Forever & Always

Chapter 30

Shane stayed home with me for the rest of the day. We watched movies and played some games for a good portion of the time, but also, we talked. He explained everything to me about that night that I didn't know about. 

Apparently, Annie had planned the entire thing. Lacey had been right that the fact that we hadn't heard from her in a while meant she was scheming and damn, did she know how to execute it and get me where it hurt. As Shane explained it, the whole thing went down in phases. 

Phase 1 was simple. Wait for our group to get involved in the party where we might be distracted and not paying attention. They noticed that we split up which worked even better. So, when one of Annie's cult followers asked to borrow Tim's phone to make a call, they actually texted Shane, saying that Tim wanted to see him. Shane went upstairs to see Tim, who was surprised to see him, but being the nice guy he was, stayed and talked to him for a while.

Then, Phase 2. While Shane and Tim were talking and drinking, and were therefore distracted, another cult follower came and slipped away with Shane's phone to give to Annie, which would get Shane looking for it and not come back downstairs to us right away, and would give Annie the ability to text me to come upstairs and making it look like it came from Shane. 

Phase 3 was having that same friend of Annie's come down and innocently tell Shane that someone had found a lost phone upstairs and that it might be his. He went upstairs and met another one of Annie's friends that told him it was in the bedroom. He went in unsuspecting, and was ambushed. Meanwhile, I, having received the text from "Shane" would make my way upstairs and find them together, causing us to fight, embarrass ourselves and break up. 

"But with the roast of a lifetime that you gave her, it ended a lot different than how she had planned," Shane said, tossing a piece of popcorn into my mouth. 

I took pride in knowing that she hadn't gotten everything she had wanted. And since we were back on good terms, she REALLY didn't get everything she had wanted. 

"Honestly, I had never felt better in my life then when I had cursed her out beyond belief," I said with a satisfied smile. "Plus, seeing her face turn to a look of such terror? Priceless." 

We turned back to the TV for a while, watching some of the happier parts of Marley & Me, when Shane piped up again. 

"Are we back together?" he asked. I turned to look at him, not expecting him to ask that, but he expanded on what he meant. "I mean, I know we're not fighting anymore, but are we dating again? Are we picking up where we left off?" 

I chuckled a little and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "I would like to, yes," I said. 

He smiled and rubbed the bottoms of my feet, which I had perched on the tops of his legs. It was one of the only positions I could sit in where I was comfortable. Normally, I'm one of those people that curls up on the couch with their feet tucked under their knees or off to the side, but I couldn't sit that way if I didn't want to be writhing in pain for an hour. 

"So, are you ready for your audition next month?" he asked. I had completely forgotten how close it was until I would REALLY find out whether or not I was going to NYU next fall. 

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. "Ugh, I hope this motherfucker is healed by the time I have to do that," I groaned, rubbing the bandage on my abdomen. The last thing I would need as a singer would be to have difficulty taking deep breaths. 

Shane laughed at me and waved me off. "You're going to be fine," he said aimlessly. "And if it isn't completely healed, then I will go in before you and formally explain to them what happened so they hold nothing against you when evaluating your performance."