Everybody has stories, but not every one has scars...

"I swear I am not a criminal! Just check my records if you don’t believe me! No wait, don’t do that . . . It may pull up some really shady sounding acts . . . but I was drunk, I swear! Some guy dared me to do it!"
 
Technically, that had all been a rambling lie, but I wasn't going to admit that to the beet-red, pissed off hotel manager that stood in front of me. I shot him a mild look and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.
 
I still considered six in the morning night time, so I was five-seconds away from whipping out my shiny switch blade and cutting this man’s Gucci suit into ribbons – Christmas was right around the corner, anyway.
 
It wasn't like he really should've suspected that I was a criminal. I hadn't done anything! I mean, yeah, I was five bucks short of the rental for the room I was staying in and I may have swiped a few hotel soaps and towels, but that was minor in terms of crimes I’d committed prior. He should have seen what I stole from the Hilton last month . . . Besides; it's not like my room was that great of one, either.
 
Being on the top floor, you'd expect a huge, elegant penthouse suite, right? I guess, in a way I did get that, but at a very low quality. The kitchen was slathered with chunky, unknown substances, the windows were boarded up in a way that resembled a low budget horror movie, the plasma TV was cracked and the bedroom reeked of alcohol and stale pheromones. The person who had rented the room before me had obviously thrown a party that was near impossible to recover from.
 
Every other room in the hotel was one hundred percent five star quality. This was a place where the rich and famous stayed, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I caught Jay-Z and Beyoncé peering into my room. Famous people usually had nice stuff which was just perfect since I didn’t absolutely mind using it for a bit . . .
 
"If you give me one more day," I started. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say, because his face turned even redder than before – and I had thought that was impossible.
 
"Get out!" he yelled.
 
I raised my hands in the universal sign for 'I surrender,’ realizing that I had overstepped my boundaries. "All right, sir, if you're just let me grab me bags..."
 
Either he really hated me, or he was just generally rude to everyone because the next words that came out of his mouth were a repeat of before. "Get out!" He barked at me, his voice almost cracking. "Out now, or I'll call security," he threatened.
 
I gulped, ignoring the impulse to yank out my trusty pocket knife and did my best to remain impassive as I dropped the hotel key card on his desk then slowly exited the office, and afterwards, the hotel.
 
I couldn't risk attracting the authorities or anything close to it. I had never been caught before, and I certainly didn't want to break that streak now. Definitely not because of some guy in an expensive Gucci suit that looked like he lacked proper exercise. Maybe I should offer to apply him to a gym or something . . . Though that may not be the best of ideas considering his temper issues.
 
I quickly hastened around the back of the four story building. I couldn't just leave my stuff. I needed my clothes and the goods I had managed to snag this morning – soap, towels, a few pillows, possibly Jay-Z’s car . . .
 
They were my ticket out of here. Just like the fake ID nestled in the big pocket of my backpack sitting on the bed . . . Dang it! I needed that! The guy, Jet, who had made it for me was on a long voyage to Tokyo to rekindle the love of his Chihuahua or something, so it’s not like I could just request another.
 
Men these days.
 
Luckily enough, there were balconies settled about five feet above me. Unluckily enough, I wasn’t exactly the world’s best balcony climber.
 
It was worth a try though. This is for you Jet! You and your heart broken Chihuahua!
 
I shot a quick look around, searching for anyone or anything that could get me caught. Did stray dogs or overly large pools count? Didn’t think so.
 
I glanced around again, only this time searching for some way to get up – preferably an escalator, but you know, I doubted there was one around here. I should really suggest investing in one of those to the manager . . .
 
Focus, Harley! My mind snarled.
 
Right. Get the fake ID Jet the Chihuahua lover made for you . . .
 
My eyes trailed up a fire escape. It was stupid. The door was probably locked, but you could easily hop onto the balcony beside it. Crazed fans wouldn't have a problem breaking in to watch Jay-Z do his business. Neither would assassins or ninjas. And then there was me. The girl attempting to retrieve a bunch of useless sh!t by jumping on random balconies. Hopefully Beyoncé didn’t carry a gun or this was about to get super messy.
 
Luck seemed to be on my side, however, since the balcony beside the fire escape was only two down from the one connected to my room. Well, I should probably say my old room.
 
After taking one last look around, I traipsed over and hoisted myself onto the platform of the fire escape.
 
This is really stupid. I thought, snickering as I climbed up the stairs and jumped onto the balcony. You'd think that some place like this would be harder to break into, right? Kmart is harder to break into than this. Look out Jay-Z, here I come.
 
Turns out I spoke too soon. I looked above me. Even on my tiptoes, my hands were clutching air and not a metal balcony. Which meant I would have to climb onto the balcony railing to be able to grab it. This could quite possibly result in my utter demise.
 
"Don't look down. Don't look down," I chanted under my breath as I cautiously climbed onto the railing. I reached up and grabbed the bars of the balcony above me, then slowly began pulling myself up.
 
Good thing my high school P.E teacher was a douche who enjoyed torturing kids with hundreds of pull ups, otherwise I’d be on the floor right now . . . Bleeding . . . Like a lot.
 
You know that feeling you get on a roller coaster where your stomach just drops? That was what I felt like right now, my legs hanging limply in the air, the wind tousling billows of my crimson hair, my arms almost straining from holding all my weight. Slowly, I inched myself up.
 
That's when I heard a voice. Talking. On the balcony I was trying to climb onto.
 
Please don’t be Beyoncé with a gun!
 
I silently cursed under my breath, and turned my head down, holding in a gasp. The balcony I had just been on looked so far down . . . So I ruled out jumping back down.
 
I clenched my teeth, my jaw going taut, and pulled myself up, eyes closing in on the figure on the balcony.
 
Definitely male, and fortunately, his back was turned towards me.
 
Immobilized, I cocked my head and listened to the husky accented tone. It was somewhat familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.
 
"They're asleep, obviously. I'm not stupid, you know," the person hissed. I was positive it was a guy. Either that, or it was a girl who had an unbelievably deep voice and a very muscular torso . . . And a very firm butt. I'm betting on the former.
 
Who was he talking to? Wait, why did I care? I had I get out of here before he realized that I was hanging from his balcony. He wasn't going to be on the phone forever. I started to inch my way up, but froze again when he resumed his conversation.
 
“I don’t understand your anxiety, man. Everything is fine. Just take a deep breath. We’re in Hollywood! Live a little!”
 
I watched as the man winced and leaned away from the blaring phone. “Look,” he began rapidly, apparently trying to coax the person on the other end of the line to calmness. “Cool your jets. We’ve got a hot band going and loads of money. For now, we can just sit back and relax . . .”
 
There was a moment of silence – I assumed it was a quiet agreement form the other end of the line. “Exactly. Just enjoy the silence while it lasts because pretty soon things are gonna’ get loud.”
 
The man laughed abruptly, soft and sultry. “Girls?”
 
He shook his head, waves of brown hair shaking. "Nah, there aren't many hot girls around here. They must be throwing themselves off balconies or something," he said after letting out a low chuckle.
 
A small snort burst from my lips before I could halt it.
 
My eyes widened at the sudden silence.
 
"Hold on, I think I just heard something . . . yeah, yeah, I'll call you back in a minute."
 
Please don't see me, please don't see me. God, I know I steal, but you and karma run different businesses, right? Before my pleas could quite possibly reach the Heavens, a face was staring down at me. A handsome one. A familiar one.
 
Holy cr*p . . . was that who I thought it was? I didn’t watch TV often or read many magazines, but even someone as cut off as I was could recognize him. Permanently unkempt brown hair to about his collar and his infamous dark eyes. Krystof Moreau, lead singer of the new band sweeping the nation.
 
Now I was wishing it had been Beyoncé with a gun.
 
He lowered himself to my level, obsidian eyes drinking me in. "Who are you working for?"
 
"Well," I stuttered, my fingers clamming up against the metal bars. "I used to work at McDonalds . . ." That was a lie, but it wasn't like I could tell him I was going up his balcony to break into my room.
 
A stiff chuckle escaped his lips, and he reached over, pulling me up. When I was safely on his balcony, he shoved me into the railing, leaning his head in inches from mine. "Who are you? Who are you working for?" he asked again, his eyes flashing.
 
My back collided with the balcony railing and I groaned, eyes going wide. Yeah, I knew he was considered the 'bad ass' of the band, but this was pretty extreme. "Harley. And I'm currently jobless. Look, I'm sorry for invading your privacy or whatever but a dog loving Japanese guy-"
 
His hands suddenly hooked around my legs, wrapping them around his waist. What the h*ll? What is he trying to do? I was tempted to shout r*pe until I remembered it was Krystof Moreau who was holding me. And that I was trying to break into a hotel. I really didn't want to attract any more attention. Plus, I think he would win in a lawsuit against me.
 
Yeah, I realize that the person holding me right now was a superstar that was also the subject of most teenage girl's fantasies. No, I wasn't oblivious to the fact that having his firm body pressed against mine sent waves of tingles down me. I just wasn't really star-struck. When you're on the run and trying to live on the street, you don't really spend your time learning and admiring every detail of the latest 'teen sensation.’
 
His lips skimmed across mine ever so gently, and naturally, I leaned into his intoxicating touch. “Well . . . Nice meeting you, Harley.”
 
“Wha–”
 
Krystof Moreau twisted my body backwards and over his balcony.
 
For the slightest moment, I was caught in a baffled awe, and then the adrenaline kicked in. A strangled scream ripped out of my mouth as soon as my mind registered what he had done. I was going to die . . . at the hands of Just Past Paradise.
 
A giant mass of blue liquid was the only thing I could see in my daze of terror as I plummeted from the balcony. Only one thought stood out against my fear.
 
I should have gone to Swimming Camp when I was seven instead of Ballet.
 

--
I won't be continuing this story on Polyvore, but if you want to read the rest, you can check it out here:
 
http://www.wattpad.com/story/2584133-kiss-me-kill-me
 
I'd love to see any of you guys on Wattpad, it's a great site! :)

This story is also posted on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/1102941-something-about-summer
Here's the Epilogue!
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/something_about_summer/collection?id=1444989
Taglist;; @bittersweet-memories @chicksmania @peacelovesara @watching-wasting-waiting @nerd-fighter @invisiblemonkeyninja @jordan447
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--
(Unedited)
 
Will you remember me?
Young forever back then,
Never knew the first love's the hardest.
I never thought that we'd surrender,
When I was yours,
And you were mine.


~When We Were Young- The Summer Set

 
"I can't believe she's going to England," Brett said running a hand through his short brown hair, a habit he had picked up from Kaden.
 
Clark nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. She's hurt, but all the way across the ocean, really?" They heard footsteps and turned to see the third member of their trio descend the staircase for what seemed like the first time in weeks.
 
"What are you guys talking about?" He asked, his voice flat and emotionless. His gray eyes were dull, and there were dark bags resting below them. He looked as if he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in days- and he probably hadn't.
 
"Raine," Brett replied bluntly. Kaden immediately stiffened. Alarm flashing through his lifeless eyes. It was sad how, now, you never really saw emotion from him unless you mentioned a certain someone's name. It was affecting him as much as it had affected her.
 
"What? Why? Is she okay?" He asked, his eyes going back and forth between the two wildly.
 
"She's going to England for the Senior year," Clark announced in the same monotone voice Kaden had used earlier. Kaden's jaw dropped.
 
"What? Why?" He repeated.
 
"She got an offer to study aboard on her last month. And she took it," Brett responded. Kaden sat down on the couch and rested his head in his hands.
 
"Why didn't she tell me?" He moaned as Clark and Brett took a seat on either side of him.
 
Brett shot Kaden a look even though he had his head buried in his hands. "You're not exactly on the best of terms with her, Kade," Clark said calmly, trying to keep from hurting his feelings.
 
"I know, but..." Kaden protested, his voice muffled from going through his hands.
 
"Kallie told me Raine got the offer at the end of July, but wasn't planning on taking it. I guess with everything that happened, she changed her mind," Brett said. Clark shot him a look that clearly said 'You're not helping.'
 
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Kaden asked, finally lifting his face from his hands.
 
"Uh, yeah. What was up with that anyway? I thought you were done cheating," Brett remarked.
 
"Yeah, I know, but I just... I got scared," Kaden replied, staring at the wall, while not seeing it.
 
"About what?" Clark asked.
 
Kaden sighed and hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Raine and I... We've dated before this. Before she was with Jared, we kind of went out in secret. She broke it off. And, well, it killed. It was the first, and only time I ever hurt over a girl. I guess I was scared that she would do it again," He answered in a pained tone. For a moment, there was silence. Two of them completely dumbfounded, the other still staring unseeingly at the wall, a distant look on his face.
 
"Go after her," Clark finally said.
 
"Yeah, it always works in those chick movies," Brett agreed.
 
Clark sighed. "Brett. You're really not helping here."
 
