Post with 2 notes
“Maybe we should make the biggest poster in the world! Ya know? Have many people volunteer to hold it up and take a picture!”
“Megan…even if we could make a huge poster, you know how much money that would cost? We can’t even afford McDonalds!” You exclamied.
You and Megan both have been sitting at the dining room table for hours trying to come up with the most creative plan to meet BTR. You even relied on Google for a while.
“Well, we gotta figure out something! We can’t do something that is too easy because that’s probably what everyone else is doing. Who knows how many people are going to enter…”
“Thanks for the support, Megan.”
“Hey, we’re a team! If we don’t win, I can’t go either! Uh hello!” Megan says and continues chewing on the pencil she was using to write down ideas.
“Sometimes I wonder how the hell you pass school.” You say with a smile. Megan rolls her eyes and punches you, playfully.
“Whatever…at least we’re entered.”
“Yeah, but we have to submit our project in 1 month.”
Megan throws the pencil down as you slam your laptop shut.
“This is pointless, we ain’t going to win! I’m sure someone is going have a more creative idea than us!” You say, your heart dropping. This project was the only thing getting your mind off of Nick…you were really hoping to actually hang with Kendall. Suddenly you hear the front door open and your Mom announcing that she was home.
“Hey Mom.” You say as she walked into the room.
“Hey, honey how you feeling?” Your Mom asks.
“I’m fine…” You say and shrug.
“We’re trying to figure out how to win a contest.” Megan says, smiling. Your Mom looks curious as she sits next to you.
“A contest? For what?”
“Oh nothing big…” You say then smile. “Big Time Rush is holding a contest for the person who mails in a really, really cool gift. Like something very creative! Whoever has the most creative idea gets to hang with BTR in LA for ONE WEEK!!”
“But sadly, we can’t come up with anything.” Megan adds.
Your Mom smiles at your excitement. “You can always do a video.”
“Mom, a video? You know how many people are going to do that? Like either dance and lip sing to one of their songs or run around their town with posters. So typical for a fan to do.” You say, annoyed. You knew your Mom would be no help for this kind of stuff.
“Well…why not do both?”
“Huh?” You and Megan both say.
“I mean why not do all that and….even act some of the scenes from the show! I’m sure barely anyone does that!” You stare at your Mom in shock. You realized it’s actually a pretty good idea. “Oh and put bloopers in there too! Gotta make them laugh!”
“Wow, Mrs. [your last name]! That’s genius!”
“Yeah, Mom! Where did you come up with that?!”
Your Mom smiles at you and shrugs. “I was a teenager once. I know crazy we girls get when it comes to celebrities. Trust me, I was OBSESSED with Led Zepplin.”
“Who?” Megan says.
“You mean you never-“
“Ignore her Mom. Megan here had parents who only listened to God music.”
“Hey! That ‘God music’ isn’t too bad!” Megan snaps. You roll your eyes.
“Yeah I bet…”
Megan mumbles something under her breath about “God music” as you stand up.
“Well? You ready to get this video going or what?!” You say, smiling.
Post with 6 notes
“Sweetie? Are you okay?”
“I don’t feel good, I’m staying home today.”
You feel the bed move as your Mom sits down next to you. You hug your pillow, silent tears going down your face.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“There’s nothing to say. I’m sick and I want to sleep.”
“Ok…”
Your Mom gets up and closes the door behind her as she leaves your room. You slowly get up, wiping the tears away. You go to your bathroom and stare at yourself in the mirror.
You’re not even good looking…
You start to cry again, your make-up creating black streaks down your face.
What makes you think I would go out with you?
You scream and throw your phone at your mirror. It doesn’t completely break, but it left a big crack on your mirror, going right across your face.
I’m ugly.
A nobody.
Who would want me?
“[Your name]?! Are you okay? I head something crash.”
“I’m fine, Mom! Just leave me alone!”
“Ok…I’m leaving for work. I’ll see you tonight.”
You hear the door shut and then her car starting. You wipe your face, feeling stupid, and grab your phone to make sure it wasn’t broken. You have 5 texts from Megan.
Please talk to me!
I’m soooo sorry!!!!!
It’s his lost!! You’re beautiful!!
He is a fucking dick and I bet he WILL regret what he just did!
Will you please talk to me?!?!?!!
You walk out of your bathroom, debating on texting her back when your phone goes off again. Thinking it was from Megan apologizing again, you read it only to realize it wasn’t from Megan…
That guy was a real jerk, you’re beautiful and you don’t deserve what you got today.
Confused, you text back:
Uhhh thanks but who’s this?
After a few minutes from waiting, you still don’t get a reply. Weird… You shrug and grab your iPod as you lay back on your bed. Doing what you usually do when you’re upset, you blast Big Time Rush in your ears. As you listen to Kendall singing Til I Forget About You, you feel your phone vibrate. Hoping it was from the mystery number, your heart drops slightly when you see its Megan again.
Can you just at least give me a fuck you? At least I’ll know that you’re mad at me…
You roll your eyes and finally text back:
I wouldn’t say that to you. It’s not your fault…
You set your phone down and close your eyes, drowning yourself in the Til I Forget About You lyrics.
Dance hard, laugh hard
Turn the music up now
Party like a rockstar
Can I get a what now?
I swear I’ll do anything that I have to
Till I forget about you.
You feel yourself smile as you grow tired. Your phone vibrates again, but you’re too tired to look and slowly you drift off to sleep…
**********************************
CRASH!
You quickly sit up, short of breath. Looking around, you realize you just knocked your phone on the ground as you slept. Laughing at yourself, you take your earbuds out of your ears and grab your phone. 4 more text messages were on your phone, all from Megan.
Oh thank god!! But it really is, if I didn’t make you go talk to him, none of this would have happened! I am really sorry!
It’s either you’re ignoring me again or sleeping….
I bet you’re sleeping….RUDE!
I’m coming over as soon as school is over! So you better be up!!
You laugh and check the time. You still had some time till Megan was coming over. Heading downstairs, you see a note on the front door from your Mom.
Sweetie, I know something happen today. If you want to talk about it, you know I’m here for you. There’s peanut butter and chocolate ready for you…it cures everything, trust me. You smile and throw the note away. Grabbing some crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate, you go on your couch and turn the TV on. Watching Jerry Springer, you laugh and eat your sadness away, enjoying the sweet taste of the chocolate and peanut butter mixed with the salty crackers. Huh…she was right. You suddenly hear your door open and heels click inside.
“Miss [your name]! If you are not up, I will come up there and push you off your bed!”
“Megan…I’m in here.” You say, laughing. Megan comes walking in, seeing all the food around you, and frown.
“Oh, I’m so sorry about today!” She says, running over to you and giving you a big hug.
“I’m fine. Just a little upset…” You say as Megan sits next to you.
“I can tell by the food…”
“Hey it helps.”
“And makes you fat…”
You roll your eyes and hand Megan the crackers.
“Just have some.”
You two start to stuff your face, bad talking Nick, and watching random shows on TV. You see Big Time Rush is on and quickly put it on. As you two sit there, watching the guys do another stupid stunt, Megan sighs.
