Jake and I have been spending the whole day together. At first, we went to The Grill and we ate together. Then we went to the mall and I bought him whatever he wanted. All he wanted was a new video game and a snapback. If you hadn't realized by now, it's Jake's birthday. He's finally eighteen.
"I can't believe Alyssa couldn't come hang with us today. It's my birthday." He says, upset.
"I'm sure she had a good reason. She wouldn't miss it for no reason." I pull into my driveway, putting the car in park.
We both get out and head to the front door. "Well, it better be a good reason or else she's going to hear about her missing my birthday all year."
He opens the door and I smile. "Surprise!" I say along with everybody else.
I took Jake out today so that Alyssa and the guys could plan his birthday party. A lot of people are here from school, the football team, and the baseball team. There are even some people here that I don't know. I was skeptical about having another party here at my house, but my parents are here so I doubt there will be any drinking or anything.
Jake turns to me with a knowing smile."You little..." He hugs me, picking me up and spinning me around.
I laugh, "Come on. Let's go enjoy your party."
We walk inside and he's immediately met with hugs and happy birthdays from different people. Alyssa and the guys come up to us.
"Happy birthday, buddy. How does it feel to be eighteen now?" Troy asks.
"It feels great." He smiles at a girl that walks by him.
"Well, have fun. I totally thought we should have thrown it at my house, but my parents are in town." Troy says.
"It's cool. This is really great. So who should I thank for putting this together?" Jake asks.
"Well, it was Abby's idea. But Alyssa put it together and we helped with decorations." Daniel tells him.
"Well, thank you guys. I really appreciate it." Jake hugs us all, letting us know just how much he loves us.
"Well, let's dance!" Alyssa shouts, pulling Daniel by the arm.
My living room has been transformed into a dance floor. My dad is standing by the stero. Apparently, he's the dj. I have no idea who gave him that job, but so far he's playing pretty good music.
I'm suddenly being pulled in the same direction by Jordan. He got a haircut today and it looks really good on him. He finds a spot that isn't crowded, but is out of eye sight of my dad. He turns around and pulls me close.
"I missed you so much today. I've had to listen to Alyssa's demands all day." He sighs, rolling his eyes.
I laugh a little, "Aw, come on. You had fun putting up streamers."
"Not even. It would have been more fun if I had of had you there with me." He smiles.
I roll my eyes at him before wrapping my arms around his neck. We dance for a few songs until he has to go to the bathroom. I find Alyssa and Jake and steal them away from their dance partners. I plan on having at least one dance with my two best friends. We start to dance to Me and The Rhythm by Selena Gomez. I get my mom to take pictures of us because I want to remember this day. She's been going around the whole party taking pictures, showing off her photography skills.
After a few more dances with them, I notice that Jordan hasn't come back yet. I lean in towards Alyssa, who's still dancing.
"I'm about to go find Jordan." I yell over the music.
She nods her head and keeps on dancing. I walk through the crowd, pushing past people. I spot Daniel, Troy, Ryan, and some other guys, leaning up against a wall.
"Hey, guys." I say, walking over to them.
"What's up, Abster?" Troy smiles.
"Nothing much. You guys enjoying the party?" I ask.
Ryan shrugs, "It's decent enough for a birthday party."
I nod my head. Now that the small talk is over with, I can get to the real reason why I'm over here.
"Have you guys seen Jordan?" I ask.
"Nope. Last time I seen him he was with you." Troy says.
"Oh, okay. Well, thanks anyway. Let me know if you guys need anything." I walk away, but I hear Troy say something. I couldn't quite catch what it was though.
I decide to go upstairs and see if Jordan is up there. The door to my room is open, but I remember closing it before I left home. I go inside my room to find Jordan sitting at my desk, reading something. I come closer, trying to see what it is. It's my acceptance letter to New York. He turns around, just now hearing me come in. I can't tell if he's mad or upset.
"When did you get this?" He asks.
I look down. "A couple of weeks ago."
"Why haven't you told me?" His voice is low but calm.
I look back up and he's now standing with the letter in his hand. That letter made me so happy a couple of weeks ago, but now it makes me want to burn it. I shouldn't have had it out in the open. I wanted us to have this conversation eventually, but I guess we're about to have it now.
"Did you not hear me?" He raises an eyebrow.
I swallow hard. "It never came up. I thought I'd mention it to you whenever you brought up school."
"And if I hadn't?" He asks, anger seeping into his voice.
"Jordan I would have brought it up eventually. It hasn't exactly been a right time with everything going on." I say.
"But you've known you wanted to go to this school for a while. Am I right?" He asks.
"Yes, but I didn't know I would get accepted." I defend myself.
He rolls his eyes and lets out a humorless laugh. I honestly didn't know if I would or not. I'm smart, but so are other people around the world. It's a very competitive school to get in.
"Abby, you can get in any school you want to get in. You should have told me about this." He runs his hand through his hair.
"Did you not plan on going to the same school as me?" He asks in an accusing tone.
