It hurt more than I cared to admit. He wasn’t here. He didn’t show up. Was he spending time with that fucking girl again? I suddenly wished that I didn’t come. I could have thought that I was the one breaking up with him and not the other way around. Breaking up? We’re not even together, Miranda, so nobody’s “breaking up” with anyone, he just doesn’t want to start a relationship with you at all. And fuck if that doesn’t hurt.
“He’s not here,” I stated in a monotone voice, too in shock to care about changing the tone of my voice. I had a lump in my throat and my eyes burned but I refused to cry. I’m not crying over someone who didn’t even have the decency to tell me that he didn’t want to pursue a relationship with me, instead he just let me find out through him not showing up. I mean sure, I was considering doing it to Harry, but I didn’t. And I feel like even if I did choose Cameron, I would have at least notified Harry sometime beforehand to let him know, and maybe discuss everything. I wouldn’t have just left him hanging. At least I don’t think I would have. But it doesn’t matter what I would’ve done, it’s about what I did do. And I showed up, while he didn’t.
“Maybe he’s just late,” Scottie shrugged, standing on his tippy toes to look around the crowd.
“Scottie, why on earth would he be late? If he was looking forward to this as much as he let on he was, then he would have been here early. It’s after 3, what could possibly make him over a half an hour late? He’s not coming,” I gritted my teeth, half pissed and half upset. Maybe this is fate. Maybe God is saving me from a relationship from hell. He can’t be that good of a guy if he’s willing to just leave me here after he’s told me he loved me multiple times, and he was literally counting down the days.
It must be that girl he was with at the beach. It makes sense. I mean he lied to me about her when I asked what he was doing, and now he didn’t show up to my graduation. So he must like her more than he likes me. I bet she’s prettier, and skinnier, and older than I am. I bet she’s an actual woman, instead of a teenage girl. I can understand why Harry would want her more.
“Let’s just go,” I snapped, crossing my arms and walking ahead of Scottie, not really worried about whether or not he was following me. If he wanted to come with me, he could, and if he didn’t, well he didn’t have to.
“I say we find Mikey and Cameron, and go get some fucking pizza to celebrate graduating high school. Screw Harry Styles and his fucking curly hair, he’s not ruining today for us,” Scottie stated, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and guiding me back to the students area.
I smiled a little at him, once again happy to know I have a best friend like him.
“There he is!” Scottie pointed out and I jumped, thinking that he meant Harry, but I was slightly disappointed to see Mikey and Ana instead, talking to two middle aged people, one man and one woman, who I presume to be their parents.
“Hey, can we steal them for the night, please?” Scottie asked the parents, gesturing to Ana and Mikey.
“Hey, Scottie,” they smiled at him, and I kind of awkwardly just stood there, staring off into space, thinking about how shitty my life is at the moment.
The small group got quiet, which is when I realized that they were all staring at me. I broke out of my gaze, looking at all of their expecting stares.
“Oh, sorry, what?” I asked, feeling stupid for not hearing what they said to me.
“I was just asking for your name, dear,” the mom smiled politely at me and something about her made me like her.
“Oh, I’m Miranda,” I smiled back at her, and I went to shake her hand but she pulled me into a hug. I grinned at the gesture, wishing my mom was as friendly as her. Oh, what I would give to have normal, loving parents.
“Mikey and Scottie both talk about you so much, it’s so great to meet you,” she smiled as we pulled away.
“You too,” I replied, trying to forget about what made my mood turn to shit, so that I could just be happy for the remainder of today. Then I could spend tomorrow being depressed.
“Anyways, Miranda and I were planning on getting pizza. May Ana and Mikey come?” Scottie asked with a sarcastic grin. Scottie must be close with them for him to be acting this way. Do you know how absolutely formal he acts in front of my mom? Well, that’s probably because she doesn’t really like him, but still. She doesn’t like anybody.
“Of course, you know that you don’t even have to ask,” the mom smiled at him and then dug through her purse, pulling out her wallet and getting money out to hand to Mikey and Ana.
“Thank you,” Mikey pulled his mom in for a hug, while Ana hugged her dad, then they switched. “Bye!” They called, as we all walked away.
“Should we look for Cameron?” Scottie asked me and I shrugged. To be honest, I wasn’t really in the mood to be around flirty Cameron. It wasn’t bad when I didn’t know that I lost Harry, but now that I do, I’m afraid it’ll hurt too much.
“Nah, let’s just go,” I said, leading the way into the school, since that’s the only entrance/exit out of the courtyard.
They followed me wordlessly, and I was thankful that they didn’t argue. My head was down the entire way, and when we made it to my car, we all pulled off our gowns, to reveal the clothes we had on underneath.
