What had my life turned into? I woke up in Beck's bed, trying to piece together my previous night. The faint sound of the shower running, told me I wasn't completely alone. As I snuggled deeper into the dark covers, my eyes focused on the world outside of this penthouse. I wondered if the people walking along the busy streets of LA had their lives figured out, or were just like me. Completely lost and finding a new purpose.
I kept replaying the moment Chase and I had a genuine conversation together, even if I was out of it the entire time. I envisioned how good it felt to be with Chase again. The way he caressed me and seemed to still care about me. I could feel the smile on my face wipe away as I remembered how Cartia came into the picture that night. How she seemed to possess over him, but I remembered seeing Chase's face. He wasn't the same. It was almost as if he hated being close to her. Then again, I didn't know much on their situation. I also didn't want to think about them together.
The sound of the shower was gone, leading out Beck in a white towel that hung dangerously low on his body. The steam from the shower followed him out, making him seem so powerful yet mysterious. Beck looked at me and smiled brightly. "Ah, the sleeping beauty has finally awoken."
I rolled my eyes at his cheesy reference, "Good morning to you too."
"Actually, it's almost 5. So it'd be evening, no?"
My eyes widened and I quickly patted the bed, searching for my phone. Beck seemed amused as he reached behind him and grabbed my phone from the counter. He tossed it over to me, to which I gratefully smiled back. As I looked through my notifications, I saw tons of people tagging me in pictures and videos. Some I remember taking, others catching me completely off guard. I had a dozen texts and a couple missed calls from Arabella. Most of her texts were her asking me what time I'd return, then getting a bit more urgent as she explained she was bored to death. I was a bit surprised to see no messages from Mateo, but maybe he was also curing from his hangover. I couldn't help but notice the disappointment that settled, when I saw I had zero texts from Chase. Something I should've expected, but it still stung.
"Don't worry about Arabella, I already told her you'd be staying here bit late." Beck said entering the room again, dressed in black running shorts and a simple black tee.
"Thanks, I should probably get out of your way now." I said standing up searching for my shoes.
Beck shook his head, "You're fine Avalon, you're more than welcome to stay here."
My cheeks tingled at hearing my full name come from his mouth, but I remembered I had previously asked him to call me that at the football dinner. I wondered if he called me that yesterday at the party. "I really appreciate it Beck, but I've overstayed my welcome anyway."
Beck chuckled, "Will you shut up? I ordered us dinner, and I think it'd rude to leave me waiting."
He walked over to his closet and grabbed a pair of joggers and a t shirt and threw them at the bed, "I'm assuming you don't want to wear that bunny costume anymore, meet me downstairs."
As he left the room I realized I was still dressed ridiculous and it took me a long time to realize. How stupid was I? I peeled off the costume and dressed into his clothes that dragged onto my body. It was good enough to lounge in. I walked towards the smell of pizza, and saw a large box of pepperoni that was screaming my name.
"Nothing better to cure a hangover with some greasy food, right?" Beck praised.
"Obviously, now hand me a plate. I'm starving." I agreed, taking a seat in front of him.
We sat in comfortable silence, munching on the delicious treat called pizza. Soon enough the box was completely empty. I could feel a food coma taking over my body, instantly needing a nap after this dish.
"Can we talk about last night?" Beck questioned.
Last night? Hm, I wondered what he wanted to talk about. My chat with Chase or the chugging with Vince. It could be the kiss I had given him last night. Oh my god. The kiss! I had completely forgotten about that entire situation, and suddenly staying all day in his penthouse made me feel uncomfortable. The need to stop drunk Ava was becoming more of a priority at this point.
I nodded my head for Beck to continue, knowing I couldn't trust my voice at this point. "Well, we were both very intoxicated and I'm sure you know the entire situation with Maya."
I blinked. Trying to get the moment out of my head. "I'm sorry about the kiss. I'm not sure what I was thinking."
Beck cocked his head, but chuckled. "No, don't apologize. You totally saved my ass, and the kiss was amazing."
Oh god. Where was this conversation going?! I was beyond nervous with what was coming out of his mouth next. Don't get me wrong, I was flattered he thought the kiss was amazing. It just wasn't meant to happen. I felt alarmed wondering if Chase had seen it, and if he hated me.
"I know you and Chase are in a weird situation. I think it's no secret that I enjoy our time together, and well, just don't sweat the kiss. I get that we probably weren't thinking."
I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. I was more than happy for him to acknowledge I was not thinking and acted out of the blue. "Thanks for understanding, I honestly was too drunk to even think about what I was doing." I answered.
Beck nodded, taking a sip out of his water. "We can still be cool, right?" He asked.
"Anyone who buys me pizza, is a friend for life."
"Right," he trailed off, "Did you wanna spend the night again, or were you wanting to head home?"
He was truly the nicest person I had met. He had offered me to stay again, and bought me food! Of course, good times need to come to an end. Plus, there was no way I could comfortably overthink every situation in another home. I liked to rethink my life choices in the comfort of my own bed.
"Seeing as Arabella has been threatening me over text, it'd be a good idea to go home." I laughed.
"Gotcha, I'll meet you in the car?" Beck asked, grabbing his keys.
I nodded my head, "Yeah, I just need to grab my stuff."