“I would totally do James.”
“Megan!”
“What? He’s freaking hot! I would not mind dating him.”
“I prefer Kendall…”
“What? His eyebrows are freaking huge!”
“So? I think it’s cute.”
“You’re weird, [your name].”
“So are you!”
Megan smiles and shrugs. “At least I admit it…”
“Whatever…besides, it’s not like we’ll ever meet them anyway.”
“Sad, but true. I bet they’re actually good guys.”
“They probably are. And of course we can’t have them..” You say and shrug.
“Yeah…”
Do YOU want to meet BIG TIME RUSH?!?!
You sit up straight, watching the TV.
“Yes!!” You yell at the TV as Megan laughs.
Well, here’s your chance!! All you have to do is go on the website shown below and enter!! But that’s not all!
“I’ll do anything!” Megan says, excited.
We want YOU to stand out! Do anything! Create a video, write how much you love BTR, give them a present, be creative! And whoever is the most creative will win a chance to get 3 tickets to LA and hang with the boys for a full week! That’s right…a FULL week! So enter now!!!
You and Megan look at each other, smiling.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“For once, Megan…I am.”
Post with 6 notes
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Your alarm beeps in your ears as you groan awake.
“[Your name]! Wake up! You don’t want to be late!” Your Mom yells from the bottom of the stairwell as you throw the pillow on your face. Oh I totally don’t wanna be late for school… You throw the pillow off and jump out of bed as your phone vibrates.
Hey lazy! Get your ass to school!! Mister Cutie is going to be here! ;)
You smile and hurry to the bathroom, your tiredness pushed to the back of your mind. As you look in the mirror, smiling big. Its going to be a good day, I know it. After taking a shower, taking almost an hour choosing a look, you hurry downstairs, and out the door.
“Don’t you want some breakfast?” Your mom calls out.
“I’m good! I’ll eat at school with Megan!” You call back as you jump in your Mom’s mini van. I seriously need my own car… Before going you text Megan back,
Keep a look out! Omw!
Quickly pulling out the drive way, you hurry towards the school which is luckily only 8 minutes away. You bite your lip nervously as you drive through your tiny town. You hated this place. Everyone here knows each other, grew up with each other, and knows everyone else’s business. Annoying as hell. You thought as another driver waved to you at a red light.
“How are you, [your name]?”
“I’m good, Mr. Groves. Just trying to get to school.”
“Good, keep a good education…”
Keep your head on straight.
“Keep your head on straight…”
And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Blah, blah, blah. I get it, you say it every day.
“And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Mr. Groves lightly chuckled. “By the way, how’s your Mom doing?”
You slightly cringe at the question.
“She’s uh…fine.” The light suddenly turns green. “Well, I’ll see you later, Mr. Groves!” You quickly drive away, your face going red. Why must everyone ask that? Already my day is going bad, maybe I shouldn’t try to talk to him today… You finally reach school and quickly park by Megan’s car. As you jump out, she comes running over to you.
“O…M…G! You will not believe this!” You laugh lightly; you always enjoyed how Megan talked.
“What, Megan? Why did you make me rush? You know I’m already nervous about this! I don’t want it to come faster!”
“Uh, let me finish!” You smile and roll your eyes as Megan flicks her bleach blonde hair back. She might look like she was a total bitch, but she actually wasn’t. Yes, she was gorgeous, got any guy she wanted, and really smart, but she didn’t flaunt it everywhere like she own everything. She was the exact opposite, when people tell her she’s pretty she would sometimes reply “Really?” Her only flaw was she liked to gossip…a lot.
“So you know how Mister Cutie got dumped by that total bitch Jessica?”
“Yeahhh….”
“Well, she comes crying to him today when everyone started coming, saying how the guy she cheated on him with just cheated on her!”
“Are you serious?!”
“That’s not even the best part! So she’s obviously trying to get him back and you know what he does?”
“What?”
“He says fuck off whore and walks away!”
“Doesn’t that seem kind of harsh?”
“She deserved it! But that doesn’t matter because you totally have an opening especially since he won’t go back to her!”
“Well, duh… she cheated on him. But, Megan, I was thinking…” Megan’s white smile dropped and she put her hands on her hips that were clearing showing from her short tee shirt that said, I LOVE HATERS.
“Please don’t tell me you’re gonna chicken out!”
“Well…it’s just I’ve been having a bad day. Mr. Groves asked about my Mom today…” Megan dropped her hands and hugged you tightly.
“[Your name], of course people will ask. Your Dad left her for another man! What do you expect? This town is closed minded, they view it as a sin of what your Dad did. Idiots…”
“I know…but it could be a sign that maybe today is not the day.” Megan pulls away from you and smiles.
“Do you honestly believe in that or are you just trying to make an excuse?” You shrug and smile.
“I guess making an excuse.”
“Trust me! You’re beautiful! How could he deny you?! And I’ll be just a few feet away from you just don’t stutter or spit that’s gross.” You laugh and smile.
“I’ll try not to…”
“Okay, good! Let’s go!” You freeze and fight against Megan pushing you.
“Whoa! I’m not going right now! I thought this would happen after school?!”
“Of course not silly! Gotta do it now before you try to chicken out again!” You groan as you are pulled into school. You can see him just a few feet down talking to some friends.
“He’s busy, let’s do this later!” You say, trying to turn around, but Megan grabs you and pushes you forward.
“No, it’s now or never.”
“I’m about to go with never…”
“Hey! Never say never!”
“Let’s not quote Justin Bieber right now…”
“Just shut up and go!” Megan gives you one hard push and you almost fall forward onto him.
“Oh I’m really sorry, Nick!”
“Hey, it’s cool. What’s up?” His voice sends chills down your spine and you can’t help but smile like an idiot.
“Oh…umm…nothing much. I heard what happened earlier.” You mentally smack yourself. Of course he wouldn’t want to talk about that! You’re an idiot!
“Oh…that.” His big brown eyes looked sad and helpless that you just wanted to hug him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought that up…”
“No, it’s cool.”
“I just…wanted to make sure you were alright.” He smiles sweetly at you and your heart melts.
“Well, thanks [your name]. I’m doing okay, I’ll get over her soon enough.” Say something cool! Now!
“Oh…well that’s good.” Oh yeah, totally cool. You already know this is going down hill as he looks at you, slightly confused. “Anyway, I was just wondering…maybe you would…want to hang sometime?” You smile slightly, hoping you weren’t doing something completely stupid. He looks at you for a minute then starts busting out laughing!
“Uhh…what’s so funny?”
“Are you…asking me out?” He says with a laugh.
“Uh, yea I am.” He starts laughing harder, his friends joining him. You can feel your face burning as other people start to look.
“What is so god damn funny, Nick?” Megan says, walking up. Thank you, Megan!
“Oh just your little friend here thinks she can ask me out.” Uh…little friend?
“Seriously, [your name], what makes you think I would go out with you? You’re not even good looking.” Everyone suddenly goes quiet as you feel tears going down your face.
