Chapter Fourteen
I avoided everyone over the weekend, though not necessarily because I was sick. Honestly, I just didn't want to talk to anyone after horribly embarrassing myself. Although Ms. Reiter and the scout were the only two people who saw my performance, I embarrassed myself in front of my best friends when I went and cried to them. It didn't help that Gage was there either.
"You look like crap," my sister commented after school on Monday. Believe it or not, that was probably one of her usual nicer remarks. Actually, I was rather surprised she was paying attention to my presence at all.
"Thanks for noticing, sis," I said sarcastically.
"Why did you even go to school if you're still sick?" she asked.
I sighed and rolled my eyes to myself. "Because I just love school so much."
Jackie scoffed as she turned and left the room, finally allowing me to enjoy my snack in peace. Yeah, I wasn't as sick as I was a few days ago, but I still didn't want to go to school either. However, Mrs. Wilson's stupid art projects were due on Thursday and I needed all the time possible to work on mine during class. I also, unfortunately, still had to spend time after school with Gage to work on our collaborated project. In fact, I had to leave to go to his house any minute now.
"Mom, can I borrow your car?" I asked her, knowing my dad was still at work.
"Jackie just left with it," she said, barely paying attention to me as she read notes on a case she was working on.
"What? But I need it! What about her own car?"
My mother looked up from her notes with an annoyed expression. "It's still in the shop. Now if there isn't anything else you need, I'd like some peace and quiet to work." I left her office grumbling a few choice words under my breath. My damn sister must've been a ninja or something. Seriously, one minute she was talking to me and the next she's gone.
I grabbed my grey sweatshirt hanging near the door and slipped on my shoes before starting my walk to Gage's house. It was actually closer than Harlow's house. I just didn't feel like walking and it looked like it would rain pretty soon. Hopefully it'd hold off for a while.
As I was a little more than halfway there, I realized I spoke (or thought) too soon. Apparently the dark clouds above decided that they couldn't hold their water supply long enough for me to enter Gage's house. Once it started pouring, I debated on hiding under a tree or sprinting to his house. In the end, I decided that I didn't care. I was already soaked in a matter of minutes, so I figured I'd just take my time walking the rest of the way.
I pathetically rang the doorbell of Gage's home, silently praying that his mother wouldn't see me. I still felt bad for leaving without thanking her for attempting to help me on Friday, and I knew she wouldn't like that I was drenched in the rain while I was still sick. Plus she might say something about getting her house all wet or.
"Dakota! What on earth possessed you to walk here in the rain?" she greeted, pulling me inside immediately.
"It wasn't raining when I started walking here," I replied, wincing as I braced myself for a verbal attack.
"Well we need to get you out of those drenched clothes right away! I don't want you getting any sicker," she said. My eyes opened in surprise as she kindly placed her hand on my arm and smiled at me.
"I'm sorry about getting your house all wet. And I'm sorry about abruptly leaving on Friday," I blurted, unsure of what else to say to her.
Her caring blue eyes sparkled, almost like how Gage's eyes did a while ago. "I'm just glad to see you're looking much better," she said, her warm smile growing. "And I could care less about a little water in my house, Dakota," she added as Gage entered the room. His eyebrows rose when he saw me, probably because I looked like a drenched cat.
"Oh, there you are. Will you get Dakota some clothes, dear? She needs to change before she gets sicker," Mrs. Jenson said. Gage's eyes flickered toward me, but he nodded and went to his room.
"Go upstairs and change. I'll get your clothes from you and put them in the dryer, alright?" Mrs. Jenson said. I nodded and thanked her before following Gage upstairs. I walked behind him, barely noticing that I was entering his bedroom.
I stopped shortly after entering his room as memories started coming back in full force. All the times we spent in his room, like when Mason and him pranked people over the phone, or when we stayed up all night watching movies together.
