I Hate You, Fuller James

by Kelly Anne Blount

  Hudson crossed his legs. “Tell her you’re sorry. Maybe make her a card. Bring her flowers or something. Girls in the movies always like that kind of stuff.”

  Completely dejected, I leaned against the headboard of my bed. “I tried, but she didn’t want to talk to me. Honestly, Hud, I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me.”

  Hudson shrugged. “What if you did something big? Like, you know, when Vanessa had that thing taken out of her so she and Deadpool could have babies?”

  “Dude!” I gasped. “That’s definitely not something you should be talking about! You’re nine!”

  My little brother rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Do something big. Maybe at the dance, so everyone will see how sorry you really are? Something that’ll win her back.”

  I chewed on my lower lip. “You know, while that’s a wildly inappropriate example, you might be onto something.”

  His eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  He clenched his fist and pulled his elbow backward. “Yes. Hudson for the win!”

  I ruffled his hair. “I’m going to need some ideas, though. Think you could help me come up with a plan?”

  “Duh! Like you could do it without my help.” He rolled his eyes again and, for the first time since Friday, I felt a shimmer of hope in my heart.

  “Do you think it would be all right if I called two friends to help us out?” I asked Hudson.

  Hudson put his little hand on my arm. “I think we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

  …

  Five hours later, Dae, Brandon, Hudson, and I looked at one another.

  “Okay. What did we learn by watching those movies?” I asked.

  I couldn’t believe they’d agreed to come over. I thought for a minute that they might show up at my front door and punch me in the face, but, after I all but begged them, they agreed.

  Brandon stood up and stretched. “I learned that my butt fell asleep midway through Say Anything.”

  “Very funny.” I turned toward Dae and Hudson. “These are Wren’s favorite movies. But we need to figure out how I can use them to win her back.”

  “The grand gesture in Say Anything is pretty epic. I think you could pull off something like that at the dance,” Dae said. “But you need to incorporate The Princess Bride, too.”

  “I have an idea! Be right back.” Hudson hopped off the couch and raced out of the room. A few seconds later, his feet thundered down the stairs.

  “What are you doing?” Brandon asked with a chuckle.

  Hudson had put on his Deadpool mask.

  “You gotta dress up as Westley,” he said enthusiastically. “They go through heck and back as a couple, right? But he never loses hope. If you dress up like Westley and tell her that you haven’t lost hope, maybe that will win her back?”

  “Dang. That was deep, little man,” Dae said with a smile.

  Hudson winked at him. “Trust me, I know all about girls.”

  We all burst into laughter.

  “Hey, Hud. Can you do me a favor?”

  He pulled off the Deadpool mask. “Sure.”

  “Can you give me a few minutes with Brandon and Dae?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to go play some Fortnite. Call me if you need any more help.”

  I ruffled his hair. “Thanks, buddy.”

  Once Hudson headed back upstairs, I turned my attention back to Wren’s best friends.

  I took a deep breath. “I know this wasn’t easy for either of you, but I really appreciate you coming over here and hearing me out. I care so much about Wren, and I royally screwed up. A lot of people would have written me off permanently.”

  Brandon nodded. “Not going to lie, Fuller, I wanted to punch your lights out, but there’s no way we’d make it to State without you, so I reconsidered. Also, Wren obviously cares about you and, even though you did a bunch of stupid crap, I think it’s obvious you really like her, too.”

  “Thank you.”

  “We hate seeing her so upset,” Dae added. “And if I thought even for one minute that she was one hundred percent over you and never wanted to see you again, I wouldn’t be here.”

  “Wren is really lucky to have you two for best friends.” I thought about my own relationships. Would Marc or TyShaun go to bat for me like this? Would I do the same for them? I definitely needed to reevaluate how I treated my friends.

  “Okay, so back to the plan,” I said, standing up. “I think I’ve got an idea, but I’m going to need your help in order to pull it off.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Wren

  “Thanks for keeping me company tonight. It’s the first time I’ve missed a game in four years.” I took a long swig of raspberry lemonade. “Friday night without basketball… So weird.”

  Dae and Jenna Marie both gave me empathetic smiles. They were sitting side by side in the hard plastic booth across from me.

  “Minus that jerkwad, I still want them to win.” I let out a sad chuckle.

  Dae stole a glance at his phone. “Want to know the score? Brandon just texted me.”

  “The game is already over?” I tucked my knees under my chin.

  “Yeah, they won, sixty-five to thirty-two.” Dae set his phone down. “Brandon is going to meet us here in ten minutes.”

  My heart ached. My chest ached. Missing the game had been bad enough, but the planet-sized hole Fuller had left in my heart felt like it would never be repaired.

  Jenna Marie dunked a French fry in ketchup. “It’s hard.”

  “What?”

  “Having someone betray you.” She took a bite. “But I can tell you one thing. It will get better.”

  Taking another sip of lemonade, I shrugged. “I was stupid for ever thinking someone like Fuller James could be a decent human being. I’ve learned my lesson. The rest of my senior year is going to be all about spending time with my friends, acing my AP tests, and graduating as valedictorian.”