“You’re a fucking dick, Nick.” Megan snaps.
“And you’re a fucking slut. I bet your friend here is too or she wouldn’t be trying to get in my pants right now.” He says loudly and smiles a nasty grin. More tears fall down your face and you quickly turn and run. You can hear people laughing and whispering as you run by. You push open the doors and hurry to your car.
“[Your name]!”
“Leave me alone, Megan!”
“Come on, [your name]. He’s a dick, everyone knows what he said is not true.” You quickly turn around, tears falling heavily on the cement.
“That’s not the point, Megan! He said it! That’s what matters! I knew it! I knew this was a bad idea; I shouldn’t have listened to you! Not only was I embarrassed in front of everybody, but I defiantly know now I’m an ugly slut.’
“[Your name], you really don’t believe that do you?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore! I thought there was a guy out there for me, but I better wake up because it’s never going to happen.” You turn away and open your car door.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
You slam the door shut as you get in and start it up. You look in your rearview mirror at Megan who is watching you. You quickly pull out and drive away, leaving Megan in the dust. You silently cry your way home, Nick’s words repeating over and over in your head. The look of disgust on his face, his nasty smile, and that laugh…it made you sick to your stomach. You finally reach home and run through the door and upstairs, ignoring your Mom’s confused look. You slam the door behind you in your room and lay on your bed. Burying your face in your pillow, you continue to cry, puke coming up the back of your throat. You quickly swallow it down and flip on your back. As you continue to cry, you look at the Big Time Rush posters surrounding you. Smiling slightly, you lightly touch Kendall and sigh. You probably wouldn’t want me either. You turn away from your posters and curl in a ball. As you cry harder, you hear your door slowly open.
There is nothing much to say about the funeral. It went like any other funeral, slow and depressing. I cried a lot and I remember Danny holding me tight. Since Sammy and Henry were “a thing” now they were holding each other as Sammy cried quietly. There was so much sadness in the air that I could feel it weighing me down. I held Danny tight when they lowered her casket into the ground and I said my final goodbyes. In the end, I stopped crying and finally felt that it was over. The sadness and guilt was left behind at her grave and I knew as long as I had Danny and Sammy by my side, I will be able to move on. I got to see a lot of my family that I haven’t seen in years, thanks to my mother cutting us off from everyone on my Dad’s side. It was good to see them again, but I wished I would see them for something more…cheerful. Some tried to convince to live with them, saying I needed to be with family, but I refused all of them, saying Sammy was my family and I was perfectly fine. Sammy was pleased by that and smiled at me. I actually smiled back and felt the depression leave my shoulders. I looked up at Danny and smiled slightly when everyone started to leave.
“I’m so happy you’re here.” I whispered and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He smiled slightly; glad to see me finally cheering up.
“You know I will always be here for you. You know I hate it when you cry.” He said as he brushed the last tear away from my face.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be the last time you’ll see me cry.” I said.
“Good.” He said and smiled. I smiled back and lightly kissed him. When we parted I suddenly felt sick. Danny could tell something was wrong, but I wasn’t able to tell him what. I quickly ran behind a tree and puked my guts out. Luckily mostly everyone was gone. I suddenly felt someone hold my hair back and I realized it was Sammy.
“Thanks” I finally said as I wiped my mouth with a napkin Sammy gave me.
“Are you feeling okay? You’ve been getting sick a lot lately.” She said, watching me curiously.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a lot of stress, you know.” I said, fixing my hair. Sammy watched me like she was studying me. I found it very odd and disturbing. It made me feel uneasy or maybe that was because I was feeling sick again.
“You’ve been gaining some weight, Ava.” She pointed out.
“Thanks for reminding me, Sammy. Nice to tell your best friend.” I snapped and made sure the puke was gone from my mouth. Sammy didn’t say anything else and we walked back to Danny and Henry in silence.
The dinner was being held at Sammy’s house and luckily it would be pretty short since a lot of my family lived out of state. After we ate, I started feeling better, but my stomach still felt uneasy. Sammy kept watching me a lot and I was starting to get worried. I couldn’t understand why she seemed so curious and worried. I hope nothing was wrong. When I started to feel sick again, I quickly slipped into my room and ran in my bathroom. I puked again, but not too much this time. I washed my mouth and came out when I ran into Sammy.
“Oh, hey…didn’t see you there.” I said, smiling, but stopped when I saw the serious look on Sammy’s face. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
“When was the last time you had your period?” She asked, ignoring my question. I stared at her in confusing and shrugged.
“Umm…I don’t know. I always had odd cycles.” I answered still not understanding what she was getting at.
“Did you and Danny use protection that night you were over his house?” She snapped, becoming worried. I thought it was a very odd question and I just stared.
“I don’t know. Sammy why are you…”
“Please tell me you guys used protection!” She snapped and suddenly rummaged through her purse.
“What’s wrong, Sammy? What did I do?” I asked, completely lost. She kept rummaging, mumbling to herself until she finally found what she was looking for.
A pregnancy test.
I stared at it in confusion and looked back at Sammy. I still didn’t know where she was getting at.
“Tell me right now, Ava. Did you and Danny use protection the day you stayed at his place?” She asked, very serious now. As I stared at her, the pieces suddenly started to come together. Suddenly, my stomach dropped.
“Oh my…”
“Take the test, let’s hope its negative.” She interrupted, handing the test to me, and walked out the bathroom. I quickly went to the bathroom, starting to panic. When I was finished, Sammy and I sat there for 5 minutes, waiting for the test to finish. When it was finally done, I quickly picked it up and froze right on the spot.
“Well? What is it? Sammy asked, sounding worried. I looked up at her slowly, shaking from head to toe.
“I’m pregnant.”
The End
After the phone from Detective Browns, everything else seemed like a blur. I remember blacking out as soon as Danny came up to me with Sammy and Henry behind him. I remember waking up in the Danny’s car on our way back to Sammy’s house. I realized they didn’t know the latest news and started freaking out. After that, it seemed it went all so fast. Being at the police station and going to the morgue to identify Lydia’s body. That was horrible. Seeing her body bruised, pale, cold, and covered in blood around her neck and wrists. I wanted to pass out again, but I knew I had to stay strong and “Yes, it’s her.” I wanted to cry when I left the morgue. My little sister, dead. Tortured and beaten like I was, but she actually died. Killed my crazy, evil mother who didn’t even have a brain. I felt anger every time I thought of her. When we reached half way down the hallway is when I lost control of my emotions. I fell to the ground screaming and crying. I screamed that I would kill my mother, I cried over Lydia being dead, and then I was mad again for not being there for Lydia to stop her from going into harm or getting brainwashed by my mother. I was acting like the crazy person; my heart felt like it was ripped out violently of my chest. I felt like I was bleeding on the inside and I just wanted to die. This anger and guilt was too much for me that I just wanted to run in front of a car. But he got me through. Danny. If he wasn’t there, holding me in his arms, I probably would of killed myself. He calmed me down and basically carried me back to the car with Sammy and Henry behind us, they were dead quiet. It seems like all the good stuff that happened earlier that day did not matter. All that matter was that my sister was dead because of my mother. I couldn’t even call her a mother anymore. She was just an it. A cruel, insane animal that had no heart or soul.
