Slow it down, make it stop
Or else my heart is going to pop
~ The Show (Lenka)
Ariel was a sobbing mess, and I lent her my shoulder, patting her back and combing her hair to comfort her. She’d been crying for a good 10 minutes straight, and I couldn’t ask her what exactly happened. When her wailing was reduced to a few hiccupy breaths, I tried again.
“Hey. How did you find out?” I asked softly. I looked her right in her shining, emerald eyes, rimmed red with all of the crying.
She sighed deeply. “Well, I was hanging with Serena and the rest of the cheerleaders, then I went to the bathroom for a bit. When I came out, I heard someone giggling – a girl. Then I saw Regina and Nate . . . making out . . . r-right on the . . . patio!” She gasped the last part between fresh sobs.
She fell on my chest, weeping heavily. I sighed, patting her hair. “It’s okay, honey. I’ll definitely talk to him.” I reassured her.
Just then, I saw a frantic Nate running towards us. “Ariel!” he yelled from a distance.
He caught sight of us, and I gave him the most vicious glare I could muster. Ariel just dug her face into my shoulder even more.
When he approached, I turned my back to him. “I think you’ve done enough damage, Nate,” I spat at him.
He looked genuinely sorry and pleaded to Ariel. “Come on, baby. Let me explain!”
She shook her head and whispered, “I think you should go.”
Nate’s face suddenly became broken and terribly sad. His eyes were filled with tears, and I knew he was trying his hardest not to cry. He’d always been like that, trying to act strong and tough, and he has a hard time expressing his emotions. Seeing him in this state chipped at my initial anger. He was my baby brother, after all.
Then I snapped out of it. Why would he be sad if he was the one who cheated on her?
I turned away from him and replied, “Actually, it’s okay. Ariel and I will leave instead.” And with that, we walked away.
Nate stayed where he was, and I heard him mumble, “Fine. Go.” His voice cracked.
I looked back at him. He was punching the water now, and shouting curses. Right as we took off, the rain starting pouring. It was as if the weather was on par with our lives. We heard gasps of disappointment and groaning as we fled the scene.
***
In her fragile state, I’d decided to sleep over at her house. When we got there, I called my mom when she was in the shower.
“Hi sweetie!” Mom’s kind voice filled the receiver. “Happy Birthday! How was it tonight?”
I sighed. “It was great, until a certain point . . . Nate and Ariel might have gotten into a fight.”
“What did that boy do this time?” She grumbled. “I can’t believe he would hurt Ariel! I need to have a serious talk with him.”
“It’s fine, Mom, we’ve got this. Just . . . don’t give him a hard time when he gets home. He’s pretty upset too,” I responded.
She sighed. “Okay. I’m guessing you’re staying at Adelaide’s tonight?”
“Yeah . . . I’m gonna try to cheer Ariel up.”
“No problem. Just make sure you’re home for tomorrow evening.”
“Thanks, Mom, I will. Bye!”
“Bye!” she replied, before I hung up.
I put the phone back, still in awe that my parents were so lax about us going to parties . . . I guess because they trusted us and knew that as teens, it was inevitable anyway. Ariel was now drying her hair, and she was calmer now.
She gave me a watery smile. “I’m so, so sorry for ruining your moment with Damon. Really, I am.”
I waved it aside. “Pft, it’s alright. We’ll get another chance, won’t we?” I was trying to convince myself the most.
She could sense this, and sighed. “But gosh, on your birthday? I’m the worst friend ever!” She flopped dramatically on the bed.
I smiled and rolled my eyes.
Then she suddenly turned to me. “So . . . tell me all about it!”
I hesitated. “Are you sure? I don’t think romance is the best thing to be talking about right now . . .
She sat up straight. “Of course it is! It’ll cheer me right up. Don’t worry about me, ‘kay? I’m fine.” She patted my shoulder reassuringly. “I will need to take my mind off of heartbreaks for a bit.”
Her eyes were still watery, but I could tell she was trying her best to be upbeat.
I looked at her warily and sighed. “Very well, if you insist . . .”
