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Lizzy | JJ
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HER bouquet of lilies, now soaking in the water she had given them in the vase, flourished in the soft light of the dying sun. Lizzy yawned as she scrolled through her emails, which were sent to her mostly by colleges and by her social media accounts. She quickly typed up a message to Naomi who was discussing her plans of decoration for Lizzy's school's spring formal. Lizzy had offered her assistance to Naomi who was extremely appreciative of Lizzy's proposal. Next, Lizzy deleted various emails in her spam folder, one of which held the sad story of a kidnapped young girl whose kidnapper was still on the loose.
Lizzy then turned to her cell phone, a message from Reece popping onto the screen.
Reece: I'm so sorry about what happened this afternoon. Isaac is a jerk and what you did was really brave. I don't know if I would have the guts to stand up to a guy as proud as Isaac.
Eh, it was no biggie. And it's not your fault. I appreciate your help in trying to find me a date even though Isaac didn't work out.
Her mouth dropped open a little when she saw that JJ had texted her. She was surprised that he had the courage to text her after the strange texts he'd sent her. His drunkenness had chased all his sanity away, and Lizzy's eyes averted away from the creepy things he'd written her.
Lizzy.
Lizzy. I need to talk to you.
Please. Please don't ignore me.
Lizzy. LIZZY. LIZZZZZZZZZZZZZY.
Uh, I'd rather not talk to you right now.
Wait, no. Please hear me out.
You can't tell me what to do. Besides, I don't owe you anything.
You said in your last text to me to explain everything when I'm sober.
Okay, fine. I'll give you a chance to explain yourself. But after that, I'm blocking your number for good.
Damn, that's a lot of pressure. I only have one chance to make this right?
One. Don't push it and you may just get zero.
Okay, here goes: so I was at this crazy party and I got high af with my friends, taking all the good stuff. Even when we were soaring above the clouds, they wouldn't stop. I couldn't think straight or do anything right. Me and my buddies grabbed each other's phones and we decided to prank text girls we like or try to creep other people out. And I accidently texted you. Because you're the girl I like. Some of those things I said the guys got me to text you while some of the other things were from my own nonfunctioning brain.
I didn't mean any of them.
God, I screwed this up. I made terrible mistakes. Please, help me. Forgive me.
Are you sure you and I are still talking about the same thing?
Yeah.
My texts to you. Right?
Yeah.
Are we cool now or what?
Hmm. I don't know.
What do I need to do to get you to forgive me?
Tell me what your favorite flower is and why.
Now?
No, in fifty years when we're old and gray.
Uncalled for.
Okay, um, I'd have to choose daisies—they're sweet, innocent, pure, everything that I want to be but am not.
That answer makes me feel better.
Does that mean you forgive me?
Woah, woah, woah, hold your horses dude. Not even close.
Ugh. What's next?
Next time you have a lick of alcohol, don't text me. And don't drink so much that you lose yourself because that's just scary. I like old JJ, the one who's dorky and sweet.
But that's why I drink.
What? Are you okay?
Yeah. Just family troubles is all.
Do you wanna talk about it?
Not really.
Also I promise to never text you while I'm drinking and to be more considerate to others when I am.
Anything else?
Did you mean any of those things you said?
Are you serious right now, Lizzy? The only thing that was true was that you're one of the most beautiful human beings there ever were. You're beautiful and wonderful, almost like the most perfect daisy there ever was. I would never want to hurt you. Ever. But yeah. Having sex with you and you sending nudes to me would be pretty great, I'm not gonna lie.
Oh my gosh, you're disgusting. Neither of those things are ever gonna happen but keep dreaming, boy. Even though I don't want to, I believe you and I forgive you. I know you're not perfect and you're going to make mistakes like those texts. I'm glad that you came to me to ask for forgiveness and not me coming to you. It shows that you really care about me and what I think.
It's because I do. And I want to be deserving of you so I'm going to do my best to be the best. For you.
You're the sweetest, omg. <3
:) <3
Lizzy, I don't know about you but I really want to meet you. I feel like we've really gotten to know one another over text and I'd love to see you face to face.
Awe, JJ, that would be so cool. But I'm not going to Illinois anytime soon and I doubt you're ever going to be headed to New York.
Is there anything? Any way at all?
Wait, you're almost in college right.
Yeah, we're both juniors. We've been over this.
Oh, yeah, my bad. Is there a college over here that you maybe want to visit? Then I could come visit you.
