Gabriella Wilde plays Karley.
Enjoy!
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Some people would say it's always best to take the high road. I've always agreed with this, believing it was best to just walk away instead of participating in a fight that someone is stirring up. Or looking the other way when someone is talking behind your back, knowing it will only make it worse if you confront them. Because battles need to be picked wisely, so I understood 'taking the high road'. That's exactly what I did when I found out my cousin had been screwing my boyfriend at the time. I might have screamed a little bit and made it clear I wanted them out of my life, but I refrained from punching them both square in the face. Even if they deserved it.
I might have been mature enough not to get violent, but I wasn't the kind of person to hide my dislike towards someone. I didn't believe in killing them with kindness. If I didn't like you, you sure as hell were going to know it.
Which is why as I stood there, clutching Harry's arm and watching Karley's lips move with my name leaving her mouth, I said the very first thing that came to mind when I saw her and Zack.
"Ew."
Karley's eyes widened when the short word left my mouth and her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment. I don't think Zack heard me, he was too busy staring at the arm Harry had wrapped around my waist to support my weight. Reminding me of it, I shifted on my feet a little to take some of my weight off of him but he still held me up.
"It's so good to see you." Karley says, choosing to ignore what I had said before. I furrow my eyebrows at her and snort, shaking my head.
"Well it's not good to see you." I tell her honestly. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be home?" I ask her. She was a year younger than me and my aunt and uncle were very strict about her going out. Which is why it was miraculous to me how her and Zack managed to sneak around behind my back.
"My parents are out." Is all she says and it's enough to let me know she's sneaking around behind their back as well. I cluck my tongue and her face reddens more, probably thinking I'm going to go rat her out. I wasn't going to, I was no tattle. Her lies would catch up to her eventually; they always do.
Zack takes the opportunity to skate around her until he's standing directly in front of Harry and I. His gaze shifts from Harry and then down to me, but I divert my gaze from him. "Hey man, I'm Zack." I hear him say and look back at him to see he's holding an outstretched hand towards Harry. I'm practically glaring at it and Harry glances down at me briefly before turning his gaze to Zack. He takes his hand and shakes it firmly once.
"Harry."
Zack nods and again, his gaze flickers between the both of us. Gray eyes moving down to the arm Harry still had around me. His eyebrows furrow but before he can say anything else, Karley turns her attention towards Harry. I watch as her eyes flickered over him, widening and pupils dialating with attraction. She holds a hand out and smiles up at him the same way she had smiled at Zack when I first introduced him to her. "Hi, I'm Karley. Avy's cousin."
I cringe at the old nickname, silently cursing her for calling me it when she knew very well how much I despised it. Harry shakes her hand with something close to reluctance but I do happen to catch his eyes sweeping over her once. No doubt he found her attractive as well. And she was, I wasn't going to deny it. With her long blonde mermaid hair, large doe blue eyes, thin frame, and long toned legs, she was model worthy. The complete opposite of my short subtle curvy frame. Sometimes I wondered if we really were related but if we stood next to each other, like we did now, our exact shade of blonde hair and the set of our noses showed that we were.
Harry didn't respond to Karley but he merely nodded, releasing his hand and letting it drop to his side. She bit down on her lip and glanced at me before looking back at Harry with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you Avy's friend?"
I opened my mouth to respond for Harry but he beat me to it. "I'm her boyfriend."
Surprised, I nearly fell on the floor again when I turned to abruptly to look at him. His arm around me tightened and he ended up circling both arms around me to stand me up, hugging me to his chest. I refrained from shoving him away when I saw the displeased look on Zack's face. I know he didn't actually care, it was all a territorial thing to him but seeing him uncomfortable brought me some sort of satisfaction. Even more so when Karley's eyes stared in disbelief. It was understandable, Harry was extremely attractive, more than Zack if I'm honest so she probably couldn't believe I'd land myself a guy like him. Little did she know how much of an asshat he really was.
"Since when?" Zack asks, nose scrunching up. I bite my lip, not wanting to answer in the case he could tell I was lying. He always used to be good at reading me like that so timidly, I look up at Harry in hope that he'll answer.
"A month." He says and tightens his hold on me, resting his chin on my shoulder and pressing his cheek to mine. "Best month of my life."
Oh god. I chew on the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing, but my amusement disappears the moment I feel Harry press his lips to my cheek. He leaves a loud kiss there and smiles at me cheekily. Ignoring the urge to push him away, I force a tight smile but I do pinch his side hard to show just how annoyed I was In that moment. The smile on his face only widens and I've got to say, it was a little creepy.
