And if you feel you're sinking, I will jump right over,
Into cold, cold water for you.
-Justin Bieber, Cold Water
~*~
I could have followed Zach's advice. I could have picked up my phone right then and given Jason a call, asking him to come over.
But the first emotion I felt -- betrayal -- prevented me from doing so.
So, instead, I called Lizzie once more. After a couple of rings, I'd nearly given up, but at the fifth ring, someone picked up.
"Cath, I can't talk to you right now. I -- "
"Lizzie, Jace is Mystery Boy," I said, cutting her off.
That effectively shut her up. "What?" she asked, her voice seeping with incredulity. "You're kidding, right?'
"I'm completely serious, Liz," I answered. "Jason Harley is Mystery Boy."
"But . . . " Her voice trailed off, mid-sentence. "Why?"
"Do I look like I know?" My patience was starting to wear off, and my anger and frustration were starting to take over. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
There was silence at the other for a few seconds. "Whatever, he's a jerk. You deserve way better, Cath."
I was about to mumble a, "Yeah," before I realized the situation in which I was put into. Instead, I sat up straighter on the couch and furrowed my eyebrows in a questioning manner. "Liz?'
"Yeah?"
"Are we . . . are we good?"
"It takes more than a stupid boy to take me away from you, McKinns. Now, shut up, I'm coming over."
My face stretching into an unconscious grin, I heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm not stopping you."
"Make sure to keep a bunch of chick-flicks and junk food ready."
I let out a chuckle, making a mental note that of that. "Done."
~*~
"School sucks," Lizzie muttered, kicking aside a stray pencil. "I mean, how are we supposed to write ten pages about Natural Disasters by this weekend?"
"It's not a lot if you think about it." I concentrated on Lizzie as she spoke, determined not to let my mind wander again.
I'd been screamed at in four classes for not paying attention that day, not to mention neglecting my History assignment. To top it all, I hadn't seen Jason all day; he'd apparently stayed home, sick.
"Cath?" Lizzie waved her hand in front of my face, frowning deeply. "Cath!"
"Oh, God." I shook my head like a wet dog and groaned loudly. "I was doing it again, wasn't I?"
This time, however, Lizzie didn't scream at me. She didn't talk to me about 'Paying attention for dummies'. She just looked at me silently, her deep-brown eyes brewing with concern.
"You should talk to him, Cath," she said, her voice soft. "You . . . look, there he comes!"
I froze in my tracks, my heart sinking low. I locked eyes with Jason, and when he looked back, my heart started thumping faster. My body shook with suppressed anger as I glared at him, throwing daggers with my eyes.
His easy expression shifted, and his deep-blue eyes turned wide with confusion. He raised an eyebrow in question and started walking towards me.
I grabbed Lizzie's arm and turned the other way. "Let's go," I told her, not wanting to see him then.
"Hey." I inhaled deeply as I felt a tap on my shoulder but I didn't turn around. "Cat?"
"You know, we should do our ten-page assignment together," I told Lizzie loudly, drowning out Jason's voice. "Come over today."
Lizzie nodded, her mouth pressed into a thin line. Her eyes kept flitting over her shoulder to look at Jason.
"Cat?"
This time, I turned, my eyes blazing with anger. I stared at him and gave a sickly-sweet smile. "Why, Jason! I didn't see you there."
He took a step back, confusion written all over his face. "Is everything alright?" he asked me slowly as if he was analyzing his words.
"Hmm, let's see." I looked up, narrowing my eyes in apparent thought. "My best friend ran out on me. He kissed me and didn't reply to my calls. He lied to me and let his friend cover for him. Oh, everything's just fine!"
Jason's confused expression morphed into one of utter shock. He opened his mouth wide and began stuttering. "I -- I can -- "
"What? You can explain?" I scoffed, raising my eyebrows incredulously. "Well, it's too late for that."
Saying so, I swung around and, along with Lizzie, I walked away from him. I walked away from my best friend, or someone who used to be that.
However, I couldn't resist turning back to look at Jason once more.
The look on his face almost broke my heart. The keyword being -- Almost.
• • • • •
A knock on the door made me sit up straight in my bed, and I pat down my ragged curls nervously. "Come in!"
And when the door opened, it wasn't quite exactly who I expected it to be. Although I was pretty close.
"What's up?" I asked, my voice reaching an octave higher in surprise. "Is there something wrong?"
"No . . . why should there be?" Zach asked, tilting his head. "Should there be something wrong for me to come visit you?"
"I know you aren't here because you want to be, Zach. Things haven't been 'Just Fine' between us for a while, now."
"Why is that?"
"Um," I stared at him funnily, wondering how dense he seemed to be. "I treated you like crap for more than a week thinking that -- "
"Oh, alright." He rolled his eyes; the first sign that he wasn't pleased to be there. "I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
"You must know that by now."
"Humor me." I folded my legs and leaned back on a pillow, waiting for Zach to say the most predictable words of the century.
"I need to talk to you about Jason."
~*~
One more chapter to go! Oh my god!
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