Right in Front of You

Chapter Ten

Nearly ten minutes of painful waiting passed, and Aurora emerged onto the front porch. She was wearing her favorite shirt with the black and white elephants on it and a rainbow colored mini skirt. Her hair was in a bun, which was totally unlike her, and she looked like she was dead in comparison to her usual high spirits.
"Hi..." I started.
"This better be good." She replied, hardly looking at me, but glancing at her high tops instead.
"It is." I said. "I promise. Just come with me." I replied. She didn't fully look at me, but she followed. I glanced at my watch. 6:24. We would be early, but it was time. I led Aurora towards Jacob's backyard where he was sitting, relaxing by the pool. He had aviators covering his eyes and as usual, he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"What are we doing?" She asked, pulling away from me. "I don't wanna come meet your new boyfriend that you ditched us for." She growled. I pulled her again, and she loosened up.
"Just trust me. Please." I said.
We were right next to the pool by the time that Jacob noticed us. He stood up and checked us both out without any hesitation. Right off the bat, I could tell that he was paying more attention to Aurora's legs than either of us, but I didn't care. He would be paying attention soon enough.
"Hey ladies," He said, showing off his Crest white teeth.
"Hi, Jacob!" I replied cheerfully. "We should play a game. Ya know...to get to know each other better."
Jacob's eyes lit up, and Aurora looked like she was going to kill me any second. I really hoped that I wouldn't embarrass myself. He motioned for the two of us to come up onto the deck, and we did. Well, I did, and I dragged Aurora along with me. She refused to look at Jacob or I.
"I like where this is going. What are we going to play? I have a bottle inside if we wanna spin it. You wanna?" He asked, raising his eyebrows like he always did.
"We are going to play truth or dare." I said, raising mine right back. Jacob looked overjoyed, and Aurora grabbed my hand and dug her nails into it. I pulled my hand away, trying not to yell in pain.
"What are you doing?" She whispered fiercely.
"Just go with it." I whispered back before turning to face Jacob. His sunny blonde hair was looking as amazing as ever, but for once, I wasn't affected by it at all.
"You can go first." I said to Jacob sweetly.
"I dare Aurora to kiss me." He replied instantly, stepping towards my friend. She raised her arm like she was ready to punch him square in the face, but I stepped in between them.
"Okay, fair, but first - I get to ask you a truth. Why are you such a jerk?" I asked, stepping towards him. Aurora's eyes widen, and she looked disoriented, but also amused.
"Wha-? What are you talking about?"
"Answer the question. Why are you such a terrible person? Why do you think it's okay to treat women like objects? Why do you think it's alright to make fun of people behind their back and then act like you're friends with them? Why do you think it's okay to flirt with every girl that you see, giving them all false hope? Why are you such a jerk?" I asked, getting louder with every question. He took a step backwards towards the pool.
"What are you talking about? I hardly know you." He called defensively. Aurora snickered from behind me, and I knew it was time.
"I know why you're a jerk. Because you're scared. You're scared to actually connect to people and let them in your life. You're terrified of having great friends that would do anything for you...like I do." I looked to Aurora, and her face softened into a smile. "You think you're above the idea of really getting to know people, and that's why you're going to die alone. Just like your phone."
"What are you talking about?" He asked. I pulled his phone from my pocket, and before he could do anything, I chucked it into his pool. It floated for a moment, then sank to the bottom. Aurora gasped, and I wiped my hands victoriously.
"What is wrong with you?" He screamed angrily, racing towards the side of the pool. "Pastel, get in there, and get my phone now. These khakis are brand new."
"First of all, I know that you know my name. You pretend not to know it, because you think you're the coolest guy in the world. And second of all..."
At this point, Aurora was right next to me. I gave her a look, and she nodded understandingly.
"Shall we?" I asked.
"We shall." She replied.
Then Aurora and I grabbed each side of Jacob and with a surprising amount of force - we shoved him backwards into the water. Once he was completely submerged, we high fived and jumped down from the deck, making our way back to my house. He was calling after us, using extremely inappropriate words, but we didn't even look back. We didn't need to. He was a part of my past now, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
The two of us broke out into a sprint and bounded through my back door and into my room. Once we were safely inside, we collapsed on my bed - side by side - panting loudly. The two of us were laughing way too hard, and I could barely breathe. After we finally got our laughter under control, I looked at Aurora. I opened my mouth to say something, but she jumped in first.
"I'm sorry." She said, still smiling. "I shouldn't have freaked out on you like I did. I guess I was just really scared of this Jacob guy breaking your heart."
"No," I cut in. "You were right, and I was wrong. I was so stupid. I shouldn't have blown you guys off like that. It wasn't right of me."
"This summer has been the best summer of my life, and it's only June 29th." I continued. "You guys have helped me overcome so many of my stupid fears, and I'm so thankful that we met. I've never had friends like you guys, and I couldn't stand it if I lost you."
Aurora gave me a puppy look, and we hugged. It felt good to have one of my best friends back. Now, I just needed Avery back. Oh my gosh...Avery.
"And Aurora?" I asked quietly. She leaned forward, waiting for me to speak. "I think I'm in love with-"
"I know." She cut me off. "He is too."
"Is it too late?" I asked, nervous for the answer.
"Nope. He's been a wreck without you for the last twenty hours. Why don't you go talk to him now? I think he's home from the store." She tried hopefully.
"I have a better idea. Thanks though. Do you wanna hangout for a little bit and watch a movie or something?" I asked her.
"I actually have some stuff to do if that's okay with you. How about we do breakfast tomorrow though?" She rose to her feet and ran her fingers over her skirt, smoothing it out.
"Sounds good. I'll see you then." I smiled, and Aurora walked out. As soon as she was gone, Grams walked in, holding the house phone.
