And I'm bleeding in love,
you're swimming in my veins
You got me now
Been breaking for a lifetime for you
Wasn't lookin' for love 'til I found you
— Liam Payne, Rita Ora, For You
Frazier offered to drop me by NYU but I politely declined. I didn't want to start another rumor. Also, I wanted to have time to think about what to say to Jess and I wouldn't be able to concentrate on having him around.
I knew my way around NYU and Jess gave me her schedule a few days before the class started. I sat on the bench in front of the building and waited. It was half past three when I finally saw her walking out of the building with a brunette girl on her side.
"Jess!" I called as I moved towards her.
Her head whipped around as she heard my voice. Her eyes finally found mine and she whispered something to the brunette. Probably telling her to go off without her because the next thing I saw was the brunette walking away.
"Autumn!" She threw her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. "What are you doing here?" asked her once we pulled away.
"I need to talk to you." I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder. "I left you messages but you didn't reply."
"Yeah." She flipped her blonde hair over one shoulder and continued, "I got really busy with school and stuff. The first week is overwhelming."
I nodded. "Should we go somewhere to talk?"
"Sure." She pulled her cell phone out and glanced at the screen. "I'm going to meet Colton in a cafe nearby. Why don't you come along?"
"Jess, I'm not sure that's a good idea." What I was about to say was not up for a threesome conversation.
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Colton knows all about you and me. You don't have to worry about anything."
I still think it was a bad idea of bringing Colton into the conversation but by the time we arrived at the cafe and he was nowhere to be found, I decided to have that talk before he arrived. "So, Jess, did you talk about me at that party?"
"Of course, I talked about you. It was your college party, I wouldn't have been invited if it wasn't because of you." She took a sip of her latte and then placed the cup back on its saucer.
"No." I shook my head. "I mean did you tell my secret to someone there?"
A small frown appeared on her forehead. "What are you saying?"
There was no such thing as a good way of doing this so I decided it was best to get straight to the point. "One of the girls from my school mentioned that you told her about my relationship with Joe."
She gasped as if I just committed blasphemy and she was a fanatic. "I did not! I would never do such a thing!"
"Are you sure?" I knew I shouldn't doubt my best friend but she was drunk that night. "Cos she also mentioned your name."
Jess leaned back in her chair and stayed quiet as she gave it a thought. When she finally answered, I couldn't believe my own ears. "Okay, maybe I did."
"Jess!" I nearly shouted.
"They were talking about a girl who slept with the admission board to get into Columbia so I told them that I have a friend who used to have a relationship with our English teacher back in high school but not doing it to get good grades or any favor in exchange."
My reply sounded like a cliché dialogue from a movie. "How could you?"
Jess shrugged. "What's the big deal? I didn't mention your name and I told them you're smart and your relationship was purely sexual."
"And that doesn't sound wrong? I couldn't believe you really told anyone about it. You know how sensitive I was about this stuff." I saw Colton walk in from my peripheral view but decided that I didn't care if he heard our argument.
"I don't see why are you so angry?" said Jess as she took her bag off the seat beside her so Colton could sit. "It's not like it's a big deal and we all know you didn't sleep with the admission board." She paused and narrowed her eyes at me. "Did you?"
"Of course not!" I looked at her in disbelief. I didn't recognize her anymore. How could she even think so low of me? "So what, whenever you're drunk you blabber around about my secrets?!"
Jess sighed. "I've told you I didn't mention your name." I saw Colton holding her hand on the table, ready to jump in her defense anytime. This was why I didn't want him here. He would always be on Jess' side no matter what. He was her boyfriend and it was as clear to me as if it was written on his forehead.
"And you think they won't immediately guess that once they saw you with me? Are you retarded or medically stupid?" The last part was very mean to me and I regretted it once I said it.
Colton leaned on the table and gave me a warning look. "Hey, you can't talk to my girlfriend like that!"
