"Please turn your textbooks to page 289 for today's lesson."
I stared into oblivion as students followed the teacher's instructions. The sound of crisp paper flipping pages was prominent in the quiet classroom. However, I found my pencil quite intriguing, so I was the only one out of my classmates not following the directions.
"Lia..." The person next to me tapped my shoulder. I didn't pay attention who sat next to me, because I zoned out before the bell rang for sixth period.
"Lia. Mr. Stevens is staring at you like a hawk. Snap out of it."
"Come on Lia." I finally snapped out, twitching in my seat. I received multiple stares from my fellow peers, before I flipped my text book to the correct page.
"What's the matter with you?" The voice continued to talk.
Great. Someone wants to be social with me. And exactly at the moment that I am feeling anti-social.
I turn my head lazily, groaning in the process, and find my completely observant boyfriend, staring at me with a concerned expression.
"Ian." I laughed nervously. "I had no idea you were sitting next to me."
"Yeah, I thought since we've been dating for quite a while I would stop being scared and sit next to you. I hope that's okay."
"Yeah! It's fine. Sorry I was so cold, I didn't realize who you were...until now." I smiled shortly, before dropping the expression. I fiddled with my pencil, hoping he wouldn't start asking questions.
"Rough night last night?" He asked.
Exactly what I didn't want.
"You know how I am, Ian." I said, hoping he would understand so I wouldn't have to elaborate.
"No, apparently I don't. How are you, Lia?"
Another thing I didn't want to do.
"Ian." I said a bit sternly. "I overthink everything! The moment something is said to me, I think about it until I go to sleep."
"So, what's got you all worked up today?" He pulled me into his embrace, while I put my head on his chest. We sat in the back row, so we swerved from the teacher awkwardly calling us out in class.
I couldn't exactly tell him the truth. I couldn't tell him that I visited my friend's (who isn't exactly my friend) house to see his parents to tell them that I loved their son. That I missed him and I wanted to talk to his parents about it because I didn't know how else to handle the situation.
So, I decided with a more practical answer. And it technically wasn't a lie, because this has been getting me worked up lately.
"It's softball." I sighed, pulling away from him and resting my elbows on my desk. "I'm just nervous that we aren't going to make it in the championship. I mean, I've worked hard for so long, so long. I won the championship for my team last year in Maine, and I pitched for that game too. Struck almost everyone out until I had to sit in the dugout."
"Don't be stressed, Lia. You're amazing. Don't let this whole championship thing let you down, take it all in. Don't worry about what happens in the future, focus on what happens right now. Like...Psychology?" He pointed to the textbook, and I grinned.
"I'm serious, Ian."
"And you think I'm not?" He paused. "Look, I know you're stressed. So, let me take your mind off of it tonight. Are you free?"
I look at him suspiciously, turning my body towards him. "Yes, what do you have in mind?"
"I'm thinking take-out from your favorite place at my house. My parents are going to be at a convention in Dallas, so they won't be home for a few days. Which also means, we'll have the whole house to ourselves." He raised his eyebrows.
I knew what he was trying to insinuate. Although tempting, I'm not quite sure I'm into that whole idea. I mean, I haven't even had my first kiss yet, so why would I go to his house just to make out with him, possibly something more.
Plus, this whole situation doesn't help when I'm in love with somebody else. But he's long gone.
I don't even know why I'm stringing him along, especially since I have feelings for another person. I mean, I have feelings for Ian, it's just that my feelings are stronger for this other person. And I hope to God he feels the same way.
So, what do I do? Do I keep leading Ian on, or do I spare him the hard feelings and break up with him?
I think I know the obvious answer, but I feel bad. He's buying me take-out and I'm going to show up, eat all the food and then tell him "See ya!"
I don't know about you, but that's now how I want to be remembered.
Maybe I should tell him as soon as I walk through the door of his house. To be completely honest, I can't bare stringing him along anymore.
He's my excuse. I've been using him as an excuse to forget about Andrew and what we have, if we even have anything, and replacing it with Ian's dates and his kind demeanor.
I hate having to admit it, but it's true. He is my excuse. And if I were him, I wouldn't want to be someone's excuse. He deserves better than that.
So, that's what I'll do. I'll go home, get changed, meet Ian for dinner at his house, and then break his heart. It's better than him finding out himself that I'm dating him while in love with the high school's bad boy.
