Times running out (a Bret Von Dehl love story)

Chapter 6

Phoenix's Point of View:

Our set was over, and Bret's had yet to begin. We had agreed to meet by the vans tent.

I ran over there, a grin on my face.

"BRET!" I called out.

He turned to me and smiled the stupidest cute little smile.

"Hello miss Phoenix Lynn." he said in an exaggerated and drawn out tone.

"Never call me that again Von Dehl." I laughed.

"Hello Phoenix." He corrected himself.

I swear to god if he weren't Naomi's Ex I'd ask him out right here and now. Something about the way he looked at me just made me so happy!

We laughed and talked like the last time we hung out and it was pure bliss.

hanging out with Bret was so simple, he was just Bret and I was just Phoenix. At that moment we weren't performers, we were just... us. I liked us.

Suddenly things got quiet, he looked at me dead in the eye.

"So I know about Naomi..." he said rather flatly.

My heart almost shattered from my chest.

Why did he care? Why bring it up now when we were having such a nice time? how does he feel about Naomi now?

All the questions swirling inside me made me wanna be sick.

"Oh?"

Is that REALLY how you chose to reply Phoenix?!

"Yeah." he said quietly. "Just so you know, I don't really care."

A wave of relief washed over me.

"Oh good! because me and the girls, Naomi excluded, had to come up with this plan so the two of you wouldn't cross paths, incase Naomi did something stupid, I was worried about how you'd see me..."

I saw something flash in Bret's eyes. Pain.
Maybe it was because he thought the nice time we had together was all planned, or maybe it was my feeling the need to impress him, maybe it was the sheer mention of Naomi's name.

But all I wanted at that moment was to take away the pain behind his handsome hazel eyes and make whatever it was all better.

As I buried myself in thought, he hugged me.

"Don't worry about impressing me, so far I'm really liking the real you, and knowing that you ever doubted your loveliness makes me sad." he whispered.

Right then and there, alarms should have gone off in my head. I should have thought; NOPE! NOPE! UH UH! NAOMI, REMEMBER? THE PLAAAAN!

But no alarms actually DID go off. I did not give a single shit about what Naomi thought at this stage.

Bret was sweet and smart and funny and amazing and dammit I didn't care if I had to write an essay on how I felt about him to gain her approval.

I was GOING to enjoy Bret Von Dehl's embrace, like it or not.

Fuck, I thought. I'm doing exactly what I told myself not to do, I am falling in love with Bret Von Dehl.

But here's the thing. I didn't care, not really. Naomi always got all the guys. She was pretty and smart and, okay, manipulative enough to get her own way.

Finally, for the first time since my freshman year in high school, I had met someone I really truly felt I could be in love with.

It just so happened that he was one of the very many guys Naomi had been with, and it just so happened he was the one she still loved.

At that moment, my only thoughts were as follows:

-Oh fucking well
-To fucking bad
-Get the fuck over it.