Turns out being the disignated chauffeur wasn't such a pleasant job, after all. Especially when Norah was far to booze to be responsive after we dropped Macy at her place and I finally reached Mendley's.
It was late, but not too much, maybe a bit past midnight or so. The party was still going in the Grill when we left. Dylan and his friends had insisted in us staying, but we all got things tomorrow and needed our little rest. I had work and I knew for sure Macy had some family dinner or something. Norah might be the most free but it wasn't like we would left her there. Not with how cozy her and the dark skinned girl were getting through the night. And especially not considering we needed her Jeep.
Ever since Macy had left the car Norah had calmed down a lot, after her fit of pouting of course. Now she was leaning against the passenger seat, half sleep, slurring none senses. I killed the engine when we reached her house. All the lights were out, as well as most of the street, so her parents must be already sleep.
"Nors." she barely groaned and I reached across the cabin to shake her shoulder. "Hey, sleepy head. We're here."
"Where's here?" she wondered rubbing her eyes, struggling to focus on what was beyond the window.
"Your place."
"Mh, I, oh." her eyes widened with sudden clarity before going back to the sleepy slumber and gave an apologetical smile. "Oops?"
I frowned. "Oops? What do you mean 'oops'?"
"I may or may not had forgotten my keys?"
"What? How could you be so sure? You got the car keys, don't you? Maybe the house's are on your purse-"
"Nah, that's the thing." she slouched further in the seat, her eyeslids dropping slightly. "It took my mother's copy. Mine are always attatched together and I left them... probably on the table."
"Well, then we'll ring and hopefully they'll here-"
"Nop. We can't."
I sighed, getting a bit more irritated now. " And why not?"
Her smile was half way between wolfish and shameful. "I may or may not had sneaked out?"
"What?" My eyes widened. "Norah!"
"Hey! I needed a break, remember?"
Great. Just great. I took in a deep breath. "And what do you want me to do now?"
"Please don't be mad," she snuggled closer to the seat, curling over herself and her eyes almost closed by now, exhausted and wasted. I didn't know which one more. "I just wanted to have a moment out that place. My parents are always fighting lately." she pouted and I couldn't but feel how the irritation vanished.
"I get it, Nors. I do. But still, what are we supposed to do now?"
"Call my idiotic brother and asked him to open us."
"At this time?" I knitted my brows, glancing the hour in my phone, almost quarted to one a.m. "What if he's out."
"He's in. He's always when we fight."
I bit my lip, considering it but not seing another plausible solution I took Norah's phone from the dashboard as her lids fluttered shut and she hummed some popular song. "Here." I handed it to her, nudging her arm but she pouted. "Call him."
"Come on Alyson I'm wasted." she whined pushing my hand away. "We had a fight before. He was being a prick. Can you call him?"
"W-what? No! Why me?"
"He likes you..." my stomach churned but she scrunched her nose, correcting herself: "Well, he doesn't dislike you as much as everyone else."
"Norah..." but she was already dozing off. Shit shit shit. How would Connor react to me waking him up at this hours? I know I wouldn't take that well. Damn it, Norah! Couldn't she had pick the right set of keys?
Swallowing I typed the Nors' code and when to her contacts. I supposed 'ConnyBro' was Connor. At least I hoped so, otherwise it would be ten times more awkward. I bit nervously my lip as I waited for him to answer. Please, please...
After several beeps his sharp voice cut in. "What?" clearly not happy we've woken him up, and just like that all my small confidence fled out the window.
"Uh, h-hi. It's Alyson." tense silence. "Mhm, I'm r-really sorry but we're outside your house and Norah's forgotten her keys-"
"Come here, you idiot!" she shouted making my heart skipped a beat and I shushed her pushing her back against the seat again.
"Oh, God. I'm so sorry. She's a bit drunk and I-I was wondering if maybe you could-" he hang up. Just great. So much for not disliking me. I bet he did now. I groaned, turning to the pink haired girl. "See what you've done? Now what?" but her gaze was unfocused, giggling.
My hands brushed through my hair frustratedly.
What to do? What to do?
