Chapter Fifteen
Stay chill and enjoy xo
Despite Harper, Alexa and I going to different pre-formals, they still come over before to get ready. Mum hires someone in to do our hair and make-up and by the end of it, my hair is in a neat French-braided, low bun. My eye make-up is pretty neutral but my lips are a stunning red to contrast with my deep, blue, strapless velvet dress. I even got my maroon cast re-done so that it didn’t look as ratty against my dress. I slip on my black, strappy wedges and put on some silver jewellery Mum leant me from her own personal collection. I’m just spraying myself with Justin Bieber’s ‘Boyfriend’ perfume when the doorbell rings. I smile at the girls, “That’ll be me.”
Sure enough, my Mum calls me from upstairs. Alexa and Harper come down with me and Jackson is standing at the bottom, a grin on his face. He breathes out slowly, “Wow. You look stunning.”
I blush, “Thanks.”
My mum insists on photos before we leave so we have to endure that first. Jackson drives us over in his parents Bentley and I must say, it is pretty nice. When we get there it’s full of Seniors and Juniors and I’m the only Sophomore. The only person I know is Noah and he’s pretty engrossed with his date so I’m left to stick by Jackson’s side. I manage to talk to a few nice girls about hair and make-up and stuff but I still feel really out of place. Eventually we all make a move to our cars to go to the proper Winter Formal. And in all honesty, I’m not having that great of time with Jackson. He’s nice but he enjoys talking about himself a bit too much and having not been from America I didn’t get football at all. Football to me was soccer so I was confused within the first two minutes.
At the Formal itself I’m able to meet up with Harper and Alexa which is good because I don’t feel so alone. Jackson insists on dancing together though so we do. And it is nice but something that keeps niggling in my mind taints my time with him. I try to push it out but it just doesn’t work. At the end of the night, Jackson drops me home. He walks me to my front door and he even leans in for a good night kiss. And trying to convince myself of other feelings, I let him. It’s nice but I’ve had better. More so what’s worse is that the whole time I’m kissing him, I’m wishing it was someone else. When he pulls away, he looks at me awkwardly, “Did you feel anything?”
I smile slightly and shake my head, “Not a thing.”
He breathes out in relief, “Good I thought it was just me because I felt nothing. Sorry.”
“No worries. I felt the same.”
He holds out his hand, “Friends?”
I shake it, “Friends.”
He gives me a friendly peck on the cheek, “See ya ‘round Ara.”
He leaves me be and I slump against the door slightly, my first kiss in America and it was an absolute dud, better yet I couldn’t even enjoy it because I had someone else running through my mind. I thought this would never happen, it hasn’t before so why now? Because they’ve never been this nice. That’s why.
--
The next day Harper and Alexa come over for our Sunday lunch. We eat as normal before going up to my room to tell one another about our previous night. They tell me about how their dates were lovely and everything like that until they finally ask me about my night. I keep my answers vague but that doesn’t satisfy them. Harper bores into me, “Did he kiss you? Did he try a move on you? Imagine if Noah found out, that’d be a sight to see.”
“He didn’t try anything on me.” I say with a pointed look, “There will be no need for Noah to be informed of anything especially considering he was sucking the face off some girl right in front of me.”
Alexa rolls her eyes, “Well did he at least kiss you?” I avoid her gaze causing her to squeal, “He so did! Tell us!”
I sigh, “We kissed when he dropped me off. No big deal.”
This causes them to ramble off into their own little fairy tales of how we’re going to fall deeply in love with each other because of that ‘magical’ kiss. They shoot questions at me, like if I felt fireworks or if I’d do it again. They continue to fire questions like this my way but are so worked up that they don’t even wait for an answer. They’re discussing my freaking wedding and how cute my babies will be when I finally snap, “We will not be getting married or having babies because I didn’t even feel anything! I was thinking of a different guy the whole time!” I shout frustrated.
Abruptly, they stop talking and look at me with gaping mouths. I jump of the bed, go over to my doors, and look out at the pool trying to sort through my thoughts.
"What do you mean, you were thinking of someone else the whole time?" Harper says hesitantly from behind me.
I guess I'm going to have to tell them. It's kind of good though. I need to tell someone other than my Mum so they can give me advice. I pinch the bridge of my nose and spin around slowly, my voice is slightly regretful, "Remember that time in the car Harper and you accused me of liking that guy and I said if it ever happened you'd be the first to know." I leave out that I already told my Mum but whatever. I look at her dead on, "Well, it happened."
She looks at me with wide eyes, "No way Ara! I was always joking; I didn't think it would ever happen!"
"Yeah will it did." I mutter, turning back to look out the window.
Alexa groans loudly, "Would someone please tell me what's going on!"
After a moment, Harper realises I'm not going to say anything because I don't turn around. So from behind me, I hear her mumble it quietly to Alexa, "Arabelle here, is falling for Keaton."
There's a gasp and I know for a fact without turning around, they are both staring at me. I sigh, "I didn't mean for this to happen. Hell, I didn't want this to happen. I don't know, he's just so nice. Not like Wes who's a dick to me, that I can deal with. But I've always had a soft spot for Keaton and with the whole thing about missing home and him taking me out. It was just ... Really nice and somewhere along the way, I guess … I fell for him."