“I really hope they decide to change those, for the sake of next year’s graduation class,” I stated, trying to forget about what put a damper on my mood. I didn’t want to remember today as the day my heart was broken for the very first time. I’m graduating high school, and I didn’t want anything to ruin that.
“I know, God, what are they even thinking with those things?” Mikey scoffed, shoving his into the back of my Hummer.
I laughed, following his lead by rolling it up into a ball and throwing it into the back.
I got into the driver’s seat, Ana silently getting into the front seat next to me and Scottie and Mikey sitting next to each other in the back. It’s like there’s a silent agreement between them that they get the backseat to themselves or something.
“So, are we going to Danny’s?” I asked everybody, and I received multiple yeses. Danny’s is our local pizza shop and it literally has the best pizza I have ever had. Well, I haven’t had very much pizza, but still, it is delicious. And they have this homemade cheese dip that you dip your breadsticks in and oh my God, it’s so good. They won’t give out the fucking recipe though, and trust me, I have tried to get it but to no avail. It’s like SpongeBob and Plankton and the Krabby Patty recipe, I swear. And I’m Plankton, if you couldn’t guess.
I peeled out of the school parking lot, for possibly the last time, and driving into town, toward Danny’s Pizza Shack. As soon as we all got out of my car and went into the building, our nose’s were hit with the delightful smell of pizza. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into a piece.
I went straight for the counter, not even waiting for Scottie, Mikey, or Ana to follow me. I was starving, and the earlier I put the order in, the faster we’ll get it.
“Do you guys wanna split pizza and breadsticks, or?” I asked, because I know I wanted mozzarella breadsticks, with pizza sauce and cheese dip (I like both and can never decide which one to get), and I wanted a couple of slices of pizza.
“Sure,” Scottie shrugged, looking over the menu.
“Pepperoni and sausage?” I looked at everybody, to make sure they were all okay with the toppings. Ana and Mikey both nodded in agreement, and I know that’s Scottie’s favorite since we split it every time we come here.
“Hello, welcome to Danny’s, what can I get you?” A whiny voice said and I looked up, only for my jaw to drop. Whitney.
I tried to act casual. Maybe she won’t recognize me?
“Um, could we get a large pepperoni and sausage pizza and then a large order of mozzarella breadsticks, with extra pizza sauce, cheese dip, and you want ranch, right Scottie?” I looked over at him to see him nod, “And extra ranch,” I confirmed.
“Oh, it’s you,” she said after I placed my order. I was quite scared that she would be the one making our order. I wouldn’t put it past her if she were to spit in our food.
“Yeah, how are you?” I smiled at her, deciding that politeness was the way to go.
“Great. So has Harry,” she smirked at me and my heart skipped a beat.
“Harry?” I questioned, wondering why his name was leaving her mouth. I then realized that I probably shouldn’t have done that when her smirk only widened.
“Yeah, Harry, you know, my boyfriend? The one who took me to that party of yours?” And all I got out of that sentence was Harry and boyfriend. Harry. Her boyfriend? He told me he ended things off with her, that he hasn’t seen her since that night at the party. Louis set him up and he didn’t like her. So add that to the list of lies that he’s told me.
“Oh, sorry, yeah I forgot. Hope you two are doing good then,” I forced a smile, and she nodded her head.
“Never been better. I’ll get your order in right now,” she said, ripping the ticket off of the pad of paper before taking it to the back. I mentally prayed that she wasn’t the one making it.
“What just happened?” Scottie asked and I turned toward him to see his jaw dropped.
Does he know who Whitney is? Have I told him about her? I couldn’t remember.
“That’s Whitney. Remember when we went to the movies with Hunter and Erica? He was with her then, remember? And then he also brought her to our party a while ago. Louis set them up and he told me it was a match from hell, but I guess it wasn’t if he’s still dating her,” I shrugged it off, trying to seem indifferent. So not only was he hanging out with that brunette at the beach, but he was also seeing Whitney.
Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t show up to my graduation. Maybe I’m saving myself years of a shitty relationship that would only end in more heartbreak.
*Harry’s POV*
“Thanks,” I muttered, grabbing my shit from the police officer before immediately putting my car into drive and taking off back down the road. Basically, I told him I was a teacher that was late for graduation, and he let me off with just a warning. Only after he did a thorough background check though, which couldn’t have taken longer if he tried.
It was after 3 now and I was over half an hour late. Would the graduation ceremony be over now? Did I miss it? I swear to God if I fucking missed it over this I’m gonna be pissed.
