This drawing is made by @ScorpionKing394 Thank you! I love it ❤
I don't remember falling asleep on the floor with my head crouched on the edge of my bed. I woke up when a hard muscular figure tried to carry me.
I pushed the body with my eyes closed and felt an annoyed sigh. Maybe I'd been doing this pushing for a while now.
I opened my eyes to find a similar face, sitting beside looking at me intently.
"Hey." I said without thinking, in a very groggy voice.
"I'm sorry." Was the first thing that came out of his mouth.
I groaned not wanting to remember why he was saying sorry but it was late since the entire scene at the school came inside my head like a sudden force.
"There were more important things for me to focus on, rather than you almost yelling at me." I said as I stood from the floor.
At that moment I realized how much of a mess I am, judging from the pictures of Adrian and me all scattered on the carpet of my room.
Avoiding what I just said, James also occupied all his attention with the photos.
Before I could pick them up, he picked one picture up and stared quietly at it for a while.
It was from one of our dates at the amusement park, where Adrian had his arm draped around my shoulder, giving his huge wide signature smile and I had a lollipop in my mouth indicating I was so not ready for that picture.
"You were happy, with him." He let out slowly.
I started tracing circles on the bedsheet with my fingers, struggling for words.
When I didn't answer for what seemed like four to five minutes, James put the picture aside and sat beside me on my bed.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure." I said giving him a hesitant nod.
"Why'd you guys break up?"
I thought I was done crying but that came right in my face when my eyes filled with tears, yet again. "It's complicated, James."
"The most predictable explanation that is." He muttered and I could sense that he was still a bit angry.
"No, seriously, it is complicated."
He waited for me to say something else but when I didn't, he asked, "Your fault or his?"
"Both."
I think he saw me feeling uncomfortable because he tried to change the subject. He looked at me moving his hand to caress my cheek until his thumb landed beneath my eyes.
"You don't deserve to cry over a guy like him." He said.
I didn't want him to see me like this, so vulnerable and weak. I would've done anything at that moment to keep him away from me and the air around me. I couldn't let him in, I reminded myself.
"What do you mean 'a guy like him'?" I asked him, trying to not go over the line.
"Greg told me, you know. That, that Adrian had done something very bad to you and Greg still feels ashamed of his best friend's act. They're not friends anymore. And I saw him, that Adrian."
"Stop naming him." I interrupted rudely, too disgusted by it.
"Okay." James took a pause before continuing, "So I saw He Who Must Not Be Named." He chuckled lightly.
I looked up at him and before I knew I burst into fits of laughter.
I didn't say anything after that. Maybe I wanted him to keep talking.
"I saw him and I wanted to punch him right away, but Dwayne said that it would be wrong if I judge him instantly."
"Dwayne's right." I concluded.
"You don't want someone to punch him?" He looked at me like I was insane or something.
"I want to punch him. Scratch that, I want nothing to do with him."
Ignoring my last sentence, James laughed. "I've said that again and I'll say it yet again, you never fail to surprise me."
I just rolled my eyes.
"I'm sorry for behaving so off the wall at school. It was just so unpredictable, probably the last thing I would've expected. I've made my peace with the fact that maybe I'll come across him again someday, but I have to compose myself that I really don't give a shit about his existence and that I'm really over him." I told him, secretly thankful for the fact that he didn't ask me what the deal with Adrian was.
Sometimes I thought James was too generous for my own health.
"Are you really over him?" James asked but quickly came up with something else. "I'm sorry, not my place to ask. I'm sorry too, for nearly yelling at you and everything."
"It's okay, you're allowed to be human sometimes too. I totally and completely forgive you." I said pushing a small smile and ignoring his previous question.
I didn't quite know if it was his place to know or not, but I admit I perceived disappointment on his face when I didn't say what he wanted me to.
I couldn't let my guard down in front of him, because that only meant letting him see all my scars, examining me thoroughly under a microscope.
But why did I feel that I had still let him in at some point? That's when it occurred to me.
"How did you get in here? I thought I had locked it." I supposed.
