I hadn't gone to Cassie's Halloween party the year before because I hadn't wanted to, so I just feigned illness and she had let me off the hook. But this year, I was kind of looking forward to it. It had always been really fun, and hey, there was free candy. That was always a bonus.
Though Blake and I had both gotten ready at his house, we drove to Cassie's separately. We didn't want anyone thinking we were coming together, especially since our costumes were so much alike.
"Leah!" Cassie greeted happily the second I walked through the front door. She was dressed like a cute bumblebee. "You're here! Yay!"
Sean made his way up behind her, dressed like a caveman. I felt like he always used Halloween as a reason to show off his chest. I wasn't sure what he dressed as the year before, but the year before that he was a pirate with his ripped open.
"Leah, you're..." Cassie started now, looking me up and down and looking completely confused. "You're... uh... What are you?"
I rolled my eyes and flipped my hair behind my shoulder, pointing at the two drawn-on holes on my neck. "I'm a vampire's victim. Duh."
Sean blinked at me now. "You look more like a victim, considering you're covered in fake blood."
I shrugged. "Either way, at least I'm here and not sick this year."
Cassie was now looking across the room, her eyes in suspicious slits. I held my breath, wondering just what exactly she was looking at. I nearly fell over when she said, "Blake's dressed as a vampire..."
I knew it wouldn't have been a good idea to come in costumes that went together. It was way too suspicious!
"Really?" I asked, letting out a nervous laugh as I looked in the direction Cassie was. Sure enough, there was Blake, talking to someone dressed as a werewolf. "What a coincidence! That's really funny!"
She gave me one last suspicious look before laughing herself. "Yeah, that is pretty funny."
I let out a sigh of relief. I was really glad that Cassie wasn't all that bright or else our secret would have been ruined.
Cassie now chuckled, leaning in closer to me and jabbing her thumb in Blake's direction. "Look how cute Blake and Mona are, dressed like a vampire and werewolf. They're supposed to be mortal enemies, and yet they make it look like they're a couple!"
I felt my breath catch in my throat when I looked back over at the two of them. So the werewolf he was talking to... was Mona. I wasn't even sure vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies, but that didn't even matter at that moment.
Cassie quickly went off in one direction, and Sean followed right after her. Not knowing exactly what I was supposed to do, I made my way over to the couch and sat. I guessed I'd just have to wait until someone I knew came along.
I didn't have to wait too long. I looked up, surprised when I saw a prince was staring down at me. It took me a moment to realize that it was actually Christian staring down at me.
"Uh... hi," I greeted.
Christian smirked as he eyed my neck. "A vampire's victim, huh?"
"Finally," I sighed, smiling only slightly at him. "Someone finally knows what I am! People just assume that I'm some other sort of victim from something else because they don't see the bite marks.
Christian laughed now. "Well, you're covered in a lot of fake blood."
I shrugged as he sat next to me now. "Yeah, I went a little overboard. If a vampire took this much blood out of me, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead already."
"I'm pretty sure a vampire would be full before he could get that much blood out of you," he teased me now, and this made both of us laugh.
But talking about vampires reminded me of Blake, even though it shouldn't have. He was there, dressed as a vampire, talking to Mona. We couldn't be too close or else people would know that something was up between the two of us.
Christian could tell that something was wrong now. "Are you okay?" he asked me, worry evident on his face.
"I'm fine," I assured, even though I wasn't so sure if that was true. I forced a smile, but I knew Christian could tell that it was fake.
He reached out and brushed my bangs out of my face. "Leah..."
"Look, I don't want to talk about it," I almost snapped now, turning my face away from him so he couldn't touch it any longer. "I'm fine. Really."
"Christian!" an unfamiliar voice rang out now, and we looked up to see a girl that I didn't recognize. I knew Christian knew her though, because he smiled at her. "Will you dance with me, please?"
Christian smiled politely up at the girl, like he always did with everyone. But I knew he didn't see her as any more than a friend as he said, "Sure, of course."
He waved at me as the girl pulled him up off the couch, and when he turned his back away from us, she stuck her tongue out at me. I had no reaction, because it wasn't like I was jealous that she was taking him away from me.
I let out a sigh, leaning back into the couch and relaxing a little. I wondered where Leslie and Derrick were. I hadn't seen them, but that didn't mean that they weren't here. Even though I wouldn't have been surprised if they hadn't come since they were supposed to come together.
A few minutes later, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cassie make her way up onto the little stage she made just for the party. I was pretty sure it was made out of a couple of mattresses or something. She made her way up there with a microphone, so I was sure that she was about to make some sort of announcement.
