Love Your Neighbour

Chapter 22

Song: Somebody To You by the Vamps.

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"How could you not have told me this before?" I virtually screamed at Louis as he stared at me with wide eyes.
"I, er..."
"All I ever wanted was to be somebody to Mike, and you're telling me that I actually have been ALL THIS TIME!" I tried to calm down.
"He told me not to say..."
"Give me your phone please." I interruptedhim, holding out my hand.
"Wha...?" He handed it to me as I stood up, towering over him on the sofa. I was surprised he had given it to me.
"Is this some kind of punishment, seriously, you're turning into mum. Give it back, oh, why did I do that?" He swore, burying his head in the pillow next to him.
"I just need to call someone." I said, smiling slightly.
"No, no! Lauren, be rational, think it through. Don't..." I was already unlocking his phone. People should really have stopped using their birthdays as their pass codes...
"Lauren! Lauren..." Louis chased me around the house as I desperately tried to find Mike's number.
"You wouldn't be able to find it anyway." Louis shouted from the living room.
I searched through the contacts but I couldn't find a Mike anywhere.
"Do you have him under another name?" I shouted at Louis. I didn't get an answer.
I stopped when I got to 'M' again.
Michael. Bingo.
I looked around cautiously to see if there was anyone in the room before pressing the call button.
It rang three times.
"Hello?" It wasn't Mike.
"Hello?"
"Louis? This is supposed to be Louis, right. Mike's in the shower, sorry. Hello? Anyone there?" I almost dropped the phone when I heard whose voice it was.
"Christina?" I choked out.
"Aha. Sorry, Mike's not here right now, he'll never be there, for you. I'm just waiting for him, on his BED." She emphasised the 'bed' and I felt anger fill my body.
"You wish." I spat, before ending the call, full of fury.

I wanted to smash the phone's screen, then take out the memory card and blend it in the blender, then stab the phone with a pair of scissors and cut the plastic cover that said something about a rock band into shreds, then finally throw the phone into the sink and pour boiling water onto it; that was how angry I was.

"Phone back." Louis held out his hand, walking into the room.
"Hmph." I stuck it in his hand, before stomping up the stairs and collapsing onto my bed, picking up my phone and texting Angela. I told her what had happened. I needed a pessimistic person right then. Tara and Celine were way too upbeat.

Angela had always been slightly against my relationship with Mike, so I knew she would understand.

I just didn't get why Christina hated me so much, I suppose she might have known that Mike liked me. I was probably the blind one in the situation. How had I not noticed that he liked me in the last few years? I had barely seen him, let alone talked to him. He was just the boy next-door to me, and a stuck-up jerk for four years or so. I wasn't sure my opinion had changed to be honest. If I ever talked to Mike again, I was going to be so annoyed at him...

Why was he still letting Christina play with him, when he didn't really like her?

I decided to call Christina on my phone, I hadn't deleted her number when we fell out.

"Why are you calling me?" It was the first thing that she said when she picked up the phone.
"I think we need to talk. Christina, the hating has to stop. Can't we just at least be acquaintances, now?" I pleaded with her.
"Why would you want that? And why would I? You have everything I don't have. You have everything you want: a loving family, no money problems, an amazing boyfriend, and perfect friends." She sniffled, momentarily pausing before going on.
"That is everything,right?" She laughed, surprising me.
"Don't be ridiculous. I don't have everything, Mike is about to move away, I haven't seen my friends in ages, so I'm probably not a very good friend, and I barely see my dad. You know that, Christina." My dad was always away, working, and I always missed him. My mum was always there, though.

Christina had had an abusive father, her mum was nice, but always withdrawn from society, I had barely ever seen her. I don't think they had a good relationship. I knew for a fact that Christina and her mum had had a tough time earlier on, and had nearly lost their house several times.
"Christina, it's time to move on from Mike, and our feud. It's not worth it."
"Is he not worth it?" She questioned me.
"He means a lot to me, but I don't think I can see a future with him." I said, my voice breaking on the 'him'. I felt myself on the verge of tears and coughed to distract myself.
"Wow, we're getting really philosophical here, so I'll say something deep: I always liked him, but he always refused me. Do you know how it feels to like someone and know they don't like you? I only wanted to be somebody to him, at least for him to like me even the tiniest bit..." She whispered through the phone, like it pained her.
"Well, that was what I thought too for so long." I breathed out. It felt good to finally establish what what was going on.