The Bad Boy's Bucket List

Crashers

"This is soo stupid." I mumbled as Nolen and I stood facing Sidney's house. It wasn't as big as mine, but most people would classify it as a mansion for sure. I agreed with that.

We started to walk up the driveway, and I eyed the garage, dying to go inside.  Although their house wasn't worth as ours, Sid's parents made up for it in really nice cars. I remember crying the first time she showed me their vintage truck.

The place was already busy, with cheering and laughing pounding even outside. I could tell everyone but me was having fun. I was tense, scared of being caught.

"Hey," I felt a hand press against my back, pulling me into him, "loosen up. We're here to find Sidney, sure, but we're also going to have fun." Nolen smiled down at me, and I gulped in the nervousness I had in my gut.

"Okay."

We entered the house and the first thing I saw was a huge table that was overflowing with gifts. I stared down at my small one, and tucked it behind a big present that was wrapped in gold paper. I had gotten Sidney a scrapbook, full of pictures and memories the two of us had. It was sentimental, sure, but suddenly I felt cheap compared to the abundance of presents that laid around it.

Nolen grabbed my hand and I was forced to stop obsessing over the gifts. He lead me down to the kitchen, and together we opened the refrigerator, searching for soda. While he grabbed Diet Coke, I took a Root Beer.

After grabbing our drinks, we headed through the doors into a large room full of dancing teenagers. Music blared, and I felt dizzy looking around. 

"NOLEN?"

"WHAT?"

"CAN WE LEAVE THIS ROOM?"

"WHAT?"

"LEAVE." I repeated, and he motioned to his ears. 

"CANT... HEAR."

I turned and began to move through sweaty bodies, aiming to go through the back door. I checked to make sure Nolen was following, and he was, so I continued to squeeze towards the outside of the house.

Everyone outside was swimming in Sidney's pool, but there were a few seats that were empty. I hurried over and Nolen and I sat down.

"This is crazy. It's so crowded, how are we supposed to find her?" I asked him, and he shrugged. 

"Honestly," Nolen began, "I wasn't expecting this."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he wasn't prepared.

"Why did I even listen to you, Nolen? You obviously don't have a plan and you know..."

He grabbed my tense hand and began carving circles into it, shutting me up. I stopped talking and focused on holding back tears. 

"Listen, I know you're overwhelmed, but California, you and Sid have been friends for a really long time. You're going to make up, and laugh about how stupid the whole fight was. I don't think we're going to find her, so let's get out of here."

I just nodded and we headed around front to where he had parked his car. 

Nolen drove us to the lake, parking in an empty area where we could watch the stars. 

"This feels kinda like a Zodiac situation to me." I murmured, causing him to laugh. 

"You're so cute." He grinned, earning a blush from me. It was amazing how twenty minutes before, I had felt awful, but now all my worries slipped away. I loved him so much. 

What?

It was then that I realized I really did love Nolen. Although we hadn't been good friends for that long, I was already in so deep. Nolen made me laugh and could calm me down when I was stressed., He knew me in a way nobody else did. Sure, he was gorgeous, but he was so much deeper than just a cute guy. We liked the same movies and books. We argued but made up. And his kisses made me feel whole. Nolen protected me from the neglect I felt from my family. I loved him. 

"Why are you staring at me?" He broke the silence, and I snapped out of my realization. 

"I love you." My hand reached up quickly, covering my stupid mouth, but it was too late. Gosh, I was such an idiot. He would probably stop being my boyfriend now. 

"You love me?" Nolen's face was pale, and I knew I had made a mistake. Slowly, I nodded, not breaking eye contact.

A smile formed on his lips, and he reached over towards me, pulling our lips together. I reacted instantly, and kissed him back, but he broke away. 

"I love you too."

My heart stopped, and this time I kissed him.

~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

It was the next day when I heard pounding on the door to my house. Nolen wasn't supposed to come until a little later, and so I opened the door with a knife in my hand. Who knew what serial killer could be out there?

Standing in front of me stood my best friend, tears in her eyes. She looked at the knife in my hand, and a smile cracked on her face, before she burst into tears. Sidney held the scrapbook I had given her, and ran forward to hug me as soon as I set the knife down.

"I'm so sorry." We said in sync as we hugged. I laughed then, and Sidney followed. She then set to explaining why she was sorry, and I rolled my eyes the