I pulled into the school’s parking lot to see a full parking lot. That’s good, then. That means that everybody’s still here and I didn’t miss the entire ceremony. Hopefully Randi didn’t get called yet. I wanted to see her get her diploma.
I put my car into park, jumping out and locking the door behind me. I began rushing into the school, turning back once I heard a car start. Why did a car start? Who would be leaving graduation this early?
I then saw a very familiar looking Hummer at the opposite side of the parking lot. Randi’s Hummer, to be exact, and now she was pulling out of the parking lot. Fucking shit, she’s leaving.
I couldn’t decide whether I should chase after her car or go back to my car and then follow her. I pulled my phone out of my pocket as I rushed toward my Range Rover, dialing Randi’s number which I had somehow memorized in the past 6 months. I held the phone up to my ear as I practically sprinted to my car, hurrying to unlock the door and getting in, not hesitating to turn it on and leave the parking lot. Shit, did she turn right or left? Left would take her home, and right would take her into town. Where would she be going after graduation? Probably home, I assume, because where else would she be going?
She didn’t answer the phone call, and I groaned, turning my ringer on before throwing the phone into the front seat. I turned left out of the school parking lot to make my way to her house.
Fuck, she probably thinks I blew her off. She probably thought I wasn’t going to show up and I didn’t want her anymore.
My foot pressed down harder on the gas at that thought, and I was once again speeding. I swear if that fucking cop decides to stop me again, I am so done.
She lived 10 minutes away from the school, but I managed to make it there in 5, and I cussed when I didn’t see her car sitting in the driveway. She must have went into town.
Shit, fucking hell, God dammit, where would she have gone? Think, Harry, think. What places does she like in town? Where would she go after graduating?
I passed the school once again, now going the right way, into town. I looked around for her car. It wouldn’t be too hard to miss, because she literally owns the only Hummer in Holmes Chapel. I was in town now, looking left and right in every parking lot for her damn Hummer.
Wait, she’s probably with Scottie, he’ll answer his phone, he always has the fucking thing on him.
I reached my hand across to the front seat, feeling for the phone without taking my eyes off of the road. I finally felt it and tried wrapping my fingers around it to grab it, but failed tremendously when it fell off of the seat instead. I groaned, weighing my options. I looked at the empty road in front of me, before bending down to grab the phone. I kept one hand on the wheel to steady it so I didn’t veer off of the road, while I finally grasped the cellphone with the other. I grinned triumphantly, unlocking it before going to my contacts to find Scottie’s name.
I clicked call, returning my eyes to the road and holding the phone up to my ear.
The first thing I heard was a “Hello?” and my ears perked up, getting ready to reply to Scottie who had answered his phone on the first ring.
But then I saw the lights directly in front of my car, and that was when I realized I was on the right side of the road, when I should’ve been on the left.
The second thing I heard was a crash, but it took me a second to realize that it was my car colliding with the one in front of me, head on.
And then the third thing I heard was silence.
*Randi’s POV*
Whitney walked over to the booth we grabbed, handing us our food. I decided to forget about what she said, not wanting it to bother me. I’ll continue to think about it tomorrow, after my graduation day was over. I also decided to forget about the fact that I was 86% sure that she made our food, and there’s a 99% chance that she spit in it, and I held onto the 1% chance that she didn’t.
When she set our food down on the table, I smiled happily at her, “Thank you so much!”
She only nodded her head, before flipping her pony tail and strutting away. She’d be way prettier if she colored her hair a natural color, rather than platinum blonde, as well as if she limited the makeup on her face and took a break from the tanning beds. She looked like a raccoon covered in Doritos while wearing a white wig. Sorry not sorry.
I immediately dug in, groaning in satisfaction at how absolutely delicious this was. I dipped a breadstick into the heavenly cheese dip before shoving that into my mouth as well.
“I need their recipe,” I stated, “I think I’m gonna get a job here just so I can steal it and then quit.”
Scottie widened his eyes, “Please do! You better hook a brother up if you do get it.”
I nodded, “Of course I will. We can eat it all day everyday, it’ll be so amazing.”
I shoved another breadstick in my mouth, this time dipping it in the pizza sauce. I loved both equally.
Scottie’s phone began ringing, and he answered it without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?” He asked, mouth full of pizza. He furrowed his eyebrows before widening his eyes. We then heard a deafening squeak and crash, whipping our heads to look outside the window of the small pizza shop to see a car colliding with another one.
My heart dropped to my stomach when I noticed the now mangled car, laying on it’s side right next to the shop. It was a Range Rover, and I only knew two people who owned a Range Rover. One was my father, who was in London right now, which is at least two hours away from Holmes Chapel.
And the other was Harry.