Chapter 21:
Rose.
There was noise all around me. Smiling faces surrounded me. Julia and Tommy. Matt and Haley. Soon there would be Krista and Drew and I would still be alone. And that's how it would always be. I couldn't afford to hurt the people I cared about most, but the only way to protect them was to leave. To leave and never come back. I looked at the way Julia's eyes lit up when she talked to Tommy. I noticed the small smile that spread across Haley's face at the mere mention of Matt's name. So did they really need me here? They had other people that made them happy and they had each other. I sighed, standing up. "Where are you going?" Julia asks, looking at me with skeptical eyes.
I hesitated. Sometimes I felt transparent around her and Haley. Like they could see my every thought written on my forehead. Julia seemed to be more aware that something was going on with me. Part of me thought about telling her. If anyone could keep a secret, even from her best friends, it was Julia. But I didn't want to burden her and I didn't want to make her do that. Asking her to keep something from Haley and everyone else... I knew she would, but I didn't want her to.
"To scrape my tray and go to the bathroom." I say, trying my hardest not to act like I was thinking about leaving them. I turn before I give myself away, carrying my tray to the trash can and grabbing the lavatory pass. I stride out of the cafeteria and into the bathroom, sinking against the wall as soon as the door is closed. No one else is in here and I'm grateful for my moment alone. My moment of silence. I take deep, steady breaths, trying to calm myself down.
C'mon, Rose. You don't have time for an emotional breakdown. I chide myself. I straighten myself up and look in the mirror, making sure I look normal. Or as normal as I can look. Surprisingly, it seems like the emotional turmoil that's been making its way through me has not affected my facial features. My eyes are emotionless, giving nothing away. I offer my reflection a slight smile before walking back to our lunch table.
I blend right back in with my friends. They don't stop their conversing, and I join back in easily. This is the way it's always been. I notice Aaron glancing at someone two tables away. I fix my eyes on the person. I see a girl with long, wavy brown hair with blonde highlights and striking blue-green eyes with flecks of brown. She was one of the smart girls. Jenna. I didn't speak up and tell him I noticed the way he was looking at her. He used to look at Julia that way. He liked her.
Even though I hadn't been as close to him lately, I wanted to talk to him about this. I wanted him to tell me. The curiosity was eating away at me, but I knew I couldn't say anything right now, at least. Julia and Aaron were practically best friends now, but I wasn't sure if she still had a sore spot about him breaking up with her.
Krista.
"Drew, where are we going?" I complain as he leads me up another flight of stairs.
"You'll love it." Is his only response.
I scowl at the back of his head. We go up another flight of stairs and come to a door. He puts his hand on the doorknob before looking back to me. "You ready?"
I narrow my eyes at him. "Did you bring me up here so you could kill me?"
He rolls his eyes at me. "No. God, Krista, I'm trying to be a nice boy-- uh, nice friend here."
Drew opens the door and it swings open to reveal something I didn't know Drew was capable of. Dozens of flowers and plants are up here with sweet scented candles and in the center is a table with a picnic basket on top set for two. "How did you--"
He cuts me off. "I present to you, the school's rooftop garden." My mouth falls open and he offers me an impish grin that quickly vanishes. "I mean, if you don't like it, then we can leave... I just thought that girls liked... You know.."
"It's perfect." I tell him, smiling. He returns it and picks a daisy, walking over to me. He brushes some of my hair behind my ear and puts the flower in my hair, holding it back. His eyes sparkle as he looks at me.
"You're beautiful."
I look away, feeling the blush creeping on to my cheeks. He doesn't let me for long. He rests his hands on either side of my face before bringing it to his. He kisses me softly and my heart begins to race. He pulls away quickly though, a look of anger on his face. "We have a lot to talk about though."
"I thought we've been through this." I say.
"Yeah, and I know that I can't be without you, but I also need to know what you're keeping from me."
"Please don't ruin this. This place, you, everything is perfect. Can we just pretend last time didn't happen?" I plead.
"How are you doing this to me?" He asks, looking away. Tears are in the back of my eyes. I could end this bet right now. I could tell him the truth and that I loved him. But I know that even though it sounds easy, it's not. One: I don't want to pay for dinner. Two: If he finds out how I feel, he might hurt me. I need to hear him say the words first.
