better off without you

24

i go back to my phone pretending i didn't hear anything as the three boys walk into the kitchen
owen had given up on making homemade cookies and ended up using the pre made ones
both the cupcakes and cookies were both cooling

"we need to frost the cupcakes" owen sighs
"we? that's all you" shane says
owen looks at me with sad eyes
"you can do it yourself" i tell him
"we don't have any frosting and i don't know how to make it" he says
i shrug
"alana" he sighs pulling the last 'A'

"just mix butter, milk, powdered sugar and vanilla" i tell him
"how much" he asks
"3 cups of powdered sugar, 1/3 cup of butter,  1&1/2 teaspoons of of vanilla and 1 or 2 cups of milk" 
"that's so much work"
i shrug again and sit on the couch with shane and cole while owen attempts to make frosting in the kitchen

"he's into you, you know" shane whispers and cole nods in agreement
"no he's not" i roll my eyes
"how long has it been? three months"
"about"
"and you're the only girl he's been with" cole says
"so what"
"he's never like this, he's never stuck with a girl this long" shane adds
"it doesn't matter we're friends and that's how it's gonna stay" i tell them
"remember when we dared you guys not to fall in love" cole asks
i nod
"how well is that going?"
"you guys are ridiculous" i hit him with a pillow

"i did it" owen says from the kitchen
"so proud" i say sarcastically
he makes his way over to the couch and sits closely next to me
"what now" cole asks
"i go to sleep" owen says
"movie" i say 
cole and shane nod
i grab the remote from owens hand and put on a random movie i knew i was going to pay attention to

about 35 minutes into the move i felt owens hand move to my thigh luckily there was a blanket i had put over us so no one could have seen

i look at him but his eyes are focused on the screen
i place my hand on his and move it off my leg

a few minutes later he moves it back i don't try to move it knowing the same pattern will keep happening

shane looks at me and smirks seeing exactly what's happening under the blanket
i roll my eyes and he turns his attention back to the tv

owen hand rises sending chills through my body
it doesn't seem to bother him

we sit like this for what seems like forever my mind was traveling elsewhere

how will i face mark in school when we need to go back?
who's tyson?
where is owen going tomorrow?
why hasnt he been there in a few months?
should i tell him about shawn? no i shouldn't it doesn't matter to him
why do i get so nervous when he touches me?

"you alright" owen asks, probably noticing me spacing out
"hmm?"
"you just looked confused"
"no i'm ok"
i give him and small smile and he turns his attention back to the TV

soon enough the movie ends
i was leaning more on owen
he didn't mind, clearly, as he pulled me into his arms a while ago

it was around 4:30
jack wendy and dave should be home soon considering jack's holiday party was soon

owen phone starts to ring
when he looks at it he sighs
"what's up?" i ask
"i'll be right back"
i nod and he walks out of the room

shane and cole shrug when i look at them
i was guessing it had to do with the talk the three of them had earlier

i wasn't gonna ask, it wasn't worth it. if they wanted to tell me they would have already

owen came back a few minutes later his mood had clearly dropped
he sat himself a little further away from me than before which i don't know why but it bothered me

he checked his phone every few minutes
his leg was bouncing up and down
for the first time he looked nervous

a few minutes later the front door opens
jack's small footsteps come running towards us
"owen" he yells while smiling
"hey" owen says lifting him onto his lap
"i have to go to a party later" he tells him
"alana and i are going to one too" owen says

i look at him and he winks
i didn't agree to this but i knew we would talk about it later

wendy had called jack over to start getting ready and my attention turns to owen

"party huh?" i question
"party of two, in the basement" he says
"you know i need to go home at some point" i tell him
"i'll drive you back later,  i promise"
i nod and turn back to the TV
i feel the couch divot and see owen had moved closer, finally
"i see again we still don't know what personal space is huh?" i ask
"not a clue" he raises his eyebrows
i rest my hand on his leg causing his body to tense
"personal space" he mimics
i shake my head no and lean back into the couch

"we're heading out to the party!" wendy yells a while later as they head out the door. shane and coke had left a few minutes ago so we were alone.
"looks like we've got the whole place to ourselves" he says
"mhm" i groan half asleep, trying to get more comfortable on the couch
"so, party of two"
"5 more minutes" i tell him
"whatever you say, princess"

i look up at him and roll my eyes
"stop rolling your eyes"
"or what" i challenge
he moves his lips closer to my ear
"i'll give you a reason to roll them" he whispers
i shift my position and try not to let his words get to my head
"so, basement?" he asks
i quickly nod my head

the two of us walk to the basement, i had never been down here but it was just as i expected. a pong table, a bed in the corner, TV on the wall and a fridge.

"how... lovely" i say, this had to be where him shane cole and sometimes mark hung out
"it's a great place to have sex" he tells me
"how many times have you and lexi done it down here" i ask
"only twice, first wasn't that good, with her at least"
"who else has been down here"
"another girl named jade, she moved schools but i'm sure you could top her"
"i guess we'll never know" i shrug
"we could test it out"
"i swear you live off sex" i tell him
"is that a problem?"
i shrug not knowing the answer myself

"so, strip pong?" he asks