ORIGINALLY WRITTEN: MARCH 10TH, 2016
PICTURED ABOVE: MELODY
CHAPTER EIGHT
One look at the chocolates inside of his locker and he almost forgives me.
"Wow," Griff states as I approach him. He raises a hand to run it through the loose waves styled on top of his head. "You actually spent money on me. Should I feel special?"
He's at least half-joking with me. I can't find the will to joke back, because I'm too worried that the wrong word might chase him off again. I'd given him the whole weekend to cool off and calm down, but now it's monday. The weekend is over and I'm ready to work things out. A summer was too long without him, I don't need to add an unnecessary week to that tally, too.
I take a deep breath in and let out the words. "Griffyn, I'm sorry I lied to you. It was wrong, just like how deleting Redhead's message was wrong. I know how you feel about lying and I regret what I did. Now, please forgive me. I miss you." I hadn't expected those words to come out, saying I missed him. And I hadn't meant to call Melody "Redhead" either. I practiced the whole speech I was going to give him throughout the weekend and even had it memorized word for word, but it seems that now that the time has come, my mind blanked and I'm suffering from an extreme case of unplanned word vomit.
Griffyn stares at me with a straight face. I watch him for a few moments, feeling like I'm about to puke. His facial expression remains stoic, not letting me in on what he's thinking. Just as I'm about to say I can't take it anymore, he smiles. It's small, really small, but it's real. "Come here," he breathes, opening his arms wide open for me.
I smile hesitantly and step into his welcoming embrace. When he closes his arms around me, I sigh in content. I'm immediately enveloped in the warmth of his body. I was only apart from him for couple of days, but it felt like a lifetime. I had almost forgotten in these past months how amazing Griffyn Rivers' hugs were.
I breathe in his smell as the hug drags on. It's kind of odd that we're still hugging, but I don't mind. I'm just happy to know that he's not mad at me anymore. He smells like a mix of coconut, cologne, and boy. It's safe. Familiar. I love it.
Finally, Griff pulls away. We're the only ones in the hall now. I don't really care that we'll be tardy, though. This is more important to me than whatever class I need to be in now.
Griff looks down at me with his warm, grey eyes. He's serious for once. The uneasiness in my stomach starts to grow the longer he stays serious. Finally, he blurts, "We need to talk about Friday."
I wince and look away. That is the one thing I wanted to avoid talking about. I should have known that it would be inevitable, though. I take a step back from him, "Actually, maybe we should just forget it ever happened?"
"Not talk about what happened?" Griffyn asks, looking confused. A small smile forms on his face as he laughs in disbelief. "But why? You've finally got a new boyfriend, Carson! Shouldn't that be exciting?"
My face must look priceless now. He thinks that Darren is my boyfriend? I want to shout out that that would never happen, but I can't. I won't. That will just lead him to ask more questions about what that date and kiss was on Friday and I don't want to have to explain everything. It'll sound unbelievably stupid. Okay, extremely, unbelievably, embarrassingly stupid.
"Listen, Griffyn. Darren and I aren't together... anymore." I add the last word in order to avoid having to tell him the truth. The truth that involved Carolina's plan. I have a feeling that if I'd told him about it, he'd get mad again and we'd be back to square one. It's better for him to think that we're just not together anymore. Simple as that.
A muscle in Griff's jaw flexes as he clenches it. He reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder. "Oh? Is there a reason I should be angry? Did he do anything to you?"
"What? NO!" I raise up my hands as if to stop him from going anywhere. His arm falls from my shoulder and he furrows his eyebrows as if he's trying to figure out my expression. "It's nothing like that. It's... complicated." You have no idea how complicated...
Griffyn narrows his eyes at me and I can tell he doesn't quite believe me, but he nods anyway. I sigh in relief and look away, down the empty hallway.
"So," I start, leaning against the locker beside his. "How is Redhead, anyway?" I can't help using the nickname. It suits her. Literally. Though, I guess it should because it is her hair color.
Griffyn flinches when I bring the topic of Melody up. He grabs a text book from his locker as well as a large spiral notebook. "She's fine."
I wait for him to tell me more, but that's all he says. I sigh. So much for telling your best friend everything. Even if we are different genders and I highly dislike Melody. "Look, she may not be my favorite person, but if you like her, I'll tolerate her. Because you're my best friend, Griff."
Even though Carolina's plan didn't go exactly as, well, planned, it still ended up working in the end. Griffyn is once again my friend. That's what the plan was made for, yet, I'm still kind of disappointed Melody is still in the picture. I mean, I'm not fond of her, but there's nothing I can do about it now. If Griffyn really likes her, then I guess it doesn't matter. As long as Griff and I are friends.
Griffyn manages a smile, shutting his locker. His eyes practically glitter as they meet mine. Apparently, Melody makes his freaking eyes glitter. "Thanks, Carson. I appreciate that. And who knows? Maybe you two will become friends."