I hope she rots in hell.
Even though Lydia was mean and cruel just like her, I understood why she acted the way she did. She was brainwashed by my crazy mother since she was only little when our father died and also she knew if she didn’t follow our mother, she knew she would get beaten also. I’m glad she was smarter and just played it cool. I wish I did that; she probably would still be alive. I shook that thought and realized I needed to stop blaming myself. It was too late to have any doubts on my actions. Overall, Lydia was my sister, my other half. She did care for me and it probably tortured her to have me beaten so she wouldn’t. I would have probably done the same if I was in her spot.
As I sat with Danny, Sammy, and their parents, we were planning Lydia’s funeral. My mind wondered to the better days. Lydia and I playing with our father, Lydia sticking up for me when she was little, and when I use to read to her every night before bed right after Dad died. Those were the memories I would keep, not the bad ones. Those one were nothing, just a bad dream that seemed so real. That’s how I put it and got through the process of setting Lydia’s funeral. As we made the final touches the day before the funeral, looked up at the sky. Family is always important, no matter what. I closed my eyes and imagine Lydia smiling down at me, happy to see me finally happy.
I forgive you, Lydia. Rest in peace.
Fall and winter had past. Luckily, it was an uneventful. I spent Christmas with Danny, Sammy, and their families. It was nice to feel like I belonged to something normal. The gifts were amazing; I even got my car back! Turns out, Sammy and her family lied about it getting repaired and actually got it fixed up to where it was like brand new. It looked beautiful and I knew my dad would of have been happy. I was very grateful for all Sammy and her family had done for me and I knew I finally found a home. Mr. and Mrs. Starr were like my adoptive parents, they were so loving and caring that it was like I was one of their own.
Slowly spring was coming and junior year was getting intense. The SATs were coming up, which I was panicking about. I even was getting sick a lot lately in the morning, probably because of the stress. I was even gaining some weight because I was eating a lot. That was my weakness. When I was stressed, I ate a lot. Not only were the SATs were looming near, Danny’s championship football game was today. He has been preparing for it all year and especially this week where I barely got to see him, but I understood this game was important to him. Sammy and I, on the other hand, made some crazy posters for him to cheer him on. They were actually pretty good, thanks to Henry’s amazing art skills who drew our mascot, the Tiger, on them. Henry and Sammy have been becoming really, really close since her gig a few months back. It’s been really weird and I wouldn’t be surprised if they started dating one day. They had so much in common that it was a surprise they weren’t dating yet! But every time I mentioned it she would laugh and say they were just friends.
I didn’t believe one word.
As Sammy and I were setting up at the stands to cheer for Danny, Henry came running up and hugged us both.
“This game is going to be awesome! I wish people were this excited for my soccer games.” He said as he sat by Sammy. I rolled my eyes and stared out into space as him and Sammy started talking about her album. After her gig at the club, a record producer came and gave her a chance to get a album. Luckily the record company loved her and now her and her band were working on the songs, but Sammy has been having trouble designing the album. That’s where Henry came in, go figure.
Suddenly people started to cheer and our team started to run out. I could see Danny and I screamed his name as we held up the posters. He smiled at me and winked. I blew him a kiss and screamed, “Go Danny!” He laughed and went to join his team.
The game was amazing! Everyone on the team was killing it out there and Sammy and I couldn’t stop cheering. Henry was even getting the guys to chant Go Tigers! It was in the last quarter now, with only 15 seconds left in the game and it was tied 24-24. We had the ball at the 40 yard line and I crossed my fingers as they hiked the ball to Danny.
“COME ON, DANNY! YOU CAN DO IT!” I yelled, clapping. Henry was now getting the guys to cheer, GET THE TOUCH IF YOU CAN GET DOWN #3! It was pretty silly, but it helped lighten the mood a little. Sammy and I held each other tight as Danny threw the ball far to the guy who was right at the touchdown area. It was like everything was slow motion. Danny was standing, watching the ball slowly go to the player, holding his helmet. The player slowly went backwards to catch the ball as a player from the opposite team came running towards him. The ball was slowly spinning in the air, thrown perfectly to the player. The thing was if he could catch it before getting tackled. Everyone stood up, holding their breath, watching the ball. It came down fast to the player, as the one from the other team was charging in. Right before that player attacked, ours caught the ball…making the touchdown right before the time ran out! Everyone screamed and cheered. I hugged Sammy and Henry, jumping with joy. Danny was being carried by his players and holding his hands up high, one holding the championship trophy. I couldn’t believe we actually won! I was at lost for words and I couldn’t wait to run to Danny to congratulate him. When I looked at Sammy and Henry to tell them we should head down, I frozen in shock.
They were kissing, full on making out.
I wanted to laugh, but I was too shock to move. I couldn’t believe it, I knew they probably liked each other, but I didn’t expect it to be now that they decide to hook up! And to think, it all started when he stared at her like a lost puppy the first day she came here. I decided to leave them be and head down myself to Danny to tell him the surprising news. When I finally reached the bottom I could see Danny in the distant looking for me. I started to run when he saw me and handed the trophy to one of the players before running to me. He quickly hugged him in the air, spinning me around. I giggled and hugged him tighter. After setting me down, I kissed him passionately and held him tighter. When we parted I smiled up at him.
“Congrads, champion. That was an amazing throw.” I said. He smiled back and kissed me again.
“Your cheering helped a lot.” He whispered. “You’re my good luck charm.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked, smiling.
“Because my life has been amazing with you in it.” He said and kissed me again.
It was like perfect movie ending that you usually never see in real life. Of what I went through this entire year, I couldn’t believe how my life ended up. Here, kissing Danny, having amazing friends, and finally having a place I can call home. It was too good to be true and I was smiling ear to ear as me and Danny parted.
“Where’s Sammy and Henry?” He asked, looking around.
“Well…they were kind of busy with…each other.” I said, hoping he got the hint. He stared at me in disbelief.
“You got to be kidding.” He said, eyes widening.
“Nope. After you made the winning touch down, I looked over and there they were. Kissing.” I said and shrugged like it was nothing.
“I knew them two would end up together. Let’s go find those love birds.” He said and winked. I laughed and held his hand as we went to go in the stands. Suddenly I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and saw it was the FBI calling me. I didn’t think of what could be wrong at first with my mind filled too much with what was going on. I told Danny to wait and headed inside, under the stands, so I can hear. When I picked up, my stomach dropped, but I still couldn’t figure out why. I knew something was wrong, but for some reason I couldn’t think of why.
“Ms. Johnson, I’m sorry to bother you. I’m sure you’re busy with something, I called you about 5 times.” Detective Browns said, sounding like he has been through a lot.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m at Danny’s football game, it just ended. What’s wrong? Is it my mother?” I asked, worried.
“No, she’s safely in the insane asylum, recovering quiet well actually.” Detective Browns informed, but I didn’t really care. I wanted nothing to do with my mother.
