One would think that waking up in the morning, especially for school, would be one of the most dreadful things to commit to.
It is, don't get me wrong.
I was dreading something slightly more this rainy morning. Seeing Dylan was the last thing I wanted to do today. I knew it would be awkward, if not for him, it was for me.
Seeing that I showered right before going to sleep last night, I contemplated on whether I should lay in bed for about a half an hour more. However, I dragged myself up and officially started my morning a little earlier.
Brushing my teeth.
Washing my face.
Barely walking to my closet to pick out my outfit. I didn't have the best fashion sense and I was definitely not trying to impress anyone at school.
Picking out my lazy day gray tee-shirt, that was slightly crumbled from being balled up on my shelf, along with some destroyed skinny jeans.
I never liked dressing up without an occasion because it felt like a hassle. Especially to school, especially doing it every single day. I don't know how those people do it.
Sluggishly, I wrapped my hair into a topknot, not giving a second glance to the few curls, some damp and some dry, that were escaping the bunch. I would probably have to redo it later in school because I know the humidity outside would not allow my hair to stay semi-tamed.
Trudging downstairs, I snatched a bowl, frosted flakes and the last remaining of milk. Mixing everything together, I tried to ignore the snores that came upstairs.
My mother stumbled in late last night, around 3 or 4 a.m. as she woke me from my slumber. Seeing her home the previous day made me believe it would become a routine, but I guess old habits die hard.
I didn't want to think about home life because it never brought any good to it. My mother was rarely sober, I haven't seen my father since he left and being an only child doesn't help at all. I would say that would be my reason to be so attached to Allison, but I'm not as much of a people's person like she is.
That's one of the reasons why I'm doing the lessons with Avery. One, it'll help me to socialize with others besides Ally. It'll help me talk to people I find attractive, instead of shying away and admiring from afar. I'm learning how to kiss, although there's not much to it, not that I'm complaining. Also, the small, but big part is that I won't be seen as a downer to Ally. She's the social butterfly who's comfortable in her own skin and shows that through her outgoing personality. Maybe if I can change a bit, I wouldn't be such a burden to be around.
Not that she says or displays any sign or irritation, but I know it's there when she wants to go to parties that I don't want to even be in the premises of. Even when she wants to go shopping or boy hunting or hang out with people. I'm that friend that's too insecure to even look out the crack of my comfort zone.
Hopefully these lessons can bring out the inner ideal person Ally wants because she's the only person I have right now.
But Avery...
I shook the absolute ridiculous thought away before my mind wondered into territory I did not want to be around.
Finishing my bowl of cereal, I quickly washed it after. Checking the time on my phone, I had about 45 minutes until Ally came. This meant time for Spongebob.
It was probably childish of me to watch it, but it always kept my mind away from problems.
When my parents used to fight, I would drown them out with Spongebob's happy attitude. When I would come home from school, having no friends or even an acquaintance, I would just watch him until I fell asleep. Whenever I was feeling sick, it always made me feel better.
So as of right now, the anxiety and dread that was building up, was now slowly diminishing at the sight of my childhood. I didn't want to leave my couch. I just wanted to curl up with some soup and not have to face anything that made me uncomfortable.
But the time slipped away when Ally texted me that she just left her home.
I sighed, but got up and gathered my things. I placed my bag, jacket and umbrella by the couch.
Walking back to my room, I quickly took out my soft pink rain boots. As I was putting them on, she texted me that she was outside.
I quietly walked downstairs, for the sake of not waking my mother, but I knew she wouldn't wake up that easily anyway.
Grabbing all of my things and shutting the t.v off, I made my way to the door. As soon as I opened it, I was immediately hit with a gust of wind as well as the water pellets that intruded my home.
I briskly walked to the car, my umbrella doing the best it could.
"How's my babe doing?" Tony said as soon as I stepped into the vehicle.
"Who's your babe?" I responded, side hugging Ally. As soon as I put my seatbelt on, we started our journey to school.
"Let's not play dumb now."
"She's not playing." Allison said while chuckling.
"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side." I joked.
"And you're all wet for me, too." He spoke and moved further up his seat, practically sitting right between Ally and I.
"She's wet for Avery. And sit back! I'm driving." She threw me a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows, but scolded her little brother.
"Yeah right!" I let out a booming laugh.
"Yeah like Avery would get anywhere near you." He spoke with denial.
"Why wouldn't he? What's wrong with me?" I said, not try to have my insecurities shine through.