"Well, I felt pretty shitty leaving you there like that so I called Conan and asked if you were home. He told me that you've been locked in your room for two hours straight and he has no idea what's going on. I told him what happened today at school and he literally freaked out hearing his name. That's when I thought that it really was something very serious, so I dropped by and your mom let me in giving me a spare key to your room so I could unlock it." He explained.
I hadn't really seen Conan all day and I remember when he knocked but I was too busy in my thoughts to bother opening the door.
"Ugh, I feel terrible. I didn't expect to cause quite a commotion." I said burying my face in my hands.
"You should've seen the football field. Greg had it worse. It feels like he's guilty for what happened. Are you okay?" He finished slowly, scrutinizing my actions as I stood up to wash my face.
"I'm fine- I'm better actually." I answered from the washroom.
When I came back, I saw James had picked all of the pictures and placed it on my study table.
"You wanna go out to eat? I'm guessing you haven't had anything since morning." James said.
As he said it, I really felt hungry which made me nod slowly and him to chortle.
"I have something in mind." He said as he left my room hoping I'd follow.
I left the house quietly not in a mood to answer any questions. Molly and Chet were busy playing Call of Duty so they had no idea when I sneaked out too.
It was evening and the sun was starting to set. I didn't know I'd slept that long.
The drive was quiet and I didn't bother to ask James where we were going because halfway through I already knew the answer.
We went to the coffee shop where I'd been a lot of times before, with James too. Not forgetting the place we first met.
I thought I would have a nice and quiet time with James but as I entered the coffee shop with him behind me, I heard our names being called. Looking to my right were sitting Melanie, Amanda, Courtney, Dwayne, Greg, Damian, Violet, Cecelia, Jordan and even Paul at the table. So Amanda finally managed to convince Paul to hang out with us.
We made our way there and I took a seat beside Mel, with James on my right.
"We've already ordered for you guys because you were taking so long." Cecelia said.
"And our little Cecelia doesn't know what patience is, right?" Dwayne said ruffling her hair.
Cecelia swatted his hand away pouting. "I'm not little, you prick!"
And that resulted in them arguing. Though it was always Greg and Cecelia that seemed to be arguing, Greg was quiet today. Maybe I needed to talk to him that it was okay.
I felt a hand cover mine. "How are you?" Melanie whispered.
I looked at everyone. Paul and Amanda engrossed in something. Courtney, Damian, Jordan and James talking about something. Cecelia fighting with Dwayne while Greg just got amused by the sight and Violet being her usual self as she stayed occupied by her phone.
I sighed and looked at Melanie. "Great." I smiled to assure her. I really were okay.
Melanie smiled back and squeezed my hand as the food arrived and everybody stopped to converse.
"I'm happy that James is the reason behind it." Melanie said.
I swallowed hard. "He, too. And I actually feel a whole lot better because I've finally let it all out."
She pushed her eyebrows together. "How come?"
I whispered because only Melanie knew about the letters. "I wrote to the letter guy. I let it all out on the paper, he was asking for a while now too. And it's not like I knew him, so I just scribbled down everything."
Melanie spit out the water that was in her mouth which dragged everybody's attention.
"Uhm, sorry." She said to everyone as she wiped it with a napkin and then turned to glare at me.
"What?!"
"Uhm.."
"Are you insane?" She hissed.
"What are you talking about?" I asked her as I paused to eat.
"You told everything about Adrian to a complete stranger?!"
"Does it really matter, Mel? What can he do?"
"I know but, this feels weird Elene. Don't you think?" She asked slowly.
"I don't care Mel. That letter guy can't do anything only because I've told him about my past or whatever you like to call it. And stop fretting so much." I told her as I resumed eating.
"So, uhm." Amanda cleared her throat. "Winterball's this Saturday and five days are left." She said grabbing everyone's attention.
"I know!" Courtney squealed.
"Stupid balls." Melanie muttered because she had no date to go with. This earned a lot of chuckles.
I don't know why the first thing James and I did as Amanda announced about the winter ball was look at each other. Trust me, it was weird.
~~~
James picked me up for school today because Conan didn't feel like going. I still hadn't talked to Conan since and he didn't look good to me too. Something was definitely going on with him.
The school was filled with the brochures of Winter ball, and I could hear a lot of guys asking girls to be their dates for the night.
