Oh, Heather

Chapter Eight

It was finally Wednesday, which meant it was finally college day.

“I’m so excited!” Miley shrieked as they walked into the auditorium.
“Miley calm down, people are staring.” Leo said, resting his hand on her shoulder.
“Sorry,” She mumbled.

They walked in, looking at the wide range of colleges. Ranging from Ivy leagues to trade schools, which none of the three knew where a part of this, Miley immediately walked to the short line that formed in front of the University Of Nebraska, while Leo and Heather stood near the entrance to the auditorium.

“Do you plan on doing anything for college Heather?”
“I don’t think I wanna go, to be honest. Do you?” 
“I might do an online program if anything, but I don’t really want to actually go.”
“That’s fair.”

Leo and Heather watched the seniors walk in, they talked about their opinions on the people, trying to fix the uncomfortable cloud of silence that kept creeping onto their conversation. Though, most of the time, they were staring at the people they shouldn't be. For Leo, it was Oliver, the guy who changed his life, and not for the better. The guy that made him worry about trusting another man, the guy who he kept going back to, no matter the circumstance. But it wasn’t with a hope of a better romantic relationship, it was the look of finally realizing that he needed to move on. And for Heather, it was Jacklyn, the girl who made fun of her friends and continued to be a jerk to them. The girl who caused an insane amount of butterflies in her stomach, even when she gave her judgment looks or directly made fun of her, they wouldn’t go away.

“Can I tell you something Heather? But can you promise not to tell Miley?” He asked, checking her progress through the line.
“Sure. What’s up?” She replied hesitantly.
“You know what happened between me and Oliver,”
“And I’ve finally moved on.” 
“That’s great, why wouldn’t I tell her that?” Heather laughed.
“That part is fine, it’s the next part that I hesitate to tell her.”
“Okay?”
“I have a boyfriend, and she isn’t going to approve of this one anymore than she would have the last.” He said, glancing at Miley another time.
“Get to the point Leo.” Heather said impatiently.
“It’s Vance Carter.” 
“The quarterback?!” She asked.

He punched her arm slightly, telling her to be quieter with her reply.

“Sorry,” She mumbled.
“But yes, him.”

Vance was just over 6’0 tall and had the build of a basketball player. Everyone had always told him to swap sports, but he never did. He was never homophobic and as far as Heather was aware he hadn’t done anything terrible towards Leo. Miley didn’t like Vance because he was popular, and did anything for more popularity. Leo seemed to trust him, they both knew Miley wouldn’t change her opinions on him, but they both hoped she would at least be civil.

“Haven’t you guys only been friends for like, a week? And Is he gonna start hanging out with us?”
“Well, that’s when he started talking to me in front of people, we’ve been friends since last year.”
“And about the hanging out part, I’m not sure. I doubt it, but if he does please be nice.”
“I will, it’s Miley you’ll have to tell that to.” 
“Yeah.”
“What about his fangirls? What is he gonna do about them?”
“I don’t know.” 

Just as they finished their conversation, Miley walked over to them.

“They gave me this brochure. And guess what?” Miley said, a large smile plastered on her face.
“What?” Heather replied.
“They said I had all of the qualities they were looking for and I had a high chance of getting in, if I chose to apply.” 
“So basically, you're getting in?” Leo smiled.
“Yep!” 

They congratulated her and walked out of the auditorium, making their way to lunch. They sat down at the table that they had been sitting at all year. Fortunately, Oliver didn’t sit with them. Instead, Vance did, sitting by Leo. Heather didn’t think that he would, considering that they weren’t exactly popular. 

“Hey Leo.” He smiled.
“Hi Vance. Have you met my friends?” He asked.
“I’ve met Miley, but I don’t think I’ve met her.” He replied, pointing at Heather.
“I’m Heather.” She said.
“Nice to meet you Heather.” 
“Nice to meet you as well.”

The rest of lunch was silent, only a few comments made here and there. Miley seemed to adjust to Vance. Though she wasn’t aware of Leo and Vance’s relationship, Leo thought it would be best for her to adapt to their friendship first. As the next few days went by, leading up to the weekend, Vance began hanging out with them more and more. They had a plan to meet at the park on Saturday, that way Leo could tell Miley. Vance was supposed to come by after practice so he could help tell her. When Saturday came around, Leo and Heather got there earlier so they could talk about what to do.

“I think you should wait until he gets here. That way you can tell her together.” She said.
“But what if he doesn’t show?” 
“Then you can tell her before she leaves.” 
“What if she doesn’t like it and starts being a jerk to him?”
“There’s a chance that that happens, but think positive things instead.”
“Okay.”

That sat in silence as they waited for Miley, and when she finally showed she had an annoyed look on her face.

“What’s up?” Heather asked, making space for her to sit.
“Oliver’s here. He was being nice to me.” 
“Why the hell is he here?” 
“I’m not sure, but he didn’t look too happy to see me.” 
“Let’s just try and ignore him.” Leo suggested.
“That’s a lot harder than it sounds.” Heather replied.
“Especially since I’m pretty sure he saw where I sat down.”
“Oh,” Heather replied.
“If he talks, we pretend he isn’t there. Especially when Vance gets here.” Leo stated.
“I doubt he’ll let that happen like, ever.”
“Vance is supposed to be here? Did you say he was coming?” Miley added.
“Yes Miley, I did. But he has to finish practice first.”
“That ends when?” 
“3:00. So he should be here shortly.”
“What do you guys wanna do till then?”

Just as Leo started to suggest an idea, Vance came over to them.

“Sorry I’m a little late, practice took longer than I expected and I had to take a shower.” 

“It’s fine.” Leo replied.

Vance made conversation, nervously glancing at Heather every now and then, as if he was waiting for her to say it. She moved back a bit, re-situating herself on the seat. She glanced through the table, at Leo and Vance’s locked hands. She smiled at them, continuing to engage in the conversation.

“Miley, we have something to say.” Vance said, looking nervously at Heather again.
“Yeah?” She smiled.
“Me and Leo are dating.” He hesitated.
“I know.” She smiled.

She looked at the worried glances they exchanged with each other and softly smiled at the two.

“Oh, I don’t care, It’s fine. You just randomly started hanging out with us and were like, always around Leo. So I kind of guessed.” 
“Was it that obvious?” Vance joked.
“I wouldn’t say it’s obvious, you’d have to be paying attention to everything the two of you do.”
“Wanna go play on the playground now?”
“Miley, why do you always want to do that? We’re almost adults.” Heather said.
“Exactly. Almost, not are.” 

Miley smiled proudly as she hopped off the seat, rushing towards the playground. The remaining three laughed as they walked toward the playground. Unlike last time, they decided to do more than just swing. They slid down the slides, ran along the obstacle course, and did whatever else Miley was doing in the process. They all laughed as they finished playing and walked off home. Miley kept nervously checking behind them, fortunately however, it seemed that Oliver was going to leave them alone, at least for now.
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Sorry for the late update, my internet was down!
Hope you're enjoying this so far <3