You, Me, And The Divide

Chapter 9

Allen turned back to his friends and said something to them because he started heading in my direction moments later. Danny realized my distraction and traced the path of my eyes. He became tense, and I only knew with my back to him because my body was still pressed against me. He leaned down close to my ear. His breath fanning my neck. It tickled in a way that sent shivers down me.

"Here comes your real boyfriend," he said lowly with what sounded like a hint of bitter resent.

He unlaced his arms from around me, and I turned to look up at him. His playful smile was gone now. There was seriousness there now. I knew there were hard feelings loaded on both of them. Each lived with half a life the other could never reach. It stung to see him shoot daggers over my head at Allen.

"Do you mind if I steal her away for a few minutes? You do owe me after all," Allen said trying to joke about the ride home the other night, but it was clear on his face that he didn't like Danny any more than he liked him.

I turned around and grabbed a girl dancing with a group of people. She looked at me with disgust for a few moments, but I blew it off. "Dance with this guy," I told her and shoved Danny towards her. She smiled flirtatiously at him as she put her hands on his chest.

Allen grabbed my hand, and the death glare that Danny settled on our intertwined fingers didn't go unnoticed. Al guided me to the outskirts of the yard near the treeline. It was quieter over here. The music was across the yard, and from here it was just loud enough to listen to at a normal volume. Without Danny so close and the rest of the dancers, the chill was finally caught up to me. I shivered and crossed my arms across my chest. Allen took his grey hoodie off and passed it to me.

"Now we want to be civil?" I asked seeing the Allen that I thought I knew before.

Allen stood close, and a look of pain crossed his face. He was hurt, and he wasn't trying to hide it. "Look Is, I feel horrible about this morning. We shouldn't have had to fight to begin with. I should have just told you," he said with sincerity. "And if you still hate me, I get it, and I'll leave you alone. You can go back to your boyfriend."

It was quiet for a few moments. As quiet as it gets at a party this size at least. "I don't hate you. I just said that this morning cause I was upset," I told him honestly and refrained from looking up at him.

"I know," he said smugly and I looked up at him at least with shock. His face held a smug little smile. "You're incapable of hating me, Issy."

"That's extremely untrue. I was very close this morning. If you hadn't noticed, you're the one that came back to me," I told him and crossed my arms again, this time for a different reason.

He smiled openly at me. "I want to tell you everything, Is. I'm ready to come clean, but I want to do it right. Can we go somewhere else? Would your boyfriend mind?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I told him pointedly.

"Could've fooled me with the moves you two were pulling," he said with a twinge of upset. My face flushed which almost never happened.

"Is somebody jealous?" I asked throwing back at him.

He chuckled, and I smirked as he draped his arm around my shoulder. "Money Bags Junior wishes I'd be jealous of him."

I, of course, rolled my eyes as we set out across the yard. Danny looked at the girl like a conquest, and I didn't think he'd really mind if I left him alone with her. He looked away from the girl with short bobbed hair and watched us come back. He stood tense still, but the girl, with a purple streak in her hair that I didn't notice before, clung to him starstruck.