I snort, pushing myself off the locker I was leaning on. It's about time we be getting to class. We're definitely tardy. "Well, I don't know about that, but I can probably try not to push her down any stairs when I'm around her."
Griffyn chuckles, shaking his head. "Of course. I should've known that's all I'd get out of you. Fair enough, though. Come sit with us at lunch, okay? You can have your seat back. I miss making fun of the way you eat like a pig."
I gasp and punch him in the arm. "I do not eat like a pig!"
Griffyn tilts his head back, letting out a roar of laughter. "Yeah, right! Don't lie to me Carson. I see you eat every time we have those infamous G&C Sundays. You're an animal."
I laugh as he nudges my shoulder as we walk to our classes. They both seem to be on the East side of the building. "Shut up! I can't help the deliciousness of the Sundays!"
Griffyn grins at me and shakes his head. "And you hate salad. You're practically a guy."
"Is not liking salad a bad thing? It's not my fault I don't like eating green, leafy plants. The texture grosses me out." I defend myself with wide eyes.
Griffyn shrugs and glances over at me before looking away, down the empty hallway. "It's not a bad thing. You actually eat, unlike some girls. And I don't blame you, I hate salad too."
I huff, "See? And you made a big deal about it."
"Because I like seeing you get frustrated. Your nose wrinkles." Griff chuckles and meets my eyes. He sounds a lot like Darren and I make a face. I'm still mad at Darren even though I forgave him. That fake kiss was unnecessary. After a second, Griff glances down and lets out another low laugh. "You did it again."
I glare at him and huff again, "I can't help it. You're too frustrating."
Griffyn raises a single eyebrow. "Really? That's not the first word I'd use to describe me. I'd use something like... gorgeous, hunky, dreamy--"
I cut Griff off by punching him in the arm. "You're too confident for your own good."
Griff smirks, "Demi Lovato doesn't seem to think so."
"You did not just make a reference to a Demi Lovato song!" I exclaim, pointing a finger at him. Not only was it extremely predictable of him to do so considering his sister is Parker, it was also extremely gay. Okay, so it was kind of smart, in a way.
Griff shrugs lazily with one shoulder. A streak of red appears across both cheeks, labeling him embarrassed. "I may have used my knowledge of Parker's idol to my advantage."
"Well Demi Lovato is a liar." I state.
Griffyn turns fully to me and gazes at me. "Well, this is your stop, right?" This is when I realize that we're not moving. We've been standing at the Biology door for a few minutes already.
I bite my lip and stare at the door, dreading having to go in. Through the tall, narrow window in the the door, I can see the Biology I teacher, Mr. Brannoc, going on in a huge rant using lots of extreme hand gestures. I make a note to stay far away from those hands in the future. "Yeah, I guess this is me."
Griff gives me a stiff nod and starts to walk away, but quickly turns back. "Oh yeah, you are sitting with me at lunch right?"
I nod, smiling a little at his unsureness. "Yes, I'll be there today." I reach for the handle of the door to the Biology room, but Griff reaches his arm forward, leaning over me slightly to push it shut and swallows, staring at me. "Uh," I laugh nervously, looking up at him through my lashes. "Do you need anything else, Griff?"
"Uh, y-yeah," Griff slightly stutters. "Um, uh, can I take you home today?"
I raise my eyebrows at him and laugh again, "No plans with Melody today?" It comes out a little bitterly even though I hadn't meant it to.
Griff frowns and looks over my head at the hallway behind me. "None that I can't cancel. But don't worry about it. Just let me take you home, Carson."
I let out a loud laugh at the way he practically demanded that I say yes. "Fine, Bossy."
He smiles a full smile at me and I smile back. He doesn't look away, even after a few moments have passed, so I don't either.
Suddenly, a knock against the glass window in the door interrupts our weird smiling-conversation. We both pull our gazes from each other and look towards the small window, only to see Mr. Brannoc's face fill up the frame. He motions for me to come in and waves Griff off.
His face disappears from the window and suddenly, the door opens and he appears again. One look in the classroom lets me know that the whole classroom is staring at the two of us. They're not oblivious to what's been going on. My cheeks heat up and I don't dare glance at Griff.
"Having fun out here? I didn't get the memo that there was a hall party." Mr. Brannoc muses, readjusting his glasses. He's one of my favorite teachers by far this year and he actually seems to like me. So even though he's embarrassing me by making a scene, I know that he won't do anything bad to me or Griff.
Griffyn frowns, "No? I could've sworn you were invited, Mr. Brannoc. Do you need me to have a talk with someone?"
Mr. Brannoc chuckles. "I've always liked you, Rivers, but my students are just that. Mine. Now let me steal Ms. Bailey away from you. She's got some DNA to analyze."