That's actually not a bad idea.
Why, thank you. I do have good ideas sometimes.
You are the advice-giver :)
I'll talk to Mr. Morris tomorrow and try to plan a college visit over there after my spring formal, which is coming up this Saturday. I'll try to plan it so it'll happen right after the formal, sometime that week.
I can't wait. You have no idea how excited I am right now. You get to meet Shadow! If I bring him that is.
Awe, you totally should! I'm super excited too! I'm probably going to head to bed now so I can get some extra sleep (because sleep is love, sleep is life), but I'll talk to you later about the details.
Looking forward to it!
Lizzy's heart leaped inside of her chest as the reality of what she was about to plan slowly sank into her skin. She and JJ were going to meet up. She was finally going to see JJ face to face, her hand sliding through his silky brown hair, his warm eyes boring into hers like a waterfall, his strong arms wrapping around her slim figure. Lizzy fanned herself at the thought, a smile decorating her flush skin. She couldn't wait, but unfortunately, she had to so her ethereal dreams of him would have to do for now.
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"You look hot," Teagan complimented her best friend who twirled in Teagan's bedroom, narrowly avoiding the heaps of dirty laundry on the floor.
"And you really need to clean your room," Lizzy responded, tripping over one of the mounds in her red spring formal dress. She swiftly stood back on her feet, smoothing her hands over the silky fabric. She took delight in its rich red color and its comfortable grasp on her as though the dress was constantly hugging her. She savored her reflection in Teagan's full-body mirror, the rosy dress floating about her like a sunset tainting the clouds.
"Oh, shut up, Mom," Teagan grumbled before tiptoeing to Lizzy's side as she avoided her own filthy clothes. They stood side-by-side, their faces painted with makeup and hair pinned and braided. They met each other's eyes in the mirror and Lizzy raised an eyebrow at Teagan, trying to communicate her confusion on what Teagan hoped would happen tonight. Lizzy prayed it would be nothing like the party, but she could never be certain with Teagan and her wild imagination roaming around like a sly tiger.
"When's Reece, Mateo, Paisley, and the limo going to get here?" Lizzy asked, turning away and crawling onto Teagan's comfortable, albeit unmade, bed. The limo had been provided and paid for by Paisley's parents; when Teagan had heard about that new detail, she complained and threw a fit to Lizzy but pretended to appreciate the idea to Paisley.
"Ugh. That dumb fucking limo. She's just trying to make me look bad in front of Mateo," Teagan whined as she bit her lip in frustration.
Lizzy rolled her eyes at her friend's melodramatic declaration. "I actually think she just wants to have a fun time but okay."
Teagan flung her head around and faced Lizzy with such a ferocious glare that she wanted to hide underneath the bed's covers and never come out. "Since when did you support her? I thought we had a mutual hatred of her? Why are you betraying me like this?"
"Oh my god, you're really dramatic tonight, aren't you? I'm just saying that the limo is a fun addition and she probably thinks so too."
Teagan clutched her heart with one hand, the other resting on her forehead. "I think I've been stabbed. Now I know what Julius Caesar felt like."
"Relax," Lizzy said with a laugh before gently shoving her friend to get Teagan to loosen up a little. Lizzy understood that if Teagan was uptight all night neither girl would have a good time at the spring formal—officially called "A Night in the Garden," thanks to the decorations Lizzy and Naomi had set up the night before. Lizzy couldn't wait to dance the night away, careless and free, not a worry in the world but her sore feet.
Teagan trotted to her bedroom's window and peeked through the blinds, a flash of light puncturing its way into the room. "I think the limo's here and Paisley and Mateo are right behind it. Oh, and there's Reece too." Teagan moved away from the window and grabbed her friend's arm. "Let's go, Lizzy!" she exclaimed enthusiastically before dragging Lizzy down the stairs and to the front foyer. Lizzy was less-than-prepared to socialize with everyone all at once and so she protested the entire way, begging for Teagan to slow down.
"You big ole baby," Teagan muttered under her breath before opening the door to a smiling Paisley whose grin blinded Lizzy so much that she had to take a step back.