Brett shrugged. "Just go after her. Don't give up so easily, I know you're not like that. If you really, er, love her, go after her."
 
Kaden stood up, and for the first time in a while, hope flashed through his eyes. "I think I will."
 
***
 
He met her in the hallway. After hopping on the first plane to England, and hailing a taxi to the hotel address Kallie had given him, he had ridden the elevator up and had been waiting at her door when she appeared behind him.
 
Her hair was in a messy bun, with strands curling out, she was wearing a pair of ratty jeans and an old t-shirt, and the sunglasses she wore, despite it being night, didn't hide the bags under her eyes. Still, she took his breath away. Thinking this, he smiled softly and wondered when he became so soft. She had changed him. A lot. More than he liked, but he wouldn't have traded those times for the world.
 
"What are you doing here?" She asked her voice faltering a bit. She lifted her sunglasses, set them in her hair and examined him, almost as if she was expecting him to disappear.
 
"I came to say sorry," He answered, not meeting her eyes, a fragment of hope hiding in his tone. She opened her mouth to respond, but no words came out. Kaden sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I was scared," He admitted.
 
She regarded him with curious and suspicious eyes. "Scared of what?"
 
"That you'd break it off again. You know, it had hurt. I was scared of that again."
 
Raine stared at Kaden disbelievingly. Finally after a beat of silence, she bit her lip and looked away. "I wasn't planning to. I was gonna give it a shot," She told him, in a sort of broken, almost rueful voice, before turning around to walk off. Before she could move a step away from him, he grabbed her wrist and spun her back around.
 
"Tell me why. You at least owe me that much," He insisted, locking eyes with her, pleading. The silence was overwhelming before she finally relented.
 
She tugged her wrist out of his grip and sighed. "I... I was scared too," She paused, gulping. "All my life, all I had heard were my parents fighting. When I was younger, they used to tell me it was true love. That what they had was true love. And ever since then, I swore to myself, that I would never, ever fall in love. I told myself, if that's what love looks like, I don't want it," She explained, her voice shaking.
 
"You dated other guys, you were fine with that," Kaden remarked, his voice tinged with anger.
 
Raine ran her hands through her hair, and clenched them into fists before dropping them to her sides. "Because I never felt anything. No sparks. I knew that it would never turn into anything. I knew that. With you, I guess I wasn't so sure," She admitted. Her sentences were slow, and choppy, as if she was still deciding what to say- which she probably was. "I didn't want to see what would happen back then."
 
"And now?" Kaden asked hesitantly, with a hint of hope in his tone.
 
"I don't know what to think now," She replied, looking down.
 
"Raine, you know I-" He started.
 
She cut him off before he could finish. "Don't," she said, trying to gather up her strength. She couldn't do this, anymore. No more games. She couldn't let her heart be played with again. She had to say no, but she knew that if he started begging for forgiveness, she'd give in like every other time. "Don't tell me you regret it, Kaden. Do you really? You can say you weren't thinking, that it was just a moment of weakness, that you're sorry. But think about it. Can you really say you regretted it?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Choices were choices, and they all knew that nothing, was really regrettable. If it was a choice that he made to protect his heart, it wasn't regrettable. And he knew that too. Kaden stayed silent, unable to reply, just as she had expected.
 
She smiled bitterly. "Did you really expect it to be like those movies? Real life doesn't work that way, Kaden," she told him, her voice cracking.
 
Again, he stayed silent.
 
She looked at him, unshed tears shining in her brown eyes. "I guess Romeo has nothing left to say." With that, she turned on her heel and entered her room, the door softly clicking shut after her.
 
--
Okay, there will be a sequel, however i won't be posting it on Polyvore. only Wattpad. i'm sorry, but it's just kind of hard managing both and I keep forgetting to update on Polyvore.
If you want to follow the story into the sequel, make an account on Wattpad! It's a great place. :)

This story is also posted on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/1102941-something-about-summer
Here's chapter 31!
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/something_about_summer/collection?id=1444989
Taglist;; @bittersweet-memories @chicksmania @peacelovesara @watching-wasting-waiting @nerd-fighter @invisiblemonkeyninja @jordan447
Comment 'tag' if you want to be added onto the tag list. If you want to be taken off the tag list, just tell me. :)
--
(Unedited)
 
I should've seen this coming right from the start.
So baby don't come around anymore,
Or you'll be standing outside my front door.
So listen as I say,
Baby I'm tearing us apart,
'Cause you're only gonna break my heart.
 
~Break My Heart- Victoria Duffield
 

I know what you thinking; she kissed him and I walked in at the wrong moment. If that had been the case, though, Kaden would've been pulling away, trying to push her off.
 
He wasn't.
 
I slowly backed out of the room. Oh gods, please tell me I hadn't just seen what I had. I mean, yeah he had been a player, but I thought he had stopped. Not because I thought I could really change him or anything like that, but that he, at least, cared enough not to cheat, especially right after what had happened with Jared.
 
I sped down the stairs, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill over.
 
"Done already?" Kallie asked as I can down. "Whoa. Wait. What happened?" she asked when she saw my expression.
 
I shook my head, not wanting to explain. "Ask Kaden," I told her bitterly. "Why's Miranda here?" The questions escaped before I could stop it.
 
Kallie's eyes widened, then narrowed slightly. "She heard about what happened. She came to see you," she told me.
 
Oh, so she didn't come to shove her tongue down my boyfriend's throat? I immediately felt guilty for thinking that. Miranda respected herself enough not to throw herself at a guy that broke up with her. I didn't want to blame Kaden either. I wanted to trust him, but I could help it. The thing was, this was just like what he used to do.
 
I gulped and forced back another wave of tears. I stepped around Kallie and headed for the door. "I gotta to," I choked out. I could hear the others calling my name, but I didn't stop.
 
Thoughts of Kaden and Miranda swirled around my head as I biked home. I didn't want to think about it, but it was like my mind had decided to put it on repeat, almost like an overplayed song on the radio. Only it saddened me more than annoyed me.
 
What hurt the most was thinking of the reason why. Cheating was something Kaden used to do to the girls he didn't want to date anymore. Was that all I was to him now? Another girl to date? A bore? I didn't want to think of it like that, but I couldn't think of any other reasons.
 
No one was home when I got back. My parents had gone out with Mr. and Mrs. Fleming to who knows where.
 
All of a sudden, my phone starting ringing, causing me to freeze on the stairs. I could already guess who it was look. "Look, Kal, I don't want to talk about it," I said, after flipping open the phone. "I don't care if he's told you what happened or not. I really don't want to talk about it."
 
There was a silence. I was about to hang up, when the person on the other end finally spoke up. "Raine?"
 
"Devon?" I asked incredulously. "Sorry, I thought you were Kallie," I added, though that much was obvious.
 
"Are you okay? Kallie texted me about what happened, but I didn't get it until today. Are you out of the hospital, yet?" he asked. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief when I realized he was talking about the Jared thing, and not what happened today.
 
"I'm okay. I've been better," I said truthfully. My not feeling the best was more from today, though.
 
"That's good. If you don't mind me asking, what don't you want to tell Kallie?" I gulped. I almost wanted to tell someone, and ask for their opinion, but at the same time, I didn't want to think of what had happened. Devon only knew the rough sketches of me and Kaden, but then again, with all that we had hid, no one else really knew all that much either. "You don't have to tell me. I don't want to pry," Devon added.
 
"No, it's not that. It's just, it hurts to think about. I guess I kind of want to tell someone," I admitted.
 
"You can tell me," Devon said hesitantly. "I won't force you to or anything, but I'm here for you," he told me.
 
I smiled faintly. "Thanks." It was nice to know that someone was there. I didn't doubt that no one cared, or anything, but it was still reassuring to hear it.
 
"Does that mean I don't get to know?" he asked lightly after a moment of silence.
 
Despite everything, that drew a small laugh from me. Thinking of what he wanted to know made me choke on it, though. "It started a long time ago," I said, taking a breath to calm myself before starting at the beginning.
 
It took a while for me to explain everything. It wasn't long, really, just complicated, but it was worth it. Honestly, it felt good to let it all out. To finally tell someone.
 
"Well, first off, he's a jerk," Devon told me after I finished. "I don't know what to say. I guess you both made your mistakes, but doing revenge sounds childish to me. It's a jerk move on his part." I blinked. Revenge? I hadn't thought of that, but I guess, it would be a valid reason. Had it all been revenge, though? This whole summer?
 
"Maybe I'm not in the best position to judge, but it seemed like revenge to me," Devon said uncertainly.
 
"I gotta go, Devon. Thanks for everything." I hung up before he responded. Revenge? Had that been all this was to him? I really didn't want to think Kaden was that kind of person, but it all added up. It made sense.
 
My phone buzzed with a text. From Miranda.
 
Kallie told me that you saw. I'm sorry, Raine. I know it's not an excuse, but he kissed me and it just felt familiar. I'm really sorry. Really.
 
That killed any hope I had left of it being Miranda that initiated the kiss. It had been Kaden that started it. That just made it so much worse.
 
Maybe, I could've dealt if it had been Miranda who had kissed him first, but now...
 
He had been the one to start it. It seemed like revenge. I dropped onto my bed, those two thoughts looping over and over in my head. I finally let the years I had been holding back spill over. I wasn't sure how long I stayed like that, curled up in a ball, but it seemed like a long torturous eternity. The tears finally dried up, and slowly, I felt my eyes drift shut.
 
***
 
I felt horrible when I woke up. Waking up after crying yourself to sleep was never the most pleasant feeling. My phone was sitting on the pillow beside me, buzzing. Flipping it open, I saw that I had a dozen missed calls and even more texts. They were pretty much all from Kallie. I sighed and shut it off before getting up and slowly walking downstairs.
 
What was I supposed to do now? Go back to pretending nothing had happened? Could I do that again? Well, I guess I didn't have much of a choice. What other option did I have?
 
Then it came to me. I had one other choice. Could I really do that, though? I hadn't been able to even think of doing it a couple weeks ago, but now...
 
The letter from RHS sat on the kitchen table, tempting me. Mom must've put it there after I had told her I wasn't going to go last. I had made my decision last week, she had taken it and slipped it into her bag, telling me that she would email them with my answer. Had she done that yet? Probably not, with the case about Jared, but even if she hadn't, would they still let me in? It was pretty late, school started it a week and a half.
 
Could I do it, though? Could I leave everything? I had grown up here, I knew pretty much everyone. But with everything that had happened... I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay. RHS would help my future, but it would be a completely new place. I didn't know anyone there. There wouldn't be anyone I could easily turn to for comfort or anything. The thing was, everyone I knew was here, but this summer had left a stain of bad memories.
 
I thought about Kaden. Kaden and Miranda. Kaden and me. Everything that had happened between us. He had affected my decision of staying. A lot. Maybe more that he should've. I shouldn't let him control my future, right? He shouldn't be able to affect it so much. Especially after what he did.
 
That's when I made my decision.
 
I was going.
 
It mattered to me.
 
As I walked upstairs to pack, I typed one last message to Kallie and sent it.
 
You were wrong, Kal, even I can't hold him.

This story is also posted on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/1102941-something-about-summer
Here's chapter 30!
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/something_about_summer/collection?id=1444989
Taglist;; @bittersweet-memories @chicksmania @peacelovesara @watching-wasting-waiting @nerd-fighter @invisiblemonkeyninja @jordan447
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--
 
(Unedited)
 
Now it chills me to the bone,
How do I get you alone?
I sit back and reminisce,
It hurts to think about it all.
We was on top of the world,
Whoever thought that we would fall

~Alone Again- Alyssa Reid ft. P. Reign


"Hey," Blake greeted me, a couple moments later. He slowly walked into the now empty room and shut the door behind him before leaning slightly on it.
 
"Hi," I replied hesitantly. It wasn't like I had expected them to go to jail or anything like that, I just really hadn't thought that they would visit me.
 
A silence started and hung between us for a couple moments.
 
"My name's Blake Jordan," Blake suddenly started. "I didn't learn how to drive a motorcycle until two months ago, I've never judged anyone on their appearance before all this and I do actually wanna go somewhere with my future," he said. Whoa. Wait, what? The last thing didn't surprise me too much, I mean, everyone wants to go somewhere, but the first two... Wow. Maybe it was mean to suspect the second one of him, but when we had first met, he had almost immediately judged me on what I wore, and called me 'Princess' even after I had corrected him. The motorcycle thing, I had just assumed that he had learned it a while ago. It looked as if he was pretty experienced with it.
 
"Why'd you tell me all that?" I asked after I got over my shock.
 
Blake shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, then stopped and let his hand drop back down to his side. "Trying to make up for lying so much, I guess," he replied, looking away. In a sort of odd way, the gesture reminded me of Kaden. Actually, come to think of it, quite a couple of Blake's actions somewhat reminded me of Kaden. It was a bit of a wild guess, and it didn't make too much sense, but it could still be possible.
 
