by Raathi Chota
“Okay, I ditched school not to talk about zombies, but to watch Harry Potter with my gir—we are together, right?” he asked as his facial expression changed.
“Yes, of course. We bring out the best in each other, and now I have reason to smile again.” I ran a hand through his hair. He leaned his head back and exhaled loudly.
“God, I missed that.”
“I’ll show you what I missed.” I laughed, then took his hand and pulled him toward the floor. We sat down, and Benny started the first movie. I took the popcorn, then leaned back so that I rested against his chest. He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek. I smiled as a nice chill went through my body at the familiar touch. God, I missed his touch so much. I missed him so much.
“You know…these past three weeks I realized that I was a bit selfish because I just wanted you all to myself, but now being in a relationship means trusting each other, being there for one another, but it also means giving each other space occasionally.” I turned to him. “And I’m not just saying that because Liam and Aidan want a guy’s night soon,” he added as I chuckled. “We should be able to hang out with other people but also make time for one another. That’s why…I’ll try to be nice—er around Blake.”
“And Levi if he comes this summer?” My eyes lit up because there wouldn’t be conflict anymore between the three.
“You know Levi and I will never get along. We hated each other since we were kids…but I’ll try if he does,” Benny said, and I smiled.
“I’ll talk to him…I just want peace, you know? I just want things to go back to normal around here.”
“When have things ever been normal, Lana Willson?”
“True,” I mumbled, then felt his hand on my thigh.
“I love it when you wear long socks. It such a tu—”
“Ssshh.” I cut him off and covered his mouth with popcorn. “Hagrid is coming,” I said, then stuffed my face with popcorn while I watched one of my favorite characters.
***
Blake
It was after school, and I was in the living room with some of the guys. Tamia was here too, but she mostly spoke to Axel while I drank my beer in silence. When Lana said she’d go to the nurse’s office, I knew she lied. No one would be up for school after facing something like that on Saturday. It scared the shit out of me, and when I saw the gun, my heart dropped. I was snapped out of my thoughts when Carter walked in. I rolled my eyes because he held books. He’s supposed to tutor me, yet I’m not in the mood and didn’t need one.
“Yo, Lana and Benny are back together,” he announced, and I scoffed because Benny left before lunch.
Tamia turned to me with a glint in her eye. I raised a brow and leaned forward and motioned her to speak. “She played you.”
“Nope. It was my idea. If I can’t be with her, I should try and get her out of my system.”
“Out of your system, meaning to be fuck buddies and shit?”
“We never fucked. Lana didn’t want to! I thought by just being with her I’d see her as just another girl.”
“Why did you do that? Why did you put yourself through so much pain knowing that you fell for her and that they’d get back together?” Carter asked as he leaned against the wall.
“Don’t you get it? She doesn’t like me that way, yet she goes for a guy who fucking hit her!” I exclaimed, then propped my feet onto the table. “But somehow, he manages to do the thing we all struggle to do nowadays, make Lana Willson smile. How does he make her happy? I don’t know!” I yelled. “What the fuck is wrong with her? What does she see in him? What has he done for her? What does he have or do that I don’t?”
“Don’t you get it?” Keene asked as he sat opposite me. “He cares about her a lot. He changed for her; he’s trying to make her into a better person! But what do you do?” Keene tilted his head. “You influence her to smoke! To sleep around, just like you fucking do!” Keene raised his voice. “Do you know what she sees in you? She sees a selfish prick who sleeps around, not giving a damn about anything. Who plays with people and just suddenly goes off as if nothing happened.”
“Don’t talk shit!” I scoffed.
“I’m not! Saturday at my apartment when I told you guys it’s over and you shrugged it off like she was just another bang, you should’ve seen her face. It was filled with disgust, naivety, and pain,” Keene yelled. “So, if you want to keep being friends with Lana, I suggest you man the fuck up and stop depending on your dick and cigarettes to fix your problems.”
“Oh, fuck off, Keene,” I said, then shook my head. Everyone remained quiet, and I watched as Ethan sat down next to me.