"I mean, look at you. You're a book worm, sort of. You're anti-social. You don't have the greatest taste in clothes . You're not even that cute." He said everything in a playful manner, but every joke holds a bit of truth to them. So my sensitivity made my chest tighten at every sentence he spoke.
"That's not true! Look at her, as cute as a button." Ally said and held my cheeks between her fingers, squeezing them together. I tried to laugh, but that gnawing in my chest was becoming more evident.
It'll add to the list of my mood being brought down today.
"Woah look at that." Tony stated.
His eyes were focused on the parking lot, a very full parking lot.
"Wow, there's only like two spaces and they're the farthest away from the door." Allison muttered, but drove to the front of the school.
"Alright, get out you kids. No reason for all of us to get soaked." She sighed.
"No, it's fine. I have an umbrella, I'm not going to let you walk alone." I responded.
"You're crazy. Bye." Tony said, then exited the car.
After he ran to the building, we drove all the way to the entrance of the lot, parking right beside the gate.
"At least I won't get stuck in the after-school traffic jam." She joked and pulled into the parking.
We quickly exited the car and practically run to the school. With the wind harshly pushing against us, my umbrella was doing all it could to get us there dry.
We finally arrived and went our separate ways to our lockers.
I held my breath when I saw Dylan talking to some girl. Not that it bothered me, but maybe he was tired of me.
Tilting my head down, I walked past and didn't look up until I was at my locker.
My lungs felt heavy, but I ignored it.
I took out the wet books from my bag and exchanged them for my calculus notebook. I decided to keep my things with me for the first period, just so they could air out instead of being trapped inside the locker for the whole day.
There were a few minutes to spare until school officially started, but I headed to class anyway. Once inside, I put my head down, trying my best to not think about the things that were dampening my mood.
But I'll list them anyway.
Dylan.
Ally.
Tony.
My parents.
Literally everyone I have contact with. Except Avery. Not that he's perfect, although his looks may say otherwise, he's the only one that I don't have a problem with at the moment.
That might be because I'm not close to him. I wasn't close to Dylan, but the more interactive we were, the more problems occurred. Maybe I should just stay away from Avery so I don't have to deal with any more internal conflicts.
Just then, the bell rang signaling the start of a very long and treacherous day.
»
So far, school has been surprisingly speeding by. Most of my classes did not require work today.
Math, I blocked everything out.
Spanish, we watched a movie.
English, we had a worksheet.
Chemistry, we had a substitute.
And now gym. Not interested in walking laps around the indoor track, and not interested in playing basketball. But Avery was interested in being loud and obnoxious.
Every point he scored, he screamed or hung off the rim when he jumped up.
I haven't seen him all day since he didn't show up to class, but that was okay because I didn't know if he would ask me about the date yesterday. I'm sure he knew though, being best friends with Dylan and all.
I sat on the bleachers, holding my head in my hand. This way I was able to think and also play the part of having a headache because I told my teacher that was why I wouldn't be participating.
I'm glad I didn't have class with Dylan because I'm not sure if I could've handled the awkwardness. But I didn't want to think about him. So I sighed and waited for everyone to give back the equipment once the whistle blew, letting us know that gym was over.
Once we were able to leave, I got up and slowly walked in the direction of the girl's locker room. That was until a voice shouted my name.
My heart skipped a beat once I realized that Avery called me. Turning around, I watched as he jogged over to me.
"You okay?" He asked slightly out of breath and still sweating from his previous game.
"Yeah, why?" I asked, not wanting to talk about Dylan.
"You were sitting with your head down the entire time."
Oh right. Good.
You're not gunna acknowledge that he was watching you?
"Just a headache." I waved off.
"Aw, will a kiss make it better?" He cooed but laughed.
"Ew, no." I joined in with a chuckle.
"That's not what you'll be saying later on." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"I'm actually not coming later." I responded, trying to get rid of the blush that was forming.
"Yeah, so I'll pick you up after school?" Avery continued, ignoring my statement.
"Seriously. I'm not coming, I have plans." I say, looking forward Ally and I hanging out later.
"Remember I said cancel your plans?"
"Remember when I said I didn't care?" I counter back.
"Well that's not what you said actually-"
"It doesn't matter!" I speak over him with a small smile forming. This banter was lifting my mood, but I needed to change out of these gym clothes.
"Whatever. I'll see you in my bedroom." He said already jogging towards the locker room.
I didn't argue and just huffed.
Don't act upset, you liked it.
Shut up, I know.
