That weekend, after everyone was finished packing for the beach, we loaded the van up and prepared for the trip.
The past couple of days had been boring, to say the least. Though I had gone to see Bradley at Target a couple of times, it was clear he still felt awkward about the whole Bryce situation. Not to mention how he didn't bring up helping me achieve a job there again, which kind of sucked. I had really wanted that.
In other news, Bryce was back to ignoring me. No teasing, no talking, no anything. Ever since the night I'd touched him, he's been acting like I don't exist. And maybe I had crossed the line, but he hadn't exactly pulled away or stopped me.
"Are you ready Caroline?" Amy asked me, tossing her bag into the trunk of the van.
I smiled and nodded before saying, "Yeah, just waiting on Jesse. She should be here in a few minutes."
She nodded in understanding, opened her mouth, paused, and then opened it once more. "I hope you don't mind us tagging along this year," she said, smiling apologetically. "I know this was you, your mom, and Jesse's thing."
I frantically shook my head. "No, of course not!" I exclaimed. "I'm happy more people are coming. I only wish Mr. Hard could've come along too."
Before she could reply, however, Jesse came into view, riding her bicycle and pedaling furiously. "Sorry I'm late," she called. "I overslept!" On her back there was a fairly large bag, surely filled with at least ten pairs of clothes and other necessities.
"Jess," I said when she pulled up and stopped by my side. "We're going to Daytona Beach, not Hawaii. Why do you have so much stuff?"
Looking slightly offended, she braked in front of Amy and I before saying, "I always bring this amount of clothes."
It was true, but still, I couldn't quite understand.
"Well," Amy said. "Put it all in the trunk while I go get the others, and then we'll head out." She flashed another smile and then proceeded inside.
After she left, I helped Jesse put her bag in the van, not expecting her to turn on me with raised eyebrows and an expecting look on her face once we were finished.
"So how's Bryce doing?" she asked.
I groaned. "Not this again," I said.
"Oh, come on," she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "There still hasn't been any progress?"
"What did you expect me to say?" I asked, sighing and slamming the trunk closed before turning to lean my back against it. "Bryce is still Bryce. If anything's changed, it's his feelings of hatred growing stronger. As a matter of fact, he's ignoring me now."
"Again?" Jesse asked in disbelief, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back beside me. "My Lord, that boy cannot make up his mind, can he?"
"You're telling me."
"And you still like him?"
I shrugged. "Apparently."
"What about the Target guy? His name was Brian, right?"
"Bradley," I corrected, looking towards the endless blue sky. Not a cloud in sight, and yet my mind was so fogged up with emotions. "He asked me out, but I just wasn't feeling..."
"How you felt for Bryce? Or... feel, since you aren't over him yet?"
I could feel her gaze on me, but I simply shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. It doesn't matter though; Bryce completely scared him off."
Jesse's jaw dropped, and I simply nodded, already understanding what she was feeling. "What, so he doesn't like you but doesn't want you to be with anyone else either? You know, maybe it's a good thing you don't feel the same with Bradley as you feel for him. The guy makes you crazy, and the last thing you need is any more of that."
"I don't know if he messed with Bradley because he didn't want me with him," I explained, ignoring her comment about the crazy, because even if I didn't admit it, she was kind of right. "I think it's more of he just wanted to make me angry."
"Yeah, because that's so much better. Screw him, Caroline. If he pulls anything on this trip I'm setting him straight," she exclaimed, her voice pure determination, her eyes ablaze with anger, and her fists tight.
And then Bryce walked out, blank face and all.
Glancing over at Jesse anxiously, I was relieved to see her drop her fists and turn her expression from hatred to fake smiles. So she wasn't as brave and immune to Bryce's scariness as she wanted me to believe.
Without acknowledging either of us, Bryce opened the side door of the van and climbed into the back, claiming the same seat he had when we'd gone to that restaurant that very first night. And unfortunately I was probably doomed to sit right next to him.
"So much for giving him a piece of your mind, huh?" I said, nudging Jesse with my elbow.
With her lips still tightly pressed into a smile, she muttered, "Shut-up." I laughed at her awkwardness.