“Wait! Wait! Wait!”
I shook my head. “I knew you weren’t ready yet.”
She grabbed a bowl seemingly out of nowhere. “No silly, I just forgot my popcorn.” She started munching on it excitedly. “Go on.”
My jaw dropped in an are-you-serious look, then I burst out laughing. I swear, sometimes this girl . . . she was too much.
“Okay, here we go . . .”
So, I told her the whole story. By the end, her eyes bugged out of their sockets, and two pieces of popcorn had fallen out of her rosebud mouth.
“You’re telling me that I ruined your first kiss?! Like, ever?!”
“Um, kinda . . . Yeah, pretty much.”
“Oh, god. I am the worst friend ever.”
She hit her head repeatedly on the wall. “Why did I do that? Ugghhh!” She paused shortly to hand me a pillow. “Feel free to kill me.”
I chuckled. “I don’t hate you. It’s absolutely fine.”
She looked at me with her puppy-dog eyes. “Really?”
I smacked her in the face with her comforter. “Nope!” Thankfully, her puppy-dog eyes didn’t work with me.
I laughed my face off as she squealed and gasped with shock.
“You meanie!” she giggle-screamed.
This made me laugh even harder. Soon, we were a laughing, crying mess on the floor.
Wiping a tear from her eye, she said, “I probably deserved that.”
“Yes. Yes you did,” I giggled out.
“My first kiss with Damon! My first kiss in general!”
Huh. It was my first kiss. And I’ve only known Damon for about two weeks? Since when was I the type to rush into romantic ordeals?
“Actually, I think it was good that you interrupted. I feel like we were moving too fast.”
She tilted her head, pensive. “That’s true. Weren’t you the one that was all, ‘I’m a lady. I don’t kiss on the first date’?”
I sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I just got carried away, that’s all. But no more!” I sat up, ramrod straight. “I shall not forget about my principles!”
“Even for a guy as sexy as Damon?”
“Even for a guy as sexy as Damon,” I agreed. “Though, I admit, it’ll be hella hard.”
“Tell me about it.” She sighed.
“You know, I was always aware of Nate’s dating history, but I just thought . . . well, I don’t know, that it wouldn’t get between us, since we were already so close.” She sighed again. “I guess it just wasn’t enough, was it?” She chewed on her bottom lip, eyes already on the verge of being filled with tears.
Oh, Ariel. It’s true, she was a cry-baby, but it only made her more lovable. I put my arm on her shoulders.
“Oh, come on, you know my brother. We know my brother. And this is completely out of character for him! I’m sure it was a misunderstanding or something.”
“A misunderstanding?! They were kissing, right in front of my eyes! I’m not blind!” Her tears were spilling over, she was yelling now.
I turned to her, her breath ragged and catching. “Then you should have seen how heartbroken he was. There was anguish and pain written all over his face. Tell me, does that not count for something?”
She looked up, her breath becoming even for the briefest of moments. Then she let out a breath. “Fine, it does,” she said miserably. “But can you ask him first? I don’t think I can talk to him yet. Or until after the weekend, for that matter.”
I patted her back. “Of course.”
We spent the rest of the night watching a movie marathon, and we even had a mini dance party. After some great karaoke-ing (and by great I mean loud and off-key), Ariel fell asleep.
I was a bit of a night owl, so I stayed up, listening to the mix-tape/CD on my Walkman. I was taken away from it, and just when I thought it had finished, a new track started up.
It was Damon. “Surprise! This is a bonus track, made especially for Isabel Chai. Don’t let anyone else listen to it!” I chuckled at that.
It was a simple song, just his voice and his guitar. But this only made it more special.
“Don’t you want the way I feel?
Don’t you want the way I feel?
Don’t you want the way I feel for you?”
I smiled sadly. Yes, I did. I wanted the way you felt so much. But no, I thought I have to slow things down. My head was spinning with all that was happening right now, especially with Ariel and Nate. I just needed a small break from him, though it was killing me to do it.
I looked up at the full moon through the bedroom window. Not seeing Damon this weekend was going to be nearly impossible.