"Of course. Jordan I want to be a part of your future just like I want you to be a part of mine. I just know that you aren't going to accept just any school. You're going to school for football." I say.
"I am, but we could have at least compromised. You chose a college on your own without even including me. You obviously don't care if we're together or not. You're making a future without me so it's hard for me to believe you want me in it!" He walks past me and I grab his arm.
"Jordan, I..."
He cuts me off, "Don't. Just don't." He pulls his arm away from me and leaves out the door.
I fight back the tears that are threatening to spill. Why is he being so difficult right now? I really wasn't trying to plan a future without him. I pick up the acceptance letter that he threw to the floor and place it on my desk. I sigh before going downstairs. I see Jordan leaning up against the wall with Troy, Daniel, Ryan, and some other guys. We make eye contact, but he looks away before I can motion him over.
"Well, hey there stranger." I look down to see Stephen at the bottom of the stairs.
I walk down them and meet him at the bottom. "Hey." I say, not really knowing what to say.
"How have you been? I haven't talked to you in what seems like forever." He smiles.
His smile used to make me have butterflies in my stomach, but now it's just another pretty smile.
"Great. And you?" I ask, looking through the crowd at Jordan.
His eyes are on Stephen and me. I can tell he's upset. I decide to use Stephen to my advantage. I know it's wrong, but I know Jordan would rather be near me and keep Stephen away then hold on to his anger.
"I've been great you know." He shrugs.
I start to laugh and I place my hand on Stephen's shoulders. I take a quick glance at Jordan only to see his eyes narrowed at Stephen and me.
Stephen raises an eyebrow. "Did I miss the joke?"
I smile, "Want to dance? Dance and catch up with each other?"
"Um, sure." I can tell he's confused and he's probably wondering if I've been knocked in the head or something.
I find a spot where I know Jordan can see us and wrap my arms around Stephen's neck. We dance along to the beat and I smile at how good of a dancer he is. He pulls me closer, forgetting that I have a boyfriend, but I allow him to.
"Jake is eighteen now?" He asks.
I take a glance at Jordan, "Yeah. He's eighteen."
"So, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to..." I tune him out, giving my attention to Jordan.
He's staring daggers at Stephen, and I can tell I'm pissing him off even more. But then I see something else in his eyes. Hurt, maybe? I shouldn't be treating him like this. I would lose my shit if it was him doing this.
"Hey, are you even listening to me? What are you looking at?" Stephen follows my eyes over to Jordan and then a knowing look appears on his face.
He turns back to me and I meet his eyes. They're full of hurt and the guilt starts to creep in.
"You're only dancing with me to make him jealous." He states more than ask.
"No, I..." I begin to explain, but he cuts me off.
"Whatever. You're not the same person I used to know. Ever since you got with him, you've been acting different. Acting like him. You said you wanted to be friends, but the only time you've ever hung out with me was when I broke my leg and I asked you to take me to the doctor. Now you're using me to make him jealous." I can hear the hurt in his voice.
"Stephen, I'm..." He holds a hand up, cutting me off.
"Save it. I don't need some bullshit apology that you don't even mean." He looks at me before shaking his head and walking off.
A tear escapes and I quickly wipe it away. Why isn't today turning out right for me. I need to be alone right now. I push through a crowd of people before sliding open the doors to my backyard. I plop down in a chair beside the pool and run my hand through my hair. I close my eyes and try to relax. I don't recognize the song that's playing right now, but it's pretty good. I look up at the night sky and look at the stars. When I was little, I used to come outside and stare up at the sky. I miss doing this. It's like it's just the stars and me until I hear the back door slide open then close.
"This space is taken." I say, not turning around to see who it is.
The person pulls another chair up beside me. "I think there's room enough for one more person."
I turn my head to see Ryan looking at me with a smile on his face. He usually doesn't talk to me or anyone, except for the guys. I give him a small forced smile before turning away and looking back up at the sky. It's silent between us and it's making me uncomfortable. Right when I'm about to ask him why he's out here, he speaks.
"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" He asks.
"Um, yeah." I say, not really knowing where he's going with this.
"I know you're probably wondering why I'm out here. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He says.
I laugh a little. "Aren't you going to take Jordan's side on this?"
"I'm not on either one of you guys side. I'm upset at him for blowing up on you about following your dreams and I'm upset at you for using Stephen to make him jealous." There isn't any venom or accusation in his voice.
"I know. I was just acting off a feeling. He didn't even let me explain and it just made me really upset." I sigh.
"It's okay. You guys should really talk it out. You two are crazy about each other and he's already went into this depressed mode or whatever. I really like you with him, Abby. You've changed him a lot and whether he knows it or not, he needs you." He tells me.
I nod my head and look at him to find him looking up at the sky. He seems really focused on the sky tonight, but then again, so was I.
"Can I tell you something?" I have a feeling that this is one of those questions you don't say no to, so I nod my head.