Several seconds later, everyone filed out, bags already in the trunk and smiles on all faces. Even Nancy's.
"Okay," my mom said, patting me on the back and steering me into the direction of the van. "Get in, we have a long journey ahead of us."
"Mom," I said. "It only takes seven hours. It isn't that long."
Well, except for the part in which I had to sit next to Bryce. But Jesse would be on my other side, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.
Climbing into the back went more smoother than planned, not even my cast causing any problems, and when I plopped beside my sleeping buddy I prided myself with my astonishing graceful ways.
And then Jesse climbed, heading for the seat beside mine, tripped, and practically shoved me into Bryce's lap. Knocking my head on his jaw, I cringed, as my best friend to the right of me used my body as an anchor in order to keep herself stable. While she did this, I had the misfortune to pull back, rub my head, and then meet Bryce's annoyed gaze up close, still pushed together while Jesse attempted to compose herself.
"Sorry?" I whispered awkwardly, trying but failing to put enough distance between the two of us.
But then something strange happened. With Bryce's gaze still connected to mine, I watched as his eyes went wide and changed from dark and moody to bright and wondering. He was... looking at me. And not like he usually did, but like he actually saw something in me that no one else did. He was seeing me.
And then it was gone, just like that, replaced with another dark emotion known as anger.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Jesse was seated upright, and even as I was moving away from him, Bryce decided to 'help' by shoving me as far away from him as possible. Like I was a disease that needed to be controlled.
Well to him I'm sure I was.
"Okay, everyone!" my mom said excitedly, cranking the van. We were all strapped in, ready to go. Amy sat in the passenger seat and Nancy sat in one of the two seats in front of the three in the back.
Why hadn't I sat in the other one? I could've been nearly Bryce free the whole trip.
"Are you guys excited?" My mom continued, happy.
"Yes," all the children said, even Bryce who mumbled it. And then we were pulling out of the drive way and on our way to Daytona Beach.
~~~~
The trip was mostly silent between Bryce and... well... everybody else. He just wasn't talking.
Jesse and I, on the other hand, were practically jumping out of our seats with excitement. The beach had always been our favorite tradition, and now that we were officially on the road we couldn't keep our happiness down any longer.
"Only four more hours to go!" I gleefully exclaimed to her.
"I know! What should we do first?" she asked, although we both already knew the answer.
"Swim," we said simultaneously, and then went off to discuss our previous trips, laughing about certain situations and cringing at our embarrassing moments, like the one time Jesse had been relaxing in the ocean when a huge wave had hit her, snapping the top of her bikini off.
"Oh!" she said, throwing her pointer finger in the air as she remembered another time. "Remember last year when that really cute lifeguard kept trying to talk to you? Didn't he give you his number?"
"Well, yeah, he did but-"
"Do you ever shut up?" Bryce snapped from beside me as he cut what I was saying off. His voice was loud enough for only those in the back to hear, or I'm sure his mom would've turned around and said something.
Gaping at him, I narrowed my eyes and glared in his direction. "No, but apparently you do. What, are you done ignoring me now?"
He scoffed, meeting my angry gaze with his own. "You're ridiculous."
"And stupid and annoying and crazy. I know, you've told me it all before. When you were actually talking to me." I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring the pull of the seat belt, and focused on the anger pounding against my skull that caused an oncoming headache.
"Aw, does it bother you that bad?" Bryce teased, pressing a hand to his heart but keeping the scowl on his lips.
"Yes, as a matter of fact it does. The real question is, Bryce Hart, what's bothering you so much that you can't even hardly look me in the eye?"
"You bother me. Period."
"Yeah, you must be on yours, which explains why you've been so grouchy this whole week."
"Okay," Jesse said, cutting Bryce off as he opened his mouth to make what I suspected would've been another snarly comment. "You can both stop now."
I scoffed and said, "We never even started," and kept my mouth shut for the rest of the ride there.
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A/N:
Well, there's Chapter 14! Yay! They're going to the beach and I'm really excited to write the next chapter, which will be full of Bryce and Caroline, whether they will be arguing again or not.
I hope this one wasn't too bad, and thank you to everyone who continues to support this story. I couldn't do it without you. ;) .
-TaylorLeigh