She stopped the music, which automatically made everyone stop dancing.
"Hello, everyone!" Cassie grinned into the mic, getting everyone's attention immediately. "I'm here to announce the winners for the costume contest! There are two this year!"
Huh, alright. That was different. There was always just one winner, but I guess two people had somehow tied this year. During sophomore year, the last Halloween party of Cassie's I had been to, I had somehow managed to win by dressing like a princess. It had been Cassie's suggested, and I soon realized once I arrived at the party that the only reason she wanted me to go as a princess was because Sean was going as a prince.
"The winners are Mona Barnes and Blake Solo!" Cassie announced now, and I couldn't help but let out a gasp. She... she couldn't have been serious! As everyone looked around for the winners, I couldn't take my eyes off the stage. Cassie... How could she? "Come on, you guys! Come up here and get your trophy!"
The trophy was filled with candy, which looked very unappetizing now. The two of them both made their way up on the stage, both looking embarrassed and shy, and I just wanted this to be all over with. The only reason they both won was because Cassie wanted them to be together.
"Now, go dance, you two!" she giggled once she set the trophy down. "The winners have to dance together!"
This was how she acted with Sean and me. She'd do whatever she could to try to get us to interact somehow. That was what she was doing now with Mona and Blake.
They did as they were told and danced together. Seeing them dance together like that broke my heart. I knew that it shouldn't, since they were only dancing and they could have been doing a lot worse, but I just didn't like it. It really upset me.
I made my way out of the house, needing some fresh air. I was starting to choke inside the house.
I was not going to cry. I was not going to cry. I couldn't cry. This was a stupid reason to cry over.
As I stepped out into the street, I suddenly heard the screeching of tires. I turned, my eyes widening when I saw a car making its way right toward me, unable to stop in time.
"Leah, watch out!" someone shouted, and suddenly someone was grabbing onto my arm and pulling me out of the street.
I was in a shock. I couldn't believe that that had just happened. I had really almost been hit by a car, and the person hadn't even stopped!
"Are you okay?"
I looked over at who saved me. My eyes widened when I saw Christian standing there instead of Blake. He was still holding onto my arm, and I was practically shaking. I couldn't believe that had actually happened.
"Wow, and you're even dressed like a prince," I observed shakily, and Christian's eyes softened. "Prince Charming coming to my rescue."
His eyebrows furrowed. "Let's just be glad that the blood you're covered in didn't become real."
Seeing how shook up I was, Christian didn't say another word. He pulled me in, and my face was suddenly against his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. I felt like I was going to cry even more now.
I wasn't sure how long we stayed out there like that. It was more than five minutes, that was for sure.
"What's going on here?" a new voice suddenly said, causing me to push Christian away from me immediately. I knew that voice too well.
I looked over to see green eyes staring back at me. I couldn't believe he was out here. Why wasn't he with Mona? Why did he have to come out here and see Christian hugging me?
Seeing the way Blake and I were looking at each other, my eyes wide with shock while Blake was glaring with anger, Christian knew that it was his time to go. With one last look at me, he made his way back inside the house and left Blake and me in Cassie's driveway.
It was silent, for the first few moments. I looked anywhere but Blake, but I knew that wouldn't last for long. The only light we had out in the dark was the light attached to the garage, it shining down into the driveway while her lawn was dark.
Blake shoved his hands into his pockets. "What were you doing out here with him?"
I raised my nose into the air and looked away from him. "We were just talking," I answered. Just because he hugged me didn't mean that we were doing anything wrong. Friends hugged all the time.
"Because that totally looked like you were talking," Blake sneered at me now.
He was angry. He was so obviously angry, and it made me a little uncomfortable. Nothing was going on between Christian and me, but I knew it didn't look that way to Blake.
"Why were the two of you hugging?" he questioned me now.
For some reason, now I was growing angry. He didn't have anything to worry about so he didn't have to speak to me with this sort of tone. "So what if we were hugging? I see you hugging Mona all the time," I couldn't help but respond snippily.
Blake's eyes narrowed at me. "That's different."
"That's not different!" I almost laughed; I couldn't believe he couldn't see it. "It's completely the same and you know it!"
"I don't hug her outside a party at night," he defended now, as if that made it any better. "I hug her when we're parting ways or greeting each other. Like friends do. You do it all the time."
"Well, you might think it's a friendly greeting, but I'm sure Mona doesn't see it that way."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"You know what that means!" I shouted now, knowing that no one could hear us from inside because the music was too loud. "I'm so tired of you not seeing it! I tried to ignore it but I just can't. Mona's still in love with you!"
