[A/N: Song for the chapter:
- Owl City // Shooting Star]
The aroma of popcorn settled around Blake's bedroom when he strolled in, holding two large bowls overflowing with it.
"Finally," Mona drawled, looking up from her cellphone as she spun around on his computer chair. "Were you jerking off down there or does it really take ten minutes to make popcorn?"
Leaning back on his desk, I nudged her with my shoulder, discreetly laughing before sparing Blake an apologetic smile after he finished giving us both a mocking glare.
"If you keep up with those snarky comments you won't be getting any," He winked at her and I sniggered when her cheeks turned red.
"Shut the hell up!" She hissed, before drinking in my raised eyebrow. "I mean, it's not like I want..." Mona trailed off when Blake waggled his eyebrows and let out a frustrated shriek. "Stop looking at me like that! Like I would ever stoop that low! You're nowhere near hot!"
Pushing myself off his mahogany desk, I sloped along the carpet and jumped onto his Captain America bed sheets. Propping up his pillows, I leaned against the headboard and watched my friends bicker about Blake's ability to pull girls.
"You do realise that six girls have already asked me to homecoming right?" He crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly trying to make his already massive muscles bulge out even more.
Mona rolled her eyes and picked at her cuticles.
"And at least half of them were part of Michelle's clique?"
Blake scoffed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah, so what? They still count."
She wrinkled her nose with disgust and laughed.
"No they don't. And the other half were underclassmen, am I correct?"
Blake's neck started to redden and he turned his head to the side, perplexed that his ego was being crushed to a pulp.
"Well it's not like you've had guys lining up to ask you to homecoming!" He bit back, trying to push Mona's buttons like she had done to him.
I expected her to come up with a smartass retort but she gnawed on her bottom lip.
"Actually Simon asked me," She mumbled in a hushed tone, refusing to meet our gawking expressions.
"Oh, is that so?" Blake snapped, breaking the silence just as I squealed, "That's amazing!"
"Yeah," She looked at me with an uncertain smile and I felt like she was communicating something I couldn't decipher.
What was wrong with Simon? He wasn't all that bad looking - light brown hair, deep blue eyes and a nice, lean body - and he's the goalkeeper for our soccer team, so he couldn't be that much of a loser.
Well, we did hate all the guys on the soccer team besides Blake but Simon was less of a douchebag than the others, like Dylan and Jonah.
"Did you say yes?" I prodded gently, giving her smile as opposed Blake's deep scowl.
She shook her head, lifting up her brown eyes to meet his.
"Well that must have crushed him," Blake laughed and I frowned at his insensitivity.
What was his problem? Mona may be a loud mouth, outgoing ball of energy, but she was beyond considerate and I was sure she felt guilty for rejecting Simon.
"Blake!" I hissed warningly when Mona stared at the ground with a pained grimace.
His features softened, "Don't worry, I'm sure one of Michelle's minions will take pity on him."
"Yeah," Mona breathed a bitter laugh. Their eyes locked and they shared a warm smile and I had to admit, it was rather strange.
Why on earth did I just feel like I was a third wheel?
"Is it me or is it getting hot in here?" I laughed, fanning my face and forcing them to break their long eye contact. Flustered, they both flashed me a filthy look as I grabbed another pillow to wedge between the headboard and my back. "What? Don't look at me like that. I can feel the sexual tension between you two and it's-"
"Ash?"
I broke off my meaningless joke and was startled by fuming green eyes that threatened to shred my limbs.
"Yes Blake?" I sighed.
"Shut up."
I rolled my eyes and held my hands out, feeling the need to stuff my face with popcorn rather than watch my friends act weird.
Blake stiffly handed me the two bowls and crossed the room to his massive shelf of DVDs, squeezing Mona's shoulder on the way.
"So what's it gonna be?" He mused, tracing a finger along an entire row before taking a small step back to eye all eight rows.
I had to admit that his extensive collection of movies was the best I had ever seen. Perched on a matte black shelf that took up almost an entire wall, each row could hold up to twenty DVDs. I don't know where he got the money to spend so much on movies alone since his parents weren't rich, but Blake seemed to buy a handful every month, including all the new releases even though we went to the movie theatre at least once a week.
He had every genre, sorted in alphabetical order, even chick flicks and black and white movies.
I guess that's why he could quote thousands of film dialogues's off by heart.
He was an undercover movie dork.
"The Fault in Our Stars!" I instantly shot before Mona could beat me.
