In the Moment//Ed Sheeran

F.I.V.E

Ed

Mid June, 2007

I left Jessie's house just in time to see Beth tossing her bowl of bean dip out of the window. The bowl fractured against the pavement and there was a huge splatter of bean dip and glass fragments on the ground. It was odd and destructive, and I couldn't help but smile at et boldness

I stood with my hands in my pockets, not only feeling like shit, but feeling rejected. This whole time I thought that she liked me, but little did I know that she was telling Mina that she like Jessie. Everyone liked Jessie. Hell, I wasn't going to bring him down for it, we were best friends, so even I liked Jessie.

I was so hung up over the fact that she kissed me on the cheek that I didn't even stop to think about the possibilities of her actually liking Jessie. That was what Mina said the night of the bonfire and Beth did get overly emotional about. I was just denying the signs.

I walked Mina home that night, fuming angry that she would even step between Jessie and Beth the way she did, especially when she knew that Darlene and Jessie were together. I felt overprotective over Beth, it was only natural after having spent so much time with her. Mina was suppose to look out for Beth, not make her life even harder.

I walked Mina up to her door, and she tried to kiss me, but I pulled away, removing her arms from my body. "What?" She demanded. "Are you still mad about earlier?"

"Yes! Mina, she threw her bowl of bean dip out the window!"

"She does weird things. Is that my fault?" She crossed her arms.

"You're selfish. She's your cousin."

"Yeah, she's my cousin! That doesn't mean I'm obligated to be her friend! She doesn't even try to like me, Ed. And I thought that Jessie and Darlene were never getting back together again."

"You haven't even tried to like her." I counter attacked.

"Oh, you would say that. Seeing as you're spending every day in her backyard."

"Her mom is paying me to help her. God, you know what, if you don't trust me, we're finished."

The words dropped on the both of us like iron. Finished. It wasn't taking a break or taking some time apart. I said finished, and I honestly meant it. Mina's eyes watered and she looked at the ground. "Whatever." She unlocked her door and slammed it in my face. The noise hurt my ears, but I didn't care. I walked the steps towards my house.

~

The next day, I went to Beth's house to work on the garden with her. Her dad opened up the door. "Hey son. Beth's up in her room. I'll go get her. You can get yourself something to drink and head out to the backyard."

I nodded. I didn't get anything to drink, but I went to the backyard. We were almost done laying all of the dirt, and a shipment of grass was suppose to be coming in a few days. Pots of flowers were lined up against wall. I looked over them, finding them beautiful.

"Hey, Ed, you can go on home. Bethy is really upset. She's been in her room since last night and she doesn't want to come out." Mr. Cartwright explained. "Sorry."

"No, I'll stay and work alone. I want to see the garden get done." I say. "You know how she wants there flowers?"

Her dad and I began to pull the flowers from their pots gently so that we could begin to plant them in the area Beth thought to be the most appropriate. We worked in silence unless he was telling me that I was being too rough.

"These flowers are like my daughter you know," he said after a minute. I looked up at him, surprised and a bit weirded out.

"Yes, I know that." I nodded.