Forever and Always

Chapter 4

 Scarlett kept her head down as she made her way to her familiar locker. Nobody really whispered about her or gave her perceptive glances. This made her happy, relieved. She could see Annie coming for her, weaving through the crowd. Scarlett grabbed her books and slammed the blue metal door closed.

  "Are you avoiding me?" Annie joked, giving Scar a quick squeeze.

  She managed a smile, it wasn't much, but it would tell Annie things were getting better. Even if that were hardly the truth. In reality, life was a bumpy road and as much as she hated to admit it, Jared was the only thing getting her through.

   "Wanna come over to my place after class?" Annie asked for the fifth time that week.

She sighed and looked down. Annie had always been her best friend, but it was hard to go very many places.

  Then she saw Jared strutting down the hall, high fiving some guys, smiling at girls. He was tall, easy to spot and he had dark blond, curly/wavy hair that fell right above the base of his neck and his bangs stopped were his blue eyes began. He was handsome, no doubt, but that's not what she was thinking.

  "Jared!" She exclaimed as she waited patiently while he made his way towards her and Annie.

  "Hey Annie," he gave her a slight smile and then tossed one at Scar.

  "Wanna go to Annie's after school?" Scarlett asked, her voice sounding casual, her amber  eyes begging him to say yes.

   Annie's face fell, her smile disappeared.

   "Sure," he said, cocking his head slightly. "Meet you outside at three."

   Annie frowned, and although she wanted to stay near her friend, she left angrily.

    "I just don't think you should get involved with the best friend of your ex," Annie stated.

It was Sunday and Annie was packing up her bag from last night's weekly sleepover.

Scarlett sighed and rolled her eyes. She loved Annie like a sister and took her advice on everything ... except boys. Annie didn't keep boyfriends around ... because she was so paranoid and never trusted them. The girl had a great personality and she had long, wavy, blonde hair, gray eyes and a stellar figure, but again, she lacked trust.

   "Jared is cool, okay?" Scarlett said, well applying her favorite lip gloss.

   "Hey, if it wasn't Jared I wouldn't be tell you any of this," she stated.

    “Sure,” Scarlett thought, because her drama queen friend would probably have tons more to say.

   "Jared can be a self-conceited jerk sometimes," she continued, but Scar had already tuned her out. Her thoughts turned to Levi. He was so sexy and kind. Short, dark brown hair, brown eyes, a great laugh and an ability to make you feel better about everything. They had been dating for one month and already she was falling head over heels for him.

   His best friend wasn't so caring, he could be selfish, but their conversation over coffee the

    "Not to mention, he's got one thing on his mind--SEX! Hell, he's probably got Levi wrapped around his dirty finger," Annie continued rambling on.

   Scarlett laughed and shook her head. Once Annie got going, there was no stopping her. She pushed her friend lightly and they giggled together.

   Scarlett watched Annie go and wondered what Jared and her looked like, because in honesty she didn't try to flirt ... but maybe in the process of healing she was. She didn't want to let Jared go too ... but it felt like she was betraying Levi. She felt a tear sting in her eye and turned towards class. He was like therapy for her.