"Doing what?"
"Making me crazy!" He exclaims.
"You were already crazy!" I protest.
"You're going to regret saying that." He says, mischief twinkling in his eyes.
I laugh. "How-- wait, no. Stop. No! STOP IT, DREW!" I shriek as he runs over and begins tickling me. It gets harder to breathe as he continues to tickle me. I gasp for breath.
"I have one more surprise for you." He says as he stops tickling me.
"What is it?"
"I've decided that you're right. I'm going to forget about the last time because it doesn't matter. All that matters is right here, right now. You and me... Together." He takes my hand in his. I look down at our intertwining fingers and look back to his eyes.
"Okay," I smile.
"Would you like to be my date to the spring dance?" He asks.
I feel my smile widen. "Yes."
Rose.
"So." I say awkwardly, sitting on the swing.
"So?" He mimics me in a questioning way. I don't know what he thinks about this. Probably something along the lines of 'she stopped being my friend for the longest time. What does she want from me now?'
I couldn't blame him. I would feel the same way. "How are you?"
"I'm fine...?" He looks at me with his blue-gray eyes. "How are you?"
"Never better." I lie casually. My hands in my lap indicate differently. I tap my fingers on my legs, clasp them together, and unclasp them again and again. Not that he notices. Not that anyone would notice.
We swing together in silence for a couple minutes. It's not one of those comfortable silences. In fact, it's incredibly awkward for me. I'm not sure how he feels about it until he breaks the thick silence. He found it awkward too. "Okay, I give up. What do you want?" He demands.
I try not to flinch or jump when he speaks. "Do you like her?" I brush a strand of hair behind my ear as I ask him. The question catches him off guard.
"Like who? Are you talking about Julia, because I swear to God--"
"Sh, Aaron. Calm down. I meant Jenna." I cut him off.
He heaves a deep sigh before answering. "I'm sorry. It's just that I do feel bad about how I ended things with Julia before. She doesn't care. She just wants to be friends. But to answer your question..." He pauses. "I might."
I smile. I knew it. I mean, of course I knew it. Even if we weren't as close anymore, he had still been my best friend and he hasn't changed much. "I ship it. Jaaron." I say.
He rolls his eyes at me. "Is that seriously all you wanted?"
"You act like this is a surprise. What were you expecting?"
"Honestly, I thought you were going to take me to a dark alley and kill me for hurting your best friend." His grin tells me he's joking, but his eyes tell me that it was a legitimate fear. I almost laugh.
"We could do that too," I offer, shrugging my shoulders.
"I'm surprised." He tells me. I look at him, slightly confused.
"About?"
"It's been awhile since the thing with Julia. But you haven't even said anything to me, really. You haven't punched me or broken any of my bones and you haven't run over me with a car... I was expecting at least some yelling and swearing." He explains.
"Julia is happy, so it doesn't really matter."
"What about when she wasn't happy?" He inquires.
"She wouldn't have wanted me to hurt you. Physically or with words." I tell him. It's true. I could've taken him to a dark alley and killed him. I could've sworn him out. I could've made it so he could never have children. No one is allowed to hurt Julia or Haley. But as much as I would've loved to hurt Aaron, she would've been more upset with me. I shake my head. "Let's forget about it. Like I said-- she's happy. Tommy isn't going to be breaking her heart any time soon. I see no reason to be angry with you."
"Are you serious?!" His voice begins to rise in excitement.
"Yes, now I'm gonna go before I change my mind." I say, jumping off the swing and walking away. All of the sudden, I feel the need to run. Run as fast and far as I can from everything even if it's only for a little while. I should probably go back to my house to change my shoes. Keds aren't exactly running shoes. But I don't feel like I have time for that. I feel like I need to go now. So I take off sprinting, flying past Julia's house and across the street. I keep running and everything blurs around me.
The acceleration of my heart and the steady sound of my breath is comforting to me. I'm brought to an abrupt stop when my body slams into something-- or someone. My eyes meet a pair of blue, or are they green? eyes. His hair is dark brown, nearly black, and the perfect length. Not too short, not too long. My heart melted at the sight of him. So attractive. Was it illegal for someone to be this attractive?? I think it should be. "Uh... Um. I-- I'm sorry," I stutter. Smooth, Rose.
