Chapter 31
"Hey, Drew, do you see that?" I asked, motioning to the black Chevrolet that had been trailing behind us for the last fifteen minutes.
"See what?"
"That!" I said, pointing at the rearview mirror repeatedly. "I think we're being followed."
He squinted his blue eyes as he studied the aforementioned pursuer. "Are you sure? Do you know how long its been following us?"
"Fifteen minutes; well, sixteen now," I replied confidently.
"Well then, I have a plan."
Drew zig-zagged us to different streets, some a little scarier than others. I wasn't sure what he was trying to do, but at this rate, we are going to be toast. Seriously, some of them are like you're-gonna-get-mugged central. So, while I was totally freaking out on the passenger seat, he had a determined look on his face. Me being me, this reminds me of the scavenger hunt challenge.
Mainly, the memory of seeing Anna Stanton and Drew sharing lovey-dovey smiles at that parking lot.
Not that I cared or anything.
I was just saying.
(I told you I assumed a lot.)
After a couple more twists and turns, we are officially parked in a creepy, abandoned warehouse. With lots of broken glass and a bunch of other things that our followers could use to kill us. Don't even ask me why Drew thought it was a smart idea to come here or how he knew of this place. I had no part in this whatsoever. Minutes later, the black vehicle arrives on the scene. I glanced at Drew with obvious horror. I sure hope he knew what he was doing.
"Tell me this is part of our date? I mean, nondate..." I corrected myself, knowing that this truly was platonic - at least, to Andrew it is.
He has Anna now.
(Well, I did say I assumed things often.)
"Uh, not exactly," he replied sheepishly. I was about to go off at him about how we're about to get beaten up, but he suddenly did something I wouldn't have expected. He grabbed my hand, and murmured. "Elouise, just look." If it were somebody else who told me those words, I would've punched that person in the stomach. But, this was Drew, the boy with the striking blue eyes and pitch black hair. He was the boy that I so obviously liked; the same boy who didn't reciprocate my feelings.
It was hard, breaking our stare; since his hand was distracting me more than it should have. But slowly, my attention left the dark-haired Adonis. At first, I was just surprised, and then, I felt an overwhelming feeling of idiocy. Now, as I stared at the four boys that were not at strangers - nor murderers, I wondered how I couldn't have noticed all the tiny details. The black Chevvy, it was Cindy's! It had her plate number and everything. I should've known, for crying out loud. Charlie always borrowed her car, because well, he didn't own one. I should have realized this sooner.
I glared at all four of them. All were tall, and reasonably muscular; one had maple brown hair, two were dirty blondes, and the other, a honey blonde. Standing off to the side was the bad boy himself. Zeke...I guess I could probably understand. He did whatever he wanted, and once he was set on something, there was no stopping him. Plus, I classified him as a troublemaker, so it could only make perfect sense. Charlie? He would always be a nosy person. He was probably just looking out for me, like a brother. The thought made me grimace. But, Hector and Henry? I couldn't quite put my finger on why they would show up in the first place. My guess was that they were utterly bored and an unknowing Charlie mentioned his planned to them by accident. As a result, they forced him to let them tag along his spying adventure. But, that was just my guess. I mean, why would they want to follow me and Drew? There was nothing wrong with spending time with the guy that I liked. Not that he reciprocated my feelings or anything. It doesn't make any sense. I mean, didn't they trust me?
And then, what they did finally sunk in. I realized that I was furious. I was offended in some way. Really offended.
I glanced back at Drew, and I didn't have to say anything. He knew I needed to talk to these guys. "I won't be long," I told him, an apologetic smile on my lips. He waved it off, gesturing for me to go. My smile widened and I quickly kissed his cheek as a thank you. I could see the top of his ears turn pink. I thought it was endearing.
I stormed over to the boys, their faces displaying anxiousness. Even Zeke. Who was actually the first one to react. As I came closer, he met me halfway and raised his arms in defeat as he studied the look in my eyes. "Okay, it was me, Eli. It's my fault, so you can put the blame on me," he immediately stated, but I wasn't completely convinced that he was sincere.
So, I frowned.
"Well, don't look at us. We just went along with it," said Hector.
"I mean, if you wanted to go on somewhere, you could've just asked," added Henry, who was nodding along with his twin.