Griffyn holds up his hands in surrender. "My apologies, Sir. Won't happen again. I should probably return to the hall party now."
Mr. Brannoc nods, readjusting his glasses and giving Griff a closed lip smile. "You do that, Mr. Rivers. Be safe. Don't drink from the water fountain. It's most likely spiked."
Griff chuckles and salutes to Mr. Brannoc. "Will do, Sir." He turns and starts to walk off. I watch after him, confused as to what just happened right before my eyes. Before I can comprehend the events that just transpired, Mr. Brannoc ushers me into the classroom and shuts the door.
Immediately, I'm met with multiple pairs of eyes, all gazes centered on me. My cheeks burn more than I ever thought possible as I find my seat and try to avoid all the attention. If this is what it feels like to be famous, no thank you.
The rest of the class, I spend sitting next to Oliver Pea, analyzing DNA while passing a microscope back and forth and wondering what the hell just happened in that hallway.
"Oh, G!" Melody giggles and nudges him playfully with her elbow yet again. I roll my eyes and pick at my food, not really having much of an appetite at the moment. This is how it's been all lunch period. First, Griff asked me to sit with him because he misses me. But what does he do? He says only two words to me and turns to talk to Melody, completely forgetting I'm here.
And the two words?
Get this: I'm sorry.
And he only said those two words because he accidentally grazed my side with his foot when slipping into the bench at our table. If he hadn't grazed my side, then I bet the word count would be zero. Zilch.
"Oh, Mel, I need to tell you something." Griff speaks up. I turn away from the "couple" and fake a gag at the nickname. Mel. Ugh, since when did Griff start giving pet names? He's always called Parker by her full name and me by mine. Never has he submitted to saying Cara or Park. He's always said it's too "mushy" for his liking.
Wes catches my gaze from across the table and grins at my gag, reciprocating with his own. I giggle which causes Griffyn to glance at me for the second time since lunch started. I immediately shut up, annoyed with his expression he has on his face as he glances at me. He actually looks surprised. Like he forgot I was here.
"What is it, G?" Mel doesn't even look at me. She grabs his chin and pulls his head away so that he's looking at her. I roll my eyes and shudder. He's practically letting her manhandle him. Apparently Wes thinks the same thing because he's watching them with an expression that's clearly disgusted.
"Um, I'm going to have to raincheck on our..." He stiffens and turns his head as if to glance over at me, but she pulls his face back so he's looking at her once again. "Thing. Our plans."
Melody frowns, but when she does, it looks more like she's glaring at him. "And why is that? Has there been an emergency?"
"Well, no." Griffyn sounds hesitant to tell her about driving me home. And this makes me even more angry. "You see..."
Finally I can't take it anymore and lean onto the table in order to look straight on at her. "You see, Griffyn is trying to tell you that he offered to take me home today, so your little... thing... Yeah, it's cancelled."
Melody's "frown" turns into a full on glare as she takes me in. Wow, I think as I start to actually shrink back at the scary look she's giving me, she's definitely not that same bashful girl anymore. "Did I ask you? No, I was talking to Griff."
I roll my eyes and lean back. Griff looks at me, looking more resigned than angry. Good, I thought he'd be angry at me for just blurting it out like that. He looks back over at Melody and sighs. "Sorry, but I have to take Carson home."
Have to? Have to? I glare at the back of his stupid head that has those stupidly perfect curls styled stupidly just right. If he thought it was such a burden to take me home, then why did he offer to do just that?
"If it's such a hassle, then just forget about me and go do that thing with Melody," I spit just as Melody says, "Doesn't she have her own car?"
"Yeah, she has her own car," Griff says, answering her question first. Then he turns to me and his tensed features soften. "And I didn't mean that, Carson. I want-- I mean," He turns to Melody, "I want to take Carson home, so we'll have to reschedule."
Melody purses her lips, clearly not happy with Griff choosing me over her but finally shrugs. "Fine, can we reschedule for Friday, then?"
"Yeah, sure," Griff blurts without thinking. I frown and elbow him in the gut. He cries out and looks over at me with an irritated frown. "What now?"
I give him a blank look, not giving him the satisfaction of just telling him what's wrong with scheduling their plans for Friday. Finally, the realization dawns on him and he gasps slightly, remembering our Friday tradition, "Oh, Melody, I can't do Friday either."
Melody scoffs, throwing her hands into the air, "Let me guess. This has to do with Carson too?" Griff bites his lip and slowly nods, confirming her accusation. She sighs, "Fine, then I guess just forget it."
"What--" Griff starts, but she just waves him off.
"Let's not talk about it anymore."