"It's fine. Why were you running so fast anyway?"
"It's my way of calming down and thinking." I say. I give him another glance. "Why haven't I seen you at school?"
"Just moved here. My dad is really easy going and thinks that I should wait until next year to start at the school. He's going to homeschool me for the remainder of this year." He answers.
I raise my eyebrows. "That sounds cool." Is all I can manage to say.
"So I'll see you around...?" He falters, realizing he doesn't know my name.
"Rose." I supply.
He smiles warmly and repeats me. "Rose. Thanks. My name is Isaac."
He has to leave so he continues walking in the direction he was before I ran into him. I stay in my place, completely frozen. Isaac.
His hair. His eyes. His entire face. I'm brought back to reality when my phone begins to ring in my pocket. I bring it to my ear without looking at the screen. "Hello?"
"Rose, we need to talk." Julia says.
"About what?"
"Just..." She hesitates. "Talk."
"Go to my house. I'll be there in a few minutes." I end the call before she can say anything else and sigh. What does she want? Why isn't she just with Tommy?
I start running back to my house, only slowing down when I can see it. I walk the rest of the way, opening the front door and closing it behind me. Julia is waiting for me on my couch.
"Hi," I say, unsure what exactly the right procedure is because I don't know what she wants.
"What are you planning, Rose? You've been out of it for weeks. Even Haley is beginning to notice."
"I'm not planning anything." Just my imminent departure.
"Bull shit. I can see it in your eyes."
I feel anger begin to rise inside me. It's perfect for the lie I'm about to tell. "Alright, fine." I snap. "You want to know what I'm planning? I'm planning on taking a group of people to Disney this summer as a gift. You wanna know why I disappear randomly and why I have to leave early or why I can't always hang out? It's because I got a job. So I can pay for everyone and everything."
Julia is taken aback. "Uh... Uh, um..." She struggles for words.
"That's what I thought." I say, still angry.
"But why are you doing this?" She asks.
"It's like a graduation gift. I want one more adventure with our friends before we all leave to different colleges and pursue our different careers." I feel like I'm about to choke on the words as they come out of my mouth. Planning the future had never been a strong suit of mine, and I knew I wasn't alone. Just mentioning 'pursuing our different careers' put Julia on the edge of her seat, her jaw clenched, and her fingernails pressed into her palms. She was just as, if not more, squeamish about the future as I was.
She nods slowly. "That's... Nice of you. I honestly wasn't expecting that."
That's because it's not what I was planning; you were probably right the first time. The thought shouts in my mind, but I don't voice it. "Don't tell anyone yet. I don't know if I'll be able to get enough money before I want to take the trip." I say, instead.
She smiles. "So who were you going to invite?"
"You and Haley, obviously. Matt and Tommy. If I get a boyfriend, him. Zoe. I was thinking maybe Xavier. And Sean."
She furrows her eyebrows. “Sean? We hardly ever talk to him.”
“Well… I do. He’s in a lot of my classes. If you remember, we used to talk to him in like eighth grade. He was in your homeroom.” I remind her.
She tries to remember and then a flash of recognition comes into her eyes and she smiles. “He was such a nerd.”
I roll my eyes. “He still is.”
“I’m sorry that I didn’t let it be a surprise.” she says, chagrined.
I smile, probably looking reassuring to her, but really it’s relief that she believed me. Hopefully I’d be able to follow through with the Disney trip because it actually wasn’t a half bad idea. “It’s alright.”
“I’ll go now.” she laughs and I nod as she leaves. When I hear the door close behind her, I sit on the couch and sigh deeply. That was actually quite close. I’d have to be more careful.
Julia.
I wasn’t 100% sure that Rose was telling the truth, but I guess I would see when we were on a plane to Disney. After my confrontation with Rose, I walked over to my own house and went inside, closing the door behind me. "Jules?" My dad called from the living room.
"Yeah, Dad?" I called back, putting my keys on the kitchen counter and walking into the living room where he was sitting on the couch.
"I just wanted to make sure it was you."
"Who else would it have been?" I ask, rolling my eyes. He shakes his head at me, signaling for me to shut up. With that, I walk out of the room and up to my bedroom, falling onto my bed and sighing in exhaustion. I closed my eyes, ready to take a nap when my phone started to ring. I pulled it out of my pocket and stared at the caller ID for a moment. Haley?