"Blake, this might sound weird, but did you know that some of your actions are a lot like Kaden's?" I asked, rushing to get it all out so I wouldn't stop myself.
 
Blake grimaced slightly and puffed out a short, bitter laugh. I didn't think I'd get used to it. I'm aware, to some extent," he answered. Wait, what? He knew? I thought it had just been some really creepy coincidence. "Jared thought you would trust me more if I acted like someone you knew," he explained.
 
"Why Kaden?" I asked. He hadn't known about before, had he? We weren't obvious with it. I mean Kallie hadn't even noticed, so Jared wouldn't have, right? Right.
 
Blake shrugged. "He said you knew Kaden longer than you knew the rest," he replied.
 
"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say.
 
"Um, Jared says sorry, by the way," Blake said.
 
"Where is he?"
 
Blake sighed. "He's in jail," he told me. I gaped at him. I hadn't known what to expect, but I don't know, for some reason I hadn't expected that answer. Silence hung between us for a couple moments.
 
"Um, I should probably go. Take care, Raine," Blake finally spoke up a couple moments later.
 
"You too," I replied quietly, watching as he slipped out the door. Would I see him again? He had only really gotten to know me because of Jared. Now with everything that had happened, I wasn't sure if he would still really stick around.
 
Before I really had time to ponder on the thought, Mr and Mrs. Fleming entered the room. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Mrs. Fleming asked as they took turns giving me a hug.
 
I shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I've been better," I said managing a weak smile. Mr and Mrs. Fleming had always treated me like a second kid. With their jobs, they weren't around too much, but they were always nice and welcoming when they were.
 
"I don't know if you've heard or not, but Jared's in jail. For now. Do you want to press charges for assault, kidnapping and attempted r*pe?" Mr. Fleming asked, sitting in the corner chair and setting down his briefcase, a dark look crossing his face.
 
I blinked at him. "Press charges?" I repeated. The thought hadn't crossed my mind. I mean, I had known that Jared was in jail, but I don't know, I had never thought about filing a law suit against him.
 
Mrs. Fleming nodded. "We could have it done in a week. It's not a hard case, Jared didn't deny what he did," she explained. I bit my lip as I thought it over. I hated Jared for what he had done, but I didn't really want to press charges, I mean, it wasn't really his fault.
 
That's when it hit me. "There is actually something...."
 
***
 
It took almost two weeks for everything to die down. Almost immediately after I got released from the hospital, I was swept into the rush of the case with Jared. I still hadn’t been able to ask Kaden about why he hadn’t told me. I had barely been able to breathe, let alone see anyone.
 
Before I could even raise my hand to knock, Kallie yanked open the door and pulled me inside, before pulling me into a hug. "I haven't seen you in forever!" When she pulled away, I saw that everyone was gathered in the living room. Kaden was noticeably absent, though.
 
"Do we get to know what you told Bells now? She refuses to speak about it," Brett said, nodding at Annabelle, who just shrugged in return.
 
I grimaced. "Bells, can you tell them?" I asked. It wasn't that I didn't want to talk to them or anything like that, I just wanted to figure out what was up with Kaden before school started. I had a week, and he had been avoiding me slightly, lately, so it probably would've taken a while.
 
"Why can't you?" Clark questioned, looking at me curiously.
 
"I need to talk to Kaden about something," I replied in an apologetic tone. "It's just he didn't explain something, and I'm curious, and I don't want it to get blown out of proportion," I added quickly when they shot me hurt looks.
 
Kallie sighed. "He's upstairs in his room," she told me. I climbed up the Fleming's staircase slowly, trying to decide what to say. I arrived at his door sooner than I wanted. Sucking in a deep breath, I pushed open the door, then immediately froze at what I saw.
 
Miranda and Kaden, on the bed, lips fused together.

All squares.
I have a huge amount of them in my items, so...

For story covers, sets, whatever.

Sorry for any repeats.

**Credit where it's needed

Part 1: http://www.polyvore.com/wild_hearts_cant_be_broken/collection?id=1382609

Part 2: http://www.polyvore.com/wild_heart_cant_be_broken/collection?id=1382619
 
Part 3: http://www.polyvore.com/wil_hearts_cant_be_broken/collection?id=1382626
 
Part 4: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/collection?id=1396017

This story is also posted on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/1102941-something-about-summer
Here's chapter 29!
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/something_about_summer/collection?id=1444989
Taglist;; @bittersweet-memories @chicksmania @peacelovesara @watching-wasting-waiting @nerd-fighter @invisiblemonkeyninja @jordan447
Comment 'tag' if you want to be added onto the tag list. If you want to be taken off the tag list, just tell me. :)
--
(Unedited)
 
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars?
I could really use a wish right now
Wish right now, wish right now
Can we pretend that airplanes
In the night sky are like shooting stars?

~Airplanes- B.o.B ft. Hayley Williams


The next half an hour passed in silence. Jared didn't return and I was still pretty shocked about Blake's confession to really make a conversation. It wasn't the Annabelle wasn't pretty, or had a bad personality, or was overall un-likable, because she was; it was just that she was taken. She was dating Clark. They had been a couple since middle school, not that Blake knew that.
 
Well, I guess you couldn't really choose who you fell for.
 
We had to get out of here somehow, though. I really didn't want to stick around to see what Jared would do. Blake didn't know anything, except a couple possibilities, and none of them were really pleasant.
 
If we did somehow manage to get out, how would we get back? Pretty much no one was in Canmoore this time of year. Jared probably had the keys to the car they had used, but it would be hard to get them from him, unless he didn't keep them on him. I knew Blake wouldn't hurt his cousin, let alone render him unconscious.
 
Just then, the basement door slammed open and Jared descended the stairs. Oh no. I hadn't expected that he would stay up there forever or anything, but I had a small slither of hope that whoever, if anyone, coming for us would arrive first.
 
As Jared got closer, Blake slowly moved across the room, distancing himself from us, almost like he wasn't sure what to do. That wasn't the only thing I noticed, though. Jared's eyes looked different. They were still cold, but a lot less certain.
 
Maybe he wasn't going to go through with whatever he had been planning. Maybe he was going to let me go. It might have been wishful thinking, but I couldn't help it. If he was less certain though, maybe I could convince him not to. Stop him, somehow.
 
I opened my mouth and was about to speak when Jared shook his head at me. "Don't make this any harder than it is," he gritted out.
 
"Don't do this," I pleaded, struggling not to flinch when he stepped closer. I wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do, but from his expression, I had an idea.
 
Jared’s eyes pained. “You don’t get it,” he told me, in a scratchy, harsh voice. I gulped. What had happened? How had he become like this? What, exactly, had his mother done to him? It was unbelievable, that he would resort to this. It was unbelievable that he would think this was the only option. I couldn’t imagine how bad it must’ve been to make him like this.
 
“I do get it! I know, okay? Just, just tell someone. Take it to court, or something. You don’t have to do this,” I said, holding back tears. I didn’t cry often, but I couldn’t really help it. Part of me was scared, part of me felt bad for Jared, and another part of me just wanted to scream at the insanity of it.
 
Jared’s eyes hardened and his expression faded to an almost stone hard mask. Shoot, I guess that hadn’t been the right thing to say. “You don’t get it. You’ve never had it,” he replied, stalking up to me. I couldn’t help it, I screamed. Moving as quickly as I could, I scurried backwards on my knees until me back hit the wall. A million thoughts coursed through me, all blurring together. This had to be a dream. it couldn't be real. he couldn't be doing this. Oh Gods, how had this happened? How had I gotten into this situation, and how had he become twisted enough to actually try and go through with this?
 
It was almost as if I wasn’t there for the next couple moments. It sounded crazy, but it was almost like I was disconnected from my body. As if I was watching it from someone else’s eyes, instead of my own
 
I was still screaming when Jared got to me. I tried to fight back, clawing, hitting, kicking blindly, but it didn't help. Jared was a lot stronger than me. Somehow, he managed to force my hands behind my back, twisting them into an awkward position, so I couldn't move them. The hand that wasn't holding my wrists back reached up and tore my shirt off.
 
Oh my god, he's actually doing this. Please say this is a dream. Please.
 
Jared reached up and grabbed my purity ring, twisting the thick silver band in and around his fingers roughly. "I never got this, you're not Christian," he said harshly.
 
"The person who gave it to me was," I spat out, though it didn't have much affect because my voice was raw from screaming so much. Jared didn't respond, instead worked on unbuttoning my jeans. I kicked at him furiously, but the kicks I sent never really seemed to him.
 
Some would say it was luck, some would say it was the working of fate, or some other source like that, but at that exact moment the basement door opened. Running rapidly down the stairs was Kaden, Kallie, Brett, Annabelle and Clark. For a moment, I forgot to breathe. I couldn't believe it. I hadn't been sure on whether or not they would be coming, but they were here.
 
In a flash, Jared had a hand clamped around my neck. He pulled something from his pocket, a syringe, with something inside it. "Not another step," he threatened, holding up the needle as if it were a weapon, and well I guess, in a way it was. I grimaced and wiggled, trying to get out of his grasp and away from the syringe in his hand.
 
"What is that?" I demanded, still struggling. Jared tightened is arm, almost cutting off my breathing. Dang, I really regret not taking the defense classes mom had offered to put me in last year.
 
Jared smile bitterly. "Just a little something I took from the hospital my mom works at," he spat out darkle. I gulped and felt Goosebumps prickling at my skin. Whatever he had was from the hospital. Like, a probably only for medical people drug. This was a nightmare. I didn't know what the drug was, but I had a feeling it wasn't exactly the good kind. Would he try to do that, to continue, with them watching? Oh god.
 
"The police are coming. You won't be able to hold this up forever," Kallie said, though I could tell from her eyes that she was lying. I wasn't going to tell Jared that, though. "Drop it, Jared."
 
He shook his head, almost wildly. "No I won't let her win," he told us. Everyone looked at him as if he was crazy while I shot a glance at Blake. He returned it with a sad look, then walked towards Jared and I. Jared regarded him with suspicious eyes, but didn't make any threats. He let Blake slowly pull me away, though his hand clenched noticeably tighter around the needle.
 
“I’m sorry,” Blake said. Jared opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, Blake’s fist slammed into his face. The next couple of moments were pure chaos. Kaden and Clark had taken Blake’s action as some sort of ‘Go’ sign and launched themselves at Jared. Brett was on the phone with, from what I heard, either the police or Kaden and Kallie’s parents. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Annabelle and Kallie approaching Blake and I slowly, wary expressions on their faces.
 
I pushed away from Blake, trying to stand, but his hold was too tight. I watched as his face suddenly tightened, and he suddenly jerked me to the right. A sharp pain stabbed into my leg, like a needle being roughly driven through my skin. That was probably exactly what it was. Jared’s distraught face hovered over me for a moment. ‘I’m sorry’ he mouthed.
 
That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.
 
***
 
I had never really been friends with hospitals. Actually, I couldn't think of anyone who liked them, so I don't think it was just me.
 
Was it possible to be sore everywhere? It felt like someone had dragged me through the Underworld. Five times. Seriously? Once was bad enough. I forced open my eyes and blinked a couple of times. The room was pretty dark, but the curtains had been left open just a crack so a stream of sunlight came in.
 
Mom was sitting on the window seat, her hair lying on the window. She was probably sleeping. As feeling slowly crept into my body, I could feel my right arm being squished slightly and looked down to see Kaden, who also looked like he was sleeping.
 
I turned when I heard the door open and saw my dad enter, juggling a tray of Starbucks and three plastic containers of some kind of sandwich.
 
"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked, shooting a small, tired smile at me as he set the food down. Dad and I had never really been talkative in our conversations. We kept it simple, saying only what we needed to say.
 
"Sore, I guess. How long has it been?" I asked, nodding around the room.
 
Dad shrugged. "We," he said, gesturing at himself and mom. "Were only able to get here yesterday night. Kaden's been here for two days. Then there was a day before that where no one could see you. So, three days, give or take," he replied, walking over to wake up my mom.
 
"Three days?" I demanded incredulously.
 
He shrugged. "It was a lot of Methanonel. Almost enough to kill," he told me quietly. I leaned back and stared at the wall in shock. Kill? Had that been Jared's aim? We didn't have the best history or anything, but I hadn't thought he wanted to kill me. Methanonel was only used as a sedative. If you used a lot, then, yeah, it could kill.
 
All of a sudden, I was yanked into a tight hug. I reached up to carefully hug Mom back, accidentally waking up Kaden in the process. “I’m so glad that you’re okay,” Mom whispered into my hair. I winced slightly, but pushed the pain aside and hugged her back. Over her shoulder I could see Kaden and my dad talking, and after a couple moments, Kaden stood up and left. I couldn’t help but feel just a little bit hurt. It was completely selfish and stupid, but it had been three days. Didn’t he want to see if I was okay? Quickly, I mentally shoved the thought from my head. I wasn’t going to be insecure now. I knew he cared, he wouldn’t have came to help otherwise. He wouldn't have stayed for two days if he hadn't cared.
 