Griff shuts up and frowns down at his food before starting to eat once again, silent this time around. I glance across the table at Wes and he looks back at me with both eyebrows raised. I start to dissolve into a fit of giggles and he starts to laugh too. Griff and Melody glare at both of us, obviously not happy that we're laughing after they just had a fight. But I can't care less.
Griff is at his truck when I near him after school. He's sitting on the shiny, squeaky clean truck, reclining against it with his head on his backpack, arms crossed behind his head. My eyes betray me and follow from his face to the muscles in his arms. Shaping up for baseball during the summer had to be more intense than the year before, because those muscles are bigger than ever.
I'm forced to look away from his muscles when he peeks from under his eyelashes and sits up, "Oh, hey. Took you long enough. Wait, how long have you been staring at me?"
I roll my eyes, "I wasn't staring at you." Even though I kind of was... So it was a total lie.
"Whatever," he scoffs, sliding of the hood of his truck. He opens the driver's door and starts to hop in, throwing his bag in the back. I follow his lead and open the back seat's door and throw my bag in. I open the passenger door and stop in my tracks when I see the bags that fill it.
"Oh," Griff starts, glancing at the bags in the passenger's seat. "You can just toss those in the back. We have morning baseball practices this week."
I nod and toss the bags in the back before sliding into his truck. Griff exits the parking lot quickly, like every other day. He's always in a rush to get off of school grounds. Always has been.
Silence goes on for a long time until it starts to get unnerving. Griff barely ever has the music on when I'm in the car because we always fill the silence with a bunch of talking. Now, there's just complete silence.
I clear my throat about to speak and apparently, Griff has the same idea because he clears his at the same time. We glance at each other before laughing awkwardly. When I don't go ahead and say something, he does, "I'm sorry... about Melody and lunch. I didn't mean to leave you out."
I shrug, "I'm over it now. At least you still stuck with bringing me home."
Griff glances over at me looking a little offended, "Of course I did. I wouldn't ditch you like that. If I tell you I'll do something, I'll do it, Carson."
"I know. And lunch was fine. Wes kept me company." I say, looking at the window to avoid his lingering gaze. I feel like if I look now I won't be able to look away. And if I can't look away, he may not either, considering what happened in the hallway earlier. And if we end up staring at each other, then it won't be safe for him to keep driving.
"Oh, he did? That's... good." I glance over, noticing that his voice has changed tone. I give him a look and watch as he swallows hard and avoids my gaze.
"Yeah... I guess." I say, turning to look back out the window again. We were nearing our streets already, too soon, yet it felt like my street couldn't come soon enough. This car ride was starting to become two awkward for comfort.
Griff's hands tighten and loosen on the steering wheel every so often until he pulls into my drive and parks the car in front of my house. I make no move to get out after I've unfastened my seatbelt and he makes no move to make me get out.
Finally, he turns to me, gazing at me with his warm eyes. He stays silent, waiting for something. After a while, I turn and meet his gaze. Only then does he speak up. "I feel like... you don't even want to be my friend anymore."
I can't help gasping and sitting straight up in the seat. I gape at him with wide eyes. "What makes you think that? I'd never in a million years want to stop being your friend. You're an idiot if you think that, Griffyn."
Griff's lips lift into a small smile, but it's more sad than happy. "Well, we've been fighting more in the past week and a half than we have in our entire lives, it seems like. I mean, I don't want you to stop being... my Carson... but it feels like that's where it's headed. And I don't know how to prevent it."
I grab his hand, which is surprisingly warm. "Griffyn, shut up. Seriously, be quiet. You're talking nonsense. There's no way I'm going to stop being your best friend and there's no way in hell I'm letting you stop being my best friend in return. So just... don't worry about it, okay? We'll be fine." I give him an encouraging smile.
He finally breaks into a small, real smile. "Fine, okay. Goodbye, Carson. I'll see you tomorrow morning when I take you to school."
I smile and open the door, but don't exit the truck yet. "You're taking me to school tomorrow?"
Griffyn grins. "Of course. But you better be ready or I'm leaving your ass here and I'm not coming back to get you, either."
I laugh at his empty threat. We both know that he'd come back to get me. He'd come get me if I were in freaking Spain. He's just that good of a friend. "Whatever, Griff. Bye."
I stand on my front step, waiting for him to drive away, so I can watch him, but he waves from the drivers seat for me to go inside. When I stubbornly shake my head, he rolls down the window and sticks his head out. "Get your ass in that house, so I can make sure you're not stuck outside. I want to leave."
I laugh and roll my eyes, but still open my front door and step inside. When I do, I shut the door behind me and look through the window next to the door.
I watch as he rolls the window back up and pulls away after he made sure that I got in safely. So frustrating it's annoying. I think, rolling my eyes again.
Even then, despite how annoying and frustrating he was supposed to be when he pulled that little stunt, I can't help the smile that makes it's way onto my face.
Please comment, vote, add to your reading lists, and share!