Friends Forever, huh?

Chapter 16 | everything has changed (again)

"I can't believe I was dumb enough to believe you actually wanted to be my friend," Shelby takes a shaky breath, "get out of my life, Ash. I never want to speak to you again."

"I did want to be your friend..."

"Leave me alone!" She spits, nearly pleading me to leave now. I nod even though she can't see me, my eyes downcast as I leave the bathroom.

"Ash?" Cole's eyebrows are furrowed as he glances at me, "what's going on?" I look away from him, not willing to let him see the sadness in my eyes--nor the conflicting emotions. For years I've wanted him to kiss me--to talk to me and like me as more than a friend. Then as soon as my wish was fulfilled, it proved detrimental to another aspect of my life. Now I have Cole's friendship, but I've lost Shelby's.

As usual, I've gotten screwed over by something that shouldn't have been detrimental.

"Nothing," I murmur, waving a hand to placate his worries. I don't want to talk to him about this, not right now.

He grabs my arm, preventing me from moving away, "this isn't nothing Ashley! You're upset."

I pull my arm away, "I'm fine, Cole!" He flinches at my abrasive tone.

"What did I do wrong?"

"You kissed me!"

I wince at the way that came out. I didn't mean it like that. If I'm perfectly honest, I don't regret his kiss at all--only its consequences. I know that I need to speak up, to clear up the misunderstanding conveyed in my hastily spoken words but I don't know how.

His eyes meet mine, looking wounded, "I don't understand. I thought..."

"I don't--" I begin, intending to clear up the misunderstanding in my words. Instead, I shake my head, speaking the words that come easier. "I just became friends with Shelby again," I finally admit, frustration evident in my tone, "now she thinks I stole you from her."

Coward. I'm a coward...and I absolutely know that I'm going to regret not truly saying how I felt.

Cole freezes, his eyes snapping to mine, "s-she blames you for what I did?" His voice shakes, as if I've somehow hit a sore spot.

I don't confirm or deny his words, but my silence speaks the truth loud enough.

"You shouldn't be surprised," Cole's lip is quivering as he valiantly attempts to keep his face stoic, "I wasn't lying when I said I screwed everything up."

I'm caught off guard by how distraught he sounds. Either he really cares about Shelby and is upset about hurting her or there's something else going on here. Either way, he doesn't seem to feel inclined to share. Unfortunately, I have an imagination that's a little too overactive--something that tends to make me overthink everything.

"Cole?" I ask, trying to make my tone gentle. It still comes out a little sharper than I mean it to. I take a step closer to him but he backs away.

"There was a reason I said we shouldn't be friends," He says quietly, his voice regretful, "I somehow managed to hurt you and her." Cole shakes his head, looking as if he wants to bolt away from me, "I never wanted to hurt you. Understand that, please."

"Cole!" He steps toward me, quickly pressing a kiss to my cheek. Then he walks away from me, ignoring my pleas for him to come back. This cannot he happening. Yes, I'm angry about this ruined relationship with Shelby...but I can't lose him too. Not again. Definitely not both of them.

So I run after him. I don't care that I'm somewhat angry at him. He can deal with me yelling at him. What I can't deal with is him walking away. Again. I have not longed for him to come back for two years only to watch him walk away again.

Shelby comes walking out of the bathroom then. She looks terrible. Her eyes are red, mascara staining the skin under her eyes black. Her hands are curled into the sleeves of her oversized sweater, gripping it as she walks with her head down. She lifts her eyes to mine and her sorrow quickly turns to rage. Giving me a scorching glare, she stomps away.

I stare wordlessly after her. I've lost sight of Cole, so by now there's likely no point going and looking for him. It's about halfway through second period at this point--the bell rang forever ago but I'm not sure that I'm ready to be in class. In the span of an hour, everything has drastically changed. I've lost my two best friends...the two that I've just reclaimed friendships with. I sigh, sitting down in the middle of the hallway and leaning my head against a locker. How can everything go downhill so quickly?

The bell rings, signaling the end of the second period class. I wince, knowing that the halls will suddenly be flooded with students. I don't particularly want to see them at the moment. Worse yet, Miss Greene walks out in the hallway, an eyebrow raised, "I need to speak with you."

I refrain from making the sarcastic comment on the tip of my tongue and nod, giving a begrudging, "yes, ma'am."

She takes me into her classroom, gesturing for me to sit down. I do, eyeing her with apprehension.

"You've always been a model student, Ashley," Miss Greene says, sounding bewildered. "The last couple weeks however...you've been distracted. You haven't payed attention in class, your homework has been late..."

I sigh, unwilling to disclose the reason for my distraction. "I'm sorry ma'am. I've had a lot on my plate lately..."

She nods, giving me an understanding look, "I was just worried about you. Please try to keep up with your homework better?"

I nod curtly, ready for this conversation to be over, "I will." She looks satisfied with my response, handing me a stack of papers. I stare at them, wide eyed, "what are these?"

"Your missing homework," she replies, her tone nearly apologetic. I missed this much?

I smile weakly, eyes still glued to the pile of homework, "I'll turn this in as soon as possible, ma'am."

"Thank you Ashley."

Dismayed, I stare at the stack of homework in my hands. How in the world will I be able to get this done on top of everything else I need to do? Additionally, my only genuine friends at this school have officially sworn off talking to me.

Is it too late to change schools?

***

I feel like this chapter is really anticlimactic but I genuinely do like most of it.

Do you guys have any theories on why Cole was so upset to hear about what happened to Ashley and Shelby's friendship? I mean, I have a theory and I know it's true because I wrote it, but do y'all have any ideas?

Three updates in one day! Wheeewww

-J