I turned back to look at my mom, who had let go and was now reaching into her purse. She pulled out a letter and handed it to me. What? I flipped it over to look at it. It was fancy, expensive looking. The letters were a bit hard to read, but I recognized them almost immediately. RHS. They had sent their response. I flipped it back over and noticed for the first time that it was open.
 
“Good or bad?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at my parents.
 
Mom grinned slightly and shook her head. “Just open it,” she told me. I was a bit curious about why the doctor hadn’t showed up, or why they weren’t asking questions about what had happened, but then again, I didn’t really want to think about it.
 
It was just too.. Unbelievable.
 
Forcing those thoughts from my mind, I yanked out the letter inside and started reading. "Ms. Evans, we are pleased to let you know that you have been accepted..." I trailed off, eyes wide. Oh my god. I got accepted! No way!
 
This is pretty bittersweet. A small voice in the back of my head said. You get almost raped, and while you're in the hospital, you find out you got accepted into RHS. If I could glare at a voice in my head, I would've. I shoved the stupid small voice into the back of my mind. Don't think about that, Raine. You're better off not doing so. I told myself.
 
"Are you going to go?" Mom asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts. Was I? If this had been last year, I would've said yes immediately. Now, I wasn't so sure. I had wanted to get away from Kaden and everything that had happened last year, and now, a lot of things had changed. It may have sounded stupid, but Kaden affected my decision a lot, maybe a bit more than I liked.
 
"I don't know," I replied, honestly. Before I could continue, though Kaden returned, looking a bit cleaner and more awake than he had when he left. He exchanged some sort of silent communication with my parents, and like he had a while ago, they stood up and left.
 
"Hey," he said quietly when they were gone. "You okay?" he asked, though he kept his distance, freezing in his spot near the door, almost as if he was scared to come close to me.
 
"Yeah, I'm fine," I responded in a neutral tone. It felt like something had changed. Shifted somehow. Maybe, stupidly, it was because he had left so easily. Maybe it was because he was talking to me like I was a stranger. I wasn't exactly sure what had changed, but it didn't feel the same. We stared at each other for a moment; it was as if we were trying to communicate everything we were too scared to say with our eyes. "I'm sorry," I finally said.
 
Kaden looked at me curiously. "Why?" he asked.
 
I bit my lip and shrugged slightly. "Because, I always thought you hadn't done anything and I had hated you for it for a long time. Um, Blake told me, about what you did. Thank you." I explained quietly. Kaden looked at me, a shocked expression on his face. I guess he hadn't thought that I would find out. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. The question had been killing me for a while. He had just let me hate him, because I thought he hadn't done anything. Why hadn't he told me that he had, in fact, done something?
 
Kaden shrugged and stayed silent for a moment. “It just never came up,” he replied. Before he could continue, though, Kallie, Brett, Annabelle and Clark burst into the room. Seriously? Why do I keep getting interrupted. I love my friends and everything, but I swear they have the worst timing sometimes.
Kallie and Annabelle almost immediately pulled me into a hug. “I want to kill Jared,” Kallie said when she pulled away. I winced at the mention of his name, but tried not to show it. “Sorry,” Kallie said, immediately noticing my poorly disguised flinch. Okay, obviously I need to work on my disguising things skill. Just think positive, Raine, you’ll be fine. I told myself.
 
“I want to kill Blake for getting you into that situation,” Clark declared. This time, I managed to hide my wince. I wasn’t really mad at Blake, after all, I was pretty sure he had saved me, or tried to at least.
 
Kallie shot me an apologetic look before opening her mouth to speak. “Not that I’m not happy that he did, I don’t’ get why Blake turned on Jared, though. I mean, he helps him kidnap her, and everything, why all of a sudden stop?” she asked. Apparently, this was a question that had been on everyone’s mind, because they exchanged looks of confusion and nods. I was the only one who really knew his reason.
 
“Um, I actually know,” I started slowly. “But, I need to talk about this with Annabelle first. Alone,” I finished before anyone could interrupt me. This got me a bunch of hurt looks.
 
“Why just Annabelle?” Brett asked.
 
“Because it’s surprising, and I don’t want it to be too chaotic when she finds out,” I answered slowly, trying to pick out the best words. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I did want to make it clear that it had to just be me and Annabelle. I was mostly worried about Clark; he had always been pretty quick to absorb things. Almost as soon as he found out, he would probably storm out of the room looking to kill Blake. I wouldn’t be able to stop him since I was tired and in a hospital bed and the others would be too shocked. I would have to tell him when I was better, or after Annabelle knew so she could stop him.
 
“It’s sort of a trust test on whether or not you can deal with the information. If you don’t listen, I’ll trust you enough to tell you. If you listen, I won’t answer any questions you have,” I added when none of them moved. Slowly, as if they were hoping I would change my mind (though that was probably their intent) they filed out of the room.
 
“So, what’s so bad about what you’re going to tell me?” Annabelle asked, obviously trying to keep things light.
 
I gulped. “Okay, you know how Blake stopped?” I waited until she nodded before continuing. “Well, he had a reason. He fell for someone,” I said. The memories were coming back in a rush almost as if they were trying to take me back to when it happened. Just focus on telling Annabelle, Raine. Just focus on that. I told myself, blocking everything else out.
 
“Was it you?” Annabelle asked, a confused expression on her face. I knew what she was thinking; why did I have to tell her this with just me and her? I could tell it to everyone at the same time. Well, I would have possibly had to somehow stop Kaden, but still.
 
I shook my head slowly. “No, Bells, it was you,” I told her. I watched as she opened and closed her mouth, shocked. I didn’t really blame her. While I had suspected that Blake didn’t really, really, really think of me as more than a friend, I hadn’t thought it was Annabelle that he had liked. The thought that he liked someone had never really crossed my mind.
 
Before Annabelle had the chance to speak, the door banged open.
 
"It's Blake," Kallie said. "He wants to talk to you."
 
--
Tell me what you think? :)

This story is also posted on Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/1102941-something-about-summer
Here's chapter 28!
Collection: http://www.polyvore.com/something_about_summer/collection?id=1444989
Taglist;; @bittersweet-memories @chicksmania @peacelovesara @watching-wasting-waiting @nerd-fighter @invisiblemonkeyninja @jordan447
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--
(Unedited)
 
You won't take away my pride,
No, not this time.
Not this time.
How did we get here?
When I used to know you so well?
 
~Decode- Paramore
 
It almost felt like I was hungover when I first woke up. My head was pounding and my body felt like it was made of jelly. I opened my eyes and looked around. Wherever I was, was pretty dark. I could barely see anything. The room, assuming that I wasn't outside, was only lit by a flashlight in the corner that seemed to be running out. Where was I?
 
I shook out my arms, trying to get a bit more feeling into them. Okay, at least I wasn't tied up. I still had a chance of escape. It was probably very small, but there was still a chance. I had absolutely no idea where I was though, which meant, trying to escape; I could run into whoever kidnapped me. Okay, think, Raine. I told myself, trying not to panic.
 
I had been grabbed and shoved into a car, and I was almost certain that it had been my ex-boyfriend who had kidnapped me. One of the guys I had met this summer may or may not have been a part of it, and if he hadn't been, I had no idea what had happened to him. What did Jared want with me? I hadn't seen him for over a year. He had left. It was all over.
 
Suddenly, a burst of light came from the top of a far corner. From the looks of it, it was a door opening. I closed my eyes against the sudden glare that accompanied it and gulped. Was this it? Was I gonna die? That wouldn't make sense though; he could've killed me anytime. Was he even going to kill me?
 
When I opened my eyes again, I was met with a cold piercing stare. It was Jared. A flashlight that was much brighter than the one in the corner rested in his hands, shedding more light on the rest of the room. What was with the flashlights? What happened to light switched? Or light bulbs? My eyes darted around the room. A sturdy desk was pushed against the far wall, a shiny laptop sitting on top of it. Along the other wall, there were some kind of boxes or containers stacked against each other. It looked like I was in the basement. Come on, really? I think he's been watching too many horror movies. I thought to myself in an effort to calm myself down. I had to get out of here. Somehow. Jared had obviously changed, and I had no idea what the new Jared was like, but I suspected that I wouldn't like it.
 
I opened my mouth to yell for help, even though there probably wasn't going to be someone who could hear me, but before I could, he cut me off. "Don't bother. There's no one for a couple miles," he told me. What? How? There was nowhere close that was really abandoned. I hadn't been out long enough for them to drive me really far, had I?
 
"Where am I?" I asked, even though he probably wouldn't give me a straight answer.
 
Jared grinned creepily, but before he could answer, the door opened again. With the light Jared's flashlight offered, I could see that it was Blake. So he had been part of all this. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, now, I didn't have to worry about his body being dumped at the bottom of a lake. On the other hand, I felt betrayed. Why had he done all this?
 
Blake walked closer until he was standing beside Jared. Having the two guys right beside each other made my head spin. Their eyes were almost identical. No, scratch that, they were identical. It was Blake's eyes that surprised me the most, though. The ones I had seen all summer had been warm, friendly. The ones I saw now were cold as ice. Just like Jared's. had I noticed that their eyes were the same shade of blue? I hadn't really pushed Jared that far into the back of my mind, had I? Or had I noticed and just written it off as a coincidence?
 
"Nice of you to join us, Cuz," Jared said, emphasizing the last word. Oh my god. It wasn't the most surprising, especially seeing the similarities in their appearances, but I just hadn't wanted to believe that Blake had anything to do with Jared. Where had the Blake, I had come to know gone? Had it all been an act?
 
"Were you faking all this time?" I blurted out.
 
Blake shrugged. "It wasn't hard. With what Jared told me, I had expected it to be, but you were so trusting, Raine," he told me in a cold, taunting voice. I resisted the urge to gape at him, and instead looked away. I didn't want them to see how hard his words hit me. He had a point. I had almost never trusted anyone, why had I let him in so easily? Even as I asked myself this, I knew the answer. The way he had acted, the things he had said, they were so, so, similar to how Jared had acted before the drinking had started. As much as I hated him for doing what he had done, a small, stupid part of me had missed him. Missed his jokes, his words, the little things he did.
 
"What do you want?" I spat out, glad that my voice was relatively strong, even though I was completely unnerved.
 
Jared shrugged casually, as if it was an ordinary question and this was something that happened often. "Just a little revenge," he replied with a wicked grin. Revenge? For what? And what did I have to do with it? It couldn't be me refusing to sleep with him, could it? Before I could respond to Jared's reply, he turned away and walked across the room to the computer, Blake trailing after him. Their backs were to me. Okay, this was my chance, I had to somehow get out, or get something to help me get out. I could run, but they would notice. I had absolutely no idea where I was. I had to somehow find out where I was. Then I would have a better chance of escape.
 
Okay, so if they hadn't been smart and tied me up, what else had they forgotten to do? They had taken my jacket, but had they checked my pockets? I patted the front pocket, looking for my phone. Yes! It was there. If luck was on my side, there would be some kind of signal. Jared had said there wasn't anyone for miles, which meant we were probably somewhere a bit more deserted. Hopefully not too abandoned, though.
 
I flipped open my phone and my eyes immediately flickered up to the corner of the screen. One bar. It wasn't a lot, but it would have to do. I quickly opened the app to find my location and waited impatiently for it to load. Come on, come on, I urged silently, darting a quick glance at Blake and Jared, who were still doing something on the laptop.
 
After a couple moments, it finally loaded, but as soon as it did, my phone was wrenched from my hands. All I saw was the town we were in. It was Canmoore. Canmoore was only a little over an hour away, and unfortunately, this time of year, it was pretty abandoned. The place was really only used in winter for people who skied.
 
After shoving my phone into his pocket, Jared pulled me up, simultaneously pulling me from my thoughts. He didn't comment on the fact that I had been using my phone; instead, just lead me over to the computer where Blake was sitting. They were Skyping... Kallie? What? Why? Didn't they know she had best detective and police crew in the country at the touch of her fingers? Then again, this could be how I escape, so I shouldn't be questioning it.
 
After what seemed like forever, but was probably less than a minute, Kallie's worried face appeared. "Raine?" she asked, almost disbelievingly. The camera was zoomed in on me, cutting Jared and Blake off. All you could see of them was Jared's tight grasp on my shoulder. I knew what it probably looked like from her side, and well, it kind of was true. Kallie, being who she was, had had her fair share of kidnappings, but it had never really happened to me. Jared hit a button that made the camera zoom out. Kallie's eyes widened as she took in the two guys beside me.
 