***
“You sure you don’t want to stop by at least to see Cassandra?” I was hugging Ariel goodbye.
She pulled back and shook her head. “She’s here for another week, right?” I nodded. “Okay, I’ll just bum out here for the weekend.
I started to protest – what she was doing couldn’t be healthy for her – but then, she looked up at me, pleading. “Please?”
I sighed. “Only for the weekend.” I waved goodbye, and Adelaide called out after me.
“Bye, honey! Happy belated birthday!”
“Thanks, Adelaide!” I called back.
When I got home, the air seemed tense, except my parents were watching TV in the living room, seemingly unaware of the heavy atmosphere.
“Hi, Belle! How was the sleepover?” my mom asked, eyes still glued to Doctor Oz.
“It was fun, as they always are.” I smiled.
My mom was obsessed with Dr. Oz. What’s most interesting is that she’d roped Dad into this too. “He teaches you how to be healthy,” my dad justified once when I asked him. “It’s good for athletics.”
On the commercial break, he turned to me. “So, did you meet any ‘cute boys’ at your party?”
This was my parents’ newest game. They were 100% okay with me dating, but since I was a geeky late bloomer, they thought it would be completely hilarious to tease me about every boy I showed any remote interest in.
My mom jumped in. “No, honey, haven’t you heard? She’s all about that boy from the Saunders family . . .”
“Ohhh, I see.”
“What was his name again? Dylan? Damien? Darren?”
My face was becoming hotter by the second. I was completely mortified.
“It’s Damon!” shouted my sister from her room.
I bolted out of the living room as my parents cackled away.
Bursting into Cass’s room, I fumed while blushing furiously. “You sold me out! Oh god, now they’ll go talk to his parents and they’ll talk about how crazy I am for him, and-”
“Oh, calm yourself. You worrywart,” she stuck her tongue out. “He’s crazy for you too, anyhow, so why worry?”
I sighed. “Well, I’m taking a break from him, at least until we get Nate and Ariel sorted out. Speaking of which . . . where is he?”
She jerked her thumb downstairs. “Lurking in the man-cave, where the heavy atmosphere’s coming from.”
“Thanks.” I stepped carefully downstairs, where I heard a punching bag being jostled around.
“Nate?” He jumped a little, then sighed.
“I don’t really want to talk to anyone right now.” He grabbed his Gatorade, took a gulp, and continued jabbing the bag.
“I can see that,” I responded, “But I’m not just anyone. I’m your twin, remember? We have telepathy skills.” He paused at this for a bit, then let a fraction of a smile break through.
“I forgot all about that. What am I thinking right now?”
“That you’re really upset about last night, and you think I’ll judge you. Which, by the way, I won’t,” I pointed out.
He turned to look at me, and I could see just how much he was hurting. It was all there in his eyes. “Really?”
My expression softened. “Of course not. I’m your sister before anything else, duh.”
He looked so much like a little boy right in that moment, and I gave him a quick hug. “Jheeze, you and Ariel are the exact same.” We sat on the couch, and he took of his boxing gloves. “Now tell me everything, from the start,” I prompted.
He took a deep breath. “Well, after I got a few beers with Leo and Con, I looked around for Ariel. Then, all of a sudden, Regina stumbles in front of me. She says, all sweet, ‘Hey Natie. Now we’re finally alone’. I swear I tried to pry her off of me, and I even walked away from her. Then she started drunkenly laughing, saying, ‘I’m not taking no for an answer anymore’. Next thing I know, she just jumps on me, and . . . kisses me.”
It looked like it hurt him to say it. “I heard a door slamming, and Ariel just took off. I kind of shoved her off, and she fell on her ass in the sand-” I giggled and he looked at me, amused, “Bitch deserved it. Anyway, I’m running after her, but I tripped on a log, so I lost sight of her for a second and that’s why I took so long to get her. By that time . . .”
“Yeah . . . Sorry about the way I treated you last night.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I was hoping you would apologize.”
I tried a sheepish smile. “I was just upset and all . . . I suppose it’s safe to say that this birthday wasn’t what we expected?”