I smiled to myself, ignoring the erratic beating that was now in my chest.
I don't like him. I don't. Him and Dylan are best friends, so they probably bond over their similar characteristics that include not caring about feelings, dating anyone they feel like, etcetera.
Shaking away my thoughts, I changed and headed to lunch. I was actually more excited to hang out with Ally, believe it or not. I always look forward to spending time together. She always brings my mood up when I need her.
She's going to help me figure out this Dylan thing.
He's not even relevant anymore.
Rolling my eyes, I know I was just thinking that because he ended our date early.
And how he acted in the car, at the party, his creepy bathroom lingering, watching his best friend get beat up, using you for his own benefit.
I reach the cafeteria and spot Allison sitting with some of our, more so her's, mutual friends.
As I approach, my ears are filled with laughter from a joke one of them told.
"Hey guys." I quietly intetject.
"Hi." Ally looks at me with a smile, but turns her attention back to the others.
I don't pay attention to them, like usual. Not that I didn't like them, I just don't know them and I didn't really care to. I'm not a people's person, like I've said before.
Halfway through lunch, I tap Allison.
"Do you have any plans after school?" I ask.
"I know you do, so you shouldn't miss that." She smirked and nudged me.
"I can miss a day. I just wanted some girl time and to give you a recap on yesterday." I lowered my voice towards the end of the sentence.
"Oh yeah! How was your date?" She practically screamed. This caused the table to direct their attention towards us.
"Ally!" I hissed. "So after school?" I purposely avoided eye contact and lowered my voice.
"I can't, I have a date, too." She smiled.
"With who?" I perked up, but felt my mood dampen a bit.
"Michael." My eyebrows could've touched my hairline from how surprised I was.
"Woah, when were you even interested in him?"
"Since yesterday."
"You couldn't even remember his name at the party though."
"True. But Avery spoke to me yesterday in the hallway. He said Michael wanted to talk, then gave me his number."
"Wow. That was easy, I guess."
"What do you mean?" Ally's head tilted with confusion, making her look similar to a puppy.
"He seemed into you at the party and you basically brushed him off."
"I know. That's why we have a date later. I'm making it up to him." She laughed.
"Okay. So no girl time?" I tried not to pout.
"No Gracie. But you should be thanking me. More Avery time." She lowly said in a sing-song voice.
"Great." I muttered.
After a few minutes passed, the bell rung, ending the break we had from the tortuous school day.
I sent a quick goodbye to everyone, giving Ally a hug and departing from the lunch room.
Making my way to my locker, it felt more crowded than usual. But I couldn't control that, or the people who bumped into me.
Finally making my way to my locker after being shoved so many times, I sighed and looked forward to the last class of my day.
Hopefully this would pass by as quickly as lunch did.
»
Alas, the final bell.
The music to my ears.
I almost teared up with joy as it cut off Ms. Kale's monotone voice. The look on her face when everyone began to leave was enough to brighten my day.
No one paid attention to the homework she tried to assign. We all strolled out, pleased to have finished another school day.
I made my way out the classroom and in the direction towards my locker.
Feeling my phone vibrate, I retrieved it from my pocket and checked the message.
It was from Ally.
"Sorry we couldn't chill today, I really wanna hear about yesterday so I'll call you when I get home!!"
I responded back, "no problem, I want to hear about yours too."
When I reached my locker, I was jolted by surprise when my phone vibrated again.
This time it was Avery.
"You still coming?"
Sighing, I sent a confirmation that I was still coming.
"Yeah, wait for me."
Gathering my stuff, I was glad that my bag and jacket were dry, but I regretted now wearing rain boots when it wasn't raining anymore.
I marched my way to the parking lot, almost empty. I couldn't help but look over to Ally's previous spot to see it empty.
She did beat the traffic.
It's not like we're ever in traffic, we leave so late.
I blocked out my pointless thought and walked to Avery's car. He wasn't leaning against it, but the closer I got, I realized he was already sitting inside.
Getting in, I placed my bag at my feet and put my seat belt on.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yeah."
We took off and headed in the direction of his home.
"Did you want to get food or anything?" He asked in a regular tone. Not surprising, but these past few car rides, he's always been in a bad mood.
"No thank you." I replied with a smile ghosting on my lips. I turned my attention to the window, just so I could distract myself.
We drove until we pulled up to a familiar structure. After parking, we both exited and headed towards his door in the open garage.
After following Avery down the stairs, I sat at the last step so I could take off my boot. I was pulling on it when he turned around with his finger pointed at my feet.