"Okay then..." I look away from Harry to see Zack pursing his lips. "Well hey, maybe we should all go out together some time?"
Hell no. "Um no." I laugh uncomfortably and shake my head. "I rather not."
There's an awkward silence and just when I've decided I've had enough of the small talk, I see Zendaya's face past Karley's shoulder. She doesn't notice who stands in front of me yet as she rolls up, eyes solely on me and Harry. "Hey! We're all going to grab pizza from the snack bar so-," her words come to a halt when she glances at the people standing beside us and her whole face shifts in a split second. "What the fuck? What are you two doing here?"
"Skating." Zack is the one to answer and Zendaya scowls at him.
"It was a rhetoric question," she says back, a hate filled expression on her features when she looks at Karley. "Why are you talking to my girl?"
"She's my cousin." Karley says, tone filled with distaste and lip curled as she meets Zendaya's heated stare. "We're related."
"Hm, maybe you should have reminded yourself of that when you went behind her back and screwed her boyfriend." Zen smiles sweetly at her and Karley flinches, eyes darting to me before falling back on Zen.
"That's in the past, her and I are family and she can't hold onto that forever."
This time, it's me glaring at her. "I don't particularly think you have any room to decide that. You obviously don't know anything about me because I sure can hold a grudge."
Karley sighs, glancing around the rink as if realizing where we are. "Look, can we just move past this? Avy, just let me explain-,"
"Mm nope!" Zendaya interrupts her. "You were the closest thing she had to a best friend, second to me of course, and you backstabbed her. You think she cares about what you have to say?"
"She's with Harry, she moved on so why does it matter?"
Zendaya looks confused for a moment, eyes flickering to both Harry and I but I don't give her a chance to ask her what she meant because I'm literally seeing red as I stare at my cousin. She doesn't even realize why I was truly angry with her. Yes, Zack was my boyfriend and I did love him, but if he had cheated on me with anyone else I would have discarded him from my life and moved on eventually. But the fact is, it was with my cousin. My family, someone who was close to me. "You don't get it do you?" I say heatedly, lowering my voice so the only people who can hear us are the very ones standing in this small circle. I don't even care about the fact Harry is hearing too much about my life right now, I was beyond angry. "It's not about the fact he cheated on me; it's the fact that you, my cousin, my best friend, my family, betrayed me. You stabbed me in the back and you have no remorse for what you did. That's why I can't fucking get over it. You and I might share the same blood but we are no longer family so quit faking smiles and pretending we're okay. I don't forgive you and I probably never fucking will. Stop calling me Avy, stop referring to me as your cousin because I don't want to be associated with you in any way. Ignore me on Thanksgiving and on Christmas and god forbid, you better not bring him to my house on those occasions. You're lucky I haven't already plummeted your face in, but so help me I will if you bring him into my home. Don't talk to me, don't contact me in any way because you became dead to me the moment you lost my trust."
There's a long beat of silence and Karley's eyes are red, glazing with unshed tears and I expect Zack to comfort her. But he doesn't, he surprisingly is staring at me with eyes full of regret and he rolls slightly forward and hesitantly lifts a hand towards me. "Avriella."
The way he says my name makes me feel sick to my stomach, so with out a second glance I turn on my skates and tug on Harry's arm to let me go. He does, but Zendaya is quick to grab ahold of me instead of him. Her arm loops through mine and she grabs my hand tightly in both of hers. I feel another body pressed into my other side and I look up, seeing Harry grabbing my other arm to help Zendaya lead me off the rink. I have no idea where this side of Harry has came from but I don't have it in me to think much about it. My chest is tightening and I feel as if I might start crying any moment now.
"Avy-,"
"Evaporate." Zendaya calls back coldly and I keep my head down as they roll me off the rink. The moment my skates touch the carpeted ground, I pull my arms away from them and trudge towards the locker where I put my converse. I pull the key out of my pocket, forcefully pulling the locker door open and tossing my converse on the ground. I'm blinking repeatedly, feeling the sting in my eyes as I unlaced the skates and put them back into the locker for now. I don't waste any time slipping on my converse and when I stand back up, I see both Zendaya and Harry watching me.
"Av," Zen whispers softly but I shake my head.
"Not now." The words come out thick with emotion and I know it's obvious now that I'm this close to crying. I can't hold it in much longer so I pivot on my heel and make a beeline for the girls restroom. On my way there I catch sight of our friends sitting at a table and they all turn to look at me, faces contorting with worry but I run into the restroom before they can ask me what's wrong.