We had this rule that whoever yelled a movie first would win, so I always lost to my loud mouth friend. Sometimes we screamed at the top of our lungs until Mrs Sinclair would stand at the foot of the stairs, threatening to kick us out if we didn't shut up.
Mona positioned herself at the foot of the bed and Blake stretched himself along my legs, placing a pillow between us so that his massive head wouldn't break my legs.
As we waited for the movie to start, Mona asked Blake why he kept turning up late to homeroom for the past week. Exhaustion lined his usually bright eyes and he rubbed his thighs to ease his tight muscles.
"Coach Webber doesn't a repeat of our crushing losses last season so he's been killing us with double practice every day," He sighed, lazily lifting the remote and selecting subtitles due to my adamant request.
Watching a movie with these two was like watching a soccer match with live commentary, so subtitles were a must.
"Everyday?" Mona echoed, rolling onto her stomach and shooting him a concerned and incredulous look.
He also rolled onto his stomach and sighed heavily, raking a hand through his dishevelled hair. Black strands stood tall and Mona flattened them for him. Grateful at her affectionate gesture, he smoothed his hair back and turned his gaze to me.
"Considering how crap the team's form is, I don't blame him. We'd be lucky to win against Preston High in our first game."
I nodded, understanding that the soccer team hadn't been faring too well against the other teams in the state, especially since Tyler's abrupt departure. Most of the old team had graduated last year or the year before, leaving positions vacant for the underclassmen to fill up. And let's just say they needed a lot of work if they were going to live up to the glorious line up that Tyler captained.
"When's the first game of the season?" I asked, shoving a fistful of popcorn into my mouth.
"Next Friday. You two are coming right?"
Mona and I nodded enthusiastically.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," She grinned before her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Who's hosting the afterparty?"
There had been some talk between the upperclassmen concerning that issue since the team captain usually held that honour. But after Dylan's crap party last year, a lot of seniors wanted to change the tradition. I guess no other team captain could live up to the crazy party Tyler hosted in tenth grade. At least he treated the rival school with respect and didn't beat their captain to a pulp.
Inviting the opposing school was supposed to be a pleasant way to thank the rival team for a good match, but Dylan spat on the St. Jude's Catholic School last year, tarnishing the reputation of our respectable team.
Blake sighed, "Probably Jonah since his house is large enough to hold that many people. Lord save us if Dylan tries to cram the entire school into his house again."
I wrinkled my nose at the mention of the Neanderthal but nodded. It made sense since he lived close to Tyler so his house was similar in size.
"Do we have to go to the party? I mean we could just drink and hang out at here," I whined, receiving incredulous looks from my friends.
"Are you seriously asking us that question?" Mona rolled her eyes.
I sighed and shook my head, lapsing into silence as the beginning credits rolled onto the television screen. I guess they enjoyed the havoc at Dylan's party last year but I personally didn't find any amusement in escaping the cops that paraded into the house. Jumping over the picket fence and stumbling into the woods to avoid getting arrested didn't seem fun at all. Especially if I had to drag my trashed friend across the ground while she sang Bieber tunes at the top of her lungs.
Thankfully Blake passed out towards the end of the movie so the two sided commentary died and I got to sob over the plot in quiet whilst Mona tried to conceal her sniffles. She retrieved the DVD when the movie finished and placed it back in it's case, taking care not to scratch the surface with her immaculate, long nails.
Neither of us got up to turn on the lights so we sat in darkness, trying to snap out of the movie's touching final scenes.
"So, um," Mona cleared her throat but her voice was still thick with emotion. "Has anyone asked you to the dance?"
Glad to think about anything else but the movie, I gently lifted Blake's head and wedged a pillow beneath it before I crawled off the bed and sat on the floor beside Mona.
"I don't really want to go this year." I mumbled, feeling too ashamed to admit that I didn't have a date.
She rose an eyebrow, scanning my downfallen expression in the dimly lit room. The sun was on the verge of disappearing behind the horizon, bathing the entire room in a soft, orange glow that seems to complement Blake's pale green walls.
"Why don't you go with Tyler? You two seem really cosy lately," I expected her to mock me, but her voice was strangely factual.
"Cosy isn't really the best term to use," I breathed, picking at split ends that frayed the end of my curls. I really needed a haircut soon. "We're just friends, that's all."
Mona let out a light laugh before giving me a serious look.
"Friends can be a quite flexible term sometimes."
I arched an eyebrow, bumping my shoulder against hers to silence her.
"Cut the crap," I smiled when she nudged me back. "I'm not gonna ask him to homecoming. That's just embarrassing."
Defiance made her stick her chest out and I bit back a laugh at her stubbornness.