"Good girl." He said then plopped on his bed.
Rolling my eyes, I tugged them off and looked around for the friendly pet.
"What are you looking for?" He asked while observing me.
"Ronnie." I said and stood up. I walked and sat next to him.
"He's not down here." He stated the obvious.
"Gee, I didn't know." I sarcastically replied.
"Don't back talk me," he pointed his finger in my face, I tried to smack it away but he moved it before I could, "I'll have to punish you."
I barked out a short laugh to cover my reddening cheeks.
"Yeah right."
"Don't test me either, Grace." His voice held a bit of rasp to it as it lowered in volume. He reached his hands up, gently gliding over my jawline and up to my bun.
I tried to control my breathing that was rapidly becoming shallow from his movements. He looked at me the entire journey up, and tugged at the elastic holding my hair together. He pulled until my curls left its confined hairstyle.
Now I look like a damn lion.
For some reason, the thought made me want to laugh. So that's what I did. Avery just stared with slight confusion.
"What?" His hand now hovered over my head, hesitating in whether to proceed or not.
"Nothing, I just probably look crazy right now." I bit my lip, try to stop my giggling. But it did stop when Avery took hold of a section of my hair in the back.
"You don't." He said with a lazy smile. He seemed relaxed, the exact opposite of how I was. My eyes widen at his grip.
"Why are you grabbing my hair?" I choked out.
"I like the control I have with you." He said simply, moving my head side to side just to prove his words.
Not that I mind...
"Oh." I gulped.
He tilted my head back, causing me to look at the ceiling. I felt him graze my neck, until a full pair of lips pressed into it.
My eyes closed on their own accord at the feeling.
He continued, traveling and exploring. My collar bone, making me shudder, up to the place where your jaw and ear meets. Chills took over my body as he worked, placing open kisses, wet kisses, faint kisses that left me wondering if he had kissed me at all.
I didn't realize he let go of my hair, until he grasped my chin with his thumb, tilting me straight forward. He left no time to kiss me.
Our mouths worked in sync. My mind shut off and my body felt on fire when his lips were pressed against mine.
I felt him slowly retract, and I had to force my body to stay in place as it yearned for more. My eyes felt heavy from the kiss, but nearly shot open when I felt teeth gently grip my lip.
His tongue slowly swiped across it. His teeth were still holding my lip in place, but slightly rolled it and backed away, having it escape from his hold. He placed a chaste kiss on me before moving back all together.
I didn't want to open my eyes, because I wanted to relive it over and over again.
"That was... okay." I heard him say.
"What?" My eyes flew open. I knew I was red but I didn't care because that was, it was amazing.
"I'll give you an A for effort."
"Ass." I mumbled under my breath.
"What was that?" His voice was laced with a playful threat.
"Nothing." I replied, reaching for my elastic on his wrist. I wanted to distract myself from the kiss because...
That was something else.
"No, I like your hair out. You should wear it like this more often." He turned his attention towards my mane. He stretched a curl out, pulling until it stopped at my ribcage.
My body squirmed without control and pushed his hand away.
"You're ticklish?" He asked.
We all knew where this was going, and I should've ran while I had the chance.
"No!" I squeaked out, wrapping my arms in front of my torso.
I watched and slightly cowered when Avery stood from the bed and placed himself in front of me.
He shuffled forward, until we were practically touching. Mind you, I'm sitting so my face is in a certain place it shouldn't be.
"Kiss me." He demanded.
Where?
Hush up.
My mouth opened and closed, wanting to respond, but not having words to do so.
He waited for about six seconds, tops, before bringing his hands to my waist in a flash. His fingers rapidly moved over my stomach, causing me to let out a shriek. I tried to move back, but my body was vigorously moving on its own.
At least laugh cute. You look like a damn fish out of water.
He stopped for a moment, taking in my heavy breathing.
I was going to say "thank you," but before I could form the words, he was torturing me once again.
This time, my body backed up, only causing Avery to climb on top of the bed. I tried to plead with him to stop by screaming his name, but the uncontrollable laughs probably motivated him to ignore my words.
He hovered over me, keeping his weight on the legs that were on the sides of my body. He stopped once again, resting his hands on my waist.
"Please stop." I breathed out with a smile still etched onto my face from the forced laughter.
"Why should I listen to you, you didn't listen to me." He stated with a matter-of-fact voice.
"You didn't give me time!" I exclaimed while my hands tried to push at Avery's chest.