Blake rolled his eyes. "Mona was never in love with me, Leah."
"How do you know?" I demanded. "You're not her!"
"Well, neither are you!"
My jaw clenched. I couldn't believe we were actually fighting about this... again. I thought we were over this. I thought we weren't going to fight about Christian or Mona ever again. I guess I was wrong.
"I know Mona better than you do," Blake began now, and I kept quiet instead of saying that I didn't think he really knew her at all. "Yes, there was a time where we both liked each other. But those feelings never progressed into love. I couldn't possibly love anyone more than I love you, Leah."
"You don't see it!" I shouted again now. "I can't believe you don't see it! I might not have known Mona as long as you have, but I'm a girl, just like she is! I see how she looks at you, and how she acts around you. I hear what she says when she talks about you when you're not around. She was in love with you, and she's still in love with you! She wants to get back together with you!"
"Well, what about Christian?" he snapped at me now, and I didn't like that we were now back to Christian instead of on Mona like I wanted to be. "He obviously likes you. No one holds a girl like that unless he has feelings for her."
I couldn't deny this. I knew Christian had feelings for me, but I couldn't bring myself to say it. I knew it would only make Blake angrier.
My silence seemed to tell Blake something, because his eyes widened. "He does have feelings for you, doesn't he?"
My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. My throat felt dry. What happened to my voice?
Blake's eyebrows furrowed in anger. "He does."
"So what if he does?" I spat, trying my hardest not to sound defensive. It didn't work. "It's not like I like him back or anything."
Blake now scowled at me. "You sure about that?"
I couldn't take this anymore. It was about time I told him about what happened between Christian and me the weekend before. "You know, if I liked Christian, I would have kissed him back last week instead of pushing him away," I finally admitted.
Blake looked both shocked and pissed. "What?"
"You heard me," I almost whispered, but then remembered that I was going to have to be louder or else he was never going to be able to hear me over the pounding music from inside. "I wasn't going to tell you, but I guess I have to. Christian kissed me last week when he brought me home after we hung out with all our friends. I guess I gave him the impression that we were somehow on a date."
Blake just stood there, stiff as his hands clenched at his sides. I knew he was going to have a reaction like this. This was the exact reason why I didn't want to tell him what had happened.
"And what... could you have done... that would give him the impression that the two of you were on a date?" he asked me slowly now, and I was almost afraid that he would turn around and go find Christian so he could punch him or something. I really hoped he wouldn't do that.
"I danced with him," I shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "I didn't pull away when he pulled me in during the slow song."
Blake's fists were shaking now. I felt bad, but I wasn't going to back down. I knew that I had done nothing wrong.
"But I didn't purposely mean to string him along! He kissed me and I pushed him away. He told me he liked me and I turned him down," I explained now, not wanting Blake to get too angry. The last thing I wanted was for him to go and attack Christian.
"And did he ask why?" Blake asked, his voice dangerously low.
"I told him it was because I wasn't over you," I muttered now, since it was the truth. "I couldn't tell him we were still together."
Blake took a deep breath. "And what did he say after that?"
"He said that if I ever got over you, I should be with him because he really likes me," I whispered, refusing to look up at him as I stared at the cement underneath us.
Blake was silent, and it scared me. I refused to look up at him, afraid of what his face might have looked like, so I stayed silent and waited for him to say something. We couldn't have just stood there forever... One of us had to say something eventually.
"You're not allowed to be near him anymore," Blake finally said after what felt like years.
I stared at him in utter disbelief. Had he really just said that? "I'm not allowed?" I repeated, baffled. "You can't tell me who I can and can't be around, Blake!"
"I don't want you hanging around a guy that claims he likes you!" Blake shouted back to me now. "You're only going to lead him on even more!"
"It's called being his friend!" I cried, still not believing he had the audacity to tell me I couldn't be around one of my friends. "I can still hang out with him and let him know I'm only interested in being friends!"
"Do you think that's going to stop him?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
"There was a time when I thought you only wanted to be friends with me, Leah!" he informed me now, and my eyes widened. "And no matter how hard I tried, I just kept falling more and more in love with you the more I spent time with you."
"I... I can't just not see him anymore," I gulped. "We're both the leads in the play. You know that."
He looked away from him, and I could tell he was biting the inside of his lip. "I really wish you could quit that."