“No, fuck you,” he said, then walked off. I took another swig of alcohol and let it take me over. Even though I drowned in alcohol, I needed to get her out of my system. She’s right, I brought out the bad side of her, but I couldn’t help it. That side intrigued me.
“Dude, chill, that stuff’s burning your throat,” Ethan said as I chugged down my third bottle.
“This,” I laughed as I looked at the bottle, “doesn’t even come close to when Lana’s lips were on mine, and we’d kiss.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lana
I didn’t think that the diner would be open so early in the morning, but since it’s close to downtown, it’s convenient for people who worked. Mom dropped me off at the diner on Friday morning because she worked in the city and it was on her way. Blake and I hadn’t spoken much since the incident on Saturday night, but I had to sometime. Yet I was surprised when he called me and said we needed to talk. When I glanced up, the waiter placed a bubblegum milkshake in front of me. I thanked him, then drank and put my hands in front of me, admiring the ring Benny got for me. Wow, was all I could say. The heart was small, which made it perfect for his half that was on his chain.
“Hey, Lana.” I raised my head to see Ethan, Blake, and Keene. I smiled as Ethan sat next to me. As Blake and Keene sat opposite us, I looked outside to see that they came in Ethan’s Tesla. I heard Keene groan as he leaned against the window.
“What’s wrong with you?” I asked, then sipped my milkshake.
“Hangover.” He took a menu and covered his face. I gave Ethan and Blake a questioning look. They seemed completely fine as they assured me Keene was okay. “So…why did you want to meet so early in the morning? Couldn’t you tell me this at school?”
“I just wanted to—” Blake began, but Keene lowered the menu and gave him a skeptical look. “Needed to tell you as soon as possible.”
“Okay.” I shrugged.
“We need to stop,” Blake stated as he gazed at me. I raised a brow, and he sighed and took out his cigarette box. “We need to stop. I’ve totally broken the New Year’s Resolution, and I know you have too.”
“We can’t just stop. It takes time to get over something. Like I said, we should just slow down, then by summer we should totally stop.”
“Aidan quit smoking. Tiffany didn’t like it, so he slowed down, then eventually he just stopped,” Ethan spoke up.
“I’m trying,” Keene groaned as he pointed to himself.
“Then we should try too. You, me, Carter, Axel, and hopefully Levi when we see him this summer.” I smiled and looked at Blake.
“Yeah, you’re right. It won’t be easy, but we’ll do it.” He nodded, then locked eyes with me. “Now what did you want to talk about?”
“H-how did you know I wanted to tell you something?”
“I just had a feeling.”
“Okay, well, err…” I mumbled. “Benny has agreed to make peace if you’re willing to do your side too. I mean we can all be friends if you two are just nice to each other.” I shrugged. Blake scoffed, then glanced around the diner. I turned to Ethan, who gave me a sympathetic look. I turned to Keene, who nudged Blake.
“Come on, Blake, for me, please? Think of it this way: there will be less drama.”
“Have you spoken to Levi?”
“Yeah, he said he’d try
,” I mumbled, but I cut out the part where I literally begged him as I sent many texts because he didn’t answer his phone.
“Fine. I’ll try too, but it won’t change how I see Benny.”
“You promise?” I asked, then stuck out my pinky finger. He narrowed his eyes, then stared at my finger. Keene did an awkward cough, then elbowed Blake. He sighed, then stuck out his pinky finger too. We entwined our pinky fingers, and he gripped on mine a bit too hard, but I ignored it. As I pulled away, he grabbed my hand and ran his thumb across my fingers. He stopped at my ring and raised a brow at it.
“Couldn’t he afford the other side? Or did you break it already?” Blake looked at the ring. I pulled my hand away and pursed my lips as Keene and Ethan laughed.
“He has the other half, you idiot.”
“Right, he has the other half of your heart,” Blake mumbled.
“Lana, I’m drinking your milkshake,” Keene announced, then took my glass and sipped it.
“Sure, you can have it,” I said, then watched as he slurped down my milkshake.
“So what are we doing on spring break?” Ethan asked.