Warm, toned, unfortunately clothed...
I rolled my eyes at the thought and watched him. He was looking down at me, his hands still in place.
"Okay. Kiss me right now." He said.
My eyes went wide, not that I was surprised, but his bluntness made me more nervous.
"H-how? You're too far." My words tumbled out.
He brought his face closer and stopped when we almost touched noses.
"Better?" He smirked.
"Well for this circumstance, I would say it's an improvement, but distance is also-" I shut my eyes and painfully started laughing, once again.
His fingers moved over my torso, but I tried to fend him off. I guess he caught my drift because he grabbed my hands and placed them above my head.
"Gracie." He drawled out my name.
"Yes?" I tried to control my air intake, not wanting to blow my breath directly in his face now that he was so close.
He looked as if he was going to say something, but placed his lips over mine instead. My heart beat sped up and my eyes fluttered closed.
My hands we still held captive above me, making me feel vulnerable to him, but I didn't care at the moment.
His free hand lazily traced down my side. The graceful movement caused goosebumps to cover my skin. Avery dragged his hand to the end of my shirt, grazing the sliver of skin that was exposed from my arms being placed above my head.
My breath hitched as chills swept over my body. His lips slowly moving, dominating my own.
I almost whimpered, thankfully I controlled myself, when he removed his lips from mine.
When I opened my eyes, I met his. It was stationed on my lips.
"What?" I forced out, almost forgetting how to speak.
"Your lips are just really..." His words drifted off, but he placed a short kiss after.
If he were any closer, he would've felt my heart beating straight through my shirt. But he got off, taking his warmth with him.
We both sat properly, but not for long. He nodded his head towards the staircase, signaling it was time for him to take me home.
Damn.
Is it bad that I actually wanted to stay longer because I enjoyed it?
Shaking the thought, I tried to cool my stubborn red face as I walked to the staircase. Sitting down, I struggled to put my boots on when my hair kept interrupting my vision.
Finally getting them on, I grabbed my things and walked up the stairs. I waited by his car, trying to smoothen down my hair. The drier it became, the more frizz appeared.
Now that my mind wasn't clouded with the feeling of Avery's lips, I felt self-conscious of my appearance.
When he came up, he walked past me, but I tugged on his arm.
"I need to tie my hair up." I said in a way that would hopefully keep his attention away from the wild curls.
"Why?" He focused all his attention on my hair now.
"Because, look at it." I said, but not giving him a chance to look because I began to twist it up.
"I like it out."
My heart could've skipped a beat at the compliment, if it wasn't for the blatant lie I knew he was telling.
"No, I need it up please." I replied with my hand gripping my ready-to-go bun.
"Fine, but whenever you come over, take it out." He said handing it to me.
"Sure." Knowing I would never do that on my own accord.
We got in his car after I tied it in place. After driving, for a while, Avery broke the silence.
"You know Michael and your friend are supposedly on a date right now?" He glanced at me after his question.
"Yeah, she told me at lunch." I answered, realizing that if we would have hung out after school, I would've missed today with Avery.
I know she would tell me 'I told you so' once I tell her.
"I've never seen him so hyped about someone before." He shook his head in disbelief.
"Never?"
"I mean, once when he was in middle school, but that was kiddie shit." He laughed.
"Well I'm happy for them. They are cute together, if you think about it."
He hummed in response, pulling up to the front of my house.
"Thanks... for the ride." I blushed at the thought about thanking him for today.
"That's it? No kiss goodbye?" He tried to keep the smirk off his face, but was failing.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." I laughed off the heat my face was increasing in.
Getting out, I walked to my door. Glancing around, I took note of the empty driveway.
Mom is out again. I'll see her at 3 a.m.
Stepping inside, I sighed and made my way up the stairs. Dropping on my bed, my hands covered my face as a large smile spread across my cheeks.
Can't wait to tell Ally all about today.
»
My eyes slowly opened to the harsh rattling on my nightstand. I looked over to see my phone ringing obnoxiously loud.
I picked up the vibrating phone and looked at the name to see who had the audacity to call me right now. A quarter past midnight. I know Ally wouldn't call at this time, even though I waited for her. She never did.
Avery.
My stomach fluttered, but I convinced myself it was from the lack of sleep.
Memories from earlier flooded my mind, however, I got rid of them before I replayed everything that made my skin tingle.
Sliding to answer my phone, I greeted him, despite my voice sounding croaky.
"Hello?"
"Hey." His voice echoed through the speaker.