Then her eyes turned to me questioningly. Oh no, she didn't think I actually went with them voluntarily, did she? I shot her a panicked look and a slight shake of head.
 
"Where are the rest of your friends, Kalysta? Or your brother?" Jared asked. It was weird. His tone was polite, reserved, like it was a formal tea party or something. It was almost like the male version of the mock sweet voice the mean girls at my school used when taunting.
 
As if on cue, Kaden burst into the room, followed by Brett, Clark and Annabelle. "Kallie, I know who-" he started, but cut himself off when he saw us.
 
"What nice timing you all have," Jared said, sounding unfazed. This was just creeping me out. Majorly. This only happened in horror films! I think Jared's taking too much from this. Or that this is a dream. I really hope it's the latter, but it probably wasn't.
 
"What do you want, Jordan?" Kaden asked, his gaze hard, though I could detect just the slightest bit of uncertainty in his eyes.
 
Jared smiled wickedly. "Just a bit of revenge, Fleming," he replied, spitting out Kaden and Kallie's last name as if it were acid. Kaden’s eyes widened. Whoa. He knew what Jared meant by revenge? How? I mean, Jared had moved away more or less right after what had happened. Had Kaden really talked to him about it? Or done something about it? If he had, why had it been so bad that Jared wanted revenge. My head spun as I tried to make sense of everything that happened. Maybe I was just over-thinking it.
 
"That's it. I'm calling the police," Clark declared, reaching into his pocket.
 
"I wouldn't do that until you have her in your hands," Jared told them. Clark froze, his phone almost slipping out of his grasp. I had to admit, Jared's words were pretty bone-chilling. "Besides, the police often take a while, don't they?" he taunted. Oh my god. Where was he getting all this? What had happened to him? This couldn't be normal. It wasn't!
 
"We're in Canmoore," I blurted out before Jared or Blake could stop me. Jared frowned for a moment before his mouth twisted into a cruel grin.
 
"You're gonna pay for that," he told me. "And your boyfriend can watch."
 
With that, he grabbed my head and twisted me to face Blake before forcing us into a kiss. I don't swear often, but I think this situation calls for it. If what Jared's planning is anything worse than this, then fuck, I'm screwed.
 
***
 
I couldn't say exactly how long I had been her after the Skype session. Jared had ended it moments after the force kiss, the left me here. I was guessing it had been maybe half an hour. Where were the others? Why were they taking so long? And not that I wasn't happy that Jared hadn't done anything yet, but why was he waiting?
 
All of a sudden, the basement door was pried open and someone was shoved through before it slammed shut again. It was Blake. He slowly staggered down the stairs before dropping onto to floor next to me. A silence stretched on for a couple moments.
 
"Blake? Why are you down here?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He turned to look at me warily.
 
"I told Jared I wouldn't help anymore, he threw me down here," he replied, shortly. I almost breathed a sigh of relief. He sounded more like the Blake I knew, now. Not completely, but just a bit, and for some odd reason, it was comforting.
 
"Why is he doing this?" I asked before I could stop myself. I didn't know if I even wanted to know why. Jared seemed... Twisted, now. I didn't know what happened, but something had, I was sure of it.
 
Blake scoffed. "Like, he said, revenge," he said, almost bitterly.
 
"I don't understand," I told Blake softly.
 
He shrugged. "It's a long story," he answered.
 
"I think we have time it," I said. "Come on, just tell me. I want to know a reason. I think I deserve that much," I added when he didn't reply.
 
Blake sighed before turning to look at me. "You remember last year when Jared tried to, um-"
 
I cut him off. "Yeah, I remember. It's not exactly something that's easily forgotten."
 
"Well, it sort of has to do with that. Have you met Jared's mother?" he asked. I frowned and shook my head. Thad had always been something I had found strange. I knew that Jared's dad had passed away when Jared was younger, but he had never let me really meet his mom. Every time I brought it up, he changed the subject. I had seen her at the football games, but had never been able to talk to her. "Be glad you didn't," Blake said, pulling me out of my thoughts.
 
"Why?" I asked curiously.
 
A lick of anger flared in Blake's eyes, and the whole explanation seemed to come tumbling out. "She's a bit... Forceful. And that's putting it nicely. She always pushed Jared to get the best grades, be the most athletic, win the most awards, be the most talented and so on. When he didn't... That's when it got nasty.
 
"She was a bit obsessed with reputation. She had met most of the football team, including Kaden. And, well, Kaden being a Fleming, she was pretty impressed. She started pushing Jared to be like Kaden. It was driving him insane. After what had happened with you, Kaden must've gone to Jared's mother to tell her or something, because when Jared got home, she was outraged. Mad at him for drinking, for doing something that could get him arrested and kill their reputation, for not telling her that he had a girlfriend, and a lot of other stuff that didn't make sense.
 
I swear I've never seen anyone so beat up as he was that night. Jared never hit his mother back, or even defended himself, he just couldn't. Anyway, the next day, she moved them away in fear of her reputation. Over the past few months, she just got worse and worse... And finally Jared snapped. This is his way of killing two birds with one stone. Tarnishing his mother's reputation with getting arrested and getting back at Kaden for telling in the first place," Blake finished.
 
I gaped at him. "That's horrible. Why didn't he say something?"
 
Blake shrugged. "His mother was always nice in public. She had a reputation for that. No one would believe him," he answered bitterly.
 
"How could she do that to him?" I demanded, eyes wide. I hadn't had the most idealistic parents, growing up, but they had been nowhere near as bad as Jared's mother sounded. My parents had fought with each other, but never laid a hand on me.
 
Blake shrugged again. "Jared said that she grew up to it. Her entire family had gone through it. It was the only way she knew," he replied. "Everyone in on Jared's dad's side, my family, had been a bit wary, but Jared's dad had trusted her and they couldn't stop him."
 
"Why didn't they do anything about it?" I asked. What was this? How had Jared gone through this without anyone knowing?
 
"They didn't know. I didn't find out until a couple months ago, and by then, he was already determined to carry out his plan," Blake responded. There was another question that was bothering me, but I didn't want to ask it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know the answer to the question. It could destroy the little hope I had left. Besides, Blake looked like he was debating something, lost in his thoughts.
 
Just then, something else he had sunk in. Kaden had told his mom. That meant he had done something about it. Maybe it hadn't been the right thing, but he had done something. And all this time I thought he hadn't. I thought he hadn't cared and resented him for it, but he had done something, just not told me about it. I owe him a huge apology when I see him next. If I ever saw him again, that is. Hopefully I would.
 
I was pulled out of my thoughts when Blake all of a sudden stood up, an almost determined look in his eyes. "What are you doing?" I asked.
 
"I'm going to fix things," he replied confidently, though I could detect the slightest bit of hesitation in his tone. He walked over to the computer and fired it up.
 
"Can you get us out of here?" It might've been a stupid question, but I was hopeful. I didn't really want to find out exactly how Jared planned on extracting his revenge.
 
"No, but I can speed up whoever's coming to get us. I just have to figure out the password..." he trailed off as he furiously began typing on the laptop. I shot a slightly worried glance at the door. Would Jared hear and come down and catch us? Was he even in whatever place we were trapped in? "Got it," Blake whispered victoriously.
 
"Wait, what are you planning-" I started to ask, but stopped when he opened the Internet and logged onto an e-mail. That actually wasn't a bad idea. I wasn't sure if they would believe it, but it was a chance. Blake typed in an address quickly and hit send. "What do we do now?" I asked as he logged off and shut down the laptop.
 
It was almost as if that had drained all his determination. "Now, we wait," he said with a sigh, moving back to sit on the ground.
 
"Why did you do it? Why'd you help him?" I finally got the courage to ask a couple moments later. The question had been killing me. Yeah, I knew the story, now, I knew what Jared had gone through, but what about Blake? I was almost sure he wasn't a bad guy. How had he been sucked into this? Kidnapping someone wasn't exactly a good thing, he must've known that. Why had he agreed to help?
 
Blake shrugged. "He's family. He’s been though a lot. I thought it might make him happy," he replied.
 
"The why'd you stop?" I asked, even more confused. I could get his reason, sort of. Avril had been the only family I had really been close to, and she was already done, but I would've done, and I still would do, almost anything for Kallie, or Annabelle, or Clark, or Brett, or Kaden.
 
He sighed and looked away. "I fell for someone," he answered curtly. Then I understood. The cold voice that he sometimes used, the more friendship feel than romantic, how he had barely tried in the kiss Jared had forced us into.
 
"You didn't fall for me," I said, more of a statement than a question. "Who was it?" I asked, genuinely curious. Blake sighed again before answering.
 
"Annabelle."
 

--
 
Thoughts? :)

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--
(Unedited)
 
She moves in closer.
Whispering to me, "I thought I told ya."
And oh she's playing games now.
And I've figured it out now that we're, now that we're closer.
Two kids, one love
Who cares if we make it up?
 
~I Must Be Dreaming- The Maine
 

I couldn't help it. As soon as I heard Blake's oh-so-familiar voice, my eyes snapped to Kaden's. He shot me a confused look. I probably looked kind of crazy right now, completely panicked from a phone call, but it was Blake! And Kaden was here! Talk about bad timing. I mean, yeah, I was going to tell Kaden about what happened with Blake, but now with him calling, it'd be even more awkward. I couldn't walk away, either, that would just make things look suspicious.
 
"Blake?" I finally answered in a croak, watching as Kaden's eyes hardened a bit, though he tried not to show his anger.
 
"Hey," Blake replied in a slightly way voice. I bit my lip as confusion swept through me. Why was he calling me? I mean, with what had happened... "You're probably wondering why I'm calling," he said, as if reading my mind. He didn't sound like the Blake I knew. Instead of sounding calm and collected, with a slight hint of teasing arrogance, he sounded nervous. Wow. That was a first. I don't think I had ever really heard him sound distressed.
 
"Yeah, I am," I admitted in the coldest voice I could manage. I didn't want to be mean, but he shouldn't have done what he had done yesterday. I wasn't sure if I was really ready to forgive him for it.
 
A part got to me, though. Had I accidentally lead him on? I mean, yeah, at first, before I really got to know him, I had kind of used him to help distract me from Kaden, but it wasn't, romantic or anything, right? Hadn't he known that? What had I done to make him think I wanted something more? Did I unconsciously four with him or something?
 
"Raine," Blake started, pulling me out of my thoughts. I shot another quick glance at Kaden. He had his eyes squeezed shut; his face down and he looked as if he was chanting something under his breath.
 
"Yeah," I replied to Blake in a voice that was a cross between casual and frosty. I wasn't sure if Kaden had noticed my cold tones yet, and honestly, I wasn't sure whether I wanted him to or not.
 
"Look, Raine, I'm really sorry for what happened. That had been incredibly stupid of me and I'm a terrible friend, I know," he said. It felt like a punch to gut, or like someone had suddenly yanked my heart into my throat and left it there. What Blake had said, it was so, so, so scarily similar to what Jared had said every time he had gotten drunk or we had a fight. It wasn't exactly the same, especially since Blake was just a friend and I had been dating Jared, but the words were close enough to make me stop short. It was probably just a coincidence; the speech wasn't the most original, but still... As stupid as it sounded, it reminded me of Jared. "It was a complete ass move," Blake continued, pulling me out of my thoughts yet again.
 
"Yeah, it was," I agreed, bluntly. Maybe I was being too harsh, but the memory of Jared mixed with Kaden's heavy state was getting to me. Then I saw Kaden making some wild motions at me, trying to catch my attention. "One sec, Blake," I said into the phone before pulling it away and pressing the mute button.
 
"What's going on?" Kaden asked, raising an eyebrow at me. Shiitake mushrooms. I think he noticed.
 
"What do you mean?" I replied, feigning innocence. I bit my lip and looked away from him. I knew I had to tell him eventually, but I didn't want to now. Not with Blake on the phone. That would just make it unbelievably awkward.
 
Kaden sighed and I felt fingers probe at my chin, making me turn to face him. "Tell me, Sunshine, please," he said softly, looking pleadingly at me. My eyes slid away from him. Don't cave, Raine, come on. I told myself.
 
I caved. "Something just, happened, two days yesterday," I admitted slowly. Kaden grinned slightly, before turning serious again.
 
"What did he do?" He asked.
 
I laughed awkwardly. "Why'd you assume that he did something?" I replied, dodging the question.
 
Kaden smiled again. "Because you're using the 'I'm-really-mad-at-you-but-I'm-trying-not-to-show-it' voice," he said. What? I had a voice like that? Really? Even if I did, I wasn't using it, was I? Like, I've heard of those kinds of voices, and yeah, I was mad, but did I actually sound that... Controlled? "I think I've heard it enough times to know," Kaden added when he saw my frown. "And stop avoiding the question."
 
"Blake kissed me," I blurted out after a moment of silence. Almost immediately, Kaden stiffened. All traces of his playful smile disappeared as his jaw clenched and his mouth moved into a hard line.
 