"Yoo-Hoo! Earth to Lia." Ian rubs his palms across my forearms.
"Yeah? What's up?" I snapped out of it, once again.
"Sorry." I spoke to him first. "I promise I will be better than this tonight."
"I would be more worried about Mr. Stevens. He looks pretty aggravated about you spacing out in class."
"Really?" I looked over to the teacher who was writing down something on the whiteboards in the front of the classroom.
"Nah, I'm kidding." He paused. "Just don't space out before you come over my house. I'm looking forward to it. Although, if you don't show up, I'll know where you are." He teases, and I smack his chest playfully.
***
I matted down the wrinkly layers of my maroon skater dress. The bottom rested just above my knee, and the straps were off the shoulder. I decided against going bare, and put on a light oatmeal colored sweater, that had mini holes so I wouldn't get too hot. I slipped on my sandals and I grabbed my car keys ready to head out.
There was a soft knock on my door. Almost as if the person was hesitant about knocking, but did it anyway.
I approached the door, unlocking the hinge and drawing it open a few inches. I got a glimpse of platinum blonde hair and nails the size of cat claws. The Chanel perfume was detectable from a mile away.
"Lina? What are you doing here?" I opened the door wide so she could come in. She walked in with a hesitant smile on her face, and eyed my outfit before taking a seat on my bed.
"Okay, look." She got up almost immediately. "I've been meaning to talk to you for a long time. I just wasn't sure if I should because of everything that happened."
"Lina."
"No, let me speak." She sighed. "Look, the truth is...I want my best friend back."
I look up at her with relief. She wanted me back? She wanted us to be friends again?
"You do?"
"Lia, we've been friends since we were born. We've been through multiple first days of school, we even called each other on the phone when we got our periods." She laughs hard. "We cried because we thought we were dying."
I laughed, clutching my stomach before drawing Lina in for a hug. She is my best friend, and I needed my best friend.
You never know how much you need someone until it disappears in the blink of an eye.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" I pull away slightly.
"Well, to be completely honest, I can't tell Jade everything like we used to tell each other everything. She would always tell Jace and then the word spreads. She's not trustworthy like you are. I want to make sure my secrets are held safe not vomited all over the school grounds."
I raised an eyebrow. Something wasn't right.
"Okay! You got me!" She threw her hands up. "The truth is that, despite all of the horrible things that I said to you that night two months ago, I missed you. And I hated that way things were handled, we were all mad and we said something that we regretted."
"Yeah, we sure did."
"But I missed you. So, can we pretty please be friends again? Screw Mason and his dumbass sidekicks, I need someone to tell all my crazy stories of Dante and I."
"Okay, my mental image has already been scarred and you haven't even been here for ten minutes." I covered my eyes in disgust.
"Sorry. I just...need someone to talk to. I need you, Lia. So, what do you say? Can we catch up and talk about all the things that happened over these past couple of months?"
Ugh. The one time my friend comes back and is willing to talk to me, I have a really important date to get to with my boyfriend.
"Lina, you know I would, but I'm having dinner at Ian's house. Can we postpone?"
"I should've known." She slumped on my bed. "You were dressed all cute and sexy, I should've known you were headed somewhere."
"I'll be back by curfew. I'm still seventeen, Lina."
"Really? Okay cool! I'm going to get the popcorn ready and pick out a movie. I'll be waiting for you when you get back." She claps her hand in excitement.
"But before you do that, missy." I grabbed her hands. "I need you to talk to Mason and crew for me. Just let them know how sorry I am and that I'm ready to get past it. You're the only one that could get through to them."
She gets up once again. "Fine. I will do that for you. But, only if you spill the deets about you and your new nerd boyfriend Ian Rivers."
"Only if you don't call him by his full name." I teased, and she wiggles her eyebrows in suspicion.
"Go on your date girlie! You know what? Go get your first kiss too!"
"Lina, shut up!"
***
It wasn't long before I drove my car up to Ian's driveway.
His house was really cute. It was the white picket fence house that people would be drawn to if they drove nearby, and wonder what it would be like to live there. It was a cute yellow color, a lighter tone, with darker blue shutters and door. The white fence surrounded the premise of the entire front yard, but stopped when there was a stone walkway to the front door.
I locked my car, and did a double take when I noticed a second car in the driveway. Was Ian's parents here? Did they not leave yet?
