Had to create my own character for this one. The second half of the story is upon us. Hope you all enjoy!
Highest rank on the hot list over the last two weeks - #470 in Chick Lit
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© 2016 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.
The Buddies Rule
Chapter 16
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I had always felt weird about surprises. I couldn't ever make up my mind about them, namely because, I wasn't ever expecting them.
It wasn't like I was gullible or anything, I was actually quite in tune with what was going on around me. But with certain people, people like Lewis or even Chase, I tended to let my guard down.
It was nearly two in the afternoon when we walked into the pizza place. It wasn't packed by any means, and it never had been. Though it wasn't the most popular restaurant in town, it was the first that came to mind if you wanted a great pizza. It also happened to be right next to campus, which made it an easy walking distance for three hungover college kids.
The pizza place looked like an old Pizza Hut from about ten years ago. They had dull blue carpeted floors, and the walls were covered in a faded yellow wallpaper with small, cartoon pizza slices patterned onto it. There were red seated booths lining the far wall and the wall to left as you walked in. In the center, there were a few black painted wood tables and chairs set up, though no one ever sat in them. There was even an arcade set up to the back right. All the games were quite outdated, but we still found the fun in them.
Since the four of us had been here so much over the last year or so of college, I was able to pick out our favorite booth at the drop of a hat. That's why, when I glanced over to that very booth sitting in the far left corner of the restaurant, I froze.
Sitting in our usual spot, was Chase. He looked nervous to say the least, and weirdly enough, he was facing the other direction. He and I always sat on the opposite side.
I bit hard into my lower lip as I whirled around to look at Lewis. "And what in the world is Chase doing here?" I mocked as I crossed my arms over my chest.
Lewis merely shrugged, "I think he likes pizza. Maybe he's here for some pizza."
"Yeah, that's got to be it," I nodded before slapping Lewis in the arm. "Why didn't you tell me? This whole situation has your stupid name written all over it! You love pushing us into these scenarios just to see if it all turns out like it does in the movies!"
"Okay, maybe I have a problem!" Lewis whined as his hand flew up to rub the now sore spot on his upper arm. "But if I told you, you never would have gone along with it."
"The boy has a point," Alan teased. The man threw an arm around Lewis' shoulders, all while keeping his sight trained in on the back of Chase's head. "We all need to talk, Bree. Things have been weird since the semester started. I've barely seen either one of you, and neither has Chase."
Lewis' eyes widened a bit with Alan's statement. "Yeah," Lewis scoffed. "If Alan suddenly thinks we need to make amends, then we've got to do it."
I rolled my eyes and turned back to look at Chase. It had been common knowledge that Chase and Alan had never really gotten along. I hadn't understood the running hatred between the two, it always seemed unexplainable. Like how Chase had hated Zac back in school. I just never got it.
The only problem here, was now I knew why they hated each other, and I hated myself for not realizing it sooner.
With Chase and Alan fighting over me, I understood why they never seemed to agree on anything. So, when hearing that Alan wanted to bury the hatchet, I had to come to terms with how messed up our group had gotten over the last two months.
I nodded and gently waved the two forward, forcing down what little pride I had as we made our way over to our regular booth. Chase was fiddling with the wrapper from the straw that was now sticking out of his cup. But the second he heard us walk over, he dropped his hands into his lap. His eyes locked with mine instantly, this, giving me enough time to assess the damage that Zac had done the night before.
His eye left eye had since turned a weird shade of blue and purple, and his lip was split right down the middle. There seemed to be a scratch running up the side of his right arm, and his left forearm had a bruise as well. Needless to say, Zac really got him. Though I hadn't had the guts enough to check and see how badly Zac was doing earlier today.
I was sure Zac looked even more awful than Chase did right now.
But there was more than just bruises around Chase's eyes. He had bags under his eyes from not sleeping, and he also had that look about him that silently told me he was still upset about what happened last night.
"Bree," he greeted shortly.
I frowned as he stood up from his seat. With one quick movement, Lewis shoved Alan into the seat next to Chase, leaving the opposite side of the booth to Lewis and I. Lewis slipped into the booth ahead of me, forcing Chase and I to sit right in front of each other.
"How are things?" Lewis started as I took my seat next to him. I could already feel Chase's eyes boring a hole into my head. But I didn't dare make eye contact.
"Things are fine," Chase said. "Or they would be, if Bree's boyfriend hadn't tried to kill me last night."
I finally looked up at Chase, only to see a kind of pure evil about him that I hadn't see for quite some time. We hadn't really fought this bad, or at all, since middle school. Chase had taken my phone when he'd seen me texting with Zac. It all boiled down to the fact that I should have been talking to him about what had been bothering me.
It had been the anniversary of my mother's death that week, and when Chase wasn't available, I'd gone to Zac. It seemed like that had been a constant problem between Chase and I. We were best friends that barely talked.
"He wasn't trying to kill you, Chase," I hissed. "He was trying to-"
"Hi, and welcome to Jerry's Pizzeria. What can I get started for you?" The waiter cut in. I sighed before tearing my eyes away from Chase, and within seconds, I had recognized our waiter.
Shawn Nelson, a senior at Berkeley, and one of Alan's old football buddies we ran into from time to time. He was majoring in sports medicine, and crazily enough, had been openly gay since grade school. I really have props to the guy. He knew exactly who he was, and he wasn't afraid to be just that.
The last time I had seen Shawn had been last year during some interview I'd done for journalism. That was back when he was still on the football team. Alan told me a while back that Shawn had decided not to play during their senior year. His free time was apparently better spent working here at the pizzeria.