"The day my sister was raped and killed, she was coming to get me. Earlier that day, we had a fight. Over something stupid. Believe it or not, I used to be the wildest out of all of us. Wilder than Troy. Anyways, I told her I wanted to go to this place. It wasn't really a place for teenagers to be, but Troy found it and wanted us to go. I was down to go. My sister didn't want me to go and we got in a big argument about it. I told her she didn't control me and I hated how much she was always on my ass about stuff. I snuck out and left anyways. I guess a little while later, she came looking for me. See my sister, she was big on forgiveness and stuff. She believed life was too short to be holding a grudge against someone. I thought she was crazy for thinking this way, but I guess I kind of get it now." He's still looking up at the sky as if he's telling the story to the sky and not me.
He takes a deep breath, "Anyways, she came looking for me. To apologize and make up of course and to get me to come home. She shouldn't have been there. I should have just listened to her and she never would have been there. Some bastard saw that she was innocent and couldn't fight him off, so he raped her and killed her. They finally caught him and when we went to trial, he had no remorse. None at all. I blame myself for her death."
I try to speak, but he holds a hand up stopping me. It seems like everyone is cutting me off tonight.
"Don't say it's not my fault because it is. That place where I went to, people get killed there all the time. Some people are just innocent and because they're at the wrong place at the wrong time, they get killed. So it is my fault. My sister was just looking out for me and I was being an asshole." He drops his head, disappointed in himself.
I know he doesn't want to hear anything that will make him feel better. Honestly, I don't know Ryan that well enough to know what to say to make him feel better.
"What was her name?" I ask.
"Michelle." He says, barely above a whisper.
I place a hand on his shoulder and he gives me a small smile. I've never experienced pain like the guys have before. Jordan lost his parents, Troy's brother is in prison, Daniel's father left him, and Ryan's sister was murdered. I can see why they're in each other's lives. They need each other. They've all been through a lot. But yet, they stay strong.
I hear the back door slide open and I turn around to see Jordan. Our eyes meet and I can feel the tension between us. Ryan stands up and gives me a look that says make things right. He pats Jordan on the back before entering into the house and sliding the door closed behind him. Jordan walks over to the chair that Ryan was sitting in and sits down.
"Before I apologize for being an asshole, I just want to explain how I'm feeling right now. I need to get better at telling you how I feel instead of blowing up on you." He says. I have a feeling that Ryan talked to him, too.
"I'm extremely hurt right now, Midget. I can't even be mad with you right now. I know I should be happy and supporting you for getting into New York University, but all I could think about was this isn't the college I plan on going to. And if you want to go to that college, then that means we're going to be separated. When I left out the room, I found the guys and told them about the situation. They told me I was overreacting. I was going to apologize to you, but then I see you dancing with Stephen. What the hell, Abby?" He rubs his hand down his face, clearly stressed out.
"I know. I'm so sorry. I was just upset at you and I knew it would make you jealous. It was stupid of me to do that." I admit.
"It was, but I'm not going to put the blame all on you. I'm sorry for blowing up on you. If you want to go to NYU then I fully support you. It might not be the college I want to play ball at, but I'll settle for it." He says and my heart warms at the fact that he would go there for me.
I stand up and crouch down in front of him. I grab his hands and look him in the eyes. He looks so vulnerable right now.
"Jordan, I don't want to go to that school. Not if you don't want to be there. I'm sure we can compromise on a school that I like and that you like. I want our college experience to be fun for the both of us." I say and mean.
"Really? Because I want to be the supporting boyfriend. Not the one that holds you back." He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear and I lean into his touch.
"You're not holding me back. I want us to both be happy. So, maybe one day we can go over some colleges and decide on some together. I applied to other colleges so I'm sure I'll be hearing something back from them pretty soon. Some are close to home and some..." He cuts me off by kissing me.
I'm kind of mad that he cut me off again, but when it involves his lips, you can't be too mad. Our lips move gracefully together like they were made for each other. Maybe, we were made for each other.
He pulls away from me. "I love you, Midget. I will always love you. Even if we don't make it and you get married to another guy. I'm going to be the one in the sexy ass tux screaming I object."
I laugh at his and he chuckles. "I love you, Jordan." I kiss him again, but it doesn't last as long.
"We should get back and join the party." Jordan says.
I nod my head, "Okay."
He helps me up and we walk back into my house. When we get in there, the song Cha-Cha Slide is playing. Although everyone is dancing to the song, my cheeks still heat up from embarrassment. I can't believe my dad would play this at a party. Alyssa spots Jordan and me and motions us over. We head over to them and join them in on the dance. Even though we all look funny doing this dance, I can't help but notice how happy everyone is in this moment. My mom comes and takes a picture of us all having a good time. I smile at Jordan and we do the Charlie Brown part to the dance.
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So this chapter wasn't all that exciting. I'm leading up to the big scene that I'm sure everyone has been expecting for some time now. I just got through writing it and I plan on publishing it tomorrow. I'm going to publish two today and two tomorrow. You're welcome lol.
Don't forget to vote and comment what you think. Oh, yeah! Sexy Jordan on the front of the cover.