I shrugged, not caring about that. Although it would be kind of rude to be introduced to Ian's parents only to have me break up with him a couple hours later.
Whatever. I needed to do this for not only myself but for Ian's sake. He doesn't deserve this one-sided relationship. This isn't fair and I feel so horrible that I was so selfish to even say yes in the first place. However, this relationship taught me how I really felt about Andrew. How I knew that I was in love with him because my feelings for him were ten times stronger than Ian's. And I only thought Ian was cute and a good person.
When I walked up the front steps, I was bewildered when I noticed Ian's front door slightly opened. I tried peeking inside from the outside, but I could only see the foyer, and nothing else.
When I pushed the door open, I stepped through the threshold, hearing nothing but the wind coming from outside. Was Ian not here?
I was about to grab a sharp object from somewhere near me when I heard voices. To be specific, Ian's voice and someone else's that wasn't detectable from being around the corner.
I walked into the living room, my sandals making loud contact with the hardwood floor. Everything was still, and the fire in front of Ian's plush couch was lit and bright.
Before I could check any other rooms, I saw Ian get up from...the ground? His back was to me, and I noticed him completely bare from the neck down.
"Oh God." I covered my eyes.
"Lia?" His voice was completely in shock.
"Please tell me you have some clothes on." My eyes were still covered.
"Who is that Ian?" A voice, a girl voice said in the same room. Eventually, she got up with only a white bed sheet covering her.
My eyes narrowed in question as I stood in front on Ian, my boyfriend, and Sage, my boyfriend's best friend.
"What the hell is going on here?" I said, even though I clearly knew what was happening.
"Lia, I can explain..." Ian approaches me slowly, but I took that as my hint to run.
I ran out of his house, slamming the door as hard as I can so that it would delay him from running after me. I was quick even running in open toed shoes.
I got to my car, started it as quickly as I could and I drove off, seeing the door open with Ian in his boxers watching me drive off down the street and back to the house.
When I got back to the Butler's nearly five minutes later, I parked my car in the driveway, and ran up the steps.
I opened the front door, and was greeted by the sight of all my ex-best friends sitting on the couch, waiting for my arrival. When they heard me enter, all their heads traveled to me. I stared back at them awkwardly.
What else was I supposed to do?
"Lia," Lina got up from the arm chair. "They wanted to talk to you."
She walks up to me, grabbing my biceps and hugging me from the side. Each of my friends got up and approached to where I was by the front door.
"Lia, I'm so sorry." Jace goes first. "I'm not sure what to say. It's been so long and I missed you more than you could imagine. We all have."
"I second that." Ollie raises his hand. "We were all fucking assholes that needed someone to blame for all this hurt and pain that we caused. I'm sorry we took it out on you."
"Listen, Lia-Bob." Cole approaches me. "You have no idea how much I waited for this moment. I'm sorry about what I couldn't say to you, and I'm glad I can finally steal from your underwear drawer again." He signs, kissing me on the head.
"Wait." I put my palm on his chest. "You steal my underwear?"
"Does anyone else want to say something now?" He dodges, avoiding the question altogether.
"Lia, what you did was wrong, no doubt." Ryan told me, and I nodded in agreement. "But you're our friend, and we acted like morons. You made a mistake, and you were sorry for it. So, I'm sorry for making your life harder."
"Mason? Want to say anything to your best friend since you've been born?" Lina shakes me back and forth, gesturing for him to say something to me.
"Yes, I have something to say." He starts. "Do you still want to see Andrew?"
Oh God.
I sigh quickly. "Yes."
They all groan in unison, and Lina shuts them up.
"Lia, why? Why do you still want to see him after everything he's done to you?"
"Because I have feelings for him. These feelings are strong and they overpower the mistake he made. I tried being mad at him, and it didn't work. So, I tried caring for him instead and that seems to help me get better."
"Come on guys! I actually think it's kinda cute." Lina smiles in amusement. "Bad boy falls in love with nerdy girl. It's totally cliche, but it's the cliche that people love to see!"
"I don't know." Mason seems doubtful.
"Mason, I know you have doubts about what might happen. But, if he does end up breaking my heart for whatever reason, you and everyone else is responsible for kicking his ass."
"Really?" Ollie yells. "Fuck yeah!"
"Wait, wait, wait. Somethings not right." Ryan examines and I give him a questioning look. "If you have feelings for Andrew, why are you dating Ian?"