Harper gets off the bed and wraps her arm around me, followed closely by Alexa who does the same. She squeezes me comfortingly, "It's okay Ara, it's understandable. It's not a sin to start liking one of your friends."
"But it's never happened to me before." I whine, "I hate it. I hate feeling like this."
Harper rubs my arm gently, "Hey hey, it will all work out in the end."
"How am I supposed to act normal around him now?"
"It will be easier than you think Ara, don't worry. My cousin was in the same situation last year and she said she actually found it easy to get along with him as if nothing was the matter, she was only more aware of him and his actions."
Harper pauses a moment, unsure whether to say what's she thinking, "You know ... You could always tell him."
I snap out of their embrace and actually laugh, "Yeah like that's ever going to happen. That'll ruin our friendship for sure."
She shrugs, "You might as well try because at the end of the day a lot of fan girls are after him and he's not going to be available forever."
I don't have an answer to that so I whimper instead, "Why did this have to happen to me with him?"
Harper and Alexa wrap me in a hug, "Don't worry, we'll figure something out."
Yeah, I just hope so. And fast.
--
I'm freaking out about going to the Live Show on Wednesday and having to see and talk to Keaton. On Tuesday I can't push it out of my mind so the only logical thing to do right now is to Skype my ultimate best friend Lyla. Even though the time difference is whack, I'm still able to contact her. When her face pops up on screen, I break out into a huge smile, happy to see a familiar face. She waves to me, "Hey A-Dog."
I wave back, "Hi Lyla. How are you?"
"Good now that I get to see your pretty face. How's California?"
"It's pretty good but I miss home like craaazy, how's New Zealand?"
She smiles, "The beaches are friggin' pumping. The swell is so nice right now girl, I miss not being able to surf with you."
"I miss surfing with you. Actually scratch that, I miss surfing altogether."
She frowns, "When do you get your cast off?"
I shrug, "Like two weeks. The doctor said it's healing really well. I'm so excited. Skating with Keaton only goes so far."
She sighs in a sort of dreamy way, "I still can't believe you're friends with Emblem3. They are so dreamy. Wes is totally hot and Drew's body is so nice and Keaton is a total sweetheart, especially after what he did with you last week."
"That's who I need to talk to you about, Keaton."
She examines her nails and without a second thought she says, "You're falling for him, aren't you."
"How did you even know?!"
She laughs and looks at the screen, "I knew the moment you told me he was nice to you. We've been best friends since we were, like, nine Ara. How do you not expect me to know?"
I sigh, "What am I supposed to do?"
"Tell him I suppose. Before it's too late really."
"But what if he thinks of me as just a friend and it makes it all awkward?"
She rolls her eyes, "Okay, think of him as a wave."
"You are not comparing him to a wave." I say dryly to my surf-obsessed friend.
She laughs, "Just shut up and hear me out. Okay, think of him as a wave," I try not to laugh. "You could either take a chance and paddle the wave and it could be the best wave you surf and you're left feeling complete or it could be a dud and you bail. Worst being you wait for the next wave to come along, just like every other wave."
"And what about our friendship, if ‘the wave’ ends up a dud?" I point out.
She doesn't miss a beat, "Well a wave is kind of like a cycle right? Therefore, it will go to shore, yeah, drawing away from you. It can only go so far though so eventually it'll pull back and reform itself and be all good to surf again normally. Right?"
I smile at her logic, "And this is why you're my best friend."
"Exactly. So I think you should tell him."
I think about it for a while before smiling, "Yeah okay I'll tell him tomorrow."
She shrugs, "Worst comes to worst he's completely overwhelmed, messes up in the X Factor because he's in a bad headspace and they end up getting voted off." My eyes go wide causing her to laugh, "I'm kidding you dick. Although it's probably best to tell him after the show."
I let myself smile, "Okay right. Got it."
"Good. But right now, I have to get ready for an exam so let me know how it goes."
"Will do Lyla."
"Great." She waves at me, "Talk later Ara. Stay chill, love ya gurl."
"Love you too."
She signs off so I close my laptop lid and I'm left to ponder just how I'm going to tell Keaton tomorrow.
--
I'm nervous as heck when I'm getting ready in my room. I'm not in the mood to dress up like last time so I chuck on a pair of skinny jeans, a baggy grey jumper with beaded detailing and choose out my Pepsi beanie to wear. I leave my hair natural and keep my seeing glasses on. Noah calls me from downstairs so I put my all black chucks on and go down to meet him. It's only us two today seeing as Kyle and Kenny are broke after going last week. The whole drive up to LA, I'm silently fretting what's ahead. Noah must notice because he gives me a sideways glance, "What's the matter sis? You look kind of nervous."
I shake my head, "Nothing's wrong and why would I be nervous?"
"Because you're about to go see Keeee-aton," he mocks.
My head snaps towards him, "What?!" I practically yell.
He looks at me as if I'm a freak, "Whoa chill Ara. I was kidding."
