Chapter 16
Lauren's POV
I hug my knees tightly to my chest as I lean back against the wall. I honestly have no idea where I am; I just started running and didn't stop till I literally hit a wall. Now I'm just reliving the previous events in my mind.
The worst part is that I can't stop reliving them. Whether my eyes are closed – like they are now – or open, all I can see is Kyra, the girl who said she loved me, leaning down to kiss that girl.
That girl who isn't me.
The tears nearly drowned me a while ago, but I'm not crying any more. Of course, my face is still damp. It's sort of a reminder of the tears that are no longer there.
Which are reminders of the reason that I was crying.
Which is something I don't want to be thinking about.
Something I'm thinking about anyways.
I love her. We were only together for- what, a week? I've only known her for a week. And yet I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am in love with her. I would give anything for her. I would die for her.
But apparently that wasn't enough. She never loved me- after, all there is no past tense of love. If you 'loved' someone, you were never really in love with them.
I miss her.
It's been only two hours, and I already miss her.
“Lauren! Lauren, where are you!? Please, please come back! I'm so sorry, I didn't- I wasn't going to kiss her, I was- I was trying to explain something because I couldn't manage to get it through her thick head!” Kyra's voice rings through the streets, and somehow I love her even more for not caring that several uninvolved pedestrians are giving her strange looks. Then again, she's not doing this for me, is she? No. Of course not.
Perhaps that random brunette put her up to it. What was her name? Sadie?
As long as she loves Kyra and Kyra loves her back... As long as Kyra is happy in the end...
“Lauren, please! Please, please, please come back!” Kyra shouts, and it sounds like she's crying. “Please... Please, Lauren...”
Whether she loves me or not, I still love her – and I can't bear to hear her cry.
“K-Kyra?” I whisper after opening my eyes, standing up, and peeking around the street corner. Oh, look at that, it's actually night time. Maybe I've been out here for a bit longer than two hours.
“Lauren?” Kyra asks, frantically looking left and then right as she searches for me. Of course, I'm behind her – she's standing in the middle of the street – so she's not gonna find me like that.
“Don't cry,” I say gently, wrapping my arms around her from behind and resting my head on her shoulder. “I don't like it when you cry.”
“Lauren,” she sobs, ignoring my pleas not to cry. “Lauren, I- I'm so sorry! Please don't leave me again, I need you, I love you! You are everything to me!”
I frown and step back, and she immediately spins to face me. “Kyra, i-it's okay if you want to break up with me and date Sadie. She seemed nice- she was fairly pretty, at least-”
“No,” Kyra cuts me off firmly, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. “No, no, no. Sadie is a horrible person who barged into our house claiming to be Ty's friend-”
“Our house?” I ask, my voice barely able to be heard with how quiet it is.
“I-I mean, if you want-” Kyra begins, but she stops herself. “Okay, we can figure that out later. We have to go back home and help Adam and Ty- Sadie was trying to screw with the Skylox, and- Wait. I mean, we don't have to- I- Well, it depends on whether or not you'll take me back...”
The smart decision? Run and never look back. That's what my mom would have told me to do.
My decision, though? Share a long kiss with my girlfriend-
And then get interrupted by Adam running down the street toward us. “Kyra, I need your help!”
“Did someone get murdered?” Kyra asks crossly. “'Cause if they didn't, I seriously doubt your problem was worth interrupting me and my girlfriend.” I smile a little.
Adam frowns. “No, no one was murdered, but- well, it's Ty.”
“What? What's wrong with Ty?” I ask, my eyes widening in concern.
“I-I- I made a huge mistake. Sadie was being a jerk disguised as a crappy friend, and she revealed to me that Ty hears voices and self-harms, and I- well, she- she convinced me that I was a terrible friend and should leave immediately, a-and so I did leave, and now- well, that was a bad idea. Because now Ty is alone in the house with Sadie, and I can't- I- the door is locked, Sadie must have locked it, and I can't get back in, so I need you to come unlock the front door for me. Please?”
“O-Of course!” Kyra stutters, digging her house key out of her pocket as we run back to her – our? – house. As we near the front door, she mumbles, “That lady is going to pay for all the trouble she's caused us.”
“Ty!” Adam yells as soon as the door is unlocked. He slams the door shut once we're all inside, and I jump slightly at the sound, causing Kyra to glare at Adam. He gives us a distracted yet apologetic smile before running up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
“He's really worried about Ty, isn't he?” I ask quietly.