Jess held his arm. "Babe, don't get into this." Colton looked at me then slid his gaze back to Jess before leaning back in his chair.
"Well, your girlfriend needs to watch her mouth when she's drunk." I leveled his angry glare with one of my own. I turned to Jess as my hand reached for my bag.
"Autumn, we didn't talk as much as we did before. I didn't know anything that happened these last couple of days and the last time we talked about university or New York, you told me that you didn't think you could get into Columbia." Jess shrugged one shoulder as if anything she'd just said made sense. "What do you think I would think, huh, when you miraculously got in?"
"I thought they only accept students with extracurriculars and since I never joined one, I thought they would reject my application." As I looked into her eyes, I knew nothing I said would make any difference. It broke my heart that my best friend didn't even trust me but I sucked it up. I sucked it all up. "You know what, Jess, you were worried that you and Colton were just going to be one of those high school relationships that fell apart once you graduated." I bit my lips and tasted blood. "We are the high school relationship." I pushed my chair back and walked away. I kept on walking even when the tears started to blur my vision. With what happened with Tyler and Jess, I never felt so alone.
TYLER
I just dropped the second package that day when I saw Faith walking down the road with three massive books in her hands. I watched her closely as a girl accidentally knocked her off, causing her to drop all the books she was carrying. I ran towards her and picked up two books off the ground.
She looked up and smiled once she saw me. "Hey. You again." She shook her head in disbelief as she continued, "what's wrong with me today? I met both of my exes on the same day."
I frowned. "What?"
"I ran to my brother's friend which I dated last year a few minutes ago and now I met you." She held the book close to her chest and adjusted the bag's strap on her shoulder. "What are you doing here? Do you go to NYU as well?"
No, I dropped a pack of weed to one of the students behind the Engineering building. There was no way I could say that. "No. I was running an errand."
Faith nodded. "So where do you go to school? We spent hours talking about your family and your life in D.C. that we didn't have a chance to talk about New York."
"Columbia. Biochemistry."
"Nice!" She widened her eyes and added, "Rich."
I chuckled. "No, I got a scholarship."
"Wow, really?" She put one hand on her chest, the thing she always did whenever she was surprised. "I didn't know you're that smart. I mean, Ms. Lambert used to let you mark our assignment but I thought that's because you're a teacher's pet," said Faith jokingly.
"Hey, I'm not her pet. She came to me asking for my help, she said she barely had time for her twin babies, I couldn't say no." Ms. Lambert was our Science teacher. She was also the reason I loved Science.
Faith rolled her eyes. "Always be the good boy." She held the book in one hand and held her other hand out. "Give me the book. I gotta get to Third Rail now if I still want a place to study."
"Third Rail?"
"Yeah. It's the cafe on Sullivan Street. All NYU students go there. Well, not all. Some of us go to Mud for their chai tea but that place is too pricey for me," explained her. "Come on. Give me those books so I could get there fast."
"You will walk faster if I help you carry your books." Judging from her sigh of defeat, I knew she couldn't say no.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Fine."
I smiled. "Lead the way."
BONUS: JESS POV
I felt horrible. So terrible that I couldn't put it into words. I hated fighting with one of my girlfriends but most of all, I hated the feeling of guilt that made me feel even worse.
I shouldn't have drunk that much. I should have kept my promise to Colton to stop drinking. But it was all too late now. The only person I considered a sister was now mad at me and I couldn't do anything to make her feel better.
It was stupid. I was ridiculously stupid. How could I even ask her if she did it? She was my best friend, I knew her for years, I should've known that she would never do such things. Although for that stupid split second, I thought she would. She loved Tyler so much and I thought she'd do anything to be at the same school as him. It was stupid and I couldn't believe I thought of my best friend like that.
"Babe," said Colton as he held me a little tighter. "Ssshh, stop crying. Everyone in this cafe thought I was being a jerk and made you cry."