But looking at his room now, it reflected his new attitude. His previous light blue walls were now a midnight blue and various posters hung on the dark walls. His room was quite plain, much unlike the toy-filled, welcoming room it was when we were kids.
"Here," he said, interrupting my thoughts as he handed me basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I mumbled my thanks and quickly changed in the bathroom, giving Mrs. Jenson my wet clothes after. I met Gage back upstairs in his studio, where we silently continued working on our painting.
Something seemed to be bothering him, until he finally decided to speak up about it. "Why were you so foolish to walk here in the rain?"
I stopped painting, though I kept my eyes on the canvas. Foolish? Huh, he seems to think I like acting like a fool often, like when I dance in front of a scout.
"I could've picked you up, or I'm sure Harlow would've given you a ride. It's not hard to call and ask, rather than choose to get sicker in the rain," he added.
I finally turned and glared at him. "For your information, it didn't start raining until I was almost here. Then again, you seem to think I choose to act like a fool any chance I can," I replied angrily. When his eyes hardened like they did on Friday, something in me snapped. "You're right, I purposely screwed up in front of that scout on Friday. Yeah, I didn't want to impress them at all, so I thought, why not? I'll just mess up and throw away any chance of getting into that school, right?"
After he paused, his eyes seemed to soften slightly, but they were still guarded. "You know I didn't mean that," he said, searching my face for my reaction until his eyes landed on my own blue eyes.
"Actually, I don't know that because all you ever do is insult me and wait for me to screw up so you can gloat. I know years ago the old Gage wouldn't mean the horrible things you say, but the new you?" I let out a humorless laugh. "Well, let's just say that I'm glad I barely know anything about the new Gage. You say you didn't mean it, yet I know you hate me and could care less about me or my screw ups."
He looked rather shocked that I admitted my thoughts on him out loud. His eyes widened slightly as they were filled with...regret? I wasn't exactly sure because whatever emotions that were evident in his eyes were hidden when he turned back toward the canvas. Instead of replying to my confession, he simply started painting again in silence. Utterly confused at his reaction, I continued painting as well. I was expecting a full out argument, so I wasn't sure what to think of his silent reaction.
*****
Gage
I had no idea what to say when Dakota admitted what she thought about me, so I just continued painting. I didn't want to say something I'd regret, like what I said to her on Friday. Of course I didn't mean for her to make a fool of herself, and I certainly didn't gloat at all. But she thinks I did, so there probably wasn't anything I could say to change her mind about me.
It's not like I was completely different from the 'old Gage' though. I mean, I wasn't as open as I used to be, all because of how she made me feel when I did open up to her as a kid. Yeah, it happened close to seven years ago, but I sure as hell wasn't going to feel like that again if I could help it.
Dakota and I were working for almost an hour when my mom practically forced us to take a break and have coffee with her. Well, it felt forced to me. Dakota didn't seem to mind spending time with her. As I found myself thinking about Dakota when I followed her to the kitchen, I mentally scolded myself for doing so. I seriously had to think about anything else.
"Thanks, Mrs. Jenson," Dakota said, taking the cup of coffee my mom handed her. It was weird how she said my last name in such a polite tone. I was used to her calling me by it in a much bitter tone.
"Honey, I told you to call me Pam," my mom grinned, sitting at the table with Dakota. I took a seat at the island counter a few feet away.
"Aren't you going to have any coffee, dear?" my mom asked me. I shook my head, causing her to raise her eyebrows in surprise. "Are you feeling okay?"
I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Yes, Mom, I'm fine."
"Well it's weird that you're denying coffee! I swear, that boy drinks more coffee than anyone I know," she told Dakota as she pointed over at me. I refrained from rolling my eyes again.
"Oh, really?" Dakota said, trying to sound interested.
Mom nodded. "He drinks it at any time during the day. Actually, in the middle of the night when he can't sleep too. I always know when he's been awake making some during the night by the number of empty mugs I find in his studio. That's all he does around here; paint and drink coffee."