I manage a squeaky laugh, "Ah yeah. Of course. I knew that."
He raises an eyebrow at me, "Uh sure ya did."
The rest of the drive is silent and when we get there, we go through the same process to get to our seats. One by one, the contestants perform and I'm freaking out. During a commercial break after about the ninth performance, Laraine appears in front of us, "Hey kids."
We greet her with a hello and a hug and ask what she's doing here. She gestures behind her, "Since there's only two of you the backstage crew said you can watch with us behind stage."
Noah nods his head, "Sweet deal. Thanks Laraine."
She smiles warmly, "No problem. Come quickly before the shows starts up again."
We follow her and now I'm really starting to freak out. I didn't count on seeing him before telling him. A hundred and one thoughts are passing through my head when we get backstage but I'm forced to push them out when Wes and Drew see us. They give us big smiles, "Noah, Ara! Whaddup dogs?"
I roll my eyes and relax a bit when I hug Drew, "I'm not a dog thank you very much."
Wes pulls me into a hug after Drew lets go, "Yeah yeah whatever."
"Where's Keaton?" Noah asks and I'm instantly reminded of the stuff I need to tell him. The butterflies in my tummy go into overdrive when Wes smirks and gestures behind me, "Coming over right now."
Noah turns around and chuckles, "Aw yeah man."
I spin around slowly to see what he's going on about and the butterflies in my tummy die. My stomach drops completely. My eyelids flutter as I process what I'm seeing. Keaton. Lauren. Holding hands. He's drops it when he sees Noah and I though, "Hey guys what are you doing here?"
Luckily Noah answers because I don't think I would be able to open my mouth without throwing up. Keaton pulls me into a hug and even though I'm limp in his embrace, he doesn't notice. Noah raises his eyebrows at him and Lauren, "So what do we have here?"
Keaton blushes, "Uh meet my girlfriend guys."
My heart wrenches, I can't look either of them in the eye so I settle on switching glances between Noah and a spot just above Keaton's head. Considering I'm shorter than both him and Lauren it looks like I am actually looking at him so I'm safe. I hear Noah laugh and I'm snapped back to the present, "I thought you couldn't date other contestants."
Keaton shrugs, "Simon is like the producer, we're all good since we're in his team."
He puts his hand through Lauren's again and this time I can't help but look. Wes, Drew and Noah start mocking Keaton about relationships while I just stay there quietly, trying to soak everything in. I feel somewhat sick when Keaton nudges me gently, his voice low and concerned so only I can hear "Hey are you okay? You've been kind of quiet?"
"What? Uh yeah I'm just tired. I'm glad you're happy Keaton. You and Lauren are cute." I say even though it kills me inside.
He smiles, "Thanks Ara. I'm glad you like her. But right now I gotta go cos we're on soon so we'll talk later."
He gives my shoulder a squeeze and wanders off with the boys. Laraine's looking at curiously so I give her a smile, she returns it and wraps her arm around me, "You'll be okay. Boys are naïve sometimes."
Of course she knows. Mother's know everything. Eventually Emblem3 are announced so we go over to the backstage screen to watch it. Lauren watches with us too which makes me fidget for some reason. He wasn’t my Keaton anymore. Well I guess he never really was mine. He’s hers now. When they come on, I can't take my eyes of Keaton even though he barely sings in the performance. After they finish their rendition of ‘No one’ – which was freaking amazing -- I don't even notice that tears have pooled in the corner of my eyes. Noah looks at me with a frown, "Hey you okay sis? You look like you're going to cry."
I don't miss a beat even though everyone turns to look at me. I try to joke, I force it normally enough, "I'm getting a bit sentimental okay, it must be that time of the month." I choke out some fake laughter.
"Oh okay." He gives me a funny look, likes he's trying to figure out something, before eventually turning back to the screen.
Not even a moment later, while the judges are still commenting, Noah checks his watch and feigns shock, "I just remembered I have to hand in some homework in before school tomorrow and I haven't even done it yet so sorry to say it but we're going to have to leave guys."
Personally, I don't even care. Actually I'm thankful to be able to escape this disaster story. Laraine and Will are sad because the boys barely saw us but Noah just shrugs, "If Mum knew I was skipping homework she'd kill me and we'd never be able to come again. Send them our wishes though and we’ll get in contact with them soon enough."
We give them hugs goodbye and I say a small bye to Lauren before Noah and I quickly and quietly take the back entrance out. Noah wraps his arm around me, "You didn't need to endure any more of that than you already had. I'm sorry sis."
Come to think of it, Noah would never blow of that for some petty homework assignment. I snuggle into my brother and thank him silently. Then I sigh to myself, am I that much of an open book that everybody knows I have a freaking crush on Keaton?
Tumblr: m-astin.tumblr.com
30 votes for the next chapter? I just want to say you Wattpad readers are awesome. You make me want to update often which is really great. Thanks so much for reading everyone and I love each and everyone of you and you all deserve gold medals. <3 stay chill!
P.S Does everyone agree that Noah is a total hottie (judging from the picture in the pervious chapter). God, I just want him for christmas.