Taking Chances (Rewritten Version)

Chapter Nine

"Strange"

Brielle

                  

"Remember that club we went to the other day?" I asked Claire, who sat with a small salad in front of her. Lately she'd been feeling like she needed to eat healthier to lose weight, even if she was stick thin. Harry and I found ourselves spending nearly half an hour every day trying to convince her she didn't need to lose any weight. Anything she needed to lose was her lack of confidence in herself.

Every time she got one, I'd glare at it as if it had killed someone.

"Yeah?"

I perked up, my mind finally drifting from her worries of her body toward the club she had lied to me about. I had to admit, even though she lied, I still had loads of fun.

"I want to go back."

She looked up at me, eyebrows raised. "Really?"

Her opinion of the club wasn't all that optimistic. She'd disappeared to find Harry, of course, who apparently called her to tell her he wanted her to be there. And it was too late to tell me that Nate was there. But they didn't pay any attention to me. The only good thing about that club was the fact that she had some fun with Harry.

She stared at me curiously, a small grin curving on her lips. "You want to see if Austin  will be there, don't you?"

I felt my cheeks flame, but I pretended as if I hadn't noticed it and I fought my smile.

"No."

She laughed in disbelief, still staring at me. She obviously didn't believe me, which I didn't blame her for.

I huffed in defeat. "He hasn't talked to me since that night, and no one forgets a dance with Austin  Mac. It's like it never happened to the world, but it's etched in my brain as if it happens every night."

"He's probably just busy. The moment he came home, he got a huge party going - you know that." I watched as she dropped her gaze back to her salad, clearly not that interested.

"So he's busy partying? Is that what you're saying?"

Rolling her eyes, she glanced back up at me. "He's busy, Bri. Why does it matter? Didn't you give him your number?"

"No," I bluntly stated, squinting at her. Usually she remembered the things I told her... why didn't she remember me not mentioning giving him my number?

"Oh... well I'm sure he's just got a lot of things to do. Don't take it personally."

An idea popped into my head, and I leaned forward, catching her attention one more time.

"Austin is Harry's roommate, right? Can you ask Harry what he's been up to?"

"Bri, why are you so distraught on knowing about him?"

"Because I'm interested," I mumbled. "And I don't remember the last time a girl being interested in a guy was a problem."

"It's not... but you're so hell bent on him that you don't see everything around you."

"What is there around me to see?" I retorted, a little confused. Since when has an attraction of mine a problem for her? What did she see that I didn't?

Instead of a stable answer, she packed up her lunch and tossed it to the trash, ignoring my questioning glance. She grabbed her phone and stared at the screen for a second before she looked back up at me.

"I've got to go. I'll see you after exams, yeah?"

I didn't get to reply, because she left right then. I sat in pure bewilderment, my thoughts running wildly as I tried to think of why she was upset with me about my attraction to Austin . But try as I might, I couldn't understand why.