"Hey," Alan smiled as he gave the man a quick wave from around Chase. My best friend sulked further down in his seat upon Shawn's arrival. It didn't seem like Shawn and Chase got along too well, either. Again, a common theme. Chase was the real bad boy of our group.
"Alan," Shawn smiled happily. "I didn't know you came here."
Alan nodded, "yeah. This place has been our hang for about a year now."
"I just started working here," Shawn said. "It pays the bills."
Lewis' mouth curved into a sly grin before looking over at Shawn. "What bills?" He laughed.
Shawn actually came from a pretty rich family, much like Chase's father and my own. His boyfriend was pretty well off, too. But that still didn't give Lewis the right to say something like that.
"I wasn't sure if word had gotten around campus," Shawn's voice grew somber. "Matt and I broke up about two weeks ago. I moved out of our joint place off campus. Now, I need to make some extra money to start myself off."
"But your parents..." Lewis trailed off. I shook my head at him before swiftly kicking his shin.
"They want me to learn the value of hard work before I get my inheritance," Shawn revealed. He glanced back at Alan, sending him another smile. "What can I get you to drink?"
Alan laughed, "a water will be fine for each of us. But it's good to see you man."
Shawn nodded. He had this enthusiasm about him that made me want to talk with him longer. "It was good to see you, too. And I'll see you again at the play? I heard you and Bree had gotten the lead roles."
"Well, we'll be looking forward to seeing you in the crowd," Alan said. With that, Shawn excused himself to the kitchen doors and disappeared behind them.
"He's a good man," Lewis nodded.
"What?" Chase laughed. "You barely know him."
"And that seems to be your problem with everyone lately," I mumbled as I fell back in my seat. Chase huffed out a breath before looking to me.
"What? I'm supposed to be okay with him, now because you say you know him? The guy that wrestled me last night just because I wanted to talk with you?"
"I don't think we're talking about Shawn anymore," Lewis sang awkwardly.
"Shut up," I hissed at Lewis. "And you," I paused as I narrowed my eyes in on Chase. "You know that I didn't want talk to you last night. Zac had to step in just to stop you from dragging me down the stairs."
"Okay, so you didn't want to talk. When were you planning on talking?" Chase said, regaining what little edge he had in the conversation. He had this smug attitude going on that I utterly hated. "Because I know for a fact that we've been avoiding this for weeks."
"Weeks?" I laughed snidely. "This whole thing started two days ago when you freaking-" I cut myself off there. I didn't want to rub it in Alan's face that Chase and I had kissed.
Weirdly enough, Chase didn't push the topic any further. "I didn't say I wasn't taking responsibility for what happened," Chase sighed. He glanced up at me, giving me a knowing look, one that told me he was sorry for what he'd done. "What I was getting at, is how we haven't talked, at all, for weeks."
"And why is that?" I sighed before falling back into my seat once more. "You were jealous that I went out with Zac. Then you were upset about the buddies rule. And then you were pissed that I found out about Rebecca. All I've been doing is getting on your nerves, and I honestly cannot figure out why."
Chase shook his head and pushed his soda across the table. He sat up and crossed his arms on the table before looking up at me once more. "Fine. You want me to take all the blame?" Chase asked quietly.
I could feel the awkwardness settling nicely over the four of us. Alan and Lewis hadn't said one word for at least three minutes, allowing for Chase and I to battle it out for the whole restaurant to see. Alan was right earlier. We should have done this ages ago. Not here in front of the restaurant.
"No one needs to take the blame," I said, lowering my voice a bit. "What I want, is for you to talk to me. You asked me to do the same thing on the first day of school. I've even been trying to hunt you down for the last two days just to talk about what happened."
There was a lull after that, one that Alan felt the need to fill. "You guys can quit bouncing around the subject, you know." His left eyebrow popped up suggestively as he caught my eye. "We all know you two made out."
"We didn't make out," Chase groaned with a small smile. I could feel my own smile growing as Alan sat up and patted Chase on the back.
"With the details that Lewis was giving everyone, I had to assume."
"Lewis," Chase's tone was stern. "Why would you tell everyone?"
Lewis shrugged a second time, "honestly, I wanted Zac to break up with Bree. That guy really likes to talk about weird stuff when he's drunk."
"You told Zac?" I asked hurriedly.
"Yeah," Lewis smiled. "Why do you think he broke up with you? I told Zoey, who told Zac when you and Chase were talking. Haven't you ever heard of the gossip train before."
"You and Zac broke up?" Chase chimed in.
I nodded, "it's nothing. We really only went out the one time."
"Still," Chase reached out and grabbed onto my hand. "I know you really liked him."
I gave Chase a small smile before Lewis threw himself across the table to grab onto our hands. He somehow ended up with his chin resting on my shoulder. The boy then reached out and clasped onto Alan's hand, forcing it on top of the rest of our's in the process.
I started laughing at the sight, and it was the first laugh I'd been able to share with these three for a long time. There was something about this group, something that kept us all held together no matter what, and I knew we weren't ready to let go just yet.
"Truce, then?" Chase smiled as he squeezed my hand.
I rolled my eyes and pushed Lewis' chin off my shoulder. "Truce."
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This chapter took forever to write.
But the group is back together! How do you think Bree and Chase will handle the kiss now that things are 'okay'? And how will Alan and Chase get along when they're both fighting for Bree?!
Side note: my website editor is down, for those that didn't know. So, sneak peeks may be off the table for a bit. But these next few chapters are building to a BIG reveal. So keep voting and commenting!
The next update should be on...
December 22nd!
Vote when you can!
Thanks guys!