My expression softened a little. I shouldn't be too harsh - but still. My gaze flickered to Charlie, and this time, he was looking at me. He wasn't staring at the ground. He was just looking at me with his golden eyes. There was something in the way that he looked at me that rendered me speechless. I just wasn't sure why.
I cleared my throat, noticing the fact that everyone was glancing between Charlie and I. "Uh, what about you?"
He stepped forward, a nervous look on his face. "I was making sure you didn't get hurt," he mumbled, but it was mostly to himself.
"Come again?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing, I was just waiting for you to embarrass yourself in front of lover boy over there."
Zeke snorted from the side. We both glared at him. I was about to say something, but I forced myself not to. Some things were best left unsaid.
Once the day was over and I was back to laying on my bed, Cindy and I chatted for what felt like an eternity. After that, I was left to think about the things that happened earlier as I listened to Nothing by The Script. I recalled the nice house that Drew and I went to, the museum I've never really been to, the Miami Zoo - everything before the warehouse incident. Post-confrontation, though, was...quite interesting. The four boys decided to openly tag along for the rest of the day. I felt one of of the weirdest feelings when we were at the restaurant too. The boys wanted to sit separate from me and Drew, to give us a bit of privacy. But, letting them choose a different table was a big mistake. I could feel their eyes on my back, as they blatantly watched us from a few tables away.
Strangely enough, when I got home, Penny and Mom were gone. Dad was the only one I found, and he was watching sports. I was never big on sport, with the occasional exception of school-spirit sport.
"And my mates are all there try'na calm me down," I sang. "'Cause I'm shoutin' your name all over toooown."
I reached for my brush. "I'm swearing if I go there now-"
"I could change your mind, turn it all around."
I paused, realizing that the last line wasn't sung by me. Nor by the lead singer of the band. I gulped, twirling around with flaming cheeks.
I found the dunderhead that supported the bad boy's idea leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He was humming the song quietly, his lips set in a minuscule smile. I wanted to slap that bitch right off. Except, deep inside, I knew I secretly liked that smile. He even seemed...cute.
I then mentally bang my forehead on the wall and silence my music.
"What are you doing here, traitor?" I inquire, moving to sit on the edge of my bed.
"Your dad let me in," he replies smoothly as he sits next to me. "I also wish to apologize."
"I don't believe you, Charls," I counter, lips pursed.
He lies back on my bed, covering his eyes by draping an arm across his face. "Fine, I wanted to ask you something."
"Go on."
"I wanted to ask you if you knew what Zeke has been up to lately," he asks as he sits back up. I move away slightly to give him space.
"Like what, sabotage the other pageant girls' game?" I kid, laughing to myself because it's the sort of thing he would actually do.
"Well, no, but he's onto something," he pauses. "He has this stupid plan, I know it."
Despite his seriousness, I couldn't feel the threat that its meant to be. "And, why would this concern me? Or you, for that matter," I answer, point blank.
"Because he thinks I'm in love with you."
* * *
Late update, but please, please, please don't be mad.
(BTDubs, this is going to be a long and important a/n.)
First of all, I am deeply sorry for the poorly-organised updates. Although, I do have two legitimate reasons. #1 is school work, and #2 is the fact that I've been working on a few more stories that I will be posting in the future. To elaborate on Reason #2, I am curretly stocking up chapters for all the aforementioned stories, as to prevent what is happening here from repeating.
One of them is going to really touch on topics like love, breakups, friendship, and relationships. It's called How NOT To Fall In Love. The other one, Midnight Blues, would be a little more action-y. It would would still have romance in it and family drama. (Both of them are categorised as Teen Fiction.) I will announce more information about HNTFIL and MB in the coming weeks.
As for My Best Friend's Brother, we're halfway there, everyone!
And...24,000 reads, oh my gosh! Thank you so much for your help! Let's keep them reads coming, 25K here we go! :)
Dedicated to @Haleighjade00 who had voted nonstop, basically blowing up my notifications. Haha, thank you so much!
Multimedia Weekly:
- a gif of the oh-so-adorable Andrew James
- Nothing by The Script
Once again, thank you for sticking with me. Please remember to VOTE, COMMENT, and SHARE if you liked this chapter!
Bye-bye.
J~