Chapter 10: Chapter 10

“Great. Now I have to drive two girls to school which means I have to wait longer!” I heard Ethan yell.

I opened my bedroom door and glared at him, “We like to look decent.”

“Look at me! I’m looking decent and I took barely 15 minutes to put clothes on and make myself look like this,” he countered back, quoting the word decent with his fingers. He was right though, he did look good.

“Chill! We don’t leave the house looking like…whatever you look like,” Erica said, popping her head out of her bedroom door and pointing at Ethan.

“I’m giving you guys ten minutes. Ten.” he said with a stern look, turned on his heel and walked down the stairs.

Erica rolled her eyes while I giggled. I went in and realised I had nothing to do except put on my converse. Picking up my dark purple converse off the floor, I skipped down the stairs. Ethan genuinely looked happy.

“Finally! We can leave now!” Ethan said cheerfully.

“No, we can’t. We need to wait for Erica,” I replied.

He groaned loudly. Smirking, I sat opposite to him and tied my shoelaces. Looking up, my eyes locked with Ethan’s and he raised his eyebrows, smirking. I furrowed my brows and looked away; why do I always end up having these weird eye contacts with Ethan? It’s so frustrating. Resting my head on a pillow, I started read A Walk To Remember.

“Why do you always read Nicholas Sparks books?” Ethan asked, interrupting my very first line.

“How long have you known me?” I asked him calmly.

“I don’t know? A few weeks? And if you count the years we knew each other when we were young then 5 years?” he said, completely unsure with his reply.

“I’m going to accept a few weeks. And how many books can I finish in a few weeks? It isn’t my fault I read two books of Nicholas Sparks in a row,” I stated, even though he was right, I do read a lot Nicholas Sparks.

“Okay, okay, relax,” he asked. “Urgh where is Erica?!”

“ERICA!” I yelled.

“COMING!” She yelled back.

“I would say she is in her room.” I told him with a satisfied smile which clearly annoyed him more.

“You don’t say,” Ethan deadpanned.

“I’m ready! Let’s go!” Erica said, running down the stairs.

“Erica, for the billionth time, why can’t you just hurry up?” Ethan asked, getting off the couch and grabbing the handle of the door.

“What’s your problem? We always reach school on time,” Erica responded.

“I don’t like waiting for you every single morning,” Ethan said.

“Then wake up late or keep yourself occupied, do something other than always telling me to hurry up!” Erica suggested, or rather- ordered.

“Can’t you-”

“Stop!” I interrupted. “You guys fight like cats and dogs. Just calm down, will you?”

“Ask him to do so,” Erica said while getting into the car.

Ethan was about to say something but I gave him a stern look signalling him to keep quiet. He sighed and got in the car.

These are going to be three long weeks.

*

“Hello!” Abby said cheerfully while approaching us.

I smiled, “Hey”

First period was History. History! Michael was going to be there with me, which means I can talk to him about Abby. I smiled to myself and removed the books from the locker and put them in my handbag.

“Did you guys watch the new episode of Pretty Little Liars last night?” Abby asked.

“Oh my god! Yes! Erica and I watched it together,” I responded immediately.

“Together?” Abby asked, confused.

“Oh,” Erica said. “We forgot to mention it, Ash is going to be staying with us for three weeks; her mom’s gone out of town.”

“How could you forget to mention that?” Abby asked.

“It just slipped off my mind,” Erica said, shrugging.

“Clearly,” Abby replied with a scowl.

The bell rang and I was more than happy to go for History. Michael and Abby have to be in a relationship, they look so cute and they are perfect for each other! I rushed towards Ms. Ada’s room. After reaching, I saw Michael was already there and I quickly went and sat next to him.

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

“Hi,” I replied cheerfully.

“You look happy,” he replied while doodling something in his book.

“Well, I know I’m not sad,” I responded with a shrug.

He gave me a closed-mouth smile with a soft nod. Okay, now what do I do? I can’t just talk to him about Abby, I have to talk to him about it indirectly. Man, this stuff is hard.

“So,” I said, loud enough for him to hear. “Quite a lot of girls are interested in you.”

He looked at me through his dark eyelashes, “Maybe, but I’m not interested in any of them.”

I scowled, “Why? Do you have a girlfriend?”

He snorted, “If I had one, I’m sure I would have brought her camping with us.”

“Oh, right,” I said.

After a few silent seconds, I asked, “Are you interested in any girl?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Why are you asking me these questions?”

“What do you mean by these questions? I’m just making conversation,” I said quickly.

He rolled his eyes, clearly not buying it.

“So are you interested in any girl?” I asked again.

“Not really,” he said, nodding.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I said, feeling my patience slowly giving up.

“It means that I’m not sure,” he replied calmly.

Now how do I continue this conversation and steer it towards Abby?!

Ms. Ada came in and started arranging her things on the desk.