“Well, they are best friends,” Kyra shrugs, and I facepalm.
“No, I mean, it seems like he's more concerned about Ty than a friend usually is,” I push, trying to hint at Skylox without flat-out saying it. C'mon, Kyra, you're smart enough to get this.
“Oh,” she breathes. “You mean- Oh... Yes! Yes, this is perfect! Now we just have to prove it, and then we can get Adam to realize it himself and break up with Alesa, and then – bam! – Skylox!”
“Shh!” I shush her, putting my hand over her mouth and wincing when she licks it. “Ew, what the heck?”
She shrugs, smiling mischievously.
“Kyra, no. We have to go help Adam and Ty. And we also have to kick Sadie out of the house, possibly get her arrested for trespassing...”
“Wow, you really hate her, don't you?” Kyra asks, seeming amused.
I glare at her. “I have the right to hate her, it's a free country!”
“Hey, calm down, I hate her, too.”
“Good. You should, seeing as she almost cost you your relationship.”
Her eyes darken. “Right. I will murder that girl-”
“Woah,” I laugh nervously. “I think that's a bit too far, Kyra.”
“I don't,” she disagrees stubbornly. “This woman deserves to be skinned alive-”
“Dude. You seriously need to calm down a little.”
“I HAVE SOME STRESS BALLS YOU CAN BORROW!” a girls' voice drifts up the stairs.
I send Kyra a confused look, and she growls. “Sadie.” She stomps down the stairs, and I run after her with wide eyes.
“Hold on, is this really such a good idea? I mean, confrontation isn't always the answer-”
“Kyra! Omigosh, I haven't seen you in, like, four hours! How are we supposed to grow our friendship if you're never around?” Sadie pouts, sitting on a beanbag with a grumbling Ty next to her.
“She wanted to bond,” Ty spits, glaring at Sadie, who does nothing but tighten her arm around his waist. He practically hisses at her, but she just smiles widely at him and then turns back to Kyra and me.
“So, how are you two?”
“I- You nearly ruined my relationship with Lauren!” Kyra shouts, and I grab her hand gently to try to calm her down.
“Eh, you guys just aren't meant for each other,” Sadie says, waving it off. “Maybe you and Adam could date! That'd be cool!”
Kyra, Ty, and I all tense, and then we all hiss at Sadie in unison.
“Omigosh, you guys are, like, in sync!”
Ty facepalms and drags his hand slowly down his face. “Whhyyyyy?” he groans.
“Aw, it's just like old times, isn't it, Ty?” Sadie giggles, pecking his cheek in a platonic way. At least, I think it's platonic. “You groaning and pretending to be annoyed by my presence, me smiling and cheering you up when you're sad, and random people hissing at us! EEP, THIS IS SO EXCITING!”
Ty winces and covers his ears with his hands.
“Really, this is what your entire friendship has been like?” I ask in disbelief.
Sadie nods excitedly. “Yeah!”
“Kill me now,” Ty begs.
“Ty, no! You're trying to stop being suicidal, remember? No more bad thoughts, you are a beautiful, though idiotic, person!”
Ty gapes at her. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
“So it's true, then?” Kyra asks quietly. “You're suicidal, you hear voices, you self-harm?”
Ty closes his eyes and sighs. Then he opens them again and wiggles out of Sadie's hold. “Ty-baby, wait!” she says, grabbing onto his ankle.
He stomps on her hand and then marches upstairs angrily.
“Adam's up there!” I shout.
“Thank the Lord,” Ty mutters, disappearing from our view.
“So...,” Kyra says, glaring at Sadie. “We're gonna murder you now.”
☼☼☼
I updated again because I love you and I felt bad for basically forgetting you and @CryForDaPieSkyLox dared me to update and idek Emily wants me to roleplay Teen Titans with her
WHY DO I ALWAYS HAVE THE BE THE BOY (Robin), GOSH DANG IT, EM
Anyways.
Don't expect this double update thing to happen again, kay? Cause it probably won't. But I am super happy because, hey, I wrote chapters 17 and 18 already!
:DDDDDDDDD
BAIIII, MY BE-AY-YOO-TIFUL RULERS! Oh wait, also! My cousin Emily and I are making a collab account (@TwoStalkers), so, I don't know, go check out the description there? Cause we don't have a story up yet. :/ We're failures.
kthxbaiii