I spotted the blank looks on their faces. "Okay, maybe he just kissed me because he hasn't kissed a girl in a very long time." In other words, maybe he was just horny and I was the only thing with a vagina in front of him.
Delina ignored me and glanced at Jasmine. "Do I have the permission to smack some sense into her?" Jasmine chortled into her hands while I gave them both a flat look.
"I'm hungry and cold. Leave me alone," I mumbled as I curled up in a ball. Delina patted my back in mock sympathy while Jasmine jumped off her bed.
"I'll get the junk food!"
"Don't forgot sappy romance movies," Delina hollered after her. Once the door closed shut behind her, she spoke up again. "You're being way too stupid right now."
"Delina, I don't know for sure that he likes me. And no matter how much you say he does, I'll never believe you unless he, himself, says he does."
She gave out a heavy sigh. "Okay, I get it," she muttered. "To be honest, you're not the first girl he's kissed in a very long time," Delina mocked my accent.
Slowly, I sat up. "Then who was?"
An uncomfortable look passed over her face as she shifted. "Well, after he found out about Madrena cheating on him, he drank almost everyday and you know...did stuff with girls."
I frowned. "Oh."
She nodded with pursed lips. "Yeah, he got real bad."
"If you don't mind me asking, who'd Madrena cheat on him with?"
Delina picked at her nails, clearly stalling. "With one of our childhood friends, Caleb."
My jaw went slack. "What kind of betrayal is that?"
She nodded. "Exactly. We didn't really expect it, mainly because he was really close to Chris." I nodded as I tried to take things in. Although I didn't want to judge, cheating should never be justified, no matter what the reason is.
"Madrena wants him to forgive her," she told me after a minute or so of silence.
"What?"
"She says that he shouldn't ruin their friendship over a mistake. She can dry hump a pole, for all I care. Chris doesn't want to forgive her, and honestly neither do I." I nodded as I tried to take things in.
I don't really know the whole story, but I can kind of see where Madrena was coming from. They had been friends for years. But if they were friends for years, why would she hurt him by cheating on him? my mind added.
"Do you know what the bitch said? She said that she only dated Chris out of pity because she was tired of him chasing her around like a puppy. I swear, I just wanted to punch her so bad," Delina growled and I gawked at her for a moment.
"Wow," I gasped.
Delina nodded. "See what I mean?"
Later on a moment, I shrugged. "I don't really mind if Christopher doesn't like me back. I can't physically force him to like me. All I want is for him to be okay."
The corner of her lips twitched upwards. "You really care about him, don't you?"
I nodded solemnly. I do.
And it frightened me.
Silence consumed us for a minute there, until Delina spoke up once again. "Wait...did he touch your arse while you were kissing?"
+ + +
I was sitting on the couch, guiltily watching Criminal Minds. It was the only thing on T.V, okay? "I thought you hated that show," my father told me as he grabbed a load of newspapers and I stifled the urge to groan.
"No, it's actually interesting," I found myself saying. Christopher would be so proud.
My father nodded with furrowed eyebrows. "Right." I managed to detect a minor undertone of sarcasm leaking into his tone, but other than that, he continued crossing the room towards the kitchen. As he left, my mind instantly wondered to, you guessed it, Christopher. He successfully managed to ignore me for a day and a half.
I didn't bother attempting to rekindle things as I was too mortified to even breath in his direction. Not only did I admit my feelings to him, but I also forced myself upon him.
The doorbell ringing drew me out of my miserable reverie. With a frown, I muted the television and trudged towards the door. "Hello from the other side," Adam sang as he sidestepped me and entered the house. He shed his coat off and while doing that, he asked me a question that almost knocked the air out of my lungs. "So was the kiss good?"
I took a sharp intake of breath. "What?"
"What?" he mumbled with a frown. "Guys gossip too."
I felt all the blood rush to my cheeks as I looked around before leaning in. "Christopher told you?" I hissed.
He nodded proudly. "Yup. He says that he—," he paused and glanced over me. "Ooh, Criminal Minds."
I stared at Adam's retreating figure in bewilderment. What is wrong with him today? "Adam! What did Christopher say?" I asked frantically, feeling my heart flutter. Did he admit to liking me back?
"He said that you're a sloppy kisser."
My jaw dropped in an unattractive manner. "What?" To say I was mortified would be an understatement. "He said that?"
Adam handed me a small nod. "Yup, I'm disappointed, Dani," he mockingly shook his head at me.
"Please tell me you're joking," I whispered with wide eyes.
"I wish I was," he replied as he stared at the television. I slumped back into the couch with a frown indented on my face. Just kill me, why don't you? I've already endured enough embarrassment to last me a lifetime.
"I'm kidding, Dani," Adam shot me a panicked look. "You look like you're going to faint."
I forced a weak smile to appear on my face. "What did you guys talk about?"
"Stuff."
I sighed. "Please, Adam. I just want to know."
He offered something that closely resembled a sigh. "Okay, if you insist. But don't tell him I told you! He'd probably skin me alive and then rip my heart out and cook it for dinner."
I nodded and leaned in with curious eyes. "He said that you guys kissed and that he—," he was cut off by the devil himself, Christopher.
"Adam," Christopher greeted him with a curt nod. His left eye twitched before he motioned to the stairs. "Come on." Adam shot me an apologetic look as he accompanied his friend up the stairs and I sighed. Oh, well.
Minutes later, I checked the time. It was nearing five o'clock, meaning the sun would set anytime soon. With a sigh, I stood up from my seat and made my way over towards the kitchen. I fixed myself a cup of water before gulping it down. I wonder what they're talking about.
This piqued my curiosity and I set my empty cup down on the island. Maybe I should eavesdrop? After all, I was known for being quite a skilled eavesdropper. Of course, if I get caught, I'd probably get in trouble. But it's worth the risk, right?
Pursing my lips, I exited the kitchen and slowly climbed up the stairs. Checking to see if anybody was around, I blew out a quiet breath before making my way over towards Christopher's room. I pressed my ear against the door and was able to pick up some muffled voices. "You already know I like someone else," I heard a voice mutter.
"Does that person happen to have brown eyes, brown hair, and goes by the name Daniella?" a teasing voice responded.
A small silence stretched and I impatiently waited for a response. "No, Adam. You already know I like someone else."
"Lena?"
"Yeah."
"She's hot," Adam's voice sounded through the door.
"Exactly."
"But not as hot as Dani."
"Daniella isn't hot. She's—," I tuned them out, closing my eyes and resting my forehead against the door.
He likes someone else.
I smiled, a little sadly. At least he's over Madrena. And whoever this Lena is, I must say, she's one lucky girl. She was the girl who helped purge Christopher of the memories that no doubt still lurk through his mind.
Turning away, I climbed down the stairs and entered the living room once again. I just hope that Christopher's happy with this Lena girl. But you want him to be happy with you, my mind selfishly added.
Preposterous. He'll never be happy with me.
After all, time is our most limited commodity. And judging by how fast the days are going, I don't doubt that he'd forgot about me in no time.