"Girls can ask guys Ashley," Her voice was flat, complimenting her deadpan expression.
"Girls can ask Tyler Miller and receive a straight-ass no," I used the same tone as her.
Mona crossed her legs and pulled her knee high socks down to her ankles, rubbing her calves before rolling her eyes at me.
"Have you seen how that guy watches you in class? He wouldn't say no to you if asked for a freaking diamond ring."
I frowned, thinking back to how he had shut me down in class today when I brought up the idea of seeing Dr Jillian. I thought back to how he had refused to clear out Taylor's room and how he always pegged me to do the washing up even when it was his turn.
Mona was wrong; totally and utterly wrong.
"Yeah right," I drawled sarcastically. "I'd rather smell Blake's dirty soccer jersey than ask Tyler. He'd probably laugh at me for the rest of senior year."
She huffed, grumbling about my naïvety.
"Suit yourself then. Watch when you end up dancing with Jonah because he'll know that you don't have a date and will make yet another move."
I laughed, "I'll knee him so hard that his manhood will turn inside out and disappear into his body, leaving him with a damn vagina."
We guffawed silently, trying to muffle our laughter since Blake was snoring just centimetres away from us.
"Why are you so desperate that I find a date when you still haven't found one?" I asked when we calmed down, thinking back to the strange expression that she had shot in my direction earlier.
Her eyes slid towards the bed and a fleeting expression skirted her brown eyes when they laid upon Blake's sleeping form. Confusion clouded my mind before a hard-hitting realisation made my jaw unhinge.
"Seriously?" I gawked when her eyes slid back to mine, startled by my sudden outburst.
Instantly, I shut my mouth and shook my head, blinking a few times to compose myself.
Blake and Mona?
No way.
No freaking way!
"Are you trying to change the subject so that you won't have to ask Tyler to be your date?" Mona sang and I gulped loudly, struggling to wrap my head around my sudden realisation.
Either I was blind, or this seed had been planted in the past few weeks that I've spent focusing on helping Tyler. They never used to act like this, gooey eyed and secretive smiles when we hung out all the time after school. Lately I had been blowing them off to spend time with Tyler, but I didn't realise they'd been hanging out without me.
I narrowed my eyes at her before a genius idea struck me. I knew the perfect way to get her off my back about Tyler. I doubt she had the balls to do this anyway.
"Okay," I drawled. "How about we make a deal?"
Brown eyes sparkled with delight and she edged closer to me, eager to hear my proposition.
"I'll ask Tyler to homecoming if you ask Blake."
It took every muscle around my mouth to contract in order to suppress a wide grin when her skin paled.
"What?" Mona squeaked.
I slung an arm around her shoulder but she shrugged me off, scooting back as if I had just suggested that she jump off a cliff.
"Don't act like you weren't relieved that he turned down those six girls."
Her eyes flashed, two pink spots creeping onto her cheeks as she coughed violently.
"Yeah! Because we both know Blake can do better!" She replied hotly as if that was the most logical explanation ever.
Grinning at her, I wondered why it had taken me so long to figure out the underlying tension that my two friends carried under their mutual love-hate friendship.
"Exactly," I smirked slyly, "And who better than you?"
**
That night, after suffering a silent treatment from Mona for coming up with an 'offensive' suggestion, she drove me home. I couldn't figure out how it was deemed as offensive if she asked Blake to the dance. He was, as painful as it was admit it, very attractive - if large Bambi eyes, muscles and a dirty mind was her type. I mean, he was smart, funny, caring and extremely annoying to deal with during his childish fits. And he never ever resorted to violence like Tyler, Dylan and Jonah. What was there not to like?
Pushing my friends out of my mind, I could worry about their issues tomorrow. Right now I was too tired to think about anything besides my bed.
Kissing Mom goodnight, we parted ways in the hallway and I bundled myself into my bed. Exhaustion crept into my muscles, weighing them down like solidified lead and I slipped off my glasses, gingerly placing them on my bedside table.
There was no point waiting to fall asleep like a normal person because my mind was a raging insomniac who could ramble throughout the entire night - anything to avoid the terrible dreams, and I didn't blame it for keeping me wide awake for hours.
I pulled out my phone from under my pillow and squinted at the screen, grumbling that it was past midnight before placing it on my bedside table. Picking up a glass of water, I popped a sleeping pill into my mouth and washed it down, scrunching my face up at the bitter aftertaste.
Although they were pretty strong, using them excessively over the years were making me slightly immune. It was going to take about twenty minutes for the drowsiness to start kicking in so I laid back and stared at the dull stick-on-stars on my ceiling.
