Three Words, Eight Letters [Watty Awards 2013]

Chapter Three- Making Promises

**Unedited***

Dedicated to Ellielauren because she is one of my best friends and an extremely talented writer! Check out her book Mutual that she is writing for NaNoWriMo it will be awesome! I can just tell!

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Within ten seconds of Jake walking away Peyton reappeared, hopping up to her feet where she had been hiding behind one of those fake plastic plants.

"Please tell me I did not overhear him correctly when he said he was moving!"

"I can't tell you that."

"Aw V I'm so so sorry," Peyton whispered moving closer to enclose me into one of her signature bear hugs. "Think about it this way," she suggested pulling back to look at me, "this is the best excuse you'll ever get to spend your entire summer with this boy."

"True, but then he'll leave," I sighed whipping away a few stray tears, "Peyton, he's moving to New York City."

"That's really far a-"

"I know it is."

"What are you going to do?"

"What can I do?" I whimpered and buried my face deep in her shoulder.

"Well for starters you can walk right out those front doors and talk to him," she sighed gave my hand a slight squeeze, "Jake has been sitting there on that bench with his hands covering his face the entire time we've been talking. He's upset too," she whispered reminding me that I wasn't alone in this. Jake was clearly just as hurt and broken as I was.

He shifted slightly towards the end of the bench closest to the building. He glanced up with watery eyes. It broke my heart to see the boy that I was in love with breaking down in tears. It hurt even more than seeing him that night dancing with Erica.

Our eyes met for only a few seconds before his eyes flicked away to study the ground. "Go talk to him."

"I'm going, I'm going." I slowly walked towards the clear doors, shaking from the pressure of have a serious conversation with the boy I refused to talk to for weeks. A low voice broke the silence between us as I approached him.

"You don't have to do this, you know?"

"Do what? Comfort my best friend?" I whispered sitting myself down beside him. I placed my hand on his knee resting my head on his shoulder.

"No I mean pretend like everything's alright," he readjusted himself turning is head to focus on me, "what is going on with us?"

"What do you mean?"

"You ignored me for weeks. What's up with that?" He reminded me. I could sense a pang of discontent and hurt and in his tone. Fresh tears invaded my eyes as I tried to preform a response.

"I'm, I'm sorry I didn't realize how much I was hurting you. I thought I was only hurting myself."

"V, you're my best friend of course you hurt me and if it was hurting you too then why did you do it?"

"Things were complicated," I sighed, "well I guess in a way things still are."

"Violet you're not making any sense," he whispered pulling me in to give him a hug. "You've been my best friend literally forever, you know that you can tell me anything right?"

"Jake of course I do! Things now are just-" I stopped myself and tilted my neck to look him in the eye. "I just can't tell you now, but I promise I will by the end of the summer."

"Promise?"

"Promise," I pulled away to give him some space. "I'm so so sorry."

"Just please never, ever do that to me ever again, you have no idea what that did to me." He whispered, tears sparkling in his eyes.