"Okay." I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out towards her side to help her out as well. We'll have to ring the doorbell and hope her parents didn't have a deep sleep. "I'm so sorry, Nors, but you left me no choice." Not like she could understand me, slurring half sleep as I helped her out the seat, one of her arms over my shoulders. Norah was barelly several inches taller than me, but right now they showed off. "Shit."
"Aren't you a strong one?" she mocked with another tipsy giggle and I blushed, pushing the door close.
"Shut up." she didn't. "Why did you guys even fight about?"
"He was being an inconsiderate prick. Like always." she sighed. "But I guess I was a bitch too."
"Are yo still mad."
"Not really." she shook her head before whining at the movement and resting it on my shoulder, adding more weight to me. Perfect. "I guess we just were too stress with our parents, you know? I can't never stay mad at him for long."
My chest warmed. "I'm sure he's the same with you." I reassured her as we reached the front door.
Okay, now the tricky part. Balancing to hold her up with one arm I reached the other towards the bell.
The gate opened before I could, startling me to near a heart attack and my wide eyes focused on Connors figure standing there, in sweatpants and a baggy shirt, hair messier than ever. His eyes glimmered with something as they set in his plastered sister and cursed under his breath, but other than that his expression didn't change in the slightless as he took her from me.
"Conny!" sang Norah in a flash of clarity, curling her arms around his neck and clinging on him for life. "You know I'm sooo sorry about before, right? I didn't mean it but you were such a prick."
"Says an idiot." but despites the hoarsing of recent sleep and the insult, his voice wasn't that hard at all.
"Takes one to know one." she laughed, going limb in his hold again, but Connor managed to hold her way better than I did. "You know I kissed her?" I forced back a smile and cleared my throat.
"I, um, I'll take your car and give it back tomorrow." I pointed at it with my thumb over my shoulder a bit unsure, not really feeling like wandering home alone this time at night. "Is that fine?"
"Mhm." hummed her almost out again, and Connor lifted one shoulder at me, as if saying 'do as you please'.
"Okay. I- Goodnight."
Connor gave me a light nod, waiting 'til I was safe inside the Jeep before shutting the door.
..........
"Earth to Lys!"
I almost dropped the pencil, startled. My heart went wild in my ribcage as I turned towards an amused Brett.
"Well, hello. Are you planning on writting something today or..."
A blush climbed up my neck when I relized I been the last ten minutes glancing the paper but not really seeing it. "Sorry." I chocked in embarrasmet, successfully tracing the first half word before my mind drifted away again. It's been like that for the last hour or so since we got here.
Today's Sunday, and true to last weeks he picked me up after the mass and gave me a lift to the Studio. I didn't fight him anymore. What's even the point? He'd still come either way. Besides, him tagging along didn't bothered me that much anymore. Not after everything. And somehow he made the travel lighter but there was no way in hell I would admit that to him.
Since this weeked had been the Founders celebrations and all, there isn't really much work for us in the Studio. Loui had been pretty busy during the week and yesterday, but today everyone is recovering in their homes. That leave us easy work of edit and print, which was fine since everything happened last night keep repeating in my mind like a broken record, and the lack of proper sleep got me restless.
Brett casually sitting in the lounge's couch didn't exactly helped. I would often steal glimpses of him, flicking absently over the magazins we had there or his phone, obviously bored but stubborn in staying.
I couldn't put in words the strange tug it gave to my heart.
Due to the lack of work, Loui dismissed me after lunch, claiming I should take the day off and that he got the remaining job covered.
That lead us here. Back in Brett's room. Working on our project as it was the only excuse we could make out to remain together a bit more. I could tell by the way none of us was actually focused on our work.
I keep repeating my doubts in my head, over and over, wondering how to bring them up. Was Jade actually the reason why he hated me? Was it something I did, something she said? Was there something more? When did things turned so wrong?
I felt like we needed to have this conversation once and for all but it was scary to think of the consequences.
I was scared.
I was so damn scared to find out I really did something that awful for him to hate me. To find out I didn't and it was all him. That it was Jade all along.
I don't know, it all was just scary.