When a sudden buzz vibrated my bedside table, I shot up and patted blindedly for my phone.
"Hello?" I grunted into my phone, not bothering to check the caller ID.
There was an awful lot of movement on the line, muffling the person's response, but I'd always be able to recognise that deep voice anywhere.
"Tyler?" I murmured, before jolting out of my drowsy state. "Tyler! Are you okay? Why are you calling so late?"
His deep chuckle made my stiff shoulders deflate with relief and I sank even further into my mattress.
"Relax Ashley, I just need you to do something for me before I change my mind."
There was more shuffling as if he was struggling to get comfortable in his bed and I felt myself smile at the thought of Tyler tucked up, safe and well.
"Yeah sure, anything, you name it." I replied in a hushed voice, turning onto my side to eye my ajar bedroom door. I didn't want to wake Mom since she had an important board meeting tomorrow with the chief executives of the company she worked for.
Tyler went quiet for a couple of seconds, breathing softly and for a moment, I actually pictured him beside me, watching me earnestly as he thought deeply. It was a comforting image but I couldn't suppress my blush. Still, I was grateful he wasn't here to see it. That would have been beyond embarrassing.
"Can you, umm, book me an appointment with that therapist you were talking about?" His voice sounded faint, drained of all energy and I wondered how much courage it took him to dial my number ask me to do this.
A wide grin slipped onto my face, stretching for ear to ear.
"Really?" I squealed, clamping a hand over my mouth when I realised it was loud enough to wake Mom across the hallway.
I heard Tyler wince because he sucked in a breath and groaned.
"Geez keep it down, will you?" He grunted but I was too busy conducting a happy dance in my bed - the type that people do when their bed is too cold.
Realising that Tyler could hear my obvious, erratic movements, I stopped still and giggled silently to myself.
Slowly, my body started to feel heavy with sleep and I waited for Tyler to say goodbye and hang up on me; but he didn't - not that I was protesting. Talking to him was particularly pleasant even when he was quiet, if that made any sense. Maybe it was his presence that was comforting but I was glad that he hadn't hung up.
"What changed your mind?" I murmured quietly, closing my lids and picturing his intoxicating eyes.
A cross between sea-green and ocean blue blinked back at me, laughing and warm enough to make me smile.
Silence followed; no shuffling, no movement, no heavy breathing. It was completely still until Tyler stifled a yawn and started shifting about in his bed again.
I could hear the smile in his voice when he replied.
"You did," He breathed in a voice thick with sleep.
"Really?" I drawled, not quite convinced. I covered my mouth as a yawn escaped me. "You didn't seem to think that earlier today."
Tyler let out a deep breath.
"I wasn't listening then," He paused for a long moment, "But I think it's worth a shot even if it didn't work out for your friend."
"You do?" I squeaked incredulously, picking my head up a fraction. I was completely surprised by his sudden change in perspective.
"I trust your judgement and I trust you," Tyler murmured sluggishly making my insides flip over.
A strange warmth filled my chest because of the sincerity that laced his tone. Nodding, I let my head fall back onto the bed and sighed heavily.
"Okay, I'll call her tomorrow and text you the time slot."
The line was silent for a while, except for comforting sound of Tyler's heavy breaths. I didn't know whether he had fallen asleep on me but just in case he was still awake I didn't hang up.
Positioning the phone between my ear and my pillow, I faced the wall and let out a sleepy yawn. Just as a heavy wave of drowsiness coursed through me, I heard Tyler yawn as well before he murmured something.
"What did you say?" I whispered incoherently, trying to keep my thoughts intact even though they kept wandering and breaking off.
He shifted in his bed, letting out another yawn, this time it was loud and heavy with immense exhaustion. When was the last time he had slept?
"I said thanks, for everything you're doing for me. I really appreciate it."
A ghostly smile played on my lips and I let my eyes flutter shut, listening to the comforting sounds of his even breaths.
"I made you a promise, didn't I?"
A light snore was the last thing I remembered hearing before I drifted off into a dreamless slumber.
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[A/N: N'aww, well wasn't that cute! *plays 'Looking Up' by Paramore*
Also, I started a new story called The Renegades so if you check it out, that'd be cool. I have s o o o o o o o much planned for it, you guys won't even knowww what's gonna hit you.
Anyways, thanks for the support. I didn't really get any feedback on the last chapter but it's cool.
Next chapter: Past Lives, Past Loves
Wonder what that means? ;)
Vote, comment and fan.
Cheers and all good things,
- Kaddy]