"Ash, I can- I can explain." James turned pale upon seeing Ash, the lust filled mood from earlier completely shattering the second that door opened.
"Don't even bother, James. Just go." I felt a pang of guilt hit my chest when he snapped at the teary eyed boy as I knew that I was the reason their friendship could crash and burn.
"I'll see you later James." My voice was shaky and feeble, but I felt a little better when the cowering boy sent me a small smile just as he walked out of the door.
However, I felt my whole body shiver as soon as those harsh eyes I had grown to know all too well met mine. "'No more arguments' he said. 'I'll enjoy the night with Lila and Harry' he said. Doesn't look like that worked out for you, does it Sky?"
He walked over to me at an antagonising pace, almost as if he was the hunter and I was his prey. I shuffled back until I hit the window on the counter top, heart beating so loud I was sure he could hear it.
"You know, when someone has just admitted their feeling to you, making out with their best friend isn't usually the go-to reaction." I wasn't sure whether he was being deadly serious or was trying to lighten the mood, so I didn't dare say anything.
However, when he knocked a table over while walking over to me, I guessed he was serious.
"You shouldn't have snapped at James like you did. Most of it was my fault." I tried to act tough, yet the smile that found its way onto his lips proved he didn't believe it for a second.
"Yeah well, it's hard to get mad at you. Especially when you're sat there looking like the embodiment of sin with your entire upper body on full display." My eyes widened when he not so subtlety licked his lips, causing me to hurriedly wrap my jacket around my body and look down at the floor with bright red cheeks.
"Sh-Shut up. Keep your pervy fantasies in your head where I don't have to know about them." I squeezed my eyes shut, too embarrassed to even think about having to look him in the eyes.
He hummed in approval, telling me how close by he was with how near the noise sounded. "You didn't seem to be this flustered when James had his hands all over you. Tell me, Sky. Tell me how you would have acted if it was me instead of him."
My eyes shot open and instantly linked to his, my lips parting in shock of what he was asking. "W-What? Why are you asking me to do t-that? I thought you were pissed-"
"Shh," he pressed his index finger against my lips, forcing me to keep quite. "I am, darling. But that doesn't mean I can't ask questions."
Darling? What the fuck?
Since when did he call me anything other than Sky and occasionally River if he was in a really good mood, or trying to make me forgive him.
Besides the point, why was he using pet names?
I was about to reply with some sarky comment when the click of the door sounded through the room again, and in walked another perfect example of my luck.
"River? What the hell did he do to you?" Thorn ran over to me, panic evident in his features, and I was confused at what he meant.
"Wha-?"
"Did you two... do something? Is that why your lips are all red and puffy and your hairs a mess? That doesn't explain why you're holding your jacket together like your life depends on it though."
Thorn suddenly turned to face Ash with a spiteful glare, his posture reflecting the feelings of hostility and hatred he was showing.
"Woah there, I didn't do anything to him. In fact, I was the one who walked in on him with another guy." Ash playfully held his hands up in defence, a smirk adorning his face, and I was thankful that he didn't say James' name after I was silently screaming at him not to.
Thorn prodded at the inside of his cheek with his tongue, not believing what Ash was saying.
"He's not lying, Thorn. But before you ask, no. I don't know the guys name. Just some random dude who I happened to end up dancing with."
I slid off the counter and brushed myself down before roughly dragging a hand through my hair, not really caring about how it looked. Although, I quickly fastened the three buttons on my waistcoat and fixed my jacket so that there was no creases in the silk material before either of them could make a comment about it.
"No big dea-"
"No big deal?" Thorn cut in, an unimpressed look on his face. "I thought we were all going to try and act normal tonight, like there wasn't this tension hanging between the three of us. But no, River here had to go and make out with some guy and-"
"Woah there Thorn. He's allowed to do whatever he wants. Nobody owns him, remember?" Ash furrowed his eyebrows, clearly unamused by Thorns defensive comment.
"You can't talk. Not with that whole 'he's mine' shit."
Ash scoffed, taking a step towards Thorn, hands clenched into fists.
"And what about when you told me to back off because he hated me, even though he's made it pretty obvious you were lying just to try and get me out of the picture."
Even though the height difference was only two inches, Ash somehow managed to tower over the black haired boy, making him look a lot more threatening.
"Okay guys, chill out. We're gonna be back at square one if you don't-"
"Shut up, River. Why don't you go and find some other guy to fuck while me and Ash talk. Shouldn't be that difficult for you."
I stared at Thorn, not quite believing my ears. He did not just say that... right?
"Hey there was no need for you to-"
"He's not wrong, Sky. Just go. We'll talk to you later."
My heart throbbed at the realisation of what they though of me, how they were talking down at me like I was less than them.
What? Do they think that I'm just some useless slut?
I stepped back a few paces, my eyes clouding with tears while my mind halted from disbelief.
Without a second glance, I turned and ran straight out, finding myself back in the hall where people were starting to leave. They must have been tired from all of the dancing, and that thankfully made spotting Lila and Harry easier.
Running into Harry's arms, I buried my head in his chest and let out a loud sob, tears soaking through his shirt. He wrapped his arm around my waist and stayed silent from shock, clearly unsure of what to do.
"Riv, there you- oh my god you're crying! Mum, get here asap... and please could you ask dad to get some milkshakes prepared?" I presumed she was on the phone to her mother, but I didn't think about much else apart from the fact I felt like I was about to choke from the build up of tears.