Paisley squealed like a dying bird or a constipated pig and wrapped her arms around Teagan who feigned a smile, her eyes meeting Lizzy's and screaming Help me! Teagan's arms sprouted helplessly from Paisley's embrace like young saplings and Lizzy pressed a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
Unfortunately, Lizzy was next in line for a Paisley hug and Lizzy struggled to breathe as the girl tightened her grip around Lizzy's waist. Lizzy's eyes seemed to pop out of her head and was awash with gratefulness when Paisley finally let go. Teagan smugly rose an eyebrow at Lizzy and crossed her arms as if saying You didn't help me so I didn't help you.
"Since when did she like you? Scratch that, since when did she like me?" Lizzy asked after Paisley ran back outside to grab her slow boyfriend.
Teagan shrugged and glanced outside to make sure Paisley wasn't on her way back yet. "I don't know. I guess when I told her about my spring formal idea—you know, me, you, Mateo, Reece, and her. We'd never actually talked before and now that we have, I think she thinks that we're best buddies. And, since you're my best friend, you're now her best buddy too."
"Great, what fun," Lizzy said sarcastically. This was going to be a long night. She couldn't wait to escape on the dance floor away from her friends for a little while. She needed a break and she figured that tonight was the perfect night to do so—while still being close to them, just in case.
Paisley and Mateo entered together with Reece awkwardly standing behind them, his brown hair dipping behind them like a fisherman's bobber in a lake. Lizzy was finally able to see the couple's attire—Paisley was adorned in a shimmering lavender dress that was as vibrant and noticeable as a clematis while Mateo complemented her in his black tuxedo and matching purple tie.
They floated out of the way, Paisley's puffy cloud-like shirt sashaying in the silence. Lizzy noted Teagan's forced smile at the couple and turned to Reece who had been concealed behind Paisley and Mateo. Lizzy's heart melted into a steaming pile of mush when she saw Reece dressed in his finest with an adorable black bowtie and suspenders that matched his dark pants and coordinated with his white T-shirt. His outfit made him look classy and cute especially with his typical black glasses perched onto his nose. In his hands was an array of rainbow-colored flowers, a bright splash of hues on his otherwise monochrome apparel.
His face reddened when he realized the attention was stacked on top of him, a sheepish grin blooming from his lips. His gaze slid across Mateo, Paisley, and Lizzy until it finally landed on Teagan. When he saw her, his eyes brightened like a starry galaxy, his posture stiffening and smile widening. Lizzy's guilty heart thudded in her chest—if only he knew that Teagan was actually in love with someone else.
As Reece slowly approached Teagan, he soaked in every inch of her as if he was savoring every last bite of a piece of birthday cake. Teagan wasn't used to being scrutinized so intensely so she avoided his stare, her eyes focusing on anything else but him.
"Here. These are for you," Reece whispered, his voice tender and soft. He handed her the beautiful flowers and Lizzy couldn't help but fangirl beside her best friend.
Teagan took the flowers, her finger brushing over the petals gently. She seemed to be at a loss of words for the first time in her life. Lizzy stifled a giggle and elbowed the person beside her who she hoped was Mateo. Unfortunately, Paisley had positioned herself beside Lizzy and she rubbed her forearm in disgust. "Sorry," Lizzy mouthed, biting her lip apologetically. "That was meant for—" She nodded at Mateo who smiled and wiggled his eyebrows in reference to the cute moment that was occurring next to Lizzy.
"Thank you, Reece. They're beautiful," Teagan finally replied, a genuine, sweet smile—one that Lizzy had never seen before—gracing her usually harsh lineaments.
"Just like you," Reece replied with equal amounts of authenticity.
Mateo soon grew repulsed at their cheesy romantics and he burst through their moment with an impatient clap of his hands. "Can we please go now? I'm hungry and our dinner reservations are at 6:30. Which is soon."
Lizzy was always ready for food. "Let's go, kiddos!" She ran outside, unaware that Reece had laced his fingers with Teagan's.
The five of them stepped outside with a golden sunset murmuring its farewells, its gilded rays blessing them with a night of fun and friendship—and then it vanished, a velvet navy blanket replacing it with an owl singing its blues somewhere high in the trees.
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A/N:
Chapter 30! 20 more chapters to go! If you liked this chapter, please vote and comment your thoughts! I love reading them and I usually try to respond to most of them!
I have written over 100,000 words for this book!!!! It's crazy how far this book has come! I am currently writing Chapter 49, which is the second to last chapter... I'm almost done!!!
I've loved writing this book but I can't wait to write something else for a change. Check out my account for more works by me and expect some new ones in the future!
- Payton