“I’m using it for studying.” I raised my hands.
“Oh, come on, Willson. You’ll do great. We can go to your beach house,” Blake said as he answered Ethan’s question.
“You have a beach house?” Keene and I said in unison.
“Yeah…two, one here and another one in California.” Blake nodded, and Ethan rolled his eyes.
“Oh! I got an idea! Let’s have a road trip to that beach house in California then we ca—wait! Then we can surprise Levi!” I squealed as I tugged on Ethan’s arm.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down, Lana. I’m not even sure yet if I can have you all over. Besides, spring break is like in a week.”
“Plus, Levi doesn’t like surprises,” Keene piped up.
“Oh yeah,” I mumbled as I thought back to when we threw him a surprise party, and he was pissed.
“Well, even though I’d love to ditch today because we have P.E, we can’t, so let’s go,” Blake said as he slid out of the booth.
“What about you?” I asked Keene as I paid for my milkshake.
“Oh, I texted a friend before we got here. He’ll be here soon. Don’t worry. Bye.” I hugged him. I walked out of the diner and toward Ethan’s car. With my bag over my shoulder, I pushed my glasses up to see Blake open the door for me. I gave him a strange look, thanked him, then got in the car. I sat in the back while Ethan drove and Blake sat in the passenger seat. As we drove to school, I thought about Ethan’s beach house and how awesome it’d be if we could all go for spring break. I remembered when Miranda had a crush on Ethan; she must know about his beach house.
“Maybe we can go to the beach house that you have here?” I suggested as I looked at Ethan through the rearview mirror.
“Yeah,” Ethan replied.
“Great, we’ll talk to Miranda and everyone else, and we could all go for a few days,” I said, because that would do us good after what had happened.
“Err…I don’t know about Miranda, though,” Blake said. I crossed my arms over my chest as I raised a brow at them.
“Does this have to do with when she was yelling at you on Saturday night on my porch?”
“Yes and no,” Ethan replied, and I tilted my head. As I opened my mouth, the car came to a stop. I looked out the window to see that we’d arrived at school and the bell hadn’t rung yet. I sighed, then grabbed my bag. I was surprised when I saw Blake open the door for me.
“Thanks,” I said as I got out of the car. I pushed my glasses up and noticed his lips were up in a smile.
“No problem. See you later,” he said, then looked over his shoulder. I followed his gaze to see Benny, Nick, and Melissa near the school doors.
“Yeah, I’ll see you around,” I said as he turned back to me. Ethan stood next to me, and I smiled at him. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime,” he said, and I walked toward Benny. The bell rang, but I managed to reach them in time. Benny swung his arm around my shoulder when we walked into the school building. Some people looked at us, probably to tell Britney and Kelly we were back in swing, but I didn’t care. As we walked, we spoke about college. Benny wanted to go to Boston along with Nick, while I tried to go to Connecticut. Thankfully, those places weren’t too far from each other, and if we got in, we’d most likely see each other. We entered the classroom and decided to sit in the back. Benny sat on my left while Marcus strolled in and sat in front of us. As we waited for Mrs. Singleton, I saw Britney enter the room. I bit my lip to prevent a smirk as I saw her gape at us.
“Keep walking.” I eyed her up and down as she walked past. Benny laughed, then swung his arm around my shoulder.
“You didn’t have to do that,” he said, and we watched Britney huff as she sat down next to Jennifer. Carter came into the class and smiled. He sat down on my right, then turned to us.
“So I guess you won’t need a ride home anymore?” He looked at Benny’s and my position.
“Yeah,” Benny replied as I opened my mouth. Carter raised a brow at his tone but laughed as he opened his book.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I whispered, and he laughed.
***
Benny and I entered the cafeteria and finally sat at our table. A smile crept up my face when everyone joined. Things finally went back to normal.
“Oh! The gang is back together!” a recognizable voice cheered behind us. Benny and I turned around to see Liam skip toward us with his camera. We turned back, and he swung his arms around us and peered through. “I missed you, Lana.”
“I spoke to you in the hallway just five minutes ago,” I pointed out.