"I do more than that around here," I interjected defensively. When my mom waited for me to continue, I grumbled, "I eat too."
My mother joked, "Of course, how could I forget that!" She looked at my annoyed expression and started laughing. Dakota started laughing lightly as well, and I immediately could tell it was a real laugh. It wasn't some high pitched laugh that the girls I normally go out with would do to show they were getting along with my mom.
Mom sighed when she controlled her laughter. "Oh Gage, why can't you date someone like Dakota?" she asked out of nowhere. Dakota coughed into her cup of coffee, making me thankful I wasn't drinking any at the moment.
"Mom," I said in a warning voice.
"What? It's a legitimate question. You would make me a very happy mother if you dated someone like Dakota," she replied, smiling at her.
"I guess I just haven't found anyone to meet my standards," I said. Dakota snorted, prompting me to shoot her a glare while my mother looked at her curiously. "What?" I asked her.
"Ah, nothing. I just was thinking about the girls I've seen you with around school. Maybe your standards are too high for them," she said with a fake smile.
I narrowed my eyes at her, knowing she was talking about the girls I flirted with constantly. I didn't have very high standards, but I knew they certainly didn't even come close to meeting them.
"Oh, who are these girls?" my mom asked curiously.
"Nobody, Mom. They're just friends," I answered through gritted teeth, obviously annoyed with Dakota for mentioning them in front of my mother. Then again, my mom knew I wasn't a one-woman type of guy right now.
"You know, Pam, your son has a lot of friends," Dakota teased, grinning evilly at me.
"Is that so? Well he is a nice boy so that doesn't surprise me," my mom replied, smiling.
"Yes, he is a nice boy," Dakota continued teasing.
"Alright, as much as I'd love to hear about what a nice man I am," I interjected, "I think it's time to call it a day." I gave a warning look to Dakota over my mother's shoulder, and in turn she smiled softly at my mom.
"Yeah, I should get going," she said, getting up.
"Are your parents expecting you home soon?" Mom asked her.
Dakota's eyes seemed to harden for a split second before she answered. "Um, no."
"Well then you need to stay for dinner!"
"Oh, I couldn't," she replied.
"Yeah Mom, I'm sure she has homework to do or something," I said quickly.
Dakota's eyes narrowed at me. "Actually, dinner here sounds great. I missed your cooking, Pam," she added. She shot me an evil smile again once my mother jumped for joy and hurried over to the refrigerator to start cooking.
"We'll get out of your way," I told my mom as I grabbed Dakota's arm and pulled her out of the room. The minute we were out of the kitchen, I turned to face her. "What the hell was that about? Why didn't you leave?"
"And give you that satisfaction? I don't think so," she replied with a glare.
Before I could reply, my mother came in the room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "Oh good you're right here. Would you do me a favor?' she asked us.
"What?" I asked.
"Would you two mind going to the grocery store to get a few things?" she wondered, holding up a list she wrote. I'm sure I didn't seem like a happy camper, but Dakota answered before I could.
"Of course. I'll take the list."
"Thank you! Here's some money," she added, handing me the cash.
"We'll be back soon," I told her.
As we got into my car and drove to the store, I decided not to say anything right away. I put my mixed CD on lowly in the background to fill the silence. When a song by the Rolling Stones came on, I noticed she was lip syncing to the words.
"You know this song?" I asked, glancing over at her.
"Yes. Who doesn't know the Rolling Stones? And why do you sound surprised? Am I not allowed to listen to good music?" she said defensively.
I shrugged. "I didn't think you liked the same music as me. You did insult my taste in music last week," I noted, remembering when we first started working on the art project.
She turned to look out the window. "I lied," she mumbled under her breath, almost too quietly for me to hear.
"What?" I asked as I parked the car.
She sighed and faced me. "I may have lied about not liking your music," she admitted.
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why?"
She shrugged. "I don't know." And with that response, she got out of the car before making her way into the store.