The pair helped me out of the building, earning multiple alarmed looks from other people, and before I knew it, we were in the car on the way to Lilas house.
We were supposed to go straight home after prom finished since it was almost one in the morning, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and Lilas mum understood completely.
She asked Harry to text our parents and tell them we would be back a little later than expected while Lila was in charge of making sure I didn't get mascara on my suit.
Both were equally important.
It didn't take long for us to arrive at their house and, as soon as we were through the door, get curled up in one mammoth sized blanket with chocolate milkshakes.
Swallowing was a bit of a struggle after being so worked up, but all my problems faded away once I tasted the sickly sweet liquid.
We spent half an hour talking about unimportant things, just enjoying each other's company. Although, thoughts of Ash, Thorn and James kept surfacing in my mind every few minutes even when I tried to stop them.
Once the milkshake glasses were empty and the buzzing prom feeling had worn off, we were back in the car being driven home; and soon after that, I was snuggled in bed with my tiger plush tucked between my arms.
My parents had decided on the motto 'sleep now, ask questions later', and I was thankful for it.
I ignored my phone every time it buzzed or vibrated, already knowing who it would be;
I just craved sleep, and after almost two hours of laying there doing nothing but thinking, I finally managed to fall into a deep slumber.
It felt like the night of the rumours all over again, only this time I didn't have any physical pain.
This time it was all in my head.
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The weekend passed slowly and not a lot happened apart my dad seeing the ninety-three texts I had received from the three boys in under twenty minutes, all of whom were apologising for various different things.
I ended up telling my parents about the whole going on with all of them, leaving out a few minor details like how hot Ash looked in that godforsaken white vest or how James and I made out after he sat me down on the school cabinets. They didn't need to know about that.
However, what I didn't do was check all of the messages they sent me. At the time I didn't realise how important they were.
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On Monday morning I was beyond nervous, praying that I didn't run into any of them even though I knew it was inevitable.
I met Lila and Harry before school who promised not to let any of them get anywhere near me, and that somewhat calmed my fear.
Although, I didn't speak for the entire journey; the anxiety was eating me alive. I didn't know what to think about any of them anymore, but Thorn was the one I was most worried about seeing.
Once we arrived at school, everyone had returned to their normal mundane selves. People were just softly chatting in small groups or sat at benches doing their homework which was probably due in for first period.
I began walking over to my locker, deciding that I should sort out my books for the day before going to the canteen, when I heard someone gossiping quietly.
"I wonder why that Chester guy left so suddenly. It has to have something to do with Ash, right? Those two seem to hate each other's guts. Though, I noticed him hanging around with River, too. Unless it's about him?"
Wondering what they were talking about, I tapped one of the girls on the shoulder and smiled down at her as she turned to face me.
"Hey, uh. I heard you say that Chester left? How do you know?"
She giggled, almost as if she didn't believe me, before realising that I was serious. "Oh? You didn't hear? That new kid Thorn Chester left to go back to his old school. No one really knows why because he left without saying much to anyone. I thought you might since you were close with him?"
I hardly comprehended anything past the word 'left'.
"Hey? River? You okay there?"
Frowning, I looked back at her. "Huh? Oh, uh, yeah I'm- I'm fine. I don't know why he left though."
Closing my eyes, I realised something.
"Sorry but I have to go, thanks for telling me about him."
Without waiting for a reply, I began speed walking away, looking around for any sign of Ash. If anyone was going to know, it would be him.
Almost five minutes had past and I hadn't seen him anywhere; that was when I walked straight into someone.
"Sorry, I'm just looking for- James?"
The poor boy looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"River! There you are! Why didn't you reply to any of my texts? I was so worried- I mean, I thought Ash could have hurt you once I left. I went back to try and find you but you were already gone and-"
"Hey, it's okay. Calm down. I'm fine, see? Completely fine." Guilt washed over me when I found out that I was the reason for his pain, and I silently wished that I hadn't dragged him into this whole thing.
"So he didn't hurt you? Because I swear to god if he laid a finger on you-"
"Shh, James. It's okay. You don't need to worry about me, yeah? I'm okay."
You need to find Ash.
He let out a shaky breath before laughing weakly. "Y-yeah. Okay. Sorry for being so overprotective, you probably have stuff to do." He tried to smile but it failed, his eyes holding nothing but crushed hope and sadness.
We stayed in silence for a moment, too afraid to speak as we could both tell what the other what feeling.
"Ash was over by S7 last time I saw him. If you go now, you'll catch him before he goes to Geography."
I felt my heart wrench.
It was quite obvious how he felt after all he did for me at the prom, and if I was honest, a small part of me wished I could just choose him.
I was about to kiss his cheek as a thank you but decided against it, standing on my tip toes and wrapping my arms around his neck in a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry, James. I hope you realise that I never meant to hurt you."
With that, I pulled away and returned to walking down the corridor, trying not to turn around and let my feelings get the best of me.
Turn around, River. Turn around.
My steps faltered and I pressed a hand over my mouth, desperate to ignore the throbbing pain shooting from my heart, knowing James was feeling it too.
Turn around before it's too late.
I stopped dead in my tracks and tried to focus on what I was doing, but all I could think about what the small part of me begging for me to go back to him.
Finally breaking, I looked over to see him one last time.
But he was already gone, and I knew that he was the second person I lost today.
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Woo.
Angst.
I actually felt quite sad writing this, so I hope you all found it sad too uwu
See you next time~
- Storm ð¹