I could tell he sensed my unease as well, since he wouldn't stop sneaking glances my way too. Although, he'd kinda been like this the whole week so maybe it wasn't just me being this bunch of nerves. The constant teasing and gentle push and pull eased a bit the mood, I got to say.
"-no more, Ggiggles." he huffed dramatically dropping back against the chair. "I'm done with this shit."
"Oh, come on."I hardly succeeded supressing a grin. "You've barely have been on it for an hour!"
"So? I still had worked more than you, miss my mind is somewhere else."
I rolled my eyes. "You were the one to propose to come work on this, remember?"
"Yeah, like you would have complied coming any other way."
"Are you admitting you manipulated me?" I pursed my brows, mocking a frown but he saw right through it, sending me instead a taunting smirk and rolling his chair closer, on elbow by my notebook as he leaned in my personal space.
"I rather called it charm."
"Please." I scoffed, covering a giggle and pushed his chest. "As if."
"Your blush begs to differ." his smug, amused expression didn't fell and instead it only made my cheeks reddened harder.
"If you really didn't want to work why do you wanted me here, then?"
"To be with you." he shrugged easily in a duh tone.
My pulse all over the roof but I refused to let him know that. He couldn't be having such intense reactions with such small acts. It wasn't fair. But he did. And saying stuff like that only confused my heart further. Against my best intentions, I found myself wondering: "Why?"
The way his eyes buried into mine made all kinda things to my stomach. "Isn't it obvious?"
Obvious? It'd been a while since I stop paying attention to what 'obvious' was, mostly because my sixth sense I that area seemed to be too broken to rely on it. Pushing down the flutter in my stomach I forced myself not to let it show.
"I-I mean, didn't you guys go play soccer in the park on weekends?"
"Would you be there?"
"Mh, no..."
"Then you're pointless."
"Brett." I couldn't help the giggle now, pushing his shoulder, and repeated over and over again in my head that he was joking, that it wasn't literal. "I'm serious."
"Ugh, fine!" he groaned almost in defeat, sliding his hands through his hair and fleetingly resting his head there, elbows on the desk before resting back again. "There's this big play in a couple weeks-"
My brows knitted together. "Yeah, I know. Against Richmore. Kinda a big deal."
"Massive big deal actually." he huffed and I sensed a bit of stress in his tone. "The coach had been a tyran ever since we know him, but he's being especially bitchy about this. We need to be in perfect shape and state. Apparently it's not only a matter of rivals, but also there would be talent scouts and stuff there and everything need to be perfect. Also, that will most certainly set which team will made it to the final so..." he shrugged one shoulder, as if it wasn't that much but it really sounded major.
"Wow."
"Yeap. We've been forbidden to play or do any dangerous activity 'til then. Didn't want to risk any lesions on the team. That's also, um, why we got strictly forbidden not to fight each other-"
My blood ran cold at the remind of Noel's mess. "Oh, right. Right." the soccer's coach sounded like a scary man, thougher trainer, so no wonder why they all were so willingly to hear him. I cleared my throat, fitting the pieces together. "So that's why you started accompaning me to the city instead of meeting with them?" I deduced, now it made more much sense, since as far as I'd known they met on the weekends to play.
Something flickered under his eyes but it was gone before I could analyze it. He chuckled -a disbelief kind of chuckle, shaking his head and stood from the chair. "Yes, Lys. That's it." Not giving me time to ask what was wrong Brett headed towards the door, leaving me baffled behind. "I'm gonna get us some snacks, how does that sounds?" but was gone before I could respond.
My brows knitted together. Such a confusing subject he was. Now I haven't even done anything for his sudden mood change.
And then again last night's wonders come back to me. Why did he turned against me three years ago? What made him change his mind again? I basically needed to know if I could rely on his... frienship or whatever we were building up again or should I worry that he'd switched sides again.
I didn't know how long it took him, but by the time Brett was back I was daydreaming, again. What a surprise.
"Okay." he snapped me out of it shutting my book and sliding it aside to place the plate with cockies where our homework had been. I couldn't prevent the smile at Julia's delicious desserts. Brett trudly knew how to bring up the mood again. I almost moaned just at the sweet aroma, just our the oven. Yummy. Brett then pulled his wheelchair, shifting it so he was facing me. This time when I met his gaze I detected confusion and a hint of concern at my again vacant state. "What on earth is off with you today?"
