The Breakup Girl

Chapter Seven

On Friday, my mom drove Claire, Sam, Ashley, and I to the football game. I couldn't wait until I took my driving test in a few months, so I didn't have to rely on my mom to drive me around anymore.

I wore skinny jeans, Uggs, and a hoodie with my school's name printed across the front. On the back, my last name was written in gold, since that was one of our school's colors.

It was a little chilly when we first got there, but I was warm enough. We grabbed seats towards the top of the bleachers. Sam was being mobbed by boys of course, and Claire and Ashley were talking to the group of guys next to us. Then there was me, awkwardly looking at my phone, pretending to text.

Then, I heard my name being called.

"Paige!" A male voice shouted.

I turned around and saw Todd sitting at the bench on the field with some of the other football players. I blushed in embarrassment and waved. He laughed while my friends went, "Ooh, Paige got a boyfriend!"

Todd went on the field next. The whistle blew and the teams collided. Next thing you knew, Number 25 had the ball in his hands and started running with it. There were so many yards to run. Other players jumped in front of him but he dodged all of them. As the crowd stood up in excitement to cheer the player on, he finally made it across the whole field and scored a touchdown.

I cheered with the rest of the crowd and then asked Claire, "Who was that?"

"Todd Gades." She answered.

The man on the crackly loudspeaker announced the touchdown, and it was, in fact, Todd who scored it.

I smiled to myself and watched Todd jog back to his team. The cheerleaders were cheering, the marching band was playing, and the crowd was applauding.

"Do you want to come to the stands with me?" Sam asked.

I nodded, and told Claire and Ashley that we'd be back in a minute.

I grabbed my purse and walked down the bleachers and the stairs to the concrete pavement. We continued down the path that was swarming with people until we eventually made it to the snack stand. Sam never ate anything, so I wasn't surprised when she just got a water. I bought a soda even though I wasn't even that thirsty.

When we went back to the bleachers, Sam sat and watched the game with me. Claire and Ashley were doing their own thing and talking to the boys next to us. The game blew by pretty fast, and I was into every second of it. Our team wound up crushing the other school. It was obvious why everyone was jealous of Todd; he was amazing. He was obviously the star player.

When the game ended, I got a text from Todd telling me to wait for him. We waited by the gym doors for ten minutes until he and the other football players came out.

"Hey," I smiled at him. "you played really good!"

"Thanks," he said. "there's a party at Eric's house tonight. You guys should come."

He was talking to all of us, but was looking at me the whole time. I looked back at my friends who nodded.

"Yeah, we'll probably come." I replied.

He smiled and took off.

"We waited ten minutes to hear that? He could of just texted you." Ashley shook her head.

Claire's mom was there to pick us up. I texted my mom and told her where I was going, then we drove a few minutes away to Eric's house.

Eric Chinksi was known to have huge parties. He lived in this gigantic mansion with its own private backyard and street. It was an open invite, too. His parents didn't care and let him have parties every week. I might have told my mom a small lie and say it was just a few people. What? If I told her that there would be more than fifty people she'd freak.

It turned out there was way more than fifty people. Every inch of the house was covered with teenagers. It was only around 9:30 PM and people were already wasted. I walked into the huge house that was blaring music.

"Do you think Todd's here?" I yelled over the music to Sam.

"We just got here, Paige. Chill." Sam shouted back.

I frowned and followed Sam outside. There was an inground pool with colored lights on. People were sitting around a fire. I grabbed a drink with Sam, but I didn't plan on drinking a lot. I wasn't a big drinker.

As I was talking to some of my friends, someone came up to me and screamed in my ear. It completely startled me. I turned around with a horrified look on my face and saw Todd nearly falling over because he was laughing so much. I playfully hit him on the arm.

"Don't do that again!" I cried.

He looked at me and smirked, like he was thinking about something. I took another sip out of my red plastic cup, you know, the cliché ones that are always in the movies.

A girl came outside who was being loud and obnoxious. Her other friend, a smaller brunette, whispered something to her and tried to lead her back towards the house.

"Stop, Kelsey, I'm just 'tryna have some fun!" She slurred her words.

I recognized that voice. It was Jayden. She was wearing black leggings and a strapless shirt. Her makeup was running, and she looked like she was about to fall over. The red cup in her hand was spilling all over her. She was that girl.

A lot of the people outside turned to watch her embarrass herself, including Todd. He turned back towards me and rolled her eyes.

"I can't stand Jayden." He mumbled.

"You must be the only guy in the whole world who hates Jayden Fetch." I chuckled to myself in disbelief.

"I don't like girls like that," he shrugged. "they'll do anything just for people to like them."

"I know, it drives me crazy."

I watched as Jayden walked through the grass with Kelsey clinging to her side.

"She's kind of nice and all, but I just don't like her." Todd said.

"And she is really pretty too." I admitted.

It really was true. She was pretty. Something at the door caught my eye. It made me gulp my drink, making the alcohol sting my mouth. It distracted me from what Todd said next, something I wish I heard clearly.

"Not as pretty as you," he said in a quiet, soft voice.

And then there was Brandon. I blinked fast and realized that poor Todd was over there making a move and I was too busy paying attention to someone that I shouldn't have been wasting my time on.

I turned back to Todd, and we both looked at each other like that first day in Algebra. Both wide eyed, my mouth slightly open. I longed to lean in an inch closer, so that our lips would be touching.

"Brandon! Ooh, Brandon! Come here!" There was Jayden again, slurring her words and hovering over Brandon.

Brandon shut Jayden up and they sat down in the corner. I tried not to look at them, and turned my attention to Todd, who changed the subject to football. I didn't mind, really. Football was the only sport I could watch.

But Brandon and Jayden's conversation was loud enough for me to hear. She was all over him. I didn't like it, not one bit. It hit me in the stomach, like a bus again. That's when my eyes and Brandon's eyes met. It was like the world stopped. He wasn't that jerk who hurt me anymore. He was the person I first met, the person I used to know. Maybe at heart, he was the same person I had almost loved.

Then Brandon looked away, and he was the cold person again.

Brandon Dowey had changed. He didn't have his Bieber hair anymore, it was cut short and spiked, and it was a lighter color in the front. He didn't text me anymore or talk to me. He didn't even pay attention to me, but despite all of this, maybe he really was the same person I met a few months before.

The rest of the night included a lot of smiling, laughing, and a bunch of tears.