"Hi." I groggily said, unsure of why he was calling me, especially at this time.
"How are you?" He asked with shuffling in the background.
"Fine." I sniffled. I was probably getting sick from being out in the rain.
"You don't sound fine."
"Can I ask why you're calling?" I sat up, my voice shook slightly from being woken up so suddenly.
"Dylan just explained to me what happened."
Oh. Sigh.
"Okay."
"I don't want to say I told you so," cue my eye roll, "so I won't. I know he can be an ass, sorry on his behalf, even though he really fucked up."
"It's okay." I reply, not really wanting to talk about it. Definitely not with Avery either.
"It's not. He's really trying to piss Michael off now."
"How?" Not really wanting to listen to the upcoming drama, but I'm also too interested to say goodnight.
"Wait, did you talk to Allison yet?"
"No, she was supposed to call me after her date... with Michael."
"Yeah, she stood him up." He spoke out like it was funny, but as if he was covering up a more irritated response.
"Are you serious? Why?" I sat up fully now, sniffling again. How could Allison stand him up?
"I was wondering if you already knew, but it sounds like you don't." He stated slowly.
"Well it sounds like you do, so tell me."
"Michael said he was going to meet her at some store or restaurant or whatever, and waited for about a half an hour. Then when he was leaving, he saw her and Dylan laughing, hugging, kissing and shit."
My heart almost stopped. Silence overtook the phone.
So Ally is the new girl he's interested in?
She lied to me? She knew that I liked him, despite the fact that it was a tiny crush, and went out with him behind my back.
She went out with Dylan, one of Michael's friends, that she purposely stood up.
"So are you okay or..." He asked confused.
"I'm fine." I replied, less convincing than when I answered truthfully earlier.
"No you're not. We're going to go to the park now so I'll pick you up."
"I'm not in the mood-"
"We're gunna talk. I'll be there in 10." He rushed then hung up.
Sighing, I put the pillow over my head and held in my scream. I was at lost for words and didn't really want to come up with an explanation as to why Allison would lie to me.
I wasn't so shocked that Dylan moved on to Ally, she's the preferred one like I said. But to move onto her, my best friend, the day after our date? If I can even call it that.
Sighing because everything felt shitty, I got up from my bed and over to my closet. It was a little chilly out so I decided to pull a hoodie over my shirt, that I still hadn't changed since I came home from school, since I fell asleep right after.
Shimmying into a random pair of converse, I grabbed my keys and went downstairs. I wasn't sure if my mother was home, but there was only two options. She wasn't or she was sleeping.
Sitting on the couch, I waited for Avery. It sounded odd to say that he was picking me up so we can talk about how messed up the situation is.
I was in disbelief that Allison could be so sly and lie to my face.
My eyes snapped in the direction of a soft knocking on my door. Sighing, I stood up and opened it.
"Hey hotstuff." Avery greeted with a smirk.
"Oh God, you haven't said that in a while." I left out a soft laugh with an eye roll. Locking the door behind me, we walked to his car.
"I think I'll bring it back." He commented behind me.
"No thank you." I responded with a smile that formed on its own accord. I reached out to open the door, when I felt a light smack on my hand.
"That's for me to do." He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
I just watched as he opened the door for me, my stomach growing butterflies as I sat down.
He entered the vehicle himself and we drove into the night.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I broke the silence while avoiding eye contact.
"You." He said so casually.
"What about me?" I felt chills go down my spine.
"Everything."
How specific of you.
The rest of ride was drowned out by the tires racing over the pavement, mixed with my occasional sniffles.
"Are you crying?" Avery's voice said.
"No?" I responded in a confused manner.
"You sound like it." He glanced at me.
"I have a runny nose."
"Oh." He replied and turned into the parking lot.
We stepped out and walked to the entrance of the park.
"I like these midnight walks." Avery blurted out.
"Why?" My stomach fluttered.
"Being here with you... you're good company." I stared at him while he answered, but he avoided my eyes.
We trudged along in silence. The gray clouds rolling over us, the wind rustling the leaves, the moon reflecting it's light down on us as if it were a spot light.
I began watching my feet as they sunk into the stray leaves. Each step making a new dent, until I noticed Avery's feet making the same dent. We were walking in sync.
Is it wrong to ship it? Because it seems a little weird.
Despite his legs being much longer than mine, we held the same pace.
"So, how are you feeling?" Avery spoke up.
"I'm okay."
"I meant about Dylan and Allison."