"I've talked to Jace."
My burst out suprised us both, and as he blinked in baffledment I felt the blush back plus the urge to face-palmed myself. Such a smooth way to bring it up Alyson. Sooo smooth.
"Oh." he cleared his throat, his eyes piercing through mine as he tried to read me, the harsh hint in them was a clear sign he too remembered his part in our drama three years ago. "Okay?"
"Yeah." I bit my lip, my heart momentarily stopping when his eyes focused on it before I released it and they snapped back up at me. Dear Lord. Okay, focus! Pushing down the sudden wave of heat that'd woken up in me I proceed: "He was kinda drunk. And said a few things that..." my voice failed me. I couldn't, I couldn't!
"That what?" he inquired with hooded eyes, ready to get defensive.
I swallowed. "That left me thinking."
"I can see that." he scoffed and leaned backwards in his chair, as if sensing this chat won't be one he'd enjoy. "Okay, now, before you tell me this thing that left you thinking for good knows how long; when did you meet Jace drunk?"
Again, my heartbeat quivered for some reason and I dropped my gaze to the pen I was fiddling with. "Oh. Well," I cleared my throat, not sure why I was unease to tell him this. "I bumbed into him yesterday on the Grill."
His brows lifted in surprise. "You went to the Grill?" I nodded shyly, blushing again when his lips curled in an alluring half smile. "Didn't know those were your kind of things."
"They aren't. Norah and Dylan convinced me."
"The model?" this time he chuckled but the sound was harsh, making my chest tightened as his hand on the armrest fisted. "Really?" Was he... jealous? I didn't want to fool myself so I won't get as hurt as last time, but it was hard no to think so when his voice sounded like he was restraining himself. I was almost tempted to grin but covered it looking down at my lap, tucking a loosen strand of hair behind my ear. "And how was that?"
"Interesting."
What was I doing? I wasn't the kind of girl that play those games, I'd never been. But the way his jaw clenched and adverted his gaze brought me a wave of indescribable satisfaction.
"How awesome. So what is it that drunk Jace said?"
It came back, loud and clear as if I was hearing it all over again.
'I thought it would be a win win situation. You could make Brett jealous and I could play the part, you know?'
'A meaningless rumor, you know? But then she keep bringing it up, and adding nasty details and I couldn't deny it, you know, because that would mean telling them I lied in the first place.'
Unable to hold his electric blue gaze, I lowered mine, fiddling with some locks of my hair. "He... He made me question a couple things."
"Like?"
I frowned at his tone. He was getting frustrated and I get him, but it was hard to approach such a topic. It was squeezing me from inside, suffocating me in anxiety. "I-" That was it. I needed to know. I'd already started so now I could only spring to the finish line. Like a band aid. Swift and clean. Gathering all my courage I took a deep breath and looked up again before rushing: "Why did we stop being friends?"
His eyes widened, clearly taken aback by it. "W-what?"
Funny, usually it was me who stuttered. But I myself was too nervous to take any joy out of that.
"We were fine. We were alright and all of the sudden one day you changed and decided it wasn't enough." my voice trembled, thick in emotion at the memories. "Why did you stop being my friend, Brett?"
"I-" he gulped, glancing around in frenezy, as if the furniture would give him the answer. His fist clenched when he relized it wouldn't and turned to looked at me, his eyes more guarded now. "What did he told you?"
So there was something indeed. My heart dropped to my stomach. Something I did -or he thought I did- made him turned his back at me. Worst, turned against me. "Why did you wanted to be friends again?" I asked instead but he wasn't having that.
"What. Did. He. Told you?"
"How can you expected me to rely on you again? I didn't even know what I did wrong. You won't tell me!"
"Alyson." he warned through clenched teeth, and it felt like a slap.
Alyson. Wow. That stung.