He nodded and sighed. “I just hope Ariel will listen to me.”
“Believe me; she wants to get over this as much as you do.” Then I remembered. “Just not this weekend, okay?”
He looked utterly crestfallen. “She needs her space!” I said desperately, trying to make the situation better.
He hung his head between his shoulders, then buried it in his hands. “God, this is my entire fault. Now she can’t even fricking talk to me. I’m such a goddamn idiot!” he said under his breath.
I patted his shoulder. “It’s Regina’s fault. And don’t worry, you two will surely get past this. I believe in you.”
He looked up at me with his beautiful blue eyes, his expression hopeful.
And in that moment, I knew I had said the right thing.
***
Later that evening, we, as a family, went to the carnival. I remembered Nate saying that he would take Ariel here earlier this month, and I could tell he was really down about being here without her. He denied it, though, when I asked if he was okay. He was trying his best to be a good sport, and I appreciated that.
As I looked at all the flashing lights and the colourful stuffed animals, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic too. When I imagined coming here, I saw Damon winning a huge teddy bear for me and stuffing cotton candy in each other’s faces, as incredibly corny as it seemed.
I trailed my fingers listlessly of the carousel when I bumped into something hard.
“What are you doing here?” I gasped, smiling. “I wasn’t supposed to see you ‘til Monday.”
Ariel shrugged and gave me an impish look. “Well, you were right. I guess moping around my house isn’t healthy at all.” Her eyes flashed behind me to Nate, who gave up hiding and started towards her.
“Look, Ariel, I really need to explain. Can we please talk?” He held her hand and she looked up at him.
A million different emotions flashed in her eyes – relief, uncertainty, joy, doubt, but most of all, forgiveness. And right then, I knew. These two crazy kids . . . they were gonna be alright.
She glanced at me, as if to say, “Should I trust him?” I smiled and nodded.
“I’ll leave you two alone.” I yanked Cass away by her arm as she clambered desperately to spy on them.
“No, lemme see!” she pleaded, clawing at my arms. God, sometimes she was such a child . . . I should’ve been born before her. “They’re too adorable!”
“You can get your adorable couples’ fix on the CW.”
She sighed. “Okay, fine. Let’s check out this photo booth, ‘kay?”
“Okay, just let me tell Mom and Dad . . . Mom?”
They were already gone, talking to the crazy fortune-teller lady. Yeesh. As if they needed yet another person telling them they had an “unusual lifestyle”.
When we got into the booth, we made the usual silly poses and even put an overly flowery border, thoroughly filtering it. When we got out, I smiled at the photos. It made me realize just how much I really missed Cassie.
After we got matching henna tattoos and chowed down on some popcorn, and cotton candy; we found Nate and Ariel.
“Soooo, what’s the verdict?” I asked anxiously.
They looked at each other and laughed.
“We’re just staying friends,” Nate said.
Cass’ jaw dropped, and she started to protest. “What? Why?” she whined.
“For now,” Ariel added in, with a sparkle in her eye.
Cassandra rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, you guys, don’t leave me hanging! I’m heading back to New York soon!”
I smiled widely. “It’ll be great! Just like old times!” I said, throwing my arms around Nate and Ariel.
They laughed, but there was something in their eyes that wasn’t there before. A spark of . . . flirtation? Playfulness? I didn’t know if I was meant to see it. I didn’t know if I wanted to find out either.
I was just glad that things were back to how they were before. Truthfully, I was worried that the whole “dating within the group” would complicate matters, and I was somewhat relieved, as bad as it may sound. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted them to be together just as bad as Cassie, but the last thing I needed was drama in my life.
Little did I know that that was exactly what was coming my way. Drama, heartache, desire, and excitement, all sealed with a kiss of disaster.
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A/N: Holy cripes, it’s been a while. I’m super sorry about that hiatus, I’ve just been insanely busy! But I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to finish this story, and I am sticking to my guns. I forgot how much I loved these characters, and how much I loved to write. Thanks for supporting me this far, and leave comments! Tell me how you think the story’s going to go.