The moment I'm inside and reach the sink, the tears spring from my eyes and rush down my cheeks. I place my palms on the counter for leverage, using it to keep my from breaking apart. My head is ducked down and not a peep leaves my mouth as I let the tears speed down my face. My chest hurts and it feels like the wound inside that had been healing has been ripped slightly open again. I breathe in and out of my mouth slowly but then I feel my bottom lip quiver as I think about the day I found Karley and Zack together. We had made plans to see each other that night but I had arrived early because I had just received my acceptance letter to Columbia University. He never kept the front door locked so I had booked it in there, running up the stairs full force in excitement and barging into his room. I expected to find him at his desk doing his homework like he had told me he was doing, but came to a full stop when I was faced with his bare ass. Body resting between some girls legs that were wrapped around his waist. The sound of the door hitting the wall when I bursted in was what alarmed them of my entrance. The feeling of seeing my boyfriend fucking someone else killed me inside, but I'll never forget how much more painful it was to see it was my very own cousin. My family.
The sound of the bathroom door opening pulls me from memory lane and I viscously wipe at my cheeks, eyes flickering up into the mirror to see Harry approaching me from behind. My face gives away my shock at finding him in here but he doesn't say anything as he moves to lean against the counter beside me. He faces his back towards the mirror and crosses his arms over his chest, lips pursed and green eyes watching my face. I look away ashamedly, staring at myself in the mirror and wipe at my wet cheeks. I will myself to stop crying, pressing my lips together but my bottom lip quivers. A shaky breath escapes me and I take some paper out from the dispenser, leaning closer towards the mirror to clean my face up.
"If it helps, you're way hotter than her."
My hand pauses against my face and I stare at his back in the mirror, seeing him look at the side of my face through it. "Now I know you're lying."
"I'm not," he says firmly. "You should know by now I speak the truth. And the truth is? Zack downgraded. You're with out a doubt hotter."
"I saw you check her out Harry."
"I'm a guy I check every girl I see out," he says blankly. "But you take the cake home."
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
"A little." He turns around and catches my gaze in the mirror. "Thought you might need to hear it."
I didn't respond and instead continued to wipe underneath my eyes. The tears had stopped by now and luckily, I wore waterproof mascara so it had stayed intact. But my eyelids were slightly swollen and my eyes were red. The tip of my nose was pink and my cheeks were blotchy from all the wiping. I felt and looked terrible.
"Why are you in here?" I ask out of nowhere. Harry stares at me and purses his lips, biting down on his bottom one before releasing it.
"Because I know what it's like to have your family stab you in the back," he shrugs but now I'm curious as to what he means. Yet, he doesn't give me the opportunity to ask and I'm sure it's on purpose. "And I guess I'm offering my shoulder in case you need it."
I watch him carefully through the mirror, expecting him to laugh and tell me he's joking. His behavior is odd and it's strange seeing him be so nice to me that I honestly believe it's an act. But his face doesn't waver so I'm left to believe him with caution. "I'm still not going to be your fuck buddy."
This time, his serious face cracks into a smile and his dimples split across his face as he chuckled lowly. "And I'm still going to leave the offer on the table."
"Is that why you're being so nice to me?"
"No. I'm being nice because I know better not to kick someone while they're down," he says honestly. "Plus, I've decided I need to start treating you a little better. You're Zendaya's best friend and she's one of mine."
This time, I turn my body towards him to stare at him full on instead of in the mirror. I cross my arms and tilt my head at him, sniffling quietly when he turns his body to face me back. "You're not shitting me are you?"
"I'm not shitting you." He assures me and I merely stare at him, green eyes watching right back. He holds my gaze and I feel like the room is getting smaller so I look away, turning my eyes to stare at my conversed covered feet.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
I roll my eyes. "Yes fucking Augustus, okay."
He smirks, dimple indenting his cheek. "There's my girl."
My stomach twists. "I'm not your girl."
"Whatever you say, baby girl."
I sigh deeply and toss the paper into the trash. "And he's back."
He laughs and I feel the heat of his body press into my back, hand lifting up to tuck my hair behind my ear. I still when his breath fans the side of my face. "Only for you." And then he presses a kiss to my cheek, pats my bum, and walks right out of the restroom.
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I double updated WHOO
Questions:
The one I always ask of course: what was your favorite part?
Do you hate Karley or no?
Vote + comment! Thanks for reading<3