Paige's pov
"Why did you do that?"
"He deserved it," laughs Josh, unclenching his fists and leaning down into his seat to join in with the rest of the team's choirs of chuckles.
"You didn't deserve to do that." His face rotates away from my glaring eyes, not even acknowledging the anger in my tone. "Are you even listening to me?" I shake my head in disbelief- how could he do this? "Do you know what, I did what you asked me. I put myself through all your shit to please you, but what do you do, you go against it all and fucking humiliate Nathan anyway."
"Paige, you broke the deal, you know it. Now sit down," Josh hisses agitatedly, cautiously peering around the table as his teammates listen in to my rant.
"Oh, so you hear me now do you?" I spit spitefully. He is unbelievable.
"You will regret this."
"Is that a threat? Because what are you going to do? You've already ruined everything, you've got what you wanted!" Tears sting my eyes as the lump in the back of my throat rises. I push up onto my feet, my knees heavy and cripple with all my weight dragging me to the ground. Josh looks past the mournfulness drowning my eyes, rejecting my call of heartbreak and decides to send his mates a passive look of coolness. Having had enough, I gather my things and turn to the direction of the door.
"Where are you going?" Suddenly asks Josh, forcefully reaching out his arm. He targets my wrist but I pull back in defence.
"Going to find Nathan," I declare, watching with watery eyes as Josh's eye brows frown. Comments murmur into the air, all directed at me and Josh. A couple of snickers are sent our way as Josh loses the battle. His cheeks boil with rage and this time his fingers snag my jacket, clawing me into staying here. However with a powerful tug, I am released from his dominance and I flee from the cafeteria, through the school hall where all heads turn towards me then out the school exit. I pray that Nathan is still on school grounds.
Rapidly my heart resembles the pace of my legs, running as fast as I can, my feet a blur beneath my trembling body. All the blood rushes to my brain and filters up to the surface of my face.
After scrutinising the parking lot, it is evident by the silence of the wind that it is deserted with Nathan's presence nowhere to be seen. With my chest rising up and down, the air thinner by the second, I begin to worry he has left. That is, until I hear his voice.
"Paige."
It only takes a whisper. A barely audible murmur of my name and I know exactly who those words belong to. With my back towards him, a smile blossoms across my face as my tears soak into my once blotchy skin. "Nathan," I breathe. Turning around, his eyes meet mine. I run over to him, forgetting everything and wrapping my arms around his neck, welcoming myself into his hug. It takes a moment for his arms to enclose around my waist, but when they do, the heat from his body is enough to rewarm my heart. "Nathan," I repeat again, almost breathless as I gaze up into his eyes.
"Paige, we need to talk," his voice falls flat, his lips thin and hair messy by the wind.
"Lets go some place else."
He leads the way out of the car park. Across the grass, Nathan guides us over to a huge oak tree that is planted in the far right side of the school field. Shielded by a mass of other trees, the grand oak is only visible by its top leaves when you look from a distant. Nathan approaches the tree with scuffed shoes, the soles dragging over the ruff terrain. Kicking leaves, he walks up to the trunk then slams his back up against the bark with a loud exhale of air. I follow with an inquisitive gaze.
"I never asked for that to happen," I begin by saying, stepping closer towards him with my fingers interlocked behind my back. "I don't know what to say."
"Yeah, and you didn't know what to say back then either," he snaps bitterly. My eyes enlarge as he scrapes his foot over a tree stump.
"Pardon?"
"Back then," he continues. "Thanks for trying to stop your boyfriend." He scoffs, shaking his head whilst snapping a stick in half, then throwing it into the distance with a dramatic swing of his muscled arm. I watch without words.
"I... I... I did try. I'd tried to prevent this from happening all along."
"Oh really? By doing what? Face it Paige, you changed into a different person when you were with Josh, a person who didn't care about my feelings."
"I do care! I care about you a lot," my voice strains. He keeps our eyes connected with a piercing stare.
"You care?" He retorts. "So you cared when you lead me on, only to tare me down."
"What?" I gasp in confusion. He is getting it all wrong.
"You want to be with Josh, so just be with him and leave me alone."
"Nathan, I want to be with you!"
"Well you have a funny way of showing it," his voice deepens with a disbelieving scoff. I watch as his face darkens by the shadows casted from the trees blocking the sunlight from seeping in. A cool wind tints the air with a whistle as the leaves circulate around my feet.
"Nathan, believe me when I tell you this: I don't like Josh."
"Then why are you dating him?" Nathan rages, more powerful than any other time I've heard him shout. "Hey, why?" His volume takes me by surprise, but fills me with energy to yell back. "Tell me!"
"To protect you!" I emphasise. "I did as he said so he wouldn't do anything to you, so you were safe from harm."
"Oh, so you thought I couldn't take him? Ay?"
"You did just back out of a fight," I remind him.
"Because I felt as if I had no choice! You weren't trying to stop him, were you?" His words strike me, hitting me hard as I reflect on the past events and bow my head at how true his words were. The stone hard truth that not only did Nathan back down, but I was just as bad by not trying hard enough. The silence of my actions speak louder than what I did do to stop what had happened from happening. But I had not been unsuccessful, I lost, and I may have lost Nathan too.
"Please forgive me," I plead weakly.
His eyes rise and lock with mine. A grey mist clouds his once brown orbs, a dismal colour around his shrunken pupils. "You've changed." He states.
"Me?"
"Yes you, you tell me to be my true self, bit hypocritical if you aren't even being the real you."
"This is the real me," I say honestly, hand placed on heart.
"No, no its not," he disagrees, take a step nearer. "Lying to me, hiding your true feelings. That's not the Paige I know, the Paige I lo..." He pauses. Catching his breath, Nathan swings his head down to face the floor. He coughs before starting again. "This isn't you."
"You aren't being yourself all of the time either," I reply with my voice low, merely a whisper. We have never fought like this, never disagreed to this extent.
"True, but I don't even know who I am anymore. I feel lost..."
A thick silence separates us with only the wind and the leaves falling from above.
"Let me show you who you really are." I step forwards.
"Paige," his head rises. I am right in front of him. "It's over." My eyes follow him as he faces the opposite way and disappears through the jungle of trees then back across the grass. His body fades away with his every step, my eyes opening up and a single tear trails down my cheek.
I wipe my face with a sniffle and hold my hand on my chest to control my heart rate- but nothing works. All the weight drops to my shoulders and forces me to the ground. My legs give way and I feel my body collapse, my face buried into my palms as I kneel helplessly on the dirty floor. Hot tears stream down my face then collect beneath my chin.
My surroundings seem to fade away, the world empty without any meaning or love. My heart aches and my head spins. I let my forehead collide with the ground, my eye lids closing, the world turns dark and cold, resembling the place of where my heart once was.
I am nothing without Nathan.
A/N-
Wow, quite emotional towards the end there: Paige and Nathan don't even know who their true selves are anymore.
Is this the end for Pathan??????
Ok! Listen up!..
I know exactly how I want this story to end. However I would love to hear about how you guys think/ want it to end (quite a few chapters left till it finishes, don't worry!)
So please comment how you think/ want my story to end.
-Will Paige and Nathan end up together?
-Will Josh 'burn in hell'? lol
-Will their be an unexpected twist ;) *hint hint*
Thank you for reading.
More coming soon... xx