“Would you mind if I asked who the girl is?” I asked, carefully forming my sentence.

“Not really,” he responded.

“Do you have any direct and clear answers?” I asked, glaring at him.

“Not really,” he replied with a grin.

“Ah! Michael! You know you can talk to me about this stuff right?” I asked.

“I know,” he said with a nod.

“Then, are you going to me who your not-so-sure crush is?” I asked eagerly.

“Why are you so desperate?” he asked, closing his book.

Damn. “Um, uh-I-”

"Right class,” Ms. Ada said, I sighed in relief. “We’re going to continue what we were doing yesterday.”

Luckily, Michael is the kind that doesn’t talk during classes unlike Ethan and Jared. So, I was saved for now. Hopefully, he wouldn’t ask me that again. I took down brief notes while Ms. Ada kept chattering away in front of the class, emphasising on every single detail. Couple of people from the class had intense arguments with her which wasted a lot of time causing me to try and think of ways to make Michael confess that he does like Abby. I’m sure he does.

After fifteen more minutes of torture, the bell rang; making me turn towards Michael instantly.

“What?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Tell me who the girl is?” I asked sweetly.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, “I don’t think I’m over my ex yet, Ash.”

What!? No. No. No.

“Oh, it’s alright, I’m pretty sure you’ll get over her. She’s your ex for a reason, there’s someone extremely special out there waiting for you,” I said with a small smile.

He smiled back at me, his deep blue eyes shining, “I guess so.”

“I know so,” I replied confidently.

“Sup?” Jared said behind and patted Michael’s back so hard; he stumbled and almost fell.

Michael shot Jared a glare while Jared smiled cheekily. The guys talked about some recent football match while I stared into space. How could Michael not have feelings for Abby? The camping trip, they were so friendly and they enjoyed so much. It was just so natural; Michael seemed so comfortable with her yet he says he has feeling for his ex? I wanted to break something; to remove my frustration and anger on something.

Walking lazily, I grabbed a tray and placed a bowl on it; adding lettuce, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, pickles, a few olives with mayonnaise and Thousand Island dressing.

“Whoa Ash, what’s with all the vegetables?” Jared asked, eyeing my bowl, “Trust me, you’re sexy enough.”

I scowled at him and shoved him while he chuckled. Paying for my food; I walked towards the table we usually sit at where now, Michael, Jared and Ethan sit with us as well. Erica was and is not happy with this but she somehow manages to ignore Ethan. I took a small bite from my salad and chewed it lazily, I was really tired for some reason; I felt like I could sleep for a year. The tasted really good, mayonnaise just makes everything better.

“Guys!” Abby exclaimed, jogging towards us, her beautiful blond hair being pushed behind by the wind.

“Yes?” Jared asked with a mouthful of burger.

I frowned at him while Michael chuckled, staring at me. Abby slammed a pamphlet on the table and sat down. When no one asked what it was, she rolled her eyes, “Don’t you guys want to know what this is?”

“Not really,” Jared replied. Knowing Abby, my response should have been the same; she comes up with the most bizarre ideas.

“Jared, don’t be so mean,” I told him.

“I’m not being mean! Yesterday, she wanted us to go over to the big trash can and look for something like a metal or steel; just so that she could make something cool to decorate her room.” Jared complained.

I looked at Abby with an eyebrow raised.

“What?” Abby asked loudly.

I laughed with Michael, who was shaking his head, “Nothing.”

She huffed and pouted.

“Hey,” Erica said, sliding next to me.

“Just eating fries?” I asked.

“Yeah, not hungry,” she said. “Ew. Why do you have so many leaves on that?”

I rolled my eyes, “It’s a salad, Erica.”

“Are you on a diet?” Ethan asked, sitting down next to Jared.

I dropped my fork and raised my hands in the air, “What is it with you guys and vegetables?! It’s a salad for goodness sakes.”

Ethan just stared at me, “Alright.”

“Guys! Listen to me, will you?” Abby interrupted.

“Yes Abby, go ahead,” I said.

“Right, so there’s going to be a play! Romeo and Juliet!” Abby exclaimed, passing me the flyer. “We should try out!”

“No!” Jared and Erica said immediately. Abby’s enthusiasm and shoulders sank.

“I’ll come with you,” I said with a smile, making Abby’s face light up again. I looked at Ethan and Michael with a pleading look, “Are you guys going to join us?”

When they hesitated, I tried again, “Come on, it’s just an audition, it’s not like you’ll be casted as the main character.”

“But there is a possibility,” Michael said, pointing his fork at me.

“Please?” Abby asked.

Michael stared at her for a few seconds and sighed, “Fine.”

“I’ll come too,” Ethan said with a smile.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it, sorry for the late update! Too much school work! :(

Please comment and vote! ^_^ I love feedback! Really.

Dedicated to @_amnesia for the gorgeous cover on the side! :D