I giggled in the middle of sobbing which ended up making a weird gagging sound. "No one thinks you're a jerk. I'm the biggest jerk here." I grabbed the tissue and dabbed it on my eyes. I knew I probably looked like a clown right now, considering how much mascara and eyeliner I put on this morning which was probably ruined by now. Yet I could really care less. "I can't believe I said those things to her. What is wrong with me?"
"Nothing," answered Colton as he kissed the top of my head. "Nothing's wrong with you. You're human and you make mistakes."
"A stupid mistake. God, she's right. I'm retarded and medically stupid." The hurt look on Autumn's face still lingered in my mind.
Colton pulled away to look at me properly. "You're human and the fact that you're regretting it right now proves that you're not made of stone. Stop crying about what's done, and try to think of what you can do to redeem yourself. You've been best friends for years, you must know what you need to do to get her back."
In his eyes, I could see that he meant every word. I knew Colton by heart and I knew he would do absolutely anything to defend me, but I also knew that I could count on him to tell me the truth. "Do you think I'm a horrible person?"
He let out an exhaustive sigh as if he was tired of answering this but he answered anyway. "No. You're just a human. Human makes mistakes, babe. Don't beat yourself up for what's done."
I raised one hand and cupped the side of his face. "Okay." I took a deep breath and gave his lips a light peck.
He smiled like he just scored an NFL contract. "That's my girl."
We finished our coffee and the New York cheesecake we shared. "Are you ready?" asked Colton as he held my coat.
"Yeah." I grabbed my bag and stood as he pulled my chair back. He held my hand and we walked toward the front of the cafe.
I froze. There, right at the counter, was Tyler, and he wasn't alone. A blonde girl who looked like a model stood beside him and they were both laughing. "What the hell." They didn't see me since we were about a few meters away.
"What's wrong?" asked Colton, noticing that I stopped walking and turned into a statue. His gaze slowly followed mine and I knew he saw them too.
"This is why Autumn looked so broken. They broke up." I couldn't believe my eyes. Why didn't I think about this before? Autumn looked like she was about to crumble anytime when she sat there right in front of me. "I'm gonna go there and give them a piece of mind. There's no way he could break my girlfriend's heart and walk down the sunset with that bïtch."
I took one step and Colton held my arm, holding me back. "Don't."
I looked at him in disbelief. "What? Why?" I slid my gaze at the blonde girl and then back at Colton. "Do you know her or something?"
"Yes." He nodded. "And she's been through a lot. She doesn't need your rant." Colton put one arm around my shoulder and led me to the door. "Come on. I'll tell you on the way, babe."
I held my ground for several seconds before finally letting it go and following him. All I could think about was Autumn and how she was probably feeling right now. If Tyler was Colton and I was in her place, I would break down and cry my heart out.
"I need to go to Autumn's place now," I informed Colton. Every time Colton and I fought, I always ran to my best friends for comfort. I was the only best friend who lived in the same city as her considering Norma was back in D.C. and Mey was all the way across the world in Taiwan. Plus the fact that we just had a fight made me even worse. I had to go to Autumn, I had to be there for her just like she has always been there for me.
Colton glanced at his watch. "Now? I have football practice in thirty minutes."
"It's okay. I can get there by myself." I just prayed that she'd be at home. I sent her a text but she didn't reply. After what I've done, I wouldn't reply to myself either.
He looked me in the eye. "Are you sure? Are you gonna be alright? No more crying?"
I laughed and nudged his arm playfully. "Yeah. No more crying." He gave me a hug and kissed my forehead. "Hopefully more hugs though," I added as we pulled away.
"I could give you more hugs." He pulled me into another tight hug.
* * * * * * *
♥
What do you think, my angels?
Do you like how their friendship turned out?
Let me know your thoughts!
Do you think Tyler is wandering around and looking for her? Or do you think he will sit right and wait at home for her to come back?
♥
loads of pizza,
your noob neighborhood author,
agatha x
[for TBCN re-readers:
there's no change in this chapter]