“Then what is it?” I asked, confused.
“It’s about your sister, Lydia.” He said, pausing. Suddenly my stomach dropped and I froze. I couldn’t believe I totally forgot about her. I suddenly heard the words my mother screamed that day she was caught. I KILLED HER!
I suddenly started to shake as Detective Browns waited for my response, but I couldn’t reply. I was frozen with fear. Guessing I wasn’t going to say anything he continued,
“We found her, Ms. Johnson. We found her body.”
People screamed around us as Sammy walked on stage, smiling. She waved and sat in front of the microphone with a guitar sitting on her lap.
“Hello everyone!” She yelled out, smiling. I rolled my eyes and smiled.
“My name is Sammy Starr and well…I’ll be playing for you.” She said and shrugged.
“WE LOVE YOU SAMMY!” I yelled out as I heard Danny laughed beside me. Everyone stared at me as Sammy laughed.
“I love you too, guys!” She yelled back and smiled. “Anyway…the first song I’ll be playing for you was inspired by two good friends of mine, I hope they knows I’m talking about them.” She said, smiling. I looked over at Danny in shock and he smiled and shrugged. “It’s called Memories, I hope you like it.” Sammy finished and sighed. Everyone became really quiet as the lights dimmed and a spotlight shined on Sammy. She played a few chords then started to play slow, beautiful beats.
“Memories…
So many memories…
Who knew we would end up here, side by side?
You held my hand tight, not letting me fall
Deeper into the darkness, my shining light
That led the way…
Ohhhh so many memories we shared
Ohhhh how much we’ve been through…
You were my light at the end of the tunnel,
My shining star.
The One who knew what to say,
What to do,
How can I ever let you go?”
Sammy paused and I started to smile.
“Memories…
Images flashed before my eyes as I stared…
Stared into your eyes, remembering.
Those precious times we shared,
Those many nights and days…
We held each other, watching as the words played on our lips,
Those three words that are so little, but so important.
How can this love be real when it feels like a dream?
All those memories we shared, never fading.”
Another pause and I held Danny tight.
“The memories…
Ohhhh these memories!
I’ll never let this go…
No matter what happens,
Where we end up,
I’ll Never Let This Go…”
The song slowly ended and I can see Sammy slowly smiling at us. Everyone was silent, watching her, including me. I was speechless, I think Danny was too because he did not move or speak either. I wanted to look up at him to see what he was feeling, but I could not look away from Sammy. Suddenly people started to clap and cheer. Sammy smiled and stood up. She bowed and set her guitar on the stand.
“Thank you, everyone! I hope you enjoyed it! This next song will be…” She continued, but I was too busy looking at Danny to pay attention.
“Danny…” He looked down at me and smiled.
“That was….amazing.” He said, smiling ear to ear. I nodded and looked back at Sammy. She was playing another song, this time with her whole band and it was upbeat. Soon everyone started to dance and cheer. I smiled at Danny and started to dance. It was fun, soon the rest of our friends (including Henry) came to join, and I couldn’t stop smiling. We cheered, we sang along with Sammy, and we just basically jumped around. I knew all the problems and the drama were over, for now. Nothing else matter, but just having a good time. Soon Sammy was finished and left the stage. Danny grabbed my hand and started to pull me to the dressing room. When we came in, Sammy was smiling ear to ear at us.
“Well…did you like it?” She asked, smiling. When neither of us answered her smile slowly dropped and she looked worried. “I’m guessing that’s a no?” Before she knew it I ran into her arms and hugged her tight. She laughed lightly and hugged me back. “Well I guess it’s a yes.”
“Sammy, I loved it!” I said and pulled back to look at her. “It was beautiful, thanks.” Her smiled returned then she looked behind me at Danny. “Ain’t you going to join this hug or do we have to pull you over here?” I turned around and saw Danny smiling and rolling his eyes.
“I rather not be pulled…” He said and hurried over to us. We hugged, like if we were in Elementary school again. I giggled and rolled my eyes. This was another memory going in my mind…
We hurried out of the dressing room and back into the club. It was starting to get packed and we basically had to push our way through the crowd standing on the dance floor. I stood on my tip toes to spot anyone I knew until I saw Henry waving eagerly to us. A couple of our friends from lunch were sitting with him also looking very excited. I grabbed Danny’s hand and we hurried over to the table.
“Well it looks like you two finally made up.” One of our friends said, smiling. I rolled my eyes and sat next to Henry as Danny took a seat next to me.
“Hey Ava.” Henry said, giving me a one arm hug. I took a quick peek at Danny’s expression…he didn’t look happy.
“Oh…hey.” Was all I could reply and I slightly shook off his arm. He looked confused at the reaction I gave, usually I would of hugged back, but when he looked at Danny I could see he understood.
“I can’t wait to hear Sammy perform! I heard she has a good band.” Henry said, smiling. I nodded in agreement and looked towards the stage, hoping to see Sammy get on. Suddenly I felt something arm drape over my shoulders and I looked over to see it was Henry’s arm. I stared wide eyed at him, but of course he wasn’t looking. He was chatting with the others. I could feel Danny becoming stiff beside me. I sighed and tried to lightly take Henry’s arm off, but he just hugged me tighter.
“Henry…” I complained, pushing away. He looked at me confused, as if what he was doing was natural.
“What?” He asked, acting dumb. I sighed and was about to explain when Danny interrupted.
“I don’t think she likes you touching her…”
“No it’s not that, I…”
“Oh really? Maybe she just doesn’t want me touching her when you are around. I bet she wouldn’t have minded if it was just us.”
“Henry, please just…”
“I highly doubt that…now get your hands off my girlfriend.” Danny snapped, basically staring Henry down. I looked back and forth between them; everyone else grew silent, probably wondering if a fight would happen. I’m surprised one of them hadn’t snapped yet, the tension was unbearable.
“Yea, she’s yours…unless you keep ignoring her when she’s upset.” Henry said and removed his arm. He looked back at his friends and started to talk again, as if nothing happened. I was lost for words and I felt Danny yank me off the chair, pulling me towards the dance floor.
“Danny…” I said, trying to get his attention. I could feel the others, including Henry, watching us. Danny kept pulling me, not looking back. I grew annoyed and quickly yanked back when we reached the middle of the dance floor.
“Danny!” I yelled, pulling him back to stop. He sighed and slowly turned around. I never saw Danny truly angry…until now. His face was flustered, his eyes watery with tears of anger, and he was slightly shaking. I got my arm out of his death grip and held his face in my hands, his face was burning hot.
“Danny…calm down and listen to me.” I whispered, looking into his sparkling green eyes. He took a deep breathe and nodded.
“Don’t listen to what he says…he is just angry how you treated me. You know I would never leave you…”
“I know that, Avey, but…”
“But nothing! You shouldn’t be getting stressed out over him. Just calm down, I’ll talk to him later. It was not fair how he acted, egging you on to do something. Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid.” I said, watching his face slowly change to its normal color. He sighed and nodded. I lightly kissed him and smiled.