I let out a breath and caught up to her once we entered the store. She wouldn't tell me what was on the list, so I was forced to follow wherever she went through the store. I tried grabbing the damn list from her hand a few times, only to pathetically fail since she expected it each time. We were in one of the aisles when she turned toward me, walking backwards slowly as she taunted me with the list.
"I'm still not giving you the—" She stopped in the middle of her sentence, her teasing smile vanishing seconds after she spotted something over my shoulder. I took that opportunity to swiftly grab the list out of her hand.
"Got it," I said, smiling triumphantly.
She tore her gaze away from whatever was behind me. "Huh? Oh, yeah, you do. So what's the next thing we have to get?" she asked as she turned to continue walking down the aisle. I looked behind me to see what she was looking at, except all I saw was an empty aisle. Something was seriously wrong with this girl.
*****
Dakota
I was annoying Gage like I usually do. I didn't mind going to the grocery store with him since it was something his mom needed us to do. When we were in one of the aisles, I turned around to face him and waved the list around. I wasn't letting him see what we had to get, mainly just to annoy him.
"I'm still not giving you the—" I stopped in the middle of my sentence once my gaze saw what (or who) was behind him. At the end of the aisle were Zack and two of his friends, the same two friends from the homecoming dance.
"Got it," Gage announced with a grin. I forced myself to look away from Zack and focused back on Gage, noticing he grabbed the list from my hand.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, you do. So what's the next thing we have to get?" I asked him, starting to walk in the opposite direction of Zack. He was the absolute last person I wanted to see right now—or ever.
Gage paused as he looked at me curiously. "Uh, garlic," he read.
I nodded and silently walked with him to the opposite end of the store. I prayed that I wouldn't see Zack again, or at least not run into him. I knew for a fact I didn't love him anymore, but it still hurt to see him and think of the horrible things he did. Learning that he just used me to get to Jackie confirmed that I no longer felt anything remotely close to love toward him.
I could tell Gage noticed that something was bothering me, though thankfully he didn't ask about it. He mentioned that eggs were the last thing we needed to get before we could leave, so we made our way over to get them. I sighed once we were putting the few bags of groceries in Gage's car, knowing I successfully avoided running into Zack.
"Kota, is that you?"
I froze, almost dropping the bag of eggs I was holding. Gage shot me a concerned look and quickly grabbed the bag out of my hands, putting it into the trunk of his car.
"Zack," I said indifferently.
"I haven't seen you since the homecoming dance. Isn't that right?" he replied with a smirk. I stiffened at the mention of the dance.
"Yeah, I guess."
He took a step closer and took my hands into his. I think I was too shocked to immediately back away from him. "Listen, I just wanted to say how sorry I was for the dance. You shouldn't have found out that way," he apologized, though the odd glimmer in his eyes said otherwise. Actually, I think someone who couldn't even speak English could see that his apology was far from sincere. Plus, it wasn't like he was apologizing for what he did to me. No, he was attempting to apologize for how I found out, not for doing it.
I ripped my hands out of his and glared at him. "I don't need your apology, Zack. I'm way better off without you in my life anyway. In fact, I don't even want you around me just to say hello. Stay away from me," I told him.
"Oh, burn," his idiot friends whispered rather loudly. Zack shot them a glare to shut them up before turning back to me with a smirk on his face.
"I know you don't mean that, babe."
"Yes, I do," I said forcefully.
His smirk turned into a scowl as his eyes flickered toward Gage, who I forgot was still standing there for a moment. "What, you're with him now?"
"Whether I am or not is none of your business. We're not dating anymore and we aren't friends, so I don't owe you any explanations."
Before he could reply, Gage chose to cut in then. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he said. He shut the trunk of his Mustang and put his hand on the small of my back, leading me to the passenger side. Without another glance back toward Zack, I got in the car after Gage opened the door for me. After he started the car and drove back to his house, I instantly knew I'd have some explaining to do.