  Jenna Marie shook her head. “You don’t have to swear off finding someone forever. I promise, there are a few good ones out there.” She glanced up at Dae.

  Guilt washed over me like a powerful wave. “There might be, but I’m done looking until I get to college.”

  “If it makes you feel any better, Fuller feels terrible,” Dae said cautiously.

  My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “How do you know that?”

  “Oh, well, you can just tell.” Dae stole a quick glance in Jenna Marie’s direction. “You know, because—”

  “Hey, guys.” Brandon’s voice interrupted our conversation.

  “You getting something to eat?” Dae asked, cutting our talk of Fuller short. It was probably for the best. I didn’t need to waste any more time thinking about him.

  “I already ordered.” Brandon scooted next to me in the booth. “I’m starving.”

  Pushing Fuller to the back of my mind, I laughed. Brandon was always hungry.

  “I probably went a little overboard with three chili dogs and a basket of fries.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “I may need some help eating all of it.”

  “Heard you won. Congrats.” I wanted to ask him more about the game, but the tightness in my chest prevented me. I hadn’t cried since Wednesday after school, and I didn’t want to start again now.

  Brandon threw his arm over my shoulder and squeezed me into the nook between his armpit and his side. “We totally kicked their butts.”

  “Proud of you.” I let my head fall onto his shoulder. “Also, thanks for showering.”

  He chuckled and stole one of Jenna Marie’s fries. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”

  “League of Legends and popcorn at my place?” Jenna Marie suggested.

  Dae and Brandon nodded in agreement.

  When I didn’t say anything, everyone turned t
heir eyes toward me.

  “Wren?” Brandon asked.

  Shrugging, I took a long sip of my drink. “I was thinking about heading home after this— I have that AP Psychology paper due next week.”

  Jenna Marie shook her head. “No way. I need your opinion on my dress for tomorrow night.”

  A dance I’m no longer attending… I stared out the window, my eyes landing on a yellow Jeep with a Magnolia Valley basketball bumper sticker. It reminded me of Fuller. Everything reminded me of him.

  “Wren?” Jenna Marie’s shoulder lifted slightly.

  “I’m sure it’s awesome.” Jenna Marie was stunning; she could wear a black trash bag with some duct tape to the dance and look perfect.

  She stuck out her lower lip. “Please? I have two dresses and I totally need your help picking the right one.”

  Dae looked at her and grinned. My heart stung as I watched him tuck a fallen lock of Jenna Marie’s hair behind her ear. He was smitten. Just like I used to be with Fuller.

  “I…I loved him.”

  As the words left my lips, Brandon and Dae shot each other a look I couldn’t decipher. Was it an “I told you so” glance or maybe one of pity?

  “Oh, honey.” Jenna Marie got up and wrapped her arms around me.

  “I loved him, and he played me.” I hadn’t said the words out loud, but I’d thought them plenty of times. They stung even more when they left my lips.

  Brandon’s shoulders fell. “I’m so sorry, Wren.”

  I picked up a fry but then threw it down in disgust. “He’s always been a jerk. Believing that he had changed was such a stupid move.”

  Jenna Marie shook her head. “He fooled all of us.”

  I tried to focus on the anger coiled in the pit of my stomach instead of the agony tightening in my chest.

  “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Dae said. “How about after the dance, we have a movie night? Just the four of us? We could watch The Heat.”

  A sad chuckle escaped my lips. Dae loved that movie; it always made him laugh. We’d watched it, like, twenty times after Eva had broken up with him.

  “I don’t want to bring the rest of you down,” I said. “You should all go to the dance and have fun. I’ll hang out at home with Gramps.”

  “We aren’t going without you. Period.” Dae picked up his drink and took a long swig.

  “All right, all right,” I responded. “I’ll go.”

  Jenna Marie clapped her hands together. “Yay!”

  Turning my head, I gazed out the window and allowed my mind to drift to the source of my pain.

  How could you do this to me, Fuller James?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Fuller

  “Are you nervous?”

  I looked up at Marc and TyShaun. “More nervous than I’ve ever been before any game.”

  TyShaun put his hand on my shoulder. “You got this and hey, I’m sorry again. I never should have told Marissa anything.”

  “Thanks, Ty.” I ignored the nausea swirling in my stomach. “I appreciate it, but this is my mess, and I’m the one who needs to do the apologizing, not you.”

  “Wren’s going to think you’re the coolest.” Hudson grinned, displaying a large gap where he’d lost his most recent tooth.

  We stood outside the school building. A cold wind whipped through the parking lot, but I didn’t mind. The costume I was wearing kept me plenty warm.

  “All right, guys. Let’s do this.”

  I adjusted the facemask and the tight leather pants as we made our way to the front door. Hudson walked next to me. He’d dressed up, too. In fact, this whole plan had been his idea. Marc and TyShaun carried all the supplies as we walked through the front door. Once I’d explained the plan to them, they’d jumped on board, too. It had taken everything in Dae and Brandon’s power just to get Wren to the dance, but luckily, they’d pulled it off. Having my friends by my side gave me the confidence I needed to go through with everything. I was a really lucky guy. After everything that had happened, these guys really had my back.