“Thanks…”
Before Danny could reply the lights suddenly dimmed and everyone started to cheer…
Even though I worked things out with Henry…everyone else didn’t. When I say everyone else I mean Danny and Sammy. The other people at our table could tell we made up and they welcomed back Henry with open arms, but Danny and Sammy didn’t even look at him. Sometimes they didn’t even look at me. It’s been really frustrating and annoying to have your boyfriend and your best friend pissed at you at the same time. Sammy ignored me a lot and Danny never answered my texts or calls. Then when I see him at school the only thing he says to me is “Hi.” Basically I was alone most of the time and having the absence of Danny was unbearable. I missed his smile, his warm arms around me, his cute boyish grin…I started to become miserable and Henry started to get worried. Henry and I talking a lot didn’t help the situation either, but I was not going to give up a new friendship just because Sammy and Danny can’t accept it. They weren’t my parents. As I headed towards English, my head looking down, I though ways to get Danny talking to me again. When I would see him at lunch or before school he always looked so angry or upset or sometimes both. It was heartbreaking to watch, but he never wanted to talk about it. I sighed, feeling the emptiness of where Danny was throb, and held back a few tears. I hurried into class and quickly sat down to the new quiet Sammy. She was doodling on her notebook again, a habit she has being doing often, and I quickly opened my book to keep me distracted. I always wondered what Sammy was writing, but I was always afraid to take a peek. I sighed, trying to hold back my tears, and looked at the book, not really reading any of it.
“Ava?” I almost jumped out of my seat when I heard Sammy’s voice. I looked over at her and I saw she looked relieved that I looked at her. It made me a little annoyed that she thought we could go back to be normal after the 2 week silence we had.
“Oh so now you’re talking to me again? Did Henry die or something?” I snapped. Sammy bit her lip and I saw she was holding back tears. I suddenly felt guilty of what I said. I wasn’t really mad at her, just a little frustrated. I sighed and tried to sound polite again.
“What is it?”
“I know you are angry with me…..with the whole Henry thing and all…”
“I’m not mad.” I interrupted. Suddenly Sammy looked confused.
“You’re not?” I sighed and shrugged.
“A little frustrated and annoyed, but no…not mad.”
“Oh…” She trailed off and bit her lip again.
“Sammy…just tell me.” I complained.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry for being rude and unfair to you. I know that you are very upset how Danny has been treating you…you should look at yourself in the mirror… you’re a mess, Ava.”
“Well, having your best friend and boyfriend ignore you doesn’t help with your looks.” I joked and she laughed a little.
“Yea…I can tell.” We stayed quiet for a few more seconds then Sammy sighed.
“I’m going to accept it.”
“Accept what?” Sammy rolled her eyes at this and smiled a little.
“With you and Henry being…friends.”
“Will you be nice to him now?” I asked, hopeful. Sammy smiled and nodded.
“It’s stupid to loose your best friend over a guy.” I nodded and lightly hugged her.
“Thanks Sammy.” I said as we parted. Sammy smiled, but then it dropped.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“You need to get Danny back…”
************
I could feel my insides turning as I sat on the school’s steps outside, waiting for Danny to come out. Luckily Sammy had some after school club to go to so I was able to still have a ride. I knew I shouldn’t be nervous, I knew he would eventually understand, but I had my doubts. What if he thought Henry was more important to me than he was? That was defiantly not true. What if he thought that I can’t have both him and Henry and I already made up my mind? No…that was stupid. I held my face in my hands, tired of the drama. Now I know how Bella Swan feels… I thought and snorted. I always thought Bella was stupid to risk her love for a stupid werewolf friend. I mean, come on! How can you not just pick Edward Cullen and leave Jacob behind? Now I knew why…Even though I’ve only talked to Henry for like a couple weeks, I felt like it was meant to be. We were becoming very good friends and I don’t think I could just give that up. I never had any close guy friends besides Danny and it felt nice to hang out with another guy. No awkwardness, no intense relationship, just being buddies. But I was hoping that’s all Danny thought we were. Suddenly I heard someone walk down the steps beside me and sit next to me. I didn’t bother to look up, if it was Danny he would have grunted, informing me he was present. That’s all he did, I couldn’t even remember the last time we kissed…
“Hey, Ava. Are you okay?”
I looked up and saw Henry sitting next to me, looking concern. I nodded and wiped a few tears that had escape.
“You don’t look fine.” He said and I snorted.
“Well…you probably can tell that Danny is ignoring me. Not a good thing…” I said, remembering today in lunch. Sammy was all buddy, buddy with Henry today, at first he was shock and I giggled lightly, but when I winked at him he got the point and realized she forgave him. Now they talked nonstop and even exchanged numbers. It was like that whole time Sammy was rude to him was just a bad dream. But now another nightmare had started and I wasn’t sure if it was going to end. I heard Henry sighed and he wrapped an arm around me.
“Hey…he has to be crazy to ignore you, Ava. I mean…if I was him I wouldn’t be able to. I would suffer.”
“Ummm…thanks.” I said, awkwardly.
“Anytime.”
We sat there in silence, his arm still around me. I could feel the awkwardness between us and I tried to move slightly away, but he lightly squeezed me.
“Everything will be fine…” Suddenly I heard someone grunt behind us and Henry’s arm suddenly dropped. I looked behind me and saw Danny staring at us, angry. Oh crap… I realized how we were sitting didn’t look good from someone on the outside.
“Danny, I…”
“I gotta go…”
I was suddenly lost for words. His voice was strained and angry. He never talked to me like that before. I suddenly felt like crying, but then I realized what I planned to do and quickly stood up.
“Bye, Ava.” Henry said as he stood up, understanding.
“See ya later, Henry.” I said and waved. I went to grab Danny’s hand, but he was already walking away. I sighed and hurried to follow him. I don’t know if Henry moved, but I could feel his eyes on us. I wish he didn’t watched, who knows what will happened. As we reached his car, I finally caught up with him and grabbed his arm. He shook my grip off and went to walk to the driver’s side. I grabbed him again, this time tighter, and pulled him to stop. He tried to shake me off again, but I gripped tighter.
“Danny…stop.” I whispered, on the verge of tears. He sighed and stopped trying to break free. He didn’t look at me, he kept his eyes on the ground and it made me annoyed.
“Danny…please look at me…please.” I begged, feeling a few tears go down my face. He sighed again and finally looked up at me. His face looked pain, as if he was holding something back, and it also looked hurt. I could tell he was suffering from me crying, he never liked me crying, but he didn’t say or do anything. He just stared at me. I took a deep breath and began.
“Danny…I know you are angry and upset that I made a new friend with someone who shouldn’t be my friend, but I can’t stand it anymore. I can’t stand you not looking at me the same way you did, I miss you holding me, telling me everything will be alright. You don’t know how many nights I’ve cried, wishing you would stop all this madness and just talk to me again! Without you, I’m nothing. Next thing you know I’ll be jumping off cliffs to hear your voice or see your face smiling at me!” I stopped, more tears running down my face. I choked a few sobs and went to continue when suddenly his arms wrapped around me and his lips crushed against mine. My heart jumped and I could feel it pound against my chest. The sadness that covered me suddenly lifted and I felt as if I was in heaven. I could feel the longing and the passion behind his kiss; I realized he was suffering too. He was missing me as much as I was, probably even crying too at nights. I hugged him tighter, not wanting to let him go ever again, and too soon we parted. We were both breathing heavy and I was smiling, tears falling down my face. He was smiling too and he wiped the tears away, as our foreheads were touching.