Melanie couldn't stop gushing about James again and I felt like strangling her. She kept going on with how James and I looked like a couple who were deeply in love.
"Sup my girls." Courtney sang as she came and draped an arm around my shoulder suddenly scrutinizing the odd tension. She looked at Amanda curiously.
"Melanie claims that Elene's in love." Amanda stated.
"With..?!"
"What kind of a question is that? James of course!" Amanda slappped her forehead.
"Jeez okay!"
She looked at me. "Need help?"
"Well, we could give her ideas a shot too." Melaine suggested.
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, put yourself to use. Let's see what theory you end up with."
"Just close your eyes and take three long soothing breaths. Then open your eyes and tell me what you see." Courtney instructed.
I sighed and did as she said and closed my eyes taking slow breaths.
"Now open your eyes."
I slowly opened my eyes to see a tall muscular body leaning against a locker. As he closed the locker, I came across the scar on his left cheek, taking in his breathtaking hazel green eyes.
"What do you-"
"James, I see James." I interrupted Courtney, already knowing what she had to ask.
"But didn't James just left for class..? We all saw him, right?" Amanda asked, confusingly.
I wide grin crept up Melanie's face as she waved a hand in front of my eyes to break me out of my stare. I shook and looked at her. "What?"
"Where's James?" She asked playfully, like I'd been lying.
I suddenly pointed at his locker confidently but was shocked to see that the hallway was empty except Amanda, Courtney, Melanie and I.
"What the actual hell? Are you planning on hypnotizing me or something?" I raised my eyebrows, completely astounded and passed my gaze to Courtney. She understood it in a span of two seconds.
"Yeah girl, you're totally screwed." She smirked patting my back.
"This can't get anymore cliché." I mumbled to myself.
"Love is cliché." Melanie commented, causing me to roll my eyes.
I ducked my head into the locker and closed my eyes.
I didn't pay attention to class at all, it was so annoying. Mrs. Luna kept asking James and I to explain the script. James decided to explain everything, he even explained my part of the play.
The play we had to perform was 'Pyramus and Thisbe'. It was a basic, tragic love story set in the Babylon times.
For the act, Mrs. Luna decided to make me Thisbe, and James as Pyramus because we had put so much hard work in editing the script according to her, though it hardly took an hour.
If I really had feelings for James, acting a love scene with him in front of the entire school and parents was going to be hella hard.
As soon as Mrs. Luna declared all the characters, Melanie being the narrator started to order us. As we stood up for the practice, she nudged me by the elbow.
I glared at her. "What?" I already knew what she had to say.
"Have fun at the stage doing 'Oh pyramus! My love! My life!'" She mimiced Thisbe's lines dissing me as Amanda joined her.
Oh how I'm glad Courtney isn't in this class to join them. Oh wait, she is. Ugh.
Amanda was a little pissed because she wanted to play the lead role, but when Mrs. Luna made her in charge of the fashion committee of the play, she was over the moon.
~~~
After all the chaos of the play, I was actually releived when the hour ended.
"Your yelling is still going on in my head." I mumbled to Melanie.
"Ears, you mean." Courtney pointed out and I shook my head at her.
"Why do you shout so much?" Amanda all but asked her curiously. She genuinely looked curious, doesn't she know Melanie?!
"She's high maintenance, you should know by now." I answered for Melanie because she was never going to admit that.
"For the last time, I'm not." She seethed.
"They always say that." Amanda said.
"Hey, where's Damian and James? Didn't they come out with us?" Courtney said all of a sudden looking at the surroundings to find out.
We stopped with her. When I turned around I suddenly felt voices going down. There was this wierd silence where Amanda nudged me and Melanie nudged Courtney.
"Elene Fox," I nearly jumped at hearing my name. I looked forward to find James standing, with Damian.
He started to walk towards me from the other end of the hallway and the people seemed to move backwards and stay steady to watch the show.
I was actually nervous now.
When we were only two inches apart, he stopped and grinned.
I raised my eyebrows, mouthing 'what?'.
"Will you allow me to be your escort at the Winterball?" He asked smoothly.
I think I didn't completely zone out as I tried because I heard a lot of hooting. Melanie and Amanda whispered a lot. All I heard was "Say yes, say yes."