"Hello?" I answer.
"Hi, what are you up to?" Her voice sounds on the other end of the phone.
"Just laying on my bed, why?"
"Dress shopping?"
"Okay, when?"
"Now?"
"Who's driving?" I ask, wondering if I need to get my keys.
"Rose said she wanted to drive."
"I'll be out in a couple seconds."
I don my sweatshirt and slip on my Vans before walking down the steps and out the door. I go to stand out front and I'm only standing there a couple minutes before Rose pulls up. "Get in, loser, we're going shopping." She says with a laugh and I get in the car.
"Okay, Regina George." I say sarcastically.
The car ride is full of weird jokes and singing at the top of our lungs to the songs on the radio. In a matter of minutes, we’re walking through the mall and into one of our favorite dress shops. Normally, when the three of us went dress shopping, Rose would choose her dress last. This time, on the other hand, Rose found the dress that she liked first. Rose took a few minutes in the dressing room. “Are you almost done in there?” I inquire near the door.
“Yes, I just don’t know if I should pick this one.” she calls back.
“Well, you could come out and we could tell you what we think.” I suggest. Rose swings the door open and I analyze the dress. It’s white with multiple cutout details and a zipper on the back. She looks at us expectantly.
“I like it. I think it suits you.” I compliment her.
“Haley?” she prompts.
“It’s cool. I think you should definitely get it.” Haley smiles.
After a little while, we buy Rose’s dress and head to a different store in the mall. We walk around for a few minutes when I spot the color. “Wait, guys.” I say and walk over to the dress. “Haley, you should try this on.”
I can see that she likes it as soon as she sets her eyes on it. “Yeah, I will.”
Haley looks beautiful when she comes out of the dressing room. It’s mint green and has a sweetheart neckline with a perfect a-line skirt and elegant charcoal-colored roses that pepper the dress. I smile widely at her. “I knew you’d look nice in that dress.”
After looking for like ten minutes, I finally find a dress that I like for myself. In the dressing room, I look at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes go from the sequined white lace at the top to the light pink a-line skirt. I smile at myself as I twirl around once and giggle as I face my reflection again.
“Jules, what are you doing in there that you’re giggling?” Rose says with a short laugh.
“Nothing, I was just spinning.”
“Well, stop it and come out. We want to see.”
I roll my eyes as I walk out of the small dressing room to meet them. “It’s perfect.” Haley says with a slight grin.
“It’s so you.” Rose says.
“Thanks?” I answer with a chuckle. “We should go to the food court and get something to eat.”
~*~
“You know what I’ve wanted to do for a really long time?” I ask, putting a French fry into my mouth.
“What?” Rose responds, taking a sip from her milkshake.
“Get a haircut. Like really short.”
“Then why haven’t you done it?” Haley questions.
“I don’t know.” I shrug my shoulders.
“You should get your hair cut.” Haley says, already excited.
“Yeah, you can surprise Tommy.” Rose smiles coyly.
Oh. Tommy. Crap. “Never mind, I won’t get a haircut.”
Haley furrows her eyebrows. “What? Why not?”
“What if Tommy doesn’t like it?” I begin to worry.
Rose rolls her eyes at me. “Tommy is not going to break up with you if you get a haircut, Jules. And if he does, he very obviously does not deserve you.”
“Okay, let’s go before I change my mind again.”
As we walk out of the food court, Haley says “If he doesn’t like it, I could always grab a pair of scissors and give him a really bad haircut.”
I chuckle at the idea of Haley giving Tommy a haircut. We continue walking until the neon pink sign of the hair salon comes into view. In just a few short minutes, I was sitting in one of the chairs with a cape wrapped around me. “How short do you want your hair, Julia?” a lady with a name tag that reads Heather asks me.
I indicate the length I want with my finger and she smiles, nodding. “That’s going to look so nice.”
Heather jokes around with Haley, Rose, and me as she cuts my hair and I watch as long strands of hair fall onto the floor. Part of me wanted to cry because I was not used to short hair and in fact, when I was in fourth grade and my hair was short, I hated it and vowed to never cut my hair again. My phone vibrates in my pocket and I ask Heather if I can check it.
