Work In Progress // h.s. au

Chapter 8

I am woken up by being shaken, my eyes fluttering open and seeing my sweet boyfriend Steven crouching down next to me at my bedside.

I smile sleepily and he says, "Hey Blaire, are you okay to talk about things right now?" 

I nod, excited to get this all out of the way once and for all. I can't lose Steven, he is my rock. And I need someone like him to stand beside me right now. The combined stress of Harry's harassment, Charlie's exile, and my parents' infidelity issues have led me to have only Steven to vent to and his shoulder is the only one I can cry on right now. 

Sitting up, he slides onto the bed next to me and flicks on the lamp on his bedside table.

I tell him everything, about how Justin had seen what happened and then blackmailed me, trying to get me to have sex with him. I see the rage grow in Steven's eyes as I tell him this, and I feel slightly guilty for even telling him because it will cause so many issues for him. 

"Well, I'm going to have to teach that prick a lesson it seems," he growls. I know that there's no stopping him, so I don't even try. And honestly, Justin has this coming. 

"What are you going to do now?" I ask shyly, not sure how our relationship has changed since the exposition of this information. Things like this can change the whole dynamic of a relationship and cause strain, so I'm praying that it's not the case in ours. I can't handle any more change in my life.

"I guess I'll have to find a new place to live," he says, reflecting.

"What? Why? He should be the one to leave since he caused all of this," I say worriedly. If only I wouldn't have come up this weekend, then he could have been 

"I don't want to deal with the drama. If I leave it's on my own terms and I can just move on. He's a dick and will drag this out to more than it needs to be. If I leave it'll be on my own terms and I can go wherever I want," he says. 

I understand what he's saying, but I still feel guilty because this is all my doing.

"Don't blame yourself, Blaire. It's almost better this way. Now I can find my own place and start my life. It'll be more expensive and I'll have to work more, but it's so worth it. Please, don't worry about me," he says, kissing my forehead.

I sigh and we decide that we should go back to sleep. Steven drifts to sleep right away, but I am stuck in between sleep and consciousness for the remainder of the night. I can't get the guilt and frustration out of my mind.

The next day we decide we're going to go out and look for apartments for Steven to live in. He circles a few places in the classifieds in the newspaper, and we're off for the day. We leave early so that we don't run into Justin. That would not turn out well.

We go through a few apartments, most of them fairly run-down. There were some that were decent, and by the end of the day he has decided on one of the nicer options and we have begun packing his things. He will have to email the housing department at his school and explain the situation, but I'm sure it won't be an issue.

When Steven has to leave for work, I pack my things and drive home. I am not looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. I genuinely thought that this weekend would help things, but it turned out it only escalated things and made them so much worse. 

I get home and this whole journey has felt like it took place in three weeks, not three days. My parents are home when I get there, and they honestly seem really happy. When I walk in, they're sitting in the living room watching a movie together and laughing. At least one thing is starting to get better. I decide that I'm going to quickly shower and come down to join them. I could use some family time right about now.

After a full night of laughing while watching Lucy and Ethel's antics on "I Love Lucy", I feel much better about things and am starting to feel optimistic. Since both Justin and Harry are no longer issues, the only thing in my life that is still not resolved is my issue with Charlie. I have been thinking about it and I really do owe her an apology. I shouldn't have left her there, and I kind of broke girl code.

Before I go to bed, I send Charlie a quick text saying, "Hey C, can we meet up and talk tomorrow? I really want to set things right with us." I plug my phone into its charger and set it on my bedside table, climbing into my bed and cuddling with Moose. 

I wake up for school the next morning and instantly jump to check my phone. I have a good morning text from Steven like always, and a text from my mom with a list of groceries that I have to pick up for her, but no text from Charlie. I look at our conversation and see that she read my message, but never responded. Ouch. Are we really on that bad of terms?

I get ready in a kind of haze, not sure what to do about Charlie. I'm sure I'll see her at school today at some point, but am I really ready to face her? And if I try to talk to her, will she even respond? Or worse, will she create a scene? I pray that she just lets me talk and explain and apologize, but knowing her I know that she is stubborn and it won't be that easy.

I finish curling my hair and applying my makeup and do a once-over in the mirror. I look cute and well-rested for the first time in a while. Last night was the first night I slept easy, not worrying about anything. That was also when I thought that Charlie would respond and we could work things out, but that's clearly not the case.

I get to school and it's the same old same old. 

When I am walking into history, I remember that I will probably have to see Harry. Hopefully he doesn't show up today like he hasn't the entire week before, but as I walk into the classroom, my prayers seem to have been left unanswered. 

Harry is sitting in the seat in front of mine, and as soon as I walk in my cheeks heat. He is staring straight through me, his eyes piercing into mine. He gives me a last look of pure disgust before turning back to his friends and finishing his conversation, which is hopefully about the football game last night and not about me.

I sit down in the seat behind him, as it's the only open seat in the classroom. Just my luck. 

Our teacher starts his lecturing, but I don't hear a thing. I am too busy staring at the mop of curls in front of me, urging me to reach forward and touch it. I almost do, until I realize what I'm doing and stop myself. He would have actually chopped my hand off if I would have done that, I'm sure of it.

Harry leaves the classroom early, seemingly in a rush. Mr. Trew calls out for him, obviously not getting the memo that he was leaving class early. And just as I had assumed he would do, he ignores him and keeps walking.

The class recovers quickly from his abrupt exit and soon we are back to the lecture. I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, and my blood runs cold. What if it's Harry? Or Charlie? I couldn't handle either at the moment. 

I slowly and discreetly slip my phone out of my pocket and look at the notification. 

Harry's name pops up on my screen and I try to suppress a groan. I don't want to do this anymore. It's exhausting and I should not be letting tattooed boys distract me from my schoolwork.

The message reads, "Let's talk. Meet me in the supply closet outside of Trew's room. Now."

I don't know what to do, and there's still five minutes left of class. I decide to do this as nonchalantly as possible and wait until the end of class to go. 

When the bell rings, signaling the end of the school day, I am reeling at the idea of where this conversation is headed. Will he try to kiss me again? 

I approach the supply closet and hear movement inside, and I know that Harry is in there waiting for me. 

I turn the handle slowly, my agony growing every second. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.

When I push the door open, I stop in my tracks.

Right in front of me is two people that I never thought I would see together. Harry and Charlie. Not only are they together, they are furiously making out.

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(A/N: Hey guys! I am so happy and excited that I am getting traffic on this story! You guys are awesome and please refer this story to friends and keep up the fantastic commenting and voting! It really does mean a lot to me and I am so excited to continue this story. I love you!)