This was really pissing me off. He had no right to tell me who I could and couldn't see, even if he was my boyfriend. I could hang out with whoever I wanted! "If I'm not allowed to see Christian anymore, then you're not allowed to see Mona anymore!"
Blake's jaw nearly dropped. "I don't understand why you hate her so much! We're only friends!"
"Do you hear yourself right now?" I asked him, almost laughing at how stupid he sounded. "You say you're only friends, yet you dated for five years! Christian and I have only known each other for a couple of months and you think he's a threat!"
"Because he is! At least Mona hasn't kissed me!"
I didn't even want to think of all the times they had kissed before we had met as I nearly growled, "Yet!"
He let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his hair. "Why are you being so difficult?"
"Me?" I blinked, my eyes going wide. I couldn't believe he had just said that. "I'm being difficult? I'm not the difficult one here! You are!"
"There's no point in fighting about this." His hand was still in his hair as he looked away from me again. "Obviously neither of us are going to budge."
I could feel the tears stinging at the back of my eyes. "Why can't you just stay away from Mona like I asked?"
Blake frowned. "She's my friend, Leah."
"You like her."
His eyes widened. "What?"
"You still have feelings for her," I sniffled now, biting the inside of my cheek in hope my tears wouldn't fall. "Even if you won't admit it, even if you don't realize it yourself, I know you do. That's why you don't want to be separated from her."
"I don't like Mona!" he yelled now, obviously frustrated with where this conversation, or should I say fight, was going. "How could I even think about another girl when I'm in love with you? Do you really think I'd give up a perfect girl like you for someone like Mona?"
"I'm not perfect!" I nearly shouted, not understanding why he would call me something like this as I wiped at my eyes. "I'm far from perfect! I try to please people, but it never works out for me no matter how hard I try. I'm closed-minded and inconsiderate, I judge people before I get to know them, I snore, I get jealous easily, I hate being away from you for too long, I'm too clingy, I have a horrible relationship with my parents, I almost killed myself when you were in a coma... I'm not perfect; I'm as damaged as they come!"
I was babbling now, just wanting to prove I wasn't the perfect girl he always said I was. I hated being called perfect. Before I had met Blake, that was what most people called me. Of course, it was the people I never spoke to, so they didn't know how imperfect I really was.
Blake looked like he didn't have any response back to this, but I didn't really expect him to. I wouldn't have been surprised if he hadn't even understood me, since I was blubbering like a freaking baby.
"Well, what do you want from me, Leah?" he asked me calmly.
I gulped. "I just don't want you seeing Mona anymore!"
His hand was in his hair again. "You know, you're freaking out over nothing!"
"Then why don't we just break up?"
This stopped him from shouting anything else at me. He stared at me, his eyes wide, and all I did was stare right back at him, my breathing heavy.
"Is that what you want?" he asked me now, his face serious.
I frowned, my tears threatening to fall as I shook my head. "No, that's not what I want."
"I don't want it either," he responded honestly now.
I didn't want to be here any longer. It was probably best that we parted ways, at least for the night. I was supposed to spend the night at his apartment, but I knew that that wouldn't have been the best idea. We would have just fought even more, and I knew that neither of us wanted that.
Blake reached forward now, wiping at the tears that were now flowing down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, Leah," he apologized quietly. "I'm sorry for shouting. I'm sorry for being so angry. I'm sorry for making you cry."
I gulped, taking a step back away from him. This surprised him, and his hand still stayed reached out for me. "I think it'd be best if I just went home," I informed him, glad that we went in separate cars so one of us didn't have to get a ride.
As much as I could tell that he didn't want to let me go, he knew that he had to. "Alright," he nodded. "Drive safely. I want you to text me once you get home so I know you're safe."
I loved him so much. He was still worried about me, and cared about me so much, even after we had just been screaming at each other. How could I have ever have been so lucky?
He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. It only lasted for about three seconds, but I wished it had lasted longer. It made me not want to leave. But I knew I had to.
It was for the best. Blake and I shouldn't have interacted for the rest of the night. I would text him once I got hom, telling him I had gotten there safely. I'd tell him good night, and then he'd probably text me good night back, and then that would be it. We probably wouldn't talk to each other until school on Monday. We needed the rest of the weekend to cool off.
I now made my way back toward my car, Blake rooted to his spot in the driveway until I drove away.
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I kind of like it when Blake and Leah fight. Obviously, I wouldn't like it if it was a serious fight, like one that would end their relationship or whatever, but I think fights like this are good for them. It gets everything out in the open and everything. They wouldn't be a realistic couple if they didn't fight every once in a while.
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