Miss Hot Topic and Mr. Abercrombie Together?! Chapter 17

"L-Let go of, of me." I don’t know why I stuttered but I did. I didn’t want to face him now or ever, and especially not with Connor watching. Why did he have to ruin such a great morning?

"I miss you, dammit! I’m not letting you just walk out of my life like that. It’s not fair. You didn’t hear what /I/ have to say—"Austin’s voice got louder and louder as he spoke and his words echoed through the empty hallways. Out of nowhere, something inside me flared and anger clouded over my mind and won against the sadness.

"Well, I DON’T miss you. I just miss who I thought you were. And you’re here to tell me it’s…not…fair?! Who are /you/ to say it’s not fair? I gave you everything I had. It wasn’t much but it was everything. And you broke me into million pieces that night and you’re here to tell me it’s not fair?! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?! I don’t need to hear what you have to say. I think I’ve heard plenty from Elle, Austin. And what part of ‘I hate you’ and ‘I will never forgive you’ DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND? Now just stop and let go of me!" Now my voice was just as loud as his. The overwhelming emotions inside of me were just too much and the tears poured out of me endlessly. I wasn’t sure if I saw correctly, but I thought I saw one tear fall out of Austin’s eyes, too. He must be an excellent actor. Then I tried to pry his strong hands off of my wrist but it was simply impossible.

"Dude, let go. You’re hurting her." I heard Connor whisper in the back. I felt so embarrassed and sorry he had to see any of this but yet thankful he was here. And with his words, Austin let go and turned around so his back was facing me. Connor was right about hurting me—there was red finger marks around my wrist. But what hurt me more was the sight of Austin. His shoulders were sagged down and his head hung low with his hands covering his face. It showed exactly how I felt just then.

"So you already found a new boyfriend, huh?" His question caught me off guard and woke me out of my trance. But before I could even say anything Austin walked away. I watched him disappear down the long hallway and when he finally did I turned slowly back to Connor. My stupid tears made it hard to see and everything was blurry but I could make out Connor’s stunned expression.

"Look, I’m sorry for everything. I didn’t mean to give him the wrong impression or anything, I was just—"I stopped him with my hand and told him it was okay and that I should have been the one apologizing. Suddenly, Connor swept me into a bear hug that I needed very much. He then wiped away my tears with his hand and just cradled my face.
Even though I only knew him for not even a whole day, it felt right. I /almost/ felt okay again. Almost. But I couldn’t lead Connor on like this. It was wrong and I knew that so I broke away from him and tried to fake a smile.

"Thanks I needed that but just so it’s clear I…I’m not looking for another guy or anything and I’m really sorry if I led you on or—"This time Connor stopped me and gave a genuine smile.

"It’s fine. I understand. We can just be friends if that’s what you want. Just know that I’ll be here for you. Wow that’s corny but still…" I sighed a sigh of relief and hugged him once more.

"Friends for sure." I threw in another fake smile for his sake. But ‘just friends’ never worked out quite well.

- O n e W e e k L a t e r -

"Okay, ready?" Connor ripped opened the bag of marshmallow bunnies and put on this serious expression that didn’t suit him at all. We were over his empty house—only a street away from mine—playing ‘Chubby Bunny’ in his room for the celebration of his strict parents going away for the weekend.

[Chubby Bunny is a game in which every player tries to shove as much marshmallows in their mouths—without swallowing them of course. And for every marshmallow you put in your mouth you have to CLEARLY say ‘chubby bunny’!]

"Ready, Betty." I replied and hopped onto his king-size bed. Then I popped a marshmallow bunny in my mouth and said, "Chubby Bunny!" Connor did the same thing and it went on like that until we both reached Bunny Number TWENTY THREE. I succeeded in squeezing Bunny Number 23 in my already marshmallow-filled-mouth but now I had to somehow say ‘chubby bunny’. I managed to say ‘chubby’ but when I tried to say ‘bunny’, Connor tickled my sides until I exploded with laughter. It was a good thing I had a grocery bag ready or else his room would have been filled with ‘chubby bunnies’.

"YOU LOOSE, I WIN, NOW YOU GET A BIG BRUISE!" Connor sang and danced around his room like a crazy dude he was while I spitted out the last residue of the marshmallows.

"That’s SO not fair. You cheated!" I complained but he flicked my forehead anyway. When we both finally calmed down a little, we settled onto watching Harry Potter movies downstairs in his basement.

"Hey, you want to call Elle and see if she wants to come over and watch it with us?" Connor suggested while we made our way downstairs. At the mention of Elle, I got a bit upset. She had been ignoring me lately and was just all about the popular kids these days. It pissed me off but I decided to call her anyway.

"Hey, you want to come over and hang with me and Connor?"

"Nope, can’t. I’m hanging out with my friends…I mean my /other/ friends tonight. Well I have to get ready so I’ll talk to you later. Bye." She hung up on me before I could even say ‘bye’. Ugh, how rude! Elle has changed A LOT after me and Austin’s break-up and it was like we weren’t even friends anymore. This sucked. Now I lost TWO people I loved. At least I still had Connor.

After I got some popcorn I texted my mom and told her I was sleeping over ‘Elle’s’ house since I knew my parents would /never/ allow me to sleep over a boy’s house, even if it was just Connor. Then I ran down to the basements, turned off all the lights, got two huge blankets, and settled on the floor next to Connor to watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire—my favorite.
- - -
By the time we watched all of the Harry Potter thrillers it was 3’o clock in the morning. I pretended like I was asleep so I wouldn’t have to clean up the mess we made, even though I kind of felt guilty letting Connor do all the work. I ‘snored’ and mumbled a little to make it more realistic and I was sure he fell for it. Suddenly, I felt the ground beneath me disappear and I snuck a peek to see Connor carrying me upstairs to his room. He then tucked me in like my mom used to do when I was little. Connor sat down on the small space next to me and just when I thought he was asleep, I felt his lips on my exposed forehead. I was about to pull away when I remembered I was supposed to be ‘asleep’ so I stayed still as I could. But after a minute or so I felt Connor’s cool breath on my cheek instead, and I was sure he whispered ‘I love you’. Uh-oh.

Houston, we have a problem.