"He kissed you?" Kaden demanded, almost harshly. I bit my lip and nodded slowly. I couldn't have really expected any other reaction, but a part of me had hoped that he wouldn't be incredibly mad, as stupid as it sounded. Kaden had always been a bit over-protective, especially around these kind of things. It was one of the things that had made Kallie swear off love in ninth grade, which, of course, had only been temporary, since she was now with Brett. I had never thought he really was the jealous type though. The only time I had ever really seen him even slightly possessive had been after things ended, and even then, just barely. "Did you kiss him back?" Kaden asked.
 
"Kaden!" I exclaimed, shooting him a hurt look. Did he really think that of me? I wasn't the kind of person to do that!
 
"Did you?" he pressed.
 
"No!" I responded with a groan. Kaden stared at me for a couple more seconds before relaxing ever so slightly.
 
"Why'd he kiss you?" he asked, causing me to grimace. Thing was, I really didn't know. Why had Blake kissed me? I mean, I guess it was safe to say he liked me, but why did he choose right then to kiss me? He knew I was dating Kaden! Yeah, I had told him we had gotten into a fight, but that didn't mean we had broken up.
 
"I really don't know," I admitted.
 
"What's he saying to you?" Kaden asked, gesturing to the phone. I had almost forgotten that I had Blake on hold. Had he began to get impatient, or worry or anything? He hadn't said anything, but waiting for so long must have been a bit annoying. Aww, I feel kind of bad now.
 
"He's apologizing," I responded, shortly, not really wanting to make Blake wait any longer. I was mad at him, but making him wait so long would just be... Rude. I squealed when Kaden suddenly tugged me into his lap, almost making me fall over. "What was that for?" I asked, twisting around slightly to look at him.
 
He just nodded to the phone. "Continue your call. But I want to be able to hear what's going on," he told me. Oh my god. It was awkward before, but now? It just increased by about a billion. I rubbed my eyes in a half facepalm and resisted urge to cringe, before picking up the phone and putting it back to normal.
 
"Hey, Blake?" I said, tentatively, more than a bit nervous for what was about to come, or what could possibly come.
 
"Hey," he replied. Pause. "Here let me make it up to you. Come over tomorrow. We can hang out at the park. I'll prove to you that I'm not as much of a jerk as you think I am," he told me. All of sudden, Kaden's mouth slammed down on my neck with a bit more force than necessary. I barely stifled the gasp that was trying to crawl out of my throat when he started nipping at my skin.
 
"I don't know..." I replied to Blake, squirming a bit. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to get away from Kaden other closer. I didn't think I really had a choice, though, his arms locked around me like steel bands.
 
"Come on, Princess, I promise I won't try anything," Blake said, though I barely heard him. My head fell back as a slight shiver ran through me.
 
"Mm... Fine," I agreed, just really wanting to end the call so Blake wouldn't end up hearing something he shouldn't. "Um, Blake? I gotta go."
 
"Okay, I'll text you the address," he told me, before I hung up. I finally let out the slight moan I had been holding back, when Kaden ran his tongue over my secret spot again. Gathering up all my courage, I turned and pushed him away a bit so I could clear my head.
 
"That was mean," I informed him.
 
"But effective," he replied, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "Why'd you say yes?" Kaden asked, tending a bit more serious.
 
I shrugged. "Well, he's a good friend," I told him, emphasizing the last word. Kaden didn't reply, instead just raised an eyebrow at me. "He's one of the few people I even semi-trust," I explained. Kaden nodded as his eyes lit up with understanding. It was pretty true. Ever since what had happened with Jared, I had found it harder to trust people. A lot more harder.
 
***
 
"Hey, are you okay?" It must have been the tenth time I had asked him this today. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but Blake was unbelievably distant. He seemed sort of distracted, even.
 
"Yeah, fine," he replied, like all the other times before. I wanted to press on, but at the same time, I didn't want to pry so I left it be.
 
We walked in silence as we approached the end of the park. Blake hadn't tried anything, but then again, he had barely talked the entire time. I wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but something was wrong. That was one thing I was sure of. We came to the side of the road and I shot a look around. Blake lived in a pretty quiet neighborhood, but this road, it was almost deserted. Other than two houses standing across the street that looked even more empty than the street, there was nothing. All of a sudden Blake stopped and turned to me.
 
"Look, Raine-" he started, but suddenly cut himself off, seeming to look at something behind me. I shot him a weird look then turned to see what he was looking at, but before I could, something hit me on the back of my head.
 
It wasn't a hard enough blow to make me lose consciousness, but it was strong enough to send my head spinning. Arms locked around me and pulled me back. Then whoever was behind me shoved me into what I guess was the back of a car of some sort.
 
"Drive," Someone hissed in a low voice. It was almost familiar, it was similar to Blake's in a way, but there was something else to it. I couldn't figure it out though, since my head was still throbbing. The only clear thought I had in the suddenly muddy mass of my brain was that I needed to somehow escape. I began squirming, trying to escape the hold my captor had on me, throwing wild punches and kicks that always seemed to miss their target. As my head began clearing, I managed to land a couple hits, though they seemed to have to effect.
 
Oh god, oh god, oh god. I'm gonna die. How did this happen? Why didn't Blake do anything to stop it? Did they take him too? Had he been a part of this set up? I mean, now, when I thought about it, I hadn't known him as we'll as I thought I had. Gods, I had been so stupid. Why had I trusted him? How had he earned my trust so easily? Even as I asked myself this, I knew the answer, but I didn't want to acknowledge it.
 
A needle pierced my arm, and stayed there for a moment, injecting something into me. Whatever they put inside of me didn't have an immediate effect, though, so I was able to continue struggling.
 
A warm breath tickled my ear as I hopelessly clawed at my captors. "Alizaraine." I froze as pure ice shot through me. There was only one person who had ever called me by my full name. My parents didn't even use it when they were mad. It was just too weird. There was only one person who liked using it. The one person that I hated the most. The one person, that I also, as much as I hated to admit, missed the most.

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--
(Unedited)
 
You give me wings to fly,
The world goes crashing by, again.
I'm falling through the door,
Flying across the floor.
When you look at me,
Suddenly, it's clear.
 
~Anywhere But Here- Hilary Duff
 
The next day, I found myself chained to a headboard. Yeah, again. Only this time, I had the other half of the Fleming twins standing in front of me, along with Annabelle. Also, instead of looking amused, Kallie looked determined. Fun… Not. Seriously, though? What is it with Kallie and handcuffing me to a bed? It’s like her new obsession. A very scary new obsession. And I thought Kaden still had the handcuffs she had used last time! Where does she get these things? Wait a sixty seconds. Last time Kallie said they were from Clark and Annabelle. Oh god. Please don’t say they used it for that. Wow. I used to be innocent. What have they done to me?
 
“So, talk,” Kallie commanded, completely unaware of my inner ramblings.
 
I blinked at her. "About what?" I asked, squirming slightly under their intense stares. Annabelle and Kallie exchanged a look before sighing, relaxing their stances and sitting in front of me on the bed. Creepy. They did almost all of that in sync.
 
"Okay, what is going on with you and Kaden?" Kallie demanded, narrowing her eyes at me. "Why do you guys keep playing this... This game?" she asked, spitting out the last word as if it was acid. Game? Was that what it looked like?
 
"I don't know! I don't think we're playing a game, at least, I'm not. Things just keep... Happening and I guess it ends up with one of us hurt," I admitted after a short silence. With Kallie's words, I couldn't help but wonder, was Kaden playing a game? I didn't want to think that he was, but I mean, he was a player. It was unbelievable that he would stop that for me. Especially with what happened. It was like one of those romance novels Annabelle liked to read.
 
"Okay, Raine, I want you to be completely honest to me when I ask this. I promise I won't get mad at you if I don't like your answer," Kallie said slowly, trying to squeeze in some humor at the end. It didn't work though. She bit her lip and looked away from me. Whoa. It was incredibly rare to see Kallie nervous. I mean, she was my best friend, so I had seen her stressed in some situations, but she usually kept her cool.
 
"Just spit it out, Kal. You're making me nervous," I told her. It was true. Kallie promising that she wouldn't get mad was even rarer than her being nervous. And, as mean as it may sound, she often didn't mean it. The few times she had made the promise, she had ended up breaking it. She tried not to show that she was angry, but you could just kind of tell, because she acted colder towards you.
 
"Are you only dating Kaden to teach him a lesson?" Kallie blurted out.
 
"What?" I asked dumbfounded, but also slightly offended. She was my best friend! She knew I didn't do things like that. I wasn't that kind of person.
 
"She's just worried," Annabelle spoke up, noticing my offended expression and trying to play peace keeper. "I mean, you are kind of always talking about how Kaden shouldn't go dating girls and breaking their hearts," she explained. For a moment, I just sat there, blinking at them.
 
Then I busted out laughing. I couldn't help it! What they were saying was pretty unbelievable.
 
"Raine," Kallie whined, shooting me a slight glare.
 
I composed myself and attempted an innocent look. "Sorry, Kal, but I really doubt that I could teach him a lesson like that. You'd need like, I don't know, someone famous or something to hold him long enough to do that!" I told her, biting my lip. This time, it was Kallie turn to laugh and my turn to narrow my eyes at her.
 
"You have a lot more power than you think, Raine, I'll tell you that." Then she sobered up and shot me a look I couldn't quite read. "That means you aren't, though, right?" This earned a dry look from me. Kallie returned it with one of her own.
 
"Yes, she means she isn't, Kal," Annabelle said after a couple moments of Kallie and me staring at each other.
 
Kallie held her hands up in a sort of 'I surrender' motion. "Just making sure. You know, Raine, if anyone could hold him, it would be you," she told me slyly, repeating what she had said weeks earlier in Las Vegas. I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, my phone rang from the bedside table.
 
Kallie grabbed it and put it on speaker.
 
"Hello?" I asked, squirming slightly, feeling the urge to get closer to the phone.
 
"Hey Raine. Sorry, I didn't get your text until this morning." Came Devon's voice. "What's up?" For a moment, I was confused about what he meant, then I remembered that I had sent him a text asking for advice.
 
"Oh, is that Devon?" Kallie asked, not bothering to be quiet.
 
"Hi...?" Devon trailed off, obviously confused.
 
"Sorry, Devon, my friends Kallie and Annabelle are with me. Guys, this is Devon," I introduced.
 
"The gay guy?" Annabelle asked. Kallie and I gaped at her. Whoa. That had to be the most straight forward -or rude, though I knew that wasn't her intent- Annabelle had ever said. Her eyes widened when she realized how her words had come out. "S-sorry," she stuttered, cheeks turning red.
 
Instead of getting mad, though, Devon merely laughed. "Is that how you refer to me, Raine? The 'gay guy'?" he asked teasingly:
 
"No! It's just someone asked and he got kind of jealous and well, I don't know," I said, trying to explain. I only succeeded in making him laugh again.
 
After a moment, he turned serious. "So, is that what the problem's about? Jealousy?" he asked. I saw Kallie shoot me a wounded look and open her mouth to speak. Later, I mouthed, not letting her. It might not have been the best response, but I really didn't want to have an argument with her with Devon on the phone.
 
"Sort of. But not exactly with you. It's a bit bigger," I told him. It didn't take very long to explain everything, but by the end, I was blushing. Saying it out lout made me realize how stupid and petty it was.
 
Devon, as it turned out, had more or less the same though. "Wow, that's..." he trailed off, probably trying to think of a nice way to describe it.
 
"Stupid?" Kallie offered bluntly. I glared at her and earned an eye roll and mock innocent smile in return. Huh, guess she's going to be temporarily not mad at me.
 
"Well, yeah," Devon admitted, sounding a bit apologetic.
 
Number one thing I hate about being handcuffed? I don't have the option of facepalming. "I know, but I still need advice," I muttered staring at my wall of photos.
 
"Talk to him," Devon told me a sort of 'well, duh' voice.
 
"Apologize," Annabelle offered. Kallie nodded in agreement.
 
"But I didn't do anything wrong!" I exclaimed, promptly turning red when I realized how bratty that sounded.
 
"Maybe not, but he's hurt, and well, he probably won't come forward," Devon explained.
 
"Plus, he thinks you don't want to date him, so you saying sorry might show him that you're trying," Kallie added. I guess what they said made sense. It didn't make it any easier, though. Kaden and I had never exactly excelled at heart to hearts.
 
"Why can't guys be like Prince Charming so there are no fights to deal with?" I muttered, though I didn't really mean it.
 
"Prince Charming's boring... And overrated," Devon said after a short pause.
 
This caused me to snort, then grin when a thought entered my mind. "I can't wait until you find your Prince Charming. Then you'll come to me for advice," I told him.
 
"... Not gonna happen, Raine, not gonna happen," he replied laughing. Ouch! Hurtful! Come on, where's the love? I'm not that bad with these things! "Anyway, I gotta go. Talk to him, Raine," Devon commanded before hanging up.
 