I even caught sight of Conan somewhere at the end of the hallway. What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be home today?! Okay, I have something serious to focus on right now. Conan had this sad expression on his eyes but he still managed to smile through it and closed his eyes in order to show me his acceptance.
"Elene, he's waiting." Melanie's whisper brought me back to look at the guy standing in front of me.
I looked at him to find the usual amused expression on his face. He raised his eyebrows waiting impatiently.
I cleared my throat and took a brief sigh.
"Yes, sure. Yeah." I said as the crowd erupted into cheers. I saw James with a wide smile on his face which actually looked genuine.
Conan showed me a thumbs up and then rested his hands in his pockets as he waited for the rest of the show.
Rest of the show? Oh..
I looked at my right to find Damian now, standing beside James. He looked at Courtney for a mere second before asking the obvious, "Will you be my date for the night at Winter ball Courtney?"
Courtney put her finger on her chin in mock thought as Damian rolled his eyes not even trying to hide the grin that was all over his face.
"I'm already your date for every night." She shrugged her shoulders chuckling.
"Is that a yes or a no?" He scowled at her.
"You tell me." Courtney folded her arms across her chest, grinning.
Damian moved his hands across Courtney's waist and kissed her, the crowd again erupting into cheers.
We knew the show was over when Coach Craig was heard hollering, "Show's over. Back to classes!"
~~~
I rushed to the parking lot after my last class ended in search of Conan's car. As soon as I spotted it, I practically ran in it before he could even think to escape.
He closed his eyes in utter defeat and rested his head at the back.
"What's going on?" I asked him slowly.
"Leave me alone." He muttered.
"Like that's really gonna happen now that I know something is definitely wrong." I said glaring at him.
One of the things Conan and I knew about each other for sure was, we could run away from problems as much as we'd want, but confiding in each other was a must.
"Debbie and I broke up."
"Not to be rude, but I actually feel relieved.."
"Shut up, Elene."
That didn't shut me up though. "How did it happen?"
"I'm not in love with her anymore. And ever since that thing with Melanie, I haven't been the same and she's tired of me. We weren't even broken up yet and she asked Holder to be his date to Winterball in front of everyone at the Café."
"Why am I not surprised?" I muttered rolling my eyes. What else could you possibly expect from Debbie Parker?
Conan gave me the 'behave yourself' loon which straightened me up.
"Where was I? Why didn't I witness it?! Shit, that doesn't matter. Isn't Holder your best friend?"
"Yes, and he denied the offer pretty abruptly. I asked Debbie what was wrong with her and she said that I was probably going to go with Melanie. For God's sake, I haven't even seen her or talked properly to her after what happened, only because I was ashamed, I couldn't do that to my girlfriend."
"Conan, stop being so nice to the person who's never been anything but unfair to you. It's time for you to really move on."
"It's not just that. I am actually appalled that the break up hasn't been so upsetting. I mean she wasn't wrong when she said that I wasn't in love with her. It's true. She isn't the person I love."
"And do I know the person you actually love?"
He just looked at me hiding a soft grin, which gave me the answer.
I smiled so widely that it caused him to smile too.
"I haven't seen you in like two days." He said after a moment of silence.
"I know, I'm sorry."
"No, I am. When James told me about that-" he paused scrutinising my sudden change in mood.
"I'm just sorry I couldn't be there for you." He opposed summing it up. I actually prefer the summed up version.
"It's okay. You had your own stuff to deal with."
~~~
Hey,
Wow. I have no words, I'm just really sorry that you had a pretty shitty boyfriend. I can't believe there are still people like him. And I totally understand, don't feel like you'll be judged. And you can talk about it...if you want. I'm glad you finally told me, and it's weird because I know it's hard to tell someone this. Anyway, do you have your escort to Winterball yet? Plus I do have a surprise.
Lg.
Hey there,
You have no idea how glad I am that you understood, though it's still a shock. Thanks a lot. And yes! I have my escort. I think I'm developing feelings for him and Melanie keeps saying that I am but I just don't know yet..
I don't know why I'm telling you this. The fact that you're not going to tell anyone or the fact that I don't know you really helps in telling stuff-I guess..
Anyway, what surprise?
Elene.
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