“You know I hate it when you cry…”
I giggled lightly and touched his face. It felt so good to be back in his arms, to be able to touch him again…I felt whole again.
“I’m sorry, Avey. I never ever meant to hurt you. I love you, I just…I was angry and I guess you can say jealous that you became friends with Henry. I thought…it looked like…”
I lightly put my finger on his lips to make him stop talking. He looked at me, his eyes watering a little, and I smiled sweetly to him.
“Dan-Dan, I understand. I love you too and I always will, no matter what. I would never leave you…no matter who I talked to or who I hanged with. You will always be mine and I will always be yours. Just please never do this again… I don’t think my heart could take it again…” He smiled at this and my finger dropped and my hand landed on his beating heart. I smiled at him and he held my face in his hand. He looked down at my hand that lay above his heart and then looked at me.
“It will always belong to you…” We kissed again, my hand still on his heart, and too soon again we parted.
“You know I wasn’t done with you.” I teased and smiled. He laughed, his eyes sparkling.
“I know…but if we keep doing this I might not be able to breathe anymore.” He said and laughed, I giggled. I kissed him again and he pulled away.
“Just promise me one thing…” He said, the teasing still in his eyes.
“What?”
“Please do not jump off cliffs.” I smiled at this and lightly kissed him again.
“I promise…” I whispered and he smiled.
“Let’s get out of here…”
*************
“Danny! Don’t forget, we have Sammy’s gig tonight!” I said, out of breath, as we tracked through the woods. Being with Danny again made the world seem brighter, more beautiful. I noticed how the leaves on the trees were slowly changing into orange and red, hinting that soon it would be fall, how the light breeze smelled like fresh pine and wild flowers, and how the sun danced onto the green grass. I loved this part of the woods; it was so beautiful and peaceful. I heard Danny laugh, making my heart swell, and saw he was smiling. He was doing that a lot lately.
“Don’t worry; we won’t stay here that long.” He whispered and held my hand. I smiled and leaned closer to him. Besides the whole Sammy-Danny-Henry drama, today was perfect. Being with Danny again was like a dream come true for me. An hour ago I wouldn’t have believed that everything would have been fine again and I would be with Danny, heading towards “our” spot. I leaned my head onto his shoulder as we started to walk slower, his arm draped around my shoulders. We walked in silence for a few minutes, my mind wandered as I replayed our kiss back at the school over and over again. It was different than the last kisses. It was passionate, longing, beautiful, and just….perfect. It was hard to describe it, but it made me realized how much in love I was. This wasn’t your typical high school love thing or just a random hook up. It was so much more, way more. It was deep, true, and intimate. I never was this close to someone else before, not even to people in my family. Danny was different; he wasn’t your typical jock who only cared about dating the hot cheerleader. He wasn’t your usual guy at all. He actually cared for me, no matter how I looked he would always say I was beautiful, he would comfort me anytime I needed it, and, I know it was obvious, but he was deeply in love with me. I sighed and hugged him tighter as he rubbed my arm.
“What are you thinking about?” He asked, our walk was slowly becoming a crawl.
“Just thinking…about us.” We stopped walking and I realized we made it to the spot. It looked as beautiful as it did the last time. The sun still was shining through, making the pond sparkle. I smiled as we headed towards the rocks, where we had our first kiss, this memory made my smile grow bigger. We sat down, Danny holding my hands, staring into my eyes. I was lost in those bright green eyes. I swear they were actually sparkling in the sunlight.
“What about us?” He asked, looking serious. I smiled, showing that nothing was wrong. He relaxed a little bit.
“I guess…I never realized how much I was in love with you.” I said, looking down at our entwined hands. I could feel myself blushing as I said those words and I waited patiently for him to respond. When he didn’t respond I sighed and continued.
“I mean…I knew I was in love with you. I think I always was, since the first time we met when you broke my Barbie doll and I ate your crayon…” We laughed lightly at that memory. I still wondered how we became friends from that. “But…” I continued and looked back up at him. “When I call you my boyfriend it doesn’t seem like the right word. To me, you mean so much more than that. I don’t know what to call you, but I can tell you right now. I am deeply in love with you Dan-Dan.” I watched him as he stared at me. I started to worry that maybe I went too far and that maybe he didn’t feel that strongly about me. When I went to say something he lightly touched my face and smiled.
“You talk way too much.” He whispered and laughed lightly. I blushed and shrugged.
“Got a lot going on in my mind.” I muttered and became lost into his green eyes again. They twinkled again and he leaned closer, my breath quickening.
“You know that you mean more to me then some girlfriend. You were always more, even when we were just best friends, I knew there was more. I’m madly in love with you, Avey. Just one second without you by my side makes me go crazy…” He stopped as I leaned forward and kissed him. I really couldn’t help myself, hearing him say those things…my head felt dizzy and for some strange reason I wanted to laugh out loud and scream at the top of my lungs about him! Crazy, I know, but that’s how I felt. We parted and he laughed lightly.
“Don’t I get to finish?” He joked as I lightly giggled.
“Nope…” He sighed and rolled his eyes. After that, we kissed again.
A few hours later we were back in the car, heading towards the club that was downtown. I was excited for Sammy, it was her first real big gig. She usually performed at coffee shops and on the street, but a guy heard her singing and asked her to play at the local club that lets anyone 16 and over in, you just couldn’t drink till you were 21 of course. I finally figured out what Sammy was doodling in class all the time in her notebook, they were lyrics. She explained how good song ideas have been coming from other people she knew and she found her inspiration…me. I felt flattered that I helped her come up with good songs, but I never thought myself as an inspiration. When we finally reached downtown, Danny let go of my hand and hurried to the passenger side to open my door.
“My…what a gentleman.” I joked, smiling. He rolled his eyes as he helped me out of the car. We hurried across the street and walked inside the club. It was a beautiful place, the lights flashing, the floor sparkling in the light, the DJ booth playing Fire Burning by Sean Kingston, while the DJ jammed to the beat. Danny led me to backstage, yes they had a huge stage in here, and we finally found Sammy in a tiny room. She was sitting in front of the mirror, fixing her hair. When she saw us in the reflection she jumped up and smiled.
“Finally, you made it! I’m going on in like 5 minutes!” Sammy said and hugged us both. I smiled back and let go of Danny’s hand to hug Sammy.
“I’m so excited! I can’t believe my best friend will be performing in front of a huge crowd! It’s packed out there!” I exclaimed and she rolled her eyes. “And you look gorgeous of course.” I added and she shrugged, while smiling. She did look beautiful today. Her hair was curled so it formed around her face, the purple tips curling at the bottom, she had her bangs pinned back into a hump, she had a sparkling, slightly baggy light purple dress on with black leggings underneath, with matching light purple flats, and she had her usual black eyeliner on, but this time she had light, sparkling purple eye shadow on that looked really pretty.