  Luckily, the DJ for the dance was a family friend. He’d given my plan the okay. He’d even agreed to set up a special wireless microphone.

  My gloved hands shook as the music floated down the hallway. Holy buckets, was I nervous. Part of me wanted to chicken out and turn around and run, but if I did that, I’d never get Wren back. And that was all that mattered.

  “You got this, Fuller,” Hudson’s voice squeaked. “Stick to the plan. Just like we rehearsed.”

  His words of confidence gave me the extra boost I needed. For a nine-year-old, he was pretty wise.

  And creative, the little stinker.

  As I walked toward the gym, a group of junior girls spotted us and began laughing. Their dates, Jeremy and Nico, frowned.

  “Dude, what are you wearing?” Nico asked, tilting his head as he looked me up and down.

  I didn’t respond. Instead, I motioned for the small group to follow me toward the gym. I felt like the Pied Piper.

  “Fuller. There you are.” Marissa grabbed onto my arm but loosened her grip once she got a look at my outfit.

  “Back off, Marissa.”

  She looked me up and down, scrunching her nose in the process. “What are you wearing? Where’s your tux?”

  “What you did last week was unforgivable. You owe Wren an apology and you know it.” I waited for her to release my arm.

  “An apology? Seriously?” She released her grip and placed her hands on her hips. “Look, I did you a favor by telling Wrentainer about your stupid little bet. Forget her. Let’s go in together, and you can be my Fall Harvest Prince.”

  “I took my name out of the running, Marissa. I already told you that. I’m finally getting my priorities straight, and Wren is way more important to me than a popularity contest.”

  Her smile disappeared and was instantly replaced with a scowl. “You know what, Fuller? You’ve changed so much, I barely recognize you. You and that loser deserve each other!”

  “You’re right, I have changed—for the better. Oh, and you know, there are better ways to get attention. This whole act you put on, it’s too much. I didn’t call you out on it while we were dating, and that’s my bad. But you deserve to know and, honestly, I hope you can change. Because if you don’t, no one is going to want to be your friend.” Without another word, I turned around and made my way to the stage.

  Marissa took one step after me before I heard a snap. Taking a quick glance over my shoulder, I saw her balancing on one stiletto, as the heel on the other one had broken. Courtney rushed to her side and helped her to a chair on the opposite side of the hall.

  “You know what they say about karma.” Marc smiled and gave me a pat on the back.

  TyShaun nodded. “Good luck, man.”

  “Thanks, Ty.”

  We walked through a balloon arch to get into the gym. Bales of hay and pumpkins masked the bleachers, which had been pushed up and secured against the walls. There were tables scattered around the perimeter as well. They each had ornate centerpieces with red and orange leaves, pinecones, and a lantern in the middle. Battery-operated candles flickered, giving the space a special ambiance.

  Okay, it’s now or never.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Wren

  My jaw dropped as I watched Fuller make his way to the DJ booth. He had on the tightest black pants I’d ever seen, and he wore this billowy black shirt that was open at the chest. Hudson, who was at his side, was wearing a Deadpool costume. I shot a glance at Dae and Brandon. They both shrugged.

  I’m outta here. If this was Fuller about to pull off some over-the-top ridiculous stunt, I didn’t need to see it. I took a step to the side, planning to sneak out the back of the gym without being noticed, but stopped when Jenna Marie linked her arm through mine.

  “I
think you’re going to want to stay for this,” she whispered with an encouraging smile on her face.

  The DJ cut off the song that was playing. “Sorry for the interruption, Magnolia Valley Cougars, but we have a special announcement that will only take a few moments. If everyone could please turn their attention to the stage, that would be great. Thank you!”

  My heart started to hammer in my chest. I wanted to turn and run, but my feet stayed cemented to the gym floor.

  Fuller grabbed a wireless microphone and put his hand in the air. A moment later, blinding floodlights were aimed at him.

  “Um, wow. Those are bright.” He held his hand up, peering into the crowd. “All right, some of you may not recognize me in this outfit, but it’s me, your varsity basketball captain, Fuller James.”

  He swung what appeared to be a homemade sword in the air, waving it back and forth. Are those Nerds boxes? What is he doing?

  The crowd emitted a mixture of gasps and laughter.

  “I’m here tonight, dressed up as Westley from The Princess Bride, for several reasons. The first is to admit that I’m a complete jerk.” The crowd fell silent. “I was failing AP and too embarrassed to admit that I needed help. Principal Davis and Coach Carter found out and told me if I didn’t bring my grade up, I wouldn’t be able to play basketball.”

  My chest rose and fell quickly. Even though my classmates booed loudly, I suddenly felt like it was just Fuller and me in the gym.

  Fuller waved his sword. “No, don’t boo. It was my fault. I’d been so focused on basketball and training that I wasn’t putting in the effort. Plus, I was being an asshole. On and off the court. I thought I was untouchable. So I made a terrible decision. I made a bet with a teammate to cover up the fact that I was failing and that Wren Carter had been assigned to tutor me until I brought my grade back up.”

  A sophomore in front of me shouted, “Is that a rodent of unusual size in your pants?”

  Someone behind me whistled, while other students in the crowd howled with laughter.

  My throat went dry.