“I know, but it felt like months ago!” he said, then hugged us. “I’m just glad we can all sit together again!”
He backed away, then skipped toward Carter and hugged him. He did the same to Nick, who narrowed his eyes at the brunette. I bit my lip as Liam walked past Marcus to hug Blake.
“Don’t touch me,” Blake stated as he raised his hand.
“Everyone loves hugs!” Liam cheered, then pushed Blake’s hand aside and pulled him into a hug. I laughed as Blake tried to push Liam.
“Yo, where are the grapes?” Aidan asked after he hugged Liam. Both looked down at Marcus, and Liam folded his arms.
“It’s Marcus’s turn to buy,” Liam said as he hugged himself.
“Ugh fine.” Marcus groaned, then stood up to buy grapes. Once he returned with two bowls of grapes, everyone was settled.
“Oh! Before I forget, what are we doing for spring break?” Tiffany asked as she shared grapes with Aidan. Everyone conversed, and I turned to Ethan. He was already staring at me but shrugged.
“There’s the festival in the city?” Liam suggested.
“No, no, no, we’ve done something like that already, which led to Lana getting stitches,” Carter piped as my fingertips brushed over the scar by my chin. As everyone else threw in their ideas, I looked around the table. Maybe things would go back to normal. If we came up with something that we all agreed on, it would do us good. Something caught my eye when I saw Marcus going through Liam’s camera. My eyes widened because he might see something. I nudged Benny under the table. He turned to me, then followed my gaze. We watched as Marcus’s nose wrinkled up as he went through the pictures. The bell rang, and he put the camera down but still had a lost expression. Benny and I turned to each other with worried looks in the hope he didn’t see anything he wasn’t supposed to see.
***
I decided to spend my night with Benny because I had to tell him about the whole Christo thing. I was sure he knew about James Cornelius. I was on top of him while my head rested against his chest. Our legs were tangled under the blanket while his arms wrapped around me. I leisurely closed my eyes when his fingers ran through my hair.
“I spoke to Blake this morning,” I said as I raised my head, then rested my chin on his chest. He looked do
wn, then put a lock of hair behind my ear. “He agreed, and so did Levi when I spoke to him last night.”
“Okay, then we’ll see where this takes us.” I moved so that I laid next to him. Benny turned so that we looked at each other. He placed his hand on my cheek and stroked it. I considered his brown eyes and saw how genuine they were. As I stared at them, I realized I couldn’t keep the James thing a secret from him anymore. “You know…” he began when I opened my mouth to speak. “I just want to say I love you.” He raised my chin with his index finger. “Like you don’t even know how much.”
He moved closer, then kissed me. My eyes instantly closed as I felt his plump lips against mine. His hand moved from my face, then traveled down to my hip. I felt the bed move as he slowly turned me so that I laid on my back. He pulled away, and I glanced up to see him straddle me, then pull off his shirt. I bit my lip when he came back down and continued to kiss me. I ran my palms along his bare skin because I wanted him. We stopped, and Benny rested between my legs. I smiled down at him as I ran my fingers through his brown hair.
“Thank you again for the ring.” I smiled at him.
“My pleasure,” he replied as he took my hand in his and twirled the ring.
“Why half a heart, though?”
“Because we need each other to be sane,” he said, then took his chain and joined the heart so it’d be one. “It shows even though we’re broken, together we’re stable.”
“How cute, Benny Nielson,” I said, and he smirked.
“What can I say?” he said as he started to undo the buttons of my flannel. He kissed up my neck and wholly ignored the chain Blake got for me. I was still suspicious as to why he didn’t ask about it.
I decided to stay a bit longer since Benny had to look after Sam. I didn’t get the chance to tell him about James, but I realized Nick and Liam had to know too.
The following day, Benny and I drove to Liam’s apartment. I bit the inside of my cheek to what seemed to be the millionth time. I was nervous to tell them everything. Benny knocked on the door, and like always, Nick answered the door. We walked in and found Liam’s grandma on the sofa. She smiled at us, then returned to her soap opera.