Chapter Fourteen: Hey, U Ok?
After our shift finished, Mitchell and I began walking back toward the house, but by the way he kept changing the speed of his walk and sneaking quick glances, I could tell he wanted to say something.
"What is it?" I asked him finally, after the sixth glance.
"What?" He replied rather quickly, glancing at me confused, but the slight pink tint of his cheeks gave him away.
"I can tell something's up, so just spit it out." I answered, glancing at him with a pointed look.
"I was just thinking, what if you and I hung out today, like just the two of us." Mitchell said glancing down at his feet and then glancing at me shyly.
"Just us?" I teased him, smiling.
"Shut up, Hallie." He replied with a quick laugh.
"Yeah, that sounds nice." I replied with an easy smile.
"We can go to the boardwalk, and maybe this time we can actually talk to each other." Mitchell joked.
"Never gonna let me live that down, huh?" I sighed, but still smiling.
"The odds are low." Mitchell admitted matter-of-factly.
"I was..." I paused, trying to figure out how to explain to him what I was feeling. "I don't know, I was hurt."
Mitchell's smile faded from his face. "Yeah... I really messed up, didn't I?"
I fought the gut instinct to tell him he didn't, the urge to assure him it was fine, but reflecting on the past two years, the only way things would get better was if I was honest, if we were both honest.
And honestly, he did hurt me. And Miles was right about forgiving him too easily, it wasn't something I could just ignore or put past me, because it mattered.
Because I'd spent the past two years wondering what was wrong with me, what I'd done wrong, why...
"I think..." I paused, "I think we both could have handled it better, but yeah, you did." I looked over at him and smiled.
"Well, I promise I will spend the rest of the summer making it up to you." Mitchell told me, meeting my eyes. His own held a genuine smile in them, a promise in them, and I hoped that he wouldn't let me down this time.
+++
"Hallie! Come on!" Mitchell called from outside my bedroom door.
"Give me just one sec!" I called back, swiping a clear lip gloss across my lips before stepping back in the mirror to admire the finished product. Though I knew Mitchell didn't really care and was used to seeing me dressed like a beach bum, I still decided to put in a bit of effort for our boardwalk hangout.
"You said that ten minutes ago." Mitchell sighed with a loud thump that let me know he was leaning on the wall outside of my door.
I walked grabbed my car keys off of my dresser and opened my door, "Yeah, but I meant it this time." I replied with a smirk as he not so subtly looked me up and down.
"Wow, you look..." Mitchell trailed off.
"Figured I'd put some effort in, it's been a while since I posted on Instagram. You can take decent photos, right?" I asked him.
"Uh, yeah." Mitchell replied. "So, uh, are you ready to go?"
"Yep, come on." I replied.
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"I cannot believe you convinced me to go on the Gravitron," I groaned, stumbling into Mitchell.
"Why did you let me convince you? That was actually the worst." He replied, steadying me.
"Oh god, I feel like I'm gonna throw up." I whined, leaning into Mitchell and letting him keep his hands on my arms to steady me.
"I now remember why we never wanted to do that again." Mitchell laughed.
"Seriously how are you laughing right now?" I asked. My head was still spinning and my heart was racing, though it may not have entirely been due to the ride...
"Hallie?" I heard a voice ask, ending any response that Mitchell may have had on the top of his tongue.
I jumped away from Mitchell like he had shocked me, "Oh, Connor, hey! Umm, what's up?"
"Hey, I thought that was you," Connor replied with a cute half smile, "Hey man, what's up?" He asked turning to Mitchell.
"Hallie and I were just hanging out." Mitchell responded hardly. I knew that, after what Miles and Benji had told him, Mitchell was not a fan of Connor. His interactions with George had probably rubbed off on his opinion of Connor by association, and I wasn't stupid enough to dismiss the fact that Connor being my ex of sorts wasn't helping Mitchell's opinion on him.
"That's cool. My little sister, uh, her boyfriend just broke up with her. And Hallie, you know her favorite ice cream is from Marco's, so I'm just here to get it for her." Connor replied. He was trying to keep enthusiasm in his voice, but I could tell something was wrong.
"Oh no, tell her I'm sorry." I replied. I'd always loved his little sister, and I regretted that when Connor and I didn't work out, his sister and I lost touch.
"I will. Umm, I should probably get going. I'll see you guys around." Connor said, forcing a smile before he walked off.
I watched him walk away, only looking away when he was no longer in sight to see Mitchell looking at me.
"What is up with you two?" Mitchell asked, trying to sound nonchalant, but I could tell he was curious.
"Nothing!" I replied, probably just a tad bit too early, but I don't think he noticed. "It's just weird, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess." Mitchell replied, looking away. "Come on, I'm gonna win you a teddy bear." He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward one of the unbeatable ring toss stands.
"Mitchell, you're gonna waste your money! These things are unbeatable!" I laughed as he dragged me along.
"Well then we'll do this one," he replied, also laughing as we stood in front of a throwing game where you have to knock over all of the milk bottles.
"This one is also near impossible because of the way the bottles are weighted." I sighed with a smile on my face as I watched Mitchell hand the guy five bucks.
"Not impossible however, if you're a Varsity pitcher and captain of the baseball team, I might add." He boasted with a smirk.
"Alright, go ahead, but don't be surprised when you-" I was cut off by the smack of the ball as Mitchell knocked all but one of the bottles off of the stand, with one ball left to throw.
He wound up, sent me a wink, and launched the ball at the bottom of the last bottle, knocking it clean off.
"Which one do you want?" Mitchell asked, turning to me with his arms held out wide, waiting for me to praise him.
"I want the pink bear!" I told him, and the guy got it down for us. "Thank you, Mitchell."
"You're welcome Hallie. This is just the start of me making it up to you." He said with a soft smile.
I simply smiled back at him. If there were more pink bears in my future, I could get used to him making it up to me...
+
Mitchell and I ran around the boardwalk, riding rides, playing games, and talking like we used to all night. When we walked in the house, my mom gave me a smirk after seeing Mitchell and I laughing together, but I didn't care.
I got into bed with a smile on my face that only faded when I remembered how we saw Connor earlier, and how he seemed off.
He was different. He was still the same Connor, but he was finally not taking George's shit anymore. Though we both agreed that the night at the bonfire changed nothing, it did in my mind. Because now he was in my head again, and I was worrying about him again.
I was caring about someone who wouldn't care about me like I care about them, which was bad, but I was weak. So for the first time in almost a year, I pulled up his contact and texted him.
'hey. u ok? ;/'
And I knew Miles was right. And I knew there was a problem. And the problem? I had two boys in my mind... and I didn't know which one I liked better.
I set my phone down on my nightstand, instantly regretting the text I sent. But of course, the second it vibrated I picked it back up to check the response.
'fine. thanks for checking on me ;)'
'u sure? u seemed a bit off today.' 'i'm always here for u connor <3'
The typing bubble appeared and then disappeared, about three times before his response finally came.
'ur right. i'm not ok, can i come over?'
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Damnnn what y'all thinking now? Connor or Mitchell? What do you think is up with Connor?
my story time is below, it changes by date bc so much happened in the time is took me to publish this chapter I'm so sorry. Anywayyyy ily!!