Lars and Sadie

Chapter Five

Sadie's POV

The man sitting in front of me can't be Ronaldo, but it had to be at the same time. His hair was in a bun, but his curls were still untamable. He's somehow gotten taller, and he had a beard. He seemed a lot more confident in himself too, which was a first. I tried my hardest to keep in touch with Ronaldo when I moved away but after about a year we just grew apart. 

It's good to see him again.

Ronaldo and I sit on the couch while Lars cleans up breakfast in the kitchen. "It's really good to see you again, Ronaldo." I say to him, unable to contain my excitement. "How have you been? What's new?"
"Well, good! I'm going to community college right now, and I'm excelling in all of my classes- no surprises there." He chuckles cockily. "Oh, me and Jenny have been dating for two years now!"
"What!? That's amazing congratulations!" I say, feeling so happy for them. In all honesty, I never thought they were going to make it, since they were so drastically different from one another.
"Yeah, and we've been living together for...God, almost a year now as well. It's great. So, how long are you in town for?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I know I'm going to be here the winter break, and then one semester. My moms surgery is in two weeks, so I just thought being here for her surgery and her healing process would be best." Ronaldo nods, agreeing. He glances over my shoulder, and I turn around to see what he's looking at. Lars is watching us from the kitchen, but ducks back away when I turn around.
"So...are you and him?" He asks me, finally ripping off that Band-Aid. I shake my head no,
"I just don't want to jump in to that so quickly, you know?"

"When you first moved in to your dorm you called me every day for a month crying about missing him." I feel myself getting embarrassed, shielding my eyes.
"God, don't remind me." Rubbing my eyes, my dirty mind thinks of me and Lars. 
"You okay, Sadie?" He whispers to me, and I can't just lie to him. I lean forward, and whisper as softly as I can, "We almost had a...moment last night" Ronaldo lets out a quiet gasp, and I try and shush him quiet before he got any louder. "But nothing happened! As far as we both know we just got back here and passed out." He still gives me a concerned expression, "And it's like...ever since I woke up I keep thinking of him in...a different way." I feel myself get goosebumps.
"Are you going to tell him that?" Ronaldo asks,
"I mean, maybe. The worst thing he could do is laugh." Knowing Lars, he would probably think I was joking.

I turn back around, and see Lars has disappeared from the kitchen. "Ronaldo, I'm not even sure this is really me wanting to go through with this. I just got back from college, and I just...don't know. I don't want to get hurt again." I feel like I'm trying to deny and avoid the inevitable.
"I really don't blame you," He responds, and I continue
"Last night I uncontrollably cried about our breakup, and apologized for hurting him." Ronaldo looks at me, semi-shocked, but also not surprised. 
"Sadie, if you are gonna do something, you might as well do it sooner rather than later." He isn't wrong. That's how I usually go about 'solving my problems'. Suddenly, his phone buzzes loudly from his pocket. He fishes for it, and his expression becomes soft. It buzzes once more, and he now has an unsure expression. "How about this," he says, looking up at me and adjusting his glasses. "Tonight, Jenny and I take you two out to the boardwalk? Like a welcome home celebration. It'll be fun, plus you get to see Jenny again." I feel my face begin to cringe, knowing we weren't that great towards each other back in the day.
"I don't know-"
"No need to decide, we're doing it." Ronaldo stands, "How about we meet at the Funland Arcade tonight, okay? At seven o'clock." He adjusts his glasses once more before checking his watch. "I'm gonna head out now, Jenny's probably wanting that donut she asked me to get." I stand,
"But the shop is closed." He chuckles, looking at me,
"Do you really think he remembered to lock the door?" As he leaves, I begin to wonder where Lars had gone.

Where did he even go?

I listen carefully, and don't hear him upstairs. I lean to the side, and don't see him in the kitchen. So, I walk to the kitchen and spot the door that leads to the backyard. From the window in the door, I see him sitting out there. Heading to the door, I open it and take a step out. The backyard isn't the best kept backyard but I didn't expect him to properly take care of it anyway. Looking up, I see Lars sitting crisscross in a lawn chair, and holding a cigarette in his hand. I feel disgust take over me.

Lars POV

"What the hell are you doing?" She asks me, and I feel confused. I look around, up and down.
"What?"
"You smoke now?" I glance at the half smoked cigarette in my hand.
"Uh...yeah?"
"God."
"What?" I say, realizing she's actually mad at me for smoking.
"It's just that it's such a gross habit. And, I just...it's so bad for you." She isn't wrong, but I've been smoking since I was nineteen. But for her sake, I put the cigarette in the ashtray and twist it, making sure it's out.
"There, is that better?" She rolls her eyes and walks towards me, making sure she doesn't cut her feet on my messed up deck boards. She takes the other lawn chair and sits down. We sit in silence, as the wind sends chills up our spines. But we don't leave, we just continue sitting.

"By the way," She says, not looking at me, "Ronaldo is making us go out tonight with him and Jenny. We have to meet at Funland Arcade at seven o'clock."

Seriously?

I can't help but groan.

Is this like a double date or something?

"I know, that's what I said," She chuckles, "but he insisted. It couldn't be that bad...right?"
"Well, it's Ronaldo. But if Jenny is coming we'll be fine."
"So we are going?" She asks, almost shocked that I'm complying. I nod,
"Yeah, I guess. But I'm not getting dressy."
"That's fair, I wasn't going to make you." We continue to sit outside, feeling our toes get cold. 

At least the cigarette was keeping me warm.

"Hey Lars?" Sadie asks me, looking at me.
"Yeah?" She doesn't break the eye contact, which concerns me a bit.
"About last night...what if we, ya know..." She seemed to be getting flustered. "Kissed?" My head instantly pictures the two of us, plastered and kissing. I hold her close to me, running my hands all over her body. I clear my throat, and cross my legs more.
"I..." I'm at a loss for words, just trying to shut up my brain. "What about it?"
"You know. What if we did? What if we did more than that?" I feel a blush growing on my face. My face turns away from her and I shrug.
"I dunno."

I hadn't thought about Sadie so intimately in so long...

"Well, if we did," She says, getting up, "I wouldn't have been mad about it." Her response shocks me and I turn to look at her. As she smirks mischievously, I realize she's getting back at me from my cheeky remark earlier. Gently I kick her with my foot.
"Shut up." My response felt so childish and girly.

Why did I do that?

I sit up straight, pulling my legs towards myself again. Sadie walks past me about to head back inside. "Do you want me to leave these clothes here?" I look at her, and remember I helped her change late last night. I shake my head no,
"Nah, you're good." She smiles,
"Then I'll see you tonight, Lars. Bye." She closes the door and left me alone outside. But I wasn't annoyed, it let me have time to think.

What if we DID do something last night.

I wouldn't have been mad about it either, but...

I shake my head, starting to get too into it. I stand up, fishing in my pockets. I grab my pack of cigarettes, and stare at them blankly. Without a second thought, I toss them on the table, almost throwing them into the ashtray.

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