“I never got to ask, what’s with you and purple.” I asked as she laughed lightly.
“Because….it’s an awesome color! DUH!” She said and rolled her eyes as if it was obvious and I was too dumb to notice. I giggled lightly and shrugged.
“If you say so…” We heard a knock behind us and I saw it was one of the backstage crew. The lady smiled and said,
“Sammy…you’re on!” The lady adjusted her headphones and left. I looked back at Sammy and saw that she suddenly looked nervous. I quickly hugged her and said,
“Don’t worry! You’ll be great!” She nodded, still looking nervous, and I sighed.
“Sammy, we are all here to support you. Go out there and rock it out!” Danny said, smiling. Sammy and I both giggled and finally Sammy looked calm.
“Alright! See you guys out there!” She said and headed out the door, before she left she looked back at us, smiling. “I better hear my name being yelled.” She added then left. I rolled my eyes and looked at Danny. He was still smiling ear to ear.
“We better get out there and find the others.” I said and he nodded, his smiling slightly fading. As we walked I was sort of confused why Danny started to look a little unhappy until I realized something…Henry was going to be here tonight.
After a couple of weeks it got better, I started to talk again and be happy, even though I was still hurting a little inside. Even though it couldn’t be true, it still stung that my mother believed that I was the cause of my father’s death. As I sat at lunch with Sammy, Danny, and a couple of his other friends (including the guy who poured paint on me) I stared out the window, not really listening to their conversation. It was odd to have the guy, his name was Henry, who embarrassed me in front of everyone, sit with us. He wasn’t one of Danny’s friends. He was Danny’s friend’s friend, if that made any sense. Danny still wasn’t thrilled to have him with us, even though Henry never really talked. I guess he could tell that we didn’t want him here. Occasionally he would look at Sammy sometimes, but then quickly look back to his food. It was odd behavior, but I would usually ignore it.
“Ava!” I snapped out of my trance and looked over to see everyone staring me, except Henry who was playing with his food. Sammy was the one who called my name and she rolled her eyes.
“Did you hear me?” She asked a little annoyed. I shook my head and she sighed.
“I’m inviting friends to my gig this Friday night and I was hoping you and Danny can come!” She said, emphasizing on the word friends when she took a quick glance at Henry. I smiled and nodded.
“Of course we will come!” I said and I saw Danny smiling a little. Sammy smiled also and nodded. She looked back at the others and continued to talk. I sighed and looked over at Henry. I froze when I realized he was staring at me. His beautiful blue eyes were so full of sadness, remorse, and agony that my heart just dropped and I suddenly wanted to run over and hug him. I didn’t know why I was having this reaction, but I felt really bad for him and guilty…like I was to blame for his suffering. I should hate him for what he did, but those eyes…it was killing me! I heard a light cough, Henry dropped his gaze, and I could feel Danny looking at me. I looked over and realized the four of us (Danny, Sammy, Henry, and myself) were the only one’s left. Whoa…lunch is already over? I quickly stood up, not wanting to be late for class, and walked over to Danny who was holding out his hand. I quickly took it and looked back at Henry who was slowly getting up, with his untouched food in his hand, and head towards the door. I sighed and let go of Danny’s hand.
“I’ll see you after school, okay? I gotta go do something.” I said when I looked back at Danny. He looked a little angry and confused when his eyes met mine. He didn’t say anything, but I saw his jaw clench. I lightly touched him and smiled.
“Don’t worry…” I whispered as I saw his jaw unclench a little. He sighed and nodded. He lightly pecked my lips and walked away. I waved goodbye to Sammy, who also looked angry and waved back as she followed Danny. I sighed and hurried to follow Henry, knowing I must have upset Danny and Sammy, I would have to make up for that. But right now I needed to find Henry, I didn’t know why I wanted to find him, I just couldn’t stand the look in his eyes. It was heart breaking and I felt that I had something to do with it. I jogged down the hall (happy my boot was finally off) and saw Henry walking slowly with his head down.
“Hey! Hey Henry!” I yelled, waving. He quickly stopped and looked over his shoulder. I tried not to look in his eyes this time; I knew it would just break my heart even more. I stopped in front of him as he turned completely around, looking horrible up close. He had dark circles under his eyes, his skin looked awfully pale, and his face was sunken a little, making his cheekbones stick out more. He didn’t say anything; he kept his head down, his hands in his pockets. I didn’t know what to say, I had the urge to hug him again, but I kept my hands to my side.
“What do you want?” He said in a raspy voice that sounded a little shaky as if he was about to cry. It made me lost for words; I couldn’t believe how a good looking guy could be so sad.
“I…umm…” I muttered, still staring at him. He looked up, his eyes building up with water, and sighed.
“I know what you want…You came to tell me to not sit with you?” He whispered. I couldn’t find my voice so I just shook my head.
“Say not to think about coming to Sammy’s gig?”
I shook my head again.
“Came to yell at me for what I’ve done? Saying how horrible I am? I’m already getting it from others.” He whispered and I shook my head again. He sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde hair.
“Then what do you want?” He snapped, even though it sound more like he was in pain than angry. I stared at him for a while then realized I was staying awfully quiet; he was staring at me confused.
“I…I just wanted to say sorry about how my friends are treating you.” I blurted out before thinking. His eyebrow rose as he looked at me.
“You…You’re apologizing? To me?!?!” He said, shocked and confused. I sighed and looked at the ground.
“Yea…I guess I am.”
“Why?”
“Well…I…I don’t know. You look like you’re in so much pain…I feel like I’m the cause of it.” I said still not looking at him. We were quiet for a while; I thought he walked away until I heard him sigh.
“You’re not…I’m to blame. I should have never done that to you. I don’t know what I was thinking…I…I can’t even explain myself, but why should I? It was cruel and I deserve to be treated this way. You suffered enough without my help.” Henry said and I heard him starting to walk away. I quickly looked up and grabbed his arm.
“Henry…it’s fine. I forgive you…I understand.”
“You shouldn’t.” He whispered, not looking at me. I sighed and let go.
“Yes I should…I can’t stand seeing you like this! It just brings back my pain and I don’t want anyone going through that ever…”
“Then maybe I should stay away…”
“No…just forget about it, Henry! Katie and I are fine now, I’m happy, everything is going great. I’m over it, it was nothing. I forgive you and hope we can be friends.” I said, watching his expressions, he looked convinced. Suddenly he smiled a crooked smile and looked at me.
“I don’t think your boyfriend will be happy about that.” He teased and I laughed lightly, happy that this conversation was going better.
“Well he will have to deal with it.” I said, smiling. “I’m sure he will be nice when I tell him to back off.”
Henry laughed lightly and nodded. “Thanks, Ava.”
“For what?” He looked up at me, still smiling; all the pain gone from his eyes.
“Understanding…”
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