"Just confused, if I'm honest." I boldly looked up at him, but his gaze never met mine.
"About what?"
"Everything."
"Wow, I almost got every detail from that." He smirked with his sarcasm.
"I don't really have words for it. If she liked him, she should've just told me. He should've just told me. And your brother, I don't know why Allison would just stand him up. If she's not interested, she would've said it off the back, but she told me she was." I turned my attention back to my feet.
"So you didn't talk to her about it?"
"No, I was waiting for her to call me."
"That's fucked up."
"Yeah." I glanced at him again. His bruises from the party were still prominent, even though I ignored them earlier. If I thought about them, it would remind me of the fight. I still wanted answers though.
"Speaking of messed up, how's your face healing?"
"My lip is fine."
"I know." I said without realizing.
"Yeah, you would." He laughed.
"Just ignore that." I couldn't save myself from the first hand embarrassment.
We continued to walk. Occasionally conversations would arise, but every conversation was a new one.
We talked about school, the weather, our sleeping schedule. But constantly looking at his face, the bruises made me want to know more about why he had them in the first place.
"Can I ask you something?"
"You just did." He laughed and tapped my knee.
"Funny." I rolled my eyes with my response.
"What's your question?"
"Well, I need to you to be honest and actually answer my question."
"Oh, you're getting assertive. It's pretty sexy."
"Shut up."
"So what are you going to ask?" He lightly kicked some leaves along the way.
"Why were you and Michael fighting?"
"I told you he said something about seeing you and Dylan at the movies."
"But why would that cause you two to fight, especially since you two are brothers."
"It's complicated."
"That's what quitters say when they don't want to try."
"That's what quitters say." He mocked me and stuck his tongue out.
"So?" I hit his shoulder.
"It's complicated! I knew you and Dylan were going out, it's just the way he said it and his little blue shadow had to instigate."
"Who's the shadow?"
"The girl with blue hair. That kicked me in the face."
"Oh yeah! Who is she?" I gasped remembering how her heel dug into Avery's cheek.
"It's a long story."
"Man, you just don't want to answer anything." I huffed and crossed my arms. This is why I let my curiosity stay curious because whenever I ask, I don't get real answers.
"She used to mess with Dylan, one of his past side girls, but she liked me. I didn't like her and I was already fucking her sister, sorry for being vulgar."
So I guess he's out the virginity squad.
Did you really expect him to be a virgin?
No...
"She found out and basically hated me, petty, am I right? So Dylan cut her off, she hated me more for some reason and now is Michael's side."
"So why did Dylan warn me about Michael?"
"He did?"
Was that a secret?
"Um, yeah. At your party."
"I don't know then. They're just a bunch of players." He jokingly waved off.
Well, who you hang around tends to rub off on you.
Shut up, we know Avery's a player, too.
I haven't seen it recently.
Doesn't mean it's not there.
"So do they have a rivalry going on or something?"
"Sort of. They try to compete for the same girls. Except the girls at school lean towards Dylan more, and everyone outside of it, likes Michael."
"What about you?"
"Oh, everyone wants me." He answered smugly.
I rolled me eyes and continued trudging along the park's path.
"Are we going to sit soon?"
"Why, you tired?"
"I mean, you woke me up not too long ago and now we've been walking for about thirty minutes."
"Do you want me to carry you?"
"No!" I quickly spoke, not wanting to relive when he threw me over his shoulder.
Avery's laugh cut through the air and began walking in a new direction.
I sluggishly dragged my feet through the leaves for a few minutes, before a bench caught my eye. Sighing with relief, I sat down and yawned.
"How are you tired? You're with me."
"That's exactly why I'm tired." I chuckled.
I crossed my legs and watched as he swung his arm around me, resting it on the back of the bench. His hand settled on my shoulder, still as he avoided eye contact.
Looking straight ahead, I felt his eyes on me. The scrutinizing glare should've made me tense with my insecurities shining through, but it only erupted the theoretical wings that flew around my stomach. Butterflies swarmed me, and I'm not sure if they were supposed to.
Turning my head back to his, I watched as his eyes met mine. They glimmered in the moonlight, almost competing with the stars.
I could've analyzed them all day if it weren't for the fact of how creepy I looked. I certainly avoided his lips, not wanting to blush at the previous event hours before.
"What's that?" He sat closer to me, staring at my temple.
My initial reaction was to cover it, but the close proximity made my action nonexistent.
"What's what?" I practically whispered out.
"This." He lifted his hand and caressed where the scar laid.