"Your mother wants to talk!" She said, handing me the phone. I took it without whining. I was actually excited to talk to my mom for once.
"Hey, mom!" I answered happily.
"Hi, dear! How are you? I heard that you are a beauty pageant queen now." She sounded pretty happy with me considering that I quit dance not too long ago.
"I'm good, and yeah, I guess you could say that. I need advice."
"Oh, you know how much I loved giving advice! Is it a boy?" She asked excitedly.
I paused for a moment, and Grams looked at me like she was waiting for me to say it. Her eyes lifted up in joy, and I let the words sort of tumble out of my mouth. Once they were out, I couldn't take them back, but I was ready to admit it to myself and my family.
"I think I'm in love with Avery, our new neighbor." I said slowly. Grams did a victory dance, and my mother began gushing loudly. I could hear Hank's voice in the background asking questions, and I tried to ignore it.
"That's so sweet, darling! But what about that Jacob character that you used to always go on about?" She asked.
"He didn't turn out to be who I thought he was. Turns out he was a total jerk."
"Most boys are, honey. You just gotta find the right ones. What are you going to do about Avery?" She coughed.
"I guess I should probably tell him, huh?" I laughed, and Grams gave me an energetic thumbs up. I motioned for her to quiet down playfully, and she walked to the kitchen slowly. She returned a moment later with the pizza rolls, and I plopped one into my mouth, finally noticing how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten all day!
"Absolutely. Here, Hank wants to tell you something. Don't hang up." She said in a stern voice. I sighed, but stayed on the line.
"Hello Paisley Daisy!" He shouted. I hated when he called me that. He had been doing it since he started dating my mother about eight months ago. He called me Paisley Daisy, and I called him Hank the Fake. His nickname for me didn't rhyme perfectly, so I made sure that mine for him didn't either.
"Hi, Hank." I replied robotically.
"This boy sounds very special. When I first met your mother, I thought I was in love with someone else, but as soon as she opened her mouth, I knew that she was the one. Don't lose your one person while counting all of the cute boys in the world. Go get him." He said. I found myself smiling into the receiver. Not because I suddenly had a miraculous connection with Hank - I didn't. But because talking about Avery made me feel so wonderful.
"Thanks Hank. I will. Enjoy the rest of your trip." Click. I handed the phone to Grandma and retreated to my room before she could stop me. It was eight o'clock now and slowly becoming dark. I had to wait until the perfect time to go find Avery.
I waited patiently then once the sun had completely set and the moon was rising into the sky, I snuck out of my window. It was harder than I expected, and I hit the ground with a thud. Technically, I probably could've asked Grams and she would have said yes, but I wanted to cross this off of the list. Sneak out of my house - check.
I snuck towards the Flynn house carefully. I almost felt like I was a secret spy. 'Maybe I should sneak out more!' I thought to myself, tiptoeing through my front yard. I heard a dog bark in the distance, and I changed my mind. Nope. I should not sneak out more. I grabbed Grams' ladder from the open garage and carefully carried it to where Avery's window was. I set it up slowly and began to climb. My limbs shook intensely, but it was more adrenaline than fear this time. I could fall and break my leg any moment, but I could also lose Avery, and that was much more terrifying.
Once I was at the peak of the ladder, I looked down. My stomach did a somersault, and for a second, I thought I was going to pass out. Thankfully, I got my balance back. I knocked on the window quietly and seconds later, Avery appeared. His hair was a mess, and he was wearing pajama pants and no shirt, but I didn't care.
"Hi." I said nonchalantly.
"Paisley?" He asked, squinting. He rubbed his eyes like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Come on in."
He offered me his hand, and I took it, letting him lead me into his room. Once we were in, we sat on his bed together in silence.
"I'm so sorry." I said.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I know what it's like to be under pressure." He nodded, messing with the strings on his pajamas. I hadn't noticed until now, but Avery did have a decent looking body. He didn't have like an eight pack or anything, but he was definitely fit.
"No, stop being nice to me." I sighed. "I don't deserve it. I ditched you for some guy that didn't even like me."
"He didn't? I'm sorry." Avery said regretfully. He almost looked as if he pitied me. After all of the awful things that I did to him, he felt bad for me. I rose to my feet quickly and walked over to the desk that sat in the corner of Avery's small room. I picked up a pair of scissors and cut the woven bracelet off of my wrist. Avery lunged towards me, but it was too late.
"What are you doing?!" He asked. "Now your wish won't come true!"
"It turns out that I didn't really want what I wished for." I explained, setting down the scissors and taking a step towards him. "I wanted something else."
"Did you get it?" He asked, looking deep into my eyes. I let a small smile make its way onto my face then I did something crazy.
I, Paisley Jean, leaned forward and kissed Avery Flynn. And it was absolutely amazing. Avery's eyes snapped open after I kissed him, and he grabbed the scissors.
"My wish just came true, so I won't be needing this." He cut the bracelet off and handed it to me. I put it in my pocket slowly, unable to take my eyes away from Avery.
"But Aurora told me that you got your bracelet on the night that you moved here. How could you wish for me if you didn't even know me?" I asked, sitting back onto his bed. I wanted to kiss him again. His lips looked so soft.
"I wished for someone special. Someone that I could connect with on an amazing level. As soon as I met you, I knew that it was you all along." He smiled, and my insides melted.
"Do you want to go sit on the roof?" He asked.
"We might kill ourselves on that ladder." I confessed. "I was terrified on the way up."
"Then let's go watch a movie downstairs. It can be our first date." He winked and took my hand. I didn't watch a minute of the horror movie that we watched that night. I only watched Avery and his galaxy-filled eyes. I finally believed in soul mates, because I had found mine.