“Sure, I’ll stop for a minute so you can get it out!” she says in her sweet voice. I grab my phone and slide the lock over, opening the text.
Jules, where are you guys?
I chuckle as I think of an answer.
The strip club (; why?
As soon as he reads that text, my phone starts ringing. I laugh. “Why is he calling you??” Rose wonders in an amused voice.
“Because I told him we were at the strip club.” I say as I answer his call. “Hello?”
“Julia,” Tommy starts.
“Oh, chill out, Maestro. I’m not at a strip club. I’m at the hair salon.”
“A hair salon? Why?”
“I’m getting a haircut.” I say in a mocking tone.
“Are you sure you want a buzz cut, Julia?” Heather says loudly so that Tommy can hear and my hand flies up to cover my mouth so I don’t laugh.
“Yes, I’m sure, Heather. Thank you.” I manage a semi-serious tone.
“What?!” Tommy demands.
“Well, I gotta go, Tommy. See ya later.” I say and before he can get another word out, I hang up on him before bursting out into laughter.
By the time my hair is done, I have been told that I’m a superhero because of the cape that was around me and that I should have gotten the buzz cut just to see the expression on Tommy’s face. I rolled my eyes at both of those things. I stared at my reflection in the long vanity mirror in front of me, adjusting to the not so subtle difference in my hair. It still had its curl/wave and I still had bangs, but it was a lot shorter and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. “So what do you think?” Heather asks, beaming at my reflection. My green brown eyes look warily from her to my hair and back.
“I like it, but it’s going to take a lot of getting used to.” I let out a short laugh.
She nods in understanding. “You’ll have to come back and tell me how Tommy reacts.” she winks.
“I will.” I respond, smirking.
~*~
I told Tommy and Matt to meet Rose, Haley, and me at the park because I didn’t want my dad to interrogate Tommy when he walked in to my house. Somehow, I’d managed to keep my boyfriend away from my father and I wanted to keep it that because God only knows what would happen. That goes for the rest of the family too. I was dreading the day my aunts told me to invite my boyfriend to a family meal.
I was thoroughly amused with the relieved expression on Tommy’s face when he saw that my hair was still somewhat there and not the buzz cut we’d told him I was getting. “So you like it?” I ask him, smiling.
“You look perfect, as usual.” he returns my smile automatically. I can almost feel Rose’s disgust at the mushiness of the comment, but she keeps her mouth shut.
“Thank you. I’m glad you’re okay with it. I was afraid you wouldn’t like it.” I admit.
Tommy shakes his head and rolls his eyes at me. “You’re so weird. Sometimes, you could care less what other people think of you, but then when it comes to getting your own hair cut, you worry that I won’t like it.”
“It made sense in my mind, okay.” I try to defend myself.
“What did you think was going to happen if I didn’t like your haircut?” his eyes are pools of mockery and laughter.
“I don’t know, to be honest. I guess my subconscious was worried that you’d break up with me or something.”
He seems to lose control of his laughter because he bursts out in an uncontrollable fit of it. “Right, I’m going to break up with the best person I’ve ever met because she changed her hairstyle.” he says sarcastically.
“I told you, it made sense in my mind at the time.” I repeat. A small part of me seems to let go of a breath I didn’t know I was holding though.
I look at Rose and Haley then in surprise because I forgot something rather important. “Do you think we’re going to win that bet this weekend at the dance?”
“Oh shit, the bet. How did we forget to sabotage the bet?” Rose puts her head in her hands.
“It’s okay. I think I saw them go to the rooftop garden during lunch and that means one of them probably asked the other to the dance up there.” Haley reassures the two of us.
I nod. “I think we still have a pretty good chance of winning this.”
End of Chapter 21.
A/N: Last chapter is nexxxtttttt!! I hope you all liked this chapter and if you did, make sure you vote & comment & follow us c:. It’s been crazy. While we were writing this chapter, we actually were surprised that the next chapter is going to be the last one. The epilogue will be the dinner (; and then we will be working on a third book (probably), but I can’t tell you when we’ll be starting that because I actually don’t know myself. So, um, yeah. Ilyasm and I’m glad that you took the time to read our story <3 c: --A and E