"A scar." I stated the obvious.
"From what?" His thumb ran over the irregular skin.
"My parents."
His eyes widen at my words, which probably sounded worse than the actual story.
"Not the way you're thinking. They were fighting, my mom threw a vase at my father, missed him and hit me. It broke on the floor and my head took the fall."
"Damn." He muttered and his hand slipped into my hair. His eyes widened further once he felt the rest of the scar. From my forehead down and around to the back on my ear.
"It's not as bad as it looks."
"I guess we're twins now, huh?" He smiled and motioned to the healing wound by his left ear.
"If it scars, then sure." I laughed.
We sat there staring at each other. I didn't feel the nerves of my insecurities anymore. If my eyes weren't tricking me, I would say he was leaning towards me and if my senses weren't messed up, I would say I was leaning in, too.
Something broke me out of my trance. Something wet.
A raindrop that landed right on my head.
Time to go.
That's right, I didn't have an umbrella and I am on the verge of catching a cold. So my feet jumped up on their own accord.
"It's raining." I stated the obvious once more as more raindrops fell and more frequently they hit my face.
"Wow, I couldn't see that." He muttered with a smile, biting his lower lip.
I waited for him to stand up, but he just sat there and watched me.
"If you know it's raining, why don't we get going?" I urged with my hand doing a horrible job at shielding my eyes from the rain.
"Because I came prepared." He stated and pulled his hood on, the water now bouncing off his rain coat, that I just now noticed.
"Avery! It's cold and wet." My clothes were slowly, but surely, becoming soaked.
"That's what she said." He laughed and stood up.
Rolling my eyes, I briskly walked in the direction of the car.
"Gracie?"
"What?" I called over my shoulder.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait it out? I mean, the car is pretty far from here."
He bumped into my back when I stopped walking. Turning around, I tried to look for a dry place, but the rain was so heavy it blocked everything from a clear view.
"Where are we gunna go?"
Avery grabbed my hand a tugged me towards some trees. The leaves engulfed us as the rain made them weigh down. Surprisingly, the water barely touched us once underneath.
"As long as there's no lightning, we'll be good as new." He tried to reassure me with a grin.
"And if there is lightning, we'll be burnt to the crisp."
"Hey, hey. Let's not be pessimistic."
I sighed and leaned against the trunk of the tree. His footsteps were drowned out by the sound of rain. I watched as he towered over me, caging me in with his arms at either side of my head.
"Can I help you?" I spoke just above the pelting water.
He just shrugged and shook his head.
My curiosity got ahold of me as I wondered what he was thinking about. The closeness didn't really bother me. I guess my body has been accustomed to understanding the result of our diminishing space.
Once again, I felt him lean down towards me. This time, my breath hitching at the break of my personal space bubble.
"Did you like the lesson earlier?" A small smile spread across his lips.
I couldn't answer. It felt like my body shut down.
Whimp.
"I'll take that as a yes." A full blown grin made its way onto his face. "I have more interesting things to teach you."
"Like what?" My voice quivered out.
"Eager?" He laughed and dragged his hand down my side like he did when we were on his bed, down to the rim of my jeans. His thumb traced the top, almost dipping in.
"N-no." My body stiffened once he grabbed my my belt loop and pulled me forward. I felt numb with anxiousness.
"I could show you right now..." His voice drifted off. Avery's hand now glided slightly down the front of my jeans, his finger tips just missing a very sensitive spot.
I tried to gather saliva for the intense dryness my throat now felt. My breathing surely became more quick, as did my heart.
"But I won't." He bit his lip again, extracting his hand from me and placing it by my head again.
"Okay." My voice shook and matched my hands that trembled at my side.
"Would you look at that," Avery's voice was cheery when he looked around, "the rain stopped. You get an 'A' for effort."
He smiled and dragged me from out of the trees. The occasional drop would land on my shoulders or head, but they went unnoticed because my body felt like a magnet.
It repelled everything else, but Avery.
I'm not sure why, but I think we all know.
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THANK YOU FOR #1 IN TEEN FICTION AND 6k FOLLOWERS ILYYYY AND 2M READS
You what's funny? All of my other a/n's always say "sorry for being late" but like now it's like idc lmao, after that year break, nothing is late anymore
AND IF THERES ANY GRAMMAR ISSUES PLEASE POINT THEM OUT BC I WAS TOO LAZY TO GO BACK AND REVISE EVERYTHING
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Ilyyyyyyyyyy so muchhhh thank youuuu