"Okay, it's official. I'm team Devaine," Annabelle said, her eyes slightly wider than normal. Team Devaine? There's teams now? I think Annabelle reads just a bit too many romance novels.
 
"Bells!" Kallie cried dramatically in an 'I'm-feel-so-betrayed" voice.
 
Annabelle shrugged in response. "He doesn't go that way, Kal, so don't worry, it's not going to happen. You gotta admit though, their conversations are kind of cute."
 
Kallie laughed, then looked at me, her expressions hardening slightly. "Raine," she started, both looking and sounding a bit upset. I could tell what she was going to say. It wasn't hard to guess, and her expression more or less gave it away. "Why didn't you come to me for advice?" she asked. I bit my lip and looked away. Yeah, I had a reason, but it was pretty stupid and selfish. I had to tell her though, otherwise she'd probably think I was mad at her, or didn't consider her my best friend anymore, and that wasn't true.
 
"Well, it's just that, you're Kaden's sister, and I guess I was afraid you would side with him. I just wanted someone who didn't know so much and could possibly, maybe even be on my team," I admitted slowly.
 
Kallie's expressions softened. "You know, I might be the boyfriend's sister, but I'm still you're best friend. I always will be, more than boyfriend's sister. After all, I was best friend first," she told me. I couldn't help the grin the broke out on my face. I reached forward to hug her, forgetting that I was handcuffed.
 
"I hate these things!" I exclaimed, wiggling again.
 
"Awww..." Annabelle sighed. Kallie and I turned to look at her oddly. "What? You guys had a moment!" she replied defensively. We continued staring at her.
 
Kallie was the first to speak. "You know what? As soon as we can, we are going to go out and get you a bunch of Horror books, Belle," she said. That was a good idea. Maybe Horror books could become Annabelle's new obsession, and then I could just deal with Kallie and her matchmaking tendencies instead of both theirs.
 
I nodded in agreement. "Then, there's no more teams," I added. Annabelle rolled her eyes and pouted, though you could tell that she was hiding a smile.
 
"That reminds me," Kallie started, turning serious again. Wow, she's doing a lot of mood switching today. "Raine, I'm asking you this as your best friend, not boyfriend's sister, okay? Remember that. Could you tell me what exactly went on between you and Kaden? You guys used to be okay. What happened?" she asked. Oh no. I hated that question. She had asked me so many times, but I had never answered. This time, I felt like I almost had to. I swallowed thickly and opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off by the sound of the door opening.
 
It was Kaden. I don't think I could have been any more grateful of his interruption. "Hey, Kallie," he started in a slightly monotone voice then stopped when he saw us and straightened up. "Is Raine handcuffed to a bed again?" he asked incredulously. See! I'm not the only one who thing handcuffing someone to a bed is extreme.
 
Kallie frowned, but instead of telling Kaden to leave so she could find out what happened, she got up from the bed, pulling Annabelle up with her. Oh no she better not-
 
“I’m not letting Raine out of the handcuffs if you guys don’t talk. Or if you leave,” she said, directing the last part at her brother. She did. She walked out the room, Annabelle in tow, then reached back and closed the door. I sighed and closed my eyes. I wasn’t sure what Kaden would do, but I suspected that he was mad enough to let me spend a bit of time getting to know my headboard. I opened my eyes when I heard Kaden’s quiet chuckle. Whoa. Am I really that readable?
 
“I’m not that mean, you know,” he told me. I wasn’t sure if I should have been happy or upset about that. On one hand, now I probably wouldn’t have to spend too much more time handcuffed, assuming of course, that we actually talked. On the other hand, now we had to talk. I hadn’t had time to prepare for this. If I had to, though…
 
“Kallie!” I yelled.
 
Kaden shot me an ‘I think you’re crazy’ look. Yeah, I had come to recognize them almost as soon as I got them. It was sad, really. “This is a soundproof room,” he said slowly, almost sounding hurt. I was about to reply, but before I could, Kallie opened the door and poked her head in.
 
“What’s up?” she asked, looking at me and stepping into the room. I knew it!
 
“Camera. Off. Now,” I told her dully, but firmly. “Please,” I added after a second thought.
 
Kallie rolled her eyes and sighed. “If it helps, fine,” she agreed. On her way out, she paused for a brief moment to talk to Kaden, then slipped out, shutting the door behind her.
 
I gulped.
 
It was the first time we had been alone since the fight. I sneaked a look at Kaden from the corner of my eye to see him staring out the window. At first glance, he looked relaxed, almost like he was completely at ease despite the tension in the room. His shoulders were loose, face relaxed, but his hands were curling and uncurling, as it they wanted to clench into fists, and there was a slightly hard glint in his eyes. Great. Just great. I really hate you sometimes, Kallie. I mean, I knew Kaden and I needed to talk, but couldn't you let us do it on our own terms?
 
The silence stretched on between us, making me squirm. I tried to plan out what to say, but that didn’t work. There were just too many things he could say that I couldn’t think of an answer to. I also tried to avoid looking at Kaden, but that kind of failed too. The couple of times I sneaked a quick glance at him, he looked like he was also trying to think of what to say. That might have just been my imagination, though.
 
“I’m sorry,” I finally blurted out after what seemed like a century, but was probably only a couple of minutes. I really need to work on developing a better tolerance for tense silences and awkward moments. Kaden looked up and shot me part confused, part surprised look. That was enough to get me going. “I’m sorry if it doesn’t seem like I’m trying, I am, I’m just really bad at this stuff, and well, it’s not easy. Blake’s just a friend, by the way. I don’t have any interest in him romantically. He might, but that doesn’t mean I do,” I blabbed, before clamping my mouth shut and turning bright red. Wow, I really suck at these things. There should be a book titled ‘How to be Romantically Successful’, I need it. Badly.
 
I looked up when I heard Kaden’s snicker and half glared at him. Not the reaction I was hoping for, but then again, I don’t think I should base anything on romantic movies. Kaden held his hands up. “It was cute,” he told me, causing me to roll my eyes. He walked towards me and whoa, he hugged me. Hey, I think it worked! He’s not mad at me anymore, I think. “I’m sorry, too,” he admitted after a pause. “I should’ve let you explain, instead of assuming. That guy pisses me off though,” he said. I couldn’t help it, that made smile like crazy. I probably looked insane, but I didn’t really care.
 
“I think they’re all waiting for us downstairs,” Kaden stated after he pulled away. As cheesy as it sounds, I kind of missed his arms. Wow, I’m turning into a sap. I should start watching horror movies again. I might have nightmares, but at least I won’t be quoting romance novels.
 
“Maybe, but I’m still handcuffed. Can you run downstairs and ask Kallie for the key?” I asked.
 
Kaden’s eyes lit up with a mischievous twinkle. Oh no. I don’t like that look. “For a kiss,” he told me grinning. I rolled my eyes. Okay, I guess it’s not too bad. “If you keep doing that, they’re going to get stuck that way,” Kaden commented, seeing my eye roll. I shrugged in response and leaned forward as much as I could and gave him a very light brush on the lips, then leaned back. “That was not a kiss,” Kaden complained.
 
I shrugged again and grinned. “Get me out of the handcuffs first,” I told him.
 
Kaden narrowed his eyes at me. “Hmm, you are handcuffed. Which means I could do anything I want…” he trailed off and wiggled his eyebrows at me playfully.
 
“Not gonna happen. Now please get Kallie. Or else we’re gonna get verbally attacked by Brett. And that’s an awkward conversation,” I replied. Kaden reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. What? How did-? Is that-? “That better not be the handcuffs key,” I said. I groaned when he nodded and smiled at me cheekily. “You had it all along? Why didn’t you use it?” I demanded.
 
Kaden shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you,” he replied simply, before freeing me from the handcuffs. Jeez, I feel kind of betrayed right now. I mean, come on! They don’t need to put me in handcuffs to make me talk! I stretched my wrists out in front of me and shook them out; trying to get some feeling back into my hands. I jumped off the bed and half walked, half ran to the door.
 
“Wait, what about my kiss?” Kaden called from behind me.
 
I shook my head. “That was before I found out that you had the key!” I yelled back over my shoulder. I was about to run down the stairs, but before I could I was suddenly grabbed from behind and pushed against a wall. Kaden pulled my wrists together and pushed them above my head. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Kallie’s voice cut in.
 
“Okay, I know you guys have made up from the yelling, so please come downstairs? I’ve got the challenge results!” Kallie yelled. Wow. I’m almost starting to miss my soundproof room. Whoa. Wait a sixty seconds. The challenge results? It’s been a month? Already? Aw, that means summer’s almost over. Dagnabit.
 
“Yeah, stop-” Brett started. Oh no.
 
“I don’t want to hear it!” I called back, cutting him off. I wiggled out of Kaden’s hold and raced downstairs before he could grab me again. “Results?” I asked Kallie, trying to read her face. It didn’t work. Either I really sucked at reading faces, or Kallie was very good at not showing emotions. I think it was the latter.
 
“The guy’s won,” Kallie told us in a monotone voice once Kaden had joined us. Oh no. Oh god. That means I have to spend thirty-one days being Kaden’s slave. The guys cheered and high fived each other as Kallie, Annabelle and I exchanged a slight look of defeat. “Okay, set of rules-” Kallie started.
 
Brett held a hand up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. I don’t remember there being any rules,” he stated with a smug smile. Kallie shot him a look that made him lose it almost immediately.
 
“First up, no forcing if they are really, really, reluctant, or if it goes against what they believe in. Second, nothing that could permenantly scar them. Nothing that will get them arrested. Third, we each have three things that we can reject. And lastly, nothing too humiliating in public,” Kallie declared. Phew. Thank you Kallie.
 
“And what happens if we disagree?” Brett challenged.
 
Kallie shot him a slight smirk. “No sex for a month,” she told him. I resisted the urge to wince at the mental image that her words created and did my best to block it out.
 
“Yay! Does that mean my ears get a break?” I tried, instead. It wasn’t completely untrue. Usually, when I went to get a drink or a midnight snack, I could hear that going on.
 
Everyone turned to stare at me. “You sleep in a soundproof room. As in, we can’t hear you, you can’t hear us,” Brett pointed out, getting sidetracked.
 
“Yeah, but when I go for a drink or anything like that, I can hear. And holy shiitake mushrooms do you guys scream loudly,” I said, directing the last part at Kallie and Annabelle. They all exchanged looks of amusement. Well, except for Kaden and Brett. Kaden was glaring at Brett as if he had killed someone and Brett, well, Brett looked terrified. “Wait, why am I the only one disgusted by this?” I asked with wide eyes. I mean, come on! No one really wants to hear their friends doing that, right?
 
“’Cause you’re a prude?” Kallie offered.
 
“I am not! I just don’t like hearing my friends have, er, sexual intercourse,” I replied, cringing slightly. Okay, maybe I am a bit of a prude, but seriously! No one wants to hear that. Right? That has to be one thing I don’t have an insane opinion on.
 
This, of course, caused everyone to laugh. Even Kaden and Brett. “Raine, you sound like a textbook from Sex Ed,” Brett told me. I shot him a glare and a dry look.
 
“Okay, back to the subject. Have we got a deal?” Kallie asked after everyone calmed down.
 
“Hmm, Raine you can’t really withhold that from me,” Kaden remarked, grinning. He had a point. Though there was something I could withhold…
 
I smiled at him sweetly. “Do you want any lip to lip action this month?”
 
***
 
An hour later, I found myself trying to win Kaden’s attention. My competition? His phone. I wanted to talk to him about what had happened with Blake. Yes, it would be an insanely awkward conversation, but according to Kallie and Annabelle, communication was essential. Lovely.
 
“Kaden, I need to talk to you,” I said.
 
He was still texting.
 
“Kaden?” I tried again. Still texting. Okay, either I’m way too quiet, or he’s deaf. Or someone died. I don’t think I want to consider the last option, though.
 
“Kaden!” I exclaimed. Startled, he looked up.
 
“Yeah?” he asked casually as if he didn’t know that I had been trying to get his attention for the last ten minutes. Then again, he probably known.
 
“Do always do that?” I couldn’t help but ask. It was off topic, but, well, his lack of attention was just the slightest bit unbelievable.
 
“Do what?” he asked, still casual, though he sounded a bit more confused.
 
“Ignore your girlfriend when she’s trying to talk to you,” I replied. Girlfriend. It still sounded a bit odd on my tongue, but hopefully, it would show him that I was actually acknowledging that there was something between us. That I was trying.
 
“No…” he trailed off. I shot him a look that clearly said that I didn’t believe him. It wasn’t that he was a bad boyfriend; it definitely wasn’t that, he was doing much better than I was. I was just almost certain that his slight obliviousness came from habit. I mean, I don’t think he was born with it, and he usually didn’t do that with other people. “Okay, maybe. Sorry, I’m used to it,” he admitted.
 