They all murmur in response.
"I actually was going over to Ian's house to break up with him tonight, but instead I found him naked lying on the living room floor with his girl best friend next to him. So, I ran out."
"Ouch. Can I kick his ass?" Jace volunteers but I shake my head.
"No, I think I should talk to him. We technically haven't broken up yet, and I definitely think it's about time."
"Wait, where's Jade?" Lina asks. "I told her to come."
Jace sighs. "Sorry, Lia. She's not coming."
"Yeah, well she told me that she hated me to my face, so I didn't expect anything more."
When there's a knock on the door, I jump in surprise. I look through the peephole and notice Ian standing outside on the front steps waiting for someone to open the door.
"It's Ian." I whisper to them before opening the door.
"Hey, Lia. Can we talk?" He asks me. I nod, opening the door further to all my friends scowling at Ian.
"Guys, stop! You look like psychopaths!" Lina closes the door harshly. Ian and I both take a seat on the front steps, and so hug my knees for warmth.
"Look, Lia. I know you probably hate me right now." He looks down at the ground, almost like he's ready for me to scream at him.
I do the exact opposite. "I don't."
"You don't? Why not?"
"Well, to be completely honest, I'm glad that this happened." I look at him and he laughs.
"I'm not following."
"I was relieved that I found you with Sage because now it's easier to break up with you, knowing that I'm not breaking your heart." I pause. "I was actually coming over to your place to break up with you, so."
"Really? How come?"
"Well, I'm kind of in love with someone else." I said bluntly. "But he's gone, and I said yes to you because I was willing to give it a shot so I could move on from him. But everyone keeps telling me to hold on."
"What do you want to do?" He asks me, stressing the 'you'.
"I want to hold on." I sigh, smiling. "I want to hold on so bad."
"If that's what you want to do, Lia, by all means hold on. Hold on for dear life. He will come back if you do." He grabs my hand and puts it in his.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into all of my problems. It's not fair to you that I have feelings for somebody else, even while I was dating you. In fact, I even realized it on our first date."
"I guess that's fair considering I slept with my best friend while we were dating." He laughs, and I join in not long after.
"I guess it is."
"Look, this guy that you love. It's Andrew...right? Andrew Price?"
"How did you know?" I draw back from him slightly, a bit confused.
"Well, he does have the whole female student body wrapped around his finger. But, I did notice him look at you while we were on our first date. The night he was with some random blonde chick. And to be completely honest, I wished someone looked at me like that."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. He's worth keeping, Lia. Don't forget that."
"So," I stand up, giving him a hand as well. "Mutual break up?"
"Mutual break up." He draws me in for a hug.
"We can still be friends, right?" I ask him.
He pulls away, stepping down the front steps. "Of course we can."
We salute each other, and he walks back to his car.
We both know that we were saying goodbye to this relationship for forever and we are okay with that. We have other people that we love and want to spend life with.
***
It was around midnight, and I still couldn't physically fall asleep. Maybe it was the eventful night I've had, or maybe it was me thinking of Andrew but regardless it was frustrating.
A girl just wants some sleep.
I twist and turn for the majority of the time, trying to find the perfect spot to sleep in, but I just couldn't find it.
I finally snap my eyes open, and stare up at the ceiling. The bland, white popcorn ceiling that sits above my head every single night.
I'm quite confused when I notice a wind coming from the outside, and blowing my hair all over the place. I specifically remember closing the windows making sure they were all locked.
Wait...I forgot one. The one by my desk.
I sit up in my bed, looking at the window that was slightly opened, the wind swaying my curtains from side to side.
And that's when I noticed it.
Not it.
Him.
A shadowy figure resting on the wall adjacent to my bed. He was wearing all black, and although I couldn't see his face, I knew exactly who it was.
Because all that I could make out, was the black leather jacket with the skull and cross bones on the back.
Andrew was here. In my bedroom.
~*~
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YAY!!!! ANDREW IS HERE!!!!!
I'm so excited. Are you? Tell me!
What did you think about....
Ian and Lia's breakup?
The gang finally forgiving Lia?
Andrew coming back?
What will Andrew say?
Will Lia be mad?
SO MANY QUESTIONS! They will all be answered next chapter!
Next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for.
GO READ IT NOW!!
Much love.
XOXO