I blinked rapidly, frustrated with myself and him. I'd promised myself not more tears on his behalf. "How can I know you won't decide it's not worth it anymore and-"
"For fuck's sake!" he slammed his palm on the desk, the loud sound halting my ramble immediately and making my pulse skipped several beats. "I've already told you why!" He was angry. Furious. I could only stared wide eyed at him, startled and taken aback by his outburst. Any remaining softness in his features stiffening in tension as he turned to glare at me. Glare. I felt my heart dipping at the familiar yet almost forgotten feeling in the pit of my stomach for being the receiver of his anger. "I've told I was trying to made things right. I'm trying to, so fucking hard. But you keep stuck in the past. You jump in Jace's arms, or Dylan's or whoever else instead listening a fucking word I said."
His words slid through my being like a knife, my eyes watering innevitably. How could he say such things. "I do not." I choked out but he was on his own rant.
"Whatever Tormunt told you is probably bullshit, but go one, pick him again."
"He didn't say anyting like that. And what are you even talking about? I've n-never pick any one over you. Never."
"You're always picking anyone over me." I shook my head, first tears pouring out of frustration. "You asked me why our friendship ended? Why don't you ask yourself? Maybe I just got tired of waiting and waiting. Always fucking waiting!" he adverted his heated gaze, slamming his palm on the desk again. "Fuck!"
"W-waiting for what?"
His eyes narrowed at mine, as if wondering how could I asked something like that. "You're the smart one, aren't you?" I flinched at the undertone as he sneer through clenched teeth. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
How could he be so sweet and charming one moment and this angered subject the next?
I'd know it. I just knew it was too good to be true. Brett wouldn't be back into my life. Whatever we had back then had evolved into two different persons that clearly didn't see the world the same anymore. He was so hot and cold it got me tipsy. I couldn't rely on him. One moment he was my friend and the other he get all worked up over some wondering. I hadn't even asked something that weird had I?
And yet here I was again, an emotional mess and pool of tears over him. Over his sharp criptic words.
Pick anyone over him?
Brett was a vital in my life! Ever since I can remember he's been there, he was my everything and even after our friendship ran aground I still got trouble not taking him in consideration.
Waiting?
I was tired of waiting for him to open up or treat me with enough respect.
I was barely aware of his ragged breathing, struggling to calm down by my side. All I knew was that I didn't felt welcome there anymore. I hadn't even got to the point where Jade got involved and things already got out of hand. Who would had thought that not even half an hour before we were joking around, feeling like things could go back to what they were... They clearly couldn't. Whatever that is that I did -not picking him, making him wait, whatever- it clearly was worth the years of bullying and still it wasn't enough for him to get over it.
I should had known better. There was too much pain in our past.
Ashamed and hurt, I wiped my tearly cheeks and took my bag from the floor opening it and grabbing my belongings.
"What-" Brett cleared his throat, a lot more calmer now but still that hint of tension that I knew now could explode at any moment. His chest raised and fall slowly at the deep breaths he was forcing in. "What are you doing?"
"Well, I w-won't have you waiting anymore."
"What do you mean?" a flicked of what I thought was worry tightened his voice but I must be misunderstanding the hints, as usual.
"My shift start soon." I announced instead, not daring to looked at him, knowing I would fall apart as soon as I did. "I'll better get going."
"Give me a second to get my shoes and I'll drive you-"
Oh, God no! "No need." I pulled the zipper probably harshed than I should but I couldn't stand being there, feeling the pounding in my chest longing for a release. "It's n-not that far. I'll walk."
He scoffed. "You're being ridiculous."
"Whatever." I hanged the bag on my shoulder, blinking fast as I headed towards the door to made sure he didn't see the moisture there. I heard him getting up, only then realizing how serious I was, but was already exiting the room.
"You can just drop this shit and leave like that. Wait!"
But I didn't.
I heard Julia Ryder calling me confused as I passed by the kitchen but didn't let it stop me either. The small avantadge I had I used it to bolted down the stairs and out the front door before he could outrun me.
I need to get out of there. Away from Brett Ryder, who always end up bringing me pain.
____________________________________________________
Hey! Quick update! Let me know what are your thoughts on it. Do you agreed with Brett or Alyson? Neither? Both? Please let me know!
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