I walked up to his bedroom, trying to remember where I left my other heel. Sure, I could leave it behind. But those were my favorite, and there was no way I was going to give up without a fight. I checked under the bed, hoping to see my cute heel but instead I found a large black box. Curiosity got the best of me so I grabbed it and put it on the bed. My fingers reached towards the lid of the heavy box, but heavy footsteps coming around the corner stopped me.
Beck walked into the room, staring at me then the black box. "What are you doing?" He asked a bit agitated.
I felt my body freeze, the embarrassment taking over. "I'm sorry, I was just looking for my heel. And I found your box, I'm sorry for being nosy."
Beck's face stayed stone cold. He stayed silent as he grabbed the box and put it in his closet. "C'mon, the car is out front." He said letting me walk out first.
I felt like a child caught in the candy jar. The awkward silence killed me as we walked to the car. However, he was still a gentleman and opened the door for me. Once I sat down, I watched Beck walk around the car to the drivers seat. Once he had opened the door, I avoided eye contact and stared out the window.
"I'm not mad, I just wished you respected my personal space." Beck suddenly said.
I took a deep breath, "It won't happen again, I promise. I'm not sure what I was thinking."
He deeply chuckled and glanced at me amused, "I'm not sure you were even thinking."
I shoved him playfully, "Ha-ha."
I was glad we were back to being friendly with one another. However, I still wondered what was in that box that he kept so hidden. He looked genuinely afraid of me even touching it, imagine if I had opened it. Even more now, I wanted to open it. The curiosity was killing me, but now I knew better.
Once we pulled into the dorms building, I noticed most people stopped to look in my direction. Maybe there was something behind us, or possibly the were just staring at Beck. He was a pretty popular guy here, and his entire family was important. I ignored the stares and grabbed my things. I mentally cursed myself for having to walk barefoot to my dorm when everyone was outside.
Once I un-clicked my seatbelt, Beck's hand stopped me. "Want me to walk you in?"
"I think I'll be okay. Thanks though." I said opening the car door.
He simply nodded his head at me, and drove off with a quick goodbye. As I began walking towards the dorms, a girl with blonde hair came up to me.
"Are you dating Beckham Addeo?!" She said walking with me.
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to why that was even a question. "I'm sorry?"
"Maya told us Beck had moved on and started dating this nobody, and I honestly couldn't believe it! He's been in love with Maya since like the fifth grade, but when I saw you in his car I knew she was talking about you." The girl rambled.
I tried to process her words, but she was way too fast. I didn't even know how to react to her allegation, but I remembered we had told her we were dating because Maya was supposedly crazy. "I gotta go.."
I walked away from the deranged girl who seemed too invested in my business, and was glad no one else stopped me. I opened my room door and shut it quickly. I caught my breath, only to be mauled once again.
"Bitch, do you know how late it is?!" Arabella yelled at me pointing to her Rolex.
Still completely dazed I ignored her question, "Why are there so many people outside?"
Arabella looked at me stupid but walked over to the window and opening it, "Ohh, I'm pretty sure a shooting star is passing by in a few. Bunch of nerds if you ask me."
Shooting star? Maybe that's what I needed to figure out my life out. It sounded crazy and completely unrealistic, but I could take whatever I needed. I quickly changed out of Beck's clothes, putting on a hoodie and racing out of the building putting on my fluffy slippers. Arabella chased after me yelling. I barged open the campus doors and watched as everyone awed at the shooting star passing by.
I took a deep breath, completely mesmerized by the beauty of it. I shut my eyes, and wished for certainty in my life again. I wanted to feel sure, and just have the truth of everything come out. I wanted normality, but that seemed impossible nowadays. I felt a little silly letting out all my problems on a shooting star that had already passed, but with everything happening lately this wasn't the craziest thing I had experienced.
"Are you done acting up yet?" Arabella asked with her arms crossed. I sighed and nodded my head following her back into our room.
She stopped and analyzed me, which made me uncomfortable. I hated when people just stared at me for no reason. "What happened last night?" Arabella finally asked.
I bit my lip in embarrassment. I hated thinking about last nights events, especially replaying my conversation with Chase. I mean as much as I tried to move on from him, it seemed almost impossible. With everything going on with him, I knew something deeper was going on and I was too scared to get close to him to ask. Cartia was ruthless, so the chances of her revoking everything for Chase were high.
"Not much." I quipped snuggling into my covers.
Arabella shook her head in disbelief, giving me a look. I sighed and decided to tell her everything. From Beck saving me from embarrassing myself to the kiss we shared. Throughout our conversation, Arabella's faces morphed from concerned to cringe. That's when I actually decided to stop drinking. One, it always ends up ruining my night. Secondly, it just doesn't fit me.
Arabella got up to turn the light off, and we both lied in our beds in silence. Then, I remembered I hadn't told her about the box and how upset Beck had gotten with me. "I found a black box under Beck's bed today, and he got really upset with me when I tried to open it."
"What'd he say?" she asked.
"Not much, he just looked annoyed and we didn't talk for a little bit."
"Maybe it has his grandmothers ashes." She said yawning in between.
I giggled at how weird that answer was. "That's kind of specific."
"Whatever, it's probably nothing."
I agreed silently. I don't know why I wanted to know so bad, but something told me there was a lot more to that box than Arabella thought. Was I overreacting? Probably. See, this is why I prefer to freak out like this in private. If I was at Beck's, I would try to look in the box again. I swear, sometimes I begged for trouble.
***