Because of Samantha | Original Novel

15 - Because of Chances

I woke up with throbbing eyes and a sore throat. The bonfire smoke must've gotten to me. I sigh, rubbing my eyes and sitting up in my warm bed. Outside, it was terribly windy, and overcast too. A storm must be rolling in.

My cell phone had six messages glowing on the screen, all of which are from Aaron. He texted me to call when I wake up, then began asking these strange poll questions he must've found in a magazine or something. Even if they were annoying, I was glad Aaron was back.

I quickly text the reply saying that I'm awake, and for him to just come over already. Moments later, his answer arrived saying these exact words, "Already done."

Puzzled, I drag myself out of bed and trundle downstairs, where surely enough, Aaron was talking to mom and Dennis in the front room. I stop at the bottom of the stairs, and Aaron doesn't even so much as flinch.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he smirks.

"Ah, shut up," I grumble. I'm not exactly a, well, morning person. "Can't I have some breakfast first?"

"You cannot!" Aaron declares. "For I am taking you to a breakfast house in our cute Malibu town! I suggest you get dressed, though. I'll be out getting the car ready!"

When he leaves, mom was smirking at me. "You know, Sam, he seems to have become more charming over the past two days."

I just roll my eyes and head upstairs to get dressed.

***

Mom, I hate to admit it, was right. Aaron was being extra flirtatious today, and it was becoming quite awkward. All I could do is nod at whatever he was saying, blushing or cursing the day he picked up these new ways of whooing girls.

When did things change so much?

"Aaron, you're not acting like yourself," I state factually. "You're acting like you're some stud or something, y'know? What happened to just hanging out?"

Aaron sighs, not taking his eyes off the road in the slightest.

"Sorry, Sam. I'll calm down a bit."

"Good," I say sharply, then turn to look out the window. It was beginning to drizzle. The first storm of the year. I always loved it when it got rainy around here. "So, did you make the football tryouts?"

Aaron sighs dejectedly.

"No. I didn't. That's why the pep assembly's gonna suck on Monday, cause I'm not gonna be a part of it. I guess I could kiss any chances I had with Tracy goodbye."

I grunt in annoyance. Tracy. I still had this bitter spot when I heard about her. She's the one who made Aaron ditch, after all. I'm sure she thinks she has top priority! But, then again, Aaron allowed it to happen. Suddenly, I'm filled up with anger.

"You look like you're gonna murder someone," Aaron says blandly, pulling into the parking lot of a breakfast house.

"I do not," I argue, unbuckling my seat belt and standing in the parking lot. I scurry to keep up with Aaron's lanky-legged strides. "I just think that you should be doing sports because you want to, not because of some girl."

"Can it Remington," Aaron warns.

We walk inside of the breakfast house and are immediately seated at a table by the window. We order two hot chocolates to drink. The dreary weather only set us in the hot chocolate mood, after all. It was quiet business here, but it sure was cozy.

"Aaron, do you remember that movie we used to watch when we were kids? Lucas?" I recall, thinking back on our childhood and how we would watch it day, after day, after day. You would think that a seven year old kid's hero would be someone like Hilary Duff back in those days, but mine was Winona Ryder. Boy, I thought she was just gorgeous.

"How could I forget it?" Aaron chuckles. "It was on HBO the other day and I ended up watching the whole thing, thinking about you and I watching that movie at sleepovers when we were, like, really young and stuff."

"Remember how Lucas wanted to impress a cheerleader, so he tried for the team and almost died?" I continue.

"Oh, shut up," Aaron grumbles.

The waitress returns asking for our menus. I order a stack of pancakes, and Aaron gets the same thing. When she walks off, Aaron glances out the window. The rain was coming down hard - painting the most beautifully transparent picture you ever could see.

"I'm just saying. Don't lose yourself in the pressure, Aaron," I plead quietly. "Popularity, as Lucas would say, is superficial when they aren't even your true friends."

"I have real friends," Aaron says uncertainly. "Like I said, I've been under 'the pressure' for the last couple of days. What makes you think I'd ever want to return to that?"

"Some people let it go to their heads," I say, thinking of Kim and what happened to her. "Aaron, what I'm saying is, don't change too much."

Aaron scoffs impatiently, then stares out the window again. I was getting frustrated at the fact that he wasn't making eye contact with me, but I bite my tongue. There, again. I realize that I simply cannot talk to anybody about anything. What I want to say is don't change, don't leave me, don't forget about me because you met someone better. Don't forget about twelve years worth of friendship to be with a girl you don't even know that well.

Don't ditch me.

Don't make me feel inferior.

Don't go out for the team if you're not going to be truly happy, because seeing you doing something you don't love is going to kill me.

But instead, we sit here in smoldering silence, and end up taking our breakfast home to-go.

***

Okay, I feel like this chapter is slightly better than the last two or three. I've been so frustrated with my writing, but a good night's sleep last night got me writing sensibly and rationally again. I'll be using some pre-written chapters for these next couple or so, I think. That way, it'll be much better until I recover from this awful writer's block.

Thanks for reading.