“And the girls you’ve dated, they haven’t noticed?” I asked dumbfounded.
 
“They probably have, but were too scared to mention it,” he replied. For a quick moment, I was confused. I mean, who was okay with being ignored? Then I remembered. At school, Kaden was considered pretty popular. He hung out with the cheerleaders and was an athlete, so, as cliché as it sounded, he ran with the ‘popular’ crowd. Still though, dignity, people, dignity.
 
“What have you done to the girls at our school?” I moaned into my hands. Kaden raised his eyebrows, and was about to respond –probably with something that wasn’t exactly appropriate–, when my phone rang. I pulled it out to hit ‘busy’, but a quick glance at Kaden told me that he was fine with me answering it.
 
“Hello?” I asked, slightly impatient.
 
“Raine?” Came a familiar voice. I almost dropped the phone. No way.
 
It was Blake.

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--
(Unedited)
 
Can we fall, one more time?
Stop the tape, and rewind?
And if you walk away,
I know I'll fade.
'Cause there is nobody else.
It's gotta be you, only you.
~Gotta Be You- One Direction
 
I hated that look.
 
Growing up with him, I had seen that look over a dozen times. Kaden wasn't the kind to et extremely mad often, but when he did, it was kind of terrifying. There had been only one time that the look had been directed at me.
 
And that was a time I didn't want to think about.
 
"Kaden-" I started, thankful that my voice was a lot more calm and steady than I was feeling.
 
"Tell me I didn't just hear what I think I did," he gritted out.
 
"Depends on what you think you heard," I retorted, sharper than I had intended to. Shoot. That had sounded massively defensive...
 
"So I see..." he trailed off, narrowing his eyes at me.
 
"Kaden, I think with the best friend's brother thing, we're allowed clichés, but please don't do the possessive, jealous thing," I said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. "Kaden, we're just friends," I added exasperatedly.
 
"Yeah, that's what you said last time." I recoiled as if he had hit me, and well, I guess he might as well have. I can't believe he just said that. I thought that was done. That that chapter of our lives was over.
 
"Do you trust me?" I asked, hurt. Unlike in the movies, his eyes didn't soften the slightest bit at my wounded tone.
 
"Maybe I'll trust you when you start trying," he told me.
 
Now it was my turn to narrow my eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
 
"You don't try, Raine. You never have. Sometimes, I wonder if you even want any of this," Kaden stated before turning and walking out of the room, not giving me a chance to respond. I didn't try? My head spun as I tried to figure out exactly what he had meant be that. Had he meant that he thought I didn't want to date him? I sighed and walked back into the kitchen to find Kallie and Annabelle sitting on the counter. Annabelle was munching on an apple; Kallie was doing the same, except with a muffin from the cooling tray on the rack.
 
"Bad fight?" Annabelle asked, looking at me sympathetically. I grimaced and nodded.
 
Kallie paused half way through picking off the wrapper from the muffin and turned to stare at me. "Wait. That was a fight, right? Not a break up?" she questioned, examining me warily. I opened my mouth to reply with 'Yeah, it had only been a fight', but stopped. Had it really just been a fight? Or had it been a break up? After a couple moments of debating, I finally shrugged in response. It was the best and probably only answer I could give her. I honestly had no clue.
 
Kallie groaned. "It's been a day! I swear, you guys are the hardest people to play Cupid on ever!" she declared, before hopping off the counter and strolling out of the room. Wait a sixty seconds. Did she just actually and finally admit that she's been trying to get us together? Huh. Odd. You'd think she wouldn't want us to be together, I mean, he's her brother, I'm her best friend. Why haven't I considered this before?
 
"You okay?" Annabelle asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. She shot me a worried look, which reminded me a bit of a mother looking
 
I offered her a smile, though it was probably only weak, at the best. "I'll be fine."
 
***
 
Kallie picked the worse day to continue filming. Though she probably intended it. I guess it also made sense, since we wanted to finish the video as skins as possible, so I could send it in, but I kind of wish we could've waited a bit before resuming. I mean, we had to act like we were falling in love! After a fight, or break up! Not that Kaden wasn't a good actor, he played the part perfectly, it was just in between. He barely acknowledged my presence and when he actually did talk to me, it was in a cold, dead voice.
 
Now, I would love to say I stood up to him and screamed at him about our problems, but obviously, that didn't happen because of multiple reasons. First, would be that I was way to chicken to do that. Second, would be that Kaden and I sucked at the heart to heart talks in private. Doing it in front of the people just wouldn't work. Third, it was awkward. Like, really, really awkward. Plus, Annabelle was in her room working on some unknown project, so she wasn't there to help.
 
"Ow!" Brett suddenly exclaimed in the middle of a short break. We all turned to stare at him, half curious, half worried. "I think I cut myself," he told us, pouting.
 
"On a camera?" Clark asked disbelievingly, raising an eyebrow.
 
"Well, uh," Brett stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse. I rolled my eyes and suppressed a smile. It was just like Brett to declare something then realize it made no sense. He usually had a reason for saying whatever random words came out of his mouth, but he still didn't think it through.
 
"Honey," Kallie drawled, in a playful, mocking tone. "Don't make up such absurd lies. People are going to worry about you," she told him, in an odd sort of fake accent. The rest of us exchanged amused glances as we watched the mini show in front of us. For a moment, my eyes met Kaden's, but he broke contact almost immediately my looking away.
 
"But it feels awkward! Everyone's so quiet!" Brett dramatized in a loud, whiny voice. This caused a sudden silence as Kallie glanced at Kaden and I worriedly. I sneaked a glance at Kaden, but all I got was a blank expression. That hurt. I wasn't exactly sure why, but it hurt just a bit. Okay, maybe more than a bit.
 
"I'll be right back," I muttered, before walking out of the room. I wandered into my current room and threw myself onto the bed, clutching the pillow close to me and pressing my face into it.
 
After I composed myself, I headed back to the room where we had set everything up. We didn't have too many scenes left, just the quieter ones, the ones that actually involved us going places had been short and done earlier. The shoot had somehow quickly turned into something similar to a game of dress up, since for the train scene we needed various people. Instead of going out and asking random people if we could photograph them, Brett and Kallie had decided that it would be easier if all of us just dressed up and were edited all of us in. I hated the train scene, though. It was an amazing ending, but with the fight and how Kaden pretty much refused to look at me, it hadn’t been so awesome. Even though we were playing people, the staring at each other from across the room had been awkward, and forced. Immediately after hitting fifteen seconds, Kaden had looked away.
 
I don’t think I had ever been so grateful of something ending. I loved acting, but the level of tension in the room was driving me insane. Maybe Kallie was right. Maybe I did have very little tolerance for awkward situations. Which, unfortunately, Kaden and I seem to have a lot of.
 
As soon as the shoot ended, I climbed up the stairs and escaped into my bedroom. After I quick glance at the clock, I realized I only had about thirty minutes before I had to meet Blake at the music festival. Part of me felt like I shouldn’t go, like I was betraying Kaden, but Blake was just a friend. Nothing more. I wish Kaden would understand that. Sighing, I quickly pulled off the clothes Kallie had given for the movie and yanked on a pair of red shorts and a black and white graphic tee, before grabbing my wallet and slipping downstairs.
 
Sneaking out of the house hadn’t been as difficult as I thought it might have been. Brett was probably editing the movie, Kallie and Kaden were in their rooms doing god knows what and Clark and Annabelle were doing something in the kitchen that almost scarred me for life. I quickly scribbled a note and left it on the dinner table, before going into the garage and grabbing my bike.
 
It was almost impossible to get to the park. The sidewalk was crowded with people and street performers. I locked my bike into a stand a block away from the center of the park and began walking towards it, following in the steady crowd of people. I headed down a side street and pulled out my phone to dial Blake.
 
“Hello?” he answered a moment later.
 
“Hey, just got here. Where are you?” I asked, shooting a quick look around even though I probably wouldn’t see him.
 
“What do you mean?” Blake asked, sounding confused. I felt my stomach drop to my feet. Had he forgotten? No, I didn’t imagine the phone call, and Kaden heard it so that wouldn’t make sense. Had I accidentally mistaken someone else for him when he called? No, that wouldn’t make sense either, why would the person pretend to be Blake? If it hadn’t been Blake then, would the fight with Kaden have been for no reason at all? Just playing with you, Princess,” he told me, laughing slightly. I scowled a bit even though he couldn’t see me. “I’m in front of the biggest makeshift stage.” Biggest makeshift stage? Where was that? I stepped back into the crowd of people at the entrance and stood on my toes, trying to find what he was talking about. “…You probably don’t know where that is. Here, tell me where you are, and I’ll come find you,” Blake added when he heard my silence.
 
“I’m at an entrance,” I said, darting another look around, though I couldn’t really see past the heads of people.
 
I heard Blake chuckle. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Princess, there’s a lot of entrances in this park,” he replied in a slightly teasing tone. Shoot. I have no idea what entrance this is. Do they even label entrances? Oh, wait, he probably meant which direction. Dagnabit. I’m not good at this stuff.
 
“I’m at the one that’s closest when you come from my house?” I tried hesitantly. Blake laughed again, louder this time.
 
“Not help- Wait. Never mind, I think I know where you are. Give me five minutes,” he told me before hanging up. He had probably moved before he had said that given that I had just barely heard him over the voices and music from his side. I pocketed my phone and looked around again, grinning at all the performers and people. I loved these music festivals. There was just something about the non-stop music and pulsing beats that made it exhilarating.
 
“Boo,” I heard a familiar voice whisper in my ear. I screamed, and then quickly shut up when I realized who it was. I turned around and glared at him.
 
“That wasn’t nice,” I scolded lightly. Blake smirked and pulled me into the park.
 
“Who said I was nice?” he asked. I rolled my eyes at his response, before grabbing my wallet and depositing five bucks in a street performer’s case.
 
“What? He’s good! Besides, what if my five bucks help him get famous or something?” I said when Blake shot me a weird look.
 
He snickered and rolled his eyes like I had done earlier. “You’re a weird person,” he remarked.
 
“Who said I wasn’t?” I replied, mocking his last response lightly. Blake laughed again and led me deeper into the festival. I wasn’t lying when I said I loved music festivals, I really did, but for some reason, I just couldn’t focus on the music. My mind kept wondering to Kaden and our fight. Unfortunately, my spacing didn’t go unnoticed by Blake.
 
“Something wrong?” he shouted over the music and people. I paused in my walking, debating whether or not I should tell him about the fight.
 
“Nah, it’s nothing,” I told him quickly after deciding. Blake rolled his eyes, obviously seeing through my lie, then grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the people.
 
After a bit of him dragging me, we finally arrived at a slightly quieter part of the park. “Just tell me, Raine,” he said, staring at me with an unreadable expression. Whoa. Wait a sixty seconds. I think that was the first time he had actually used my name. Wow.
 
“You know Kaden?” I asked, hesitantly, after his continued attempts at making me spill. I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been telling him this. I mean, it felt almost like an intrusion of privacy. Kaden’s privacy. Which made almost no sense, because, well, Kallie, Annabelle, Brett and Clark all knew. Blake was a friend, just like them.
 
“The guy’s a jerk,” Blake muttered. I glared at him before pretending that I hadn’t heard him and continuing.
 
“Well, we sort of started dating, but we got into a fight,” I told him. Suddenly, at my words, Blake’s eyes hardened.
 
“That’s interesting,” he said in a weird sort of mixed tone. Part mad, part flat. What? That had been far from the reaction I expected. I mean what had he meant by that? Before I could ask him, he suddenly started walking away.
 
I chased after him, trying to catch up. “What do you mean by that?” I asked, voicing my thoughts.
 
“If you’re dating Kaden, Raine, why are you here with me?” Blake demanded harshly. I gaped at him, a bit confused. Then I understood what he meant. He thought- He didn’t- Did he? I thought, but that didn’t make any sense. I mean, I hadn’t done anything to make him think we were more than friends, had I?
 
"Blake, we’re just friends! Aren’t we?” If the rapid walking was anything to judge it by, that had probably, been the wrong thing to say. “Why are you acting like this?" I asked, struggling to catch up.
 
Suddenly, he whirled around to face me, making me stop short just a breath away from him. I tried to take a step back, but he grabbed my arm before I could move. "Because, it's not fair," he told me darkly. I opened my mouth to reply, but he quickly cut me off.
 
With his lips.
 
For a moment, I stood there dumbfounded, almost unable to comprehend what was going on. When the shock passed, I immediately pushed him away and ran. I could feel Blake's eyes on me as I quickly tried to distance myself from him, but I didn't turn back. I felt betrayed. I mean, he knew I was with Kaden. What had he been trying to pull with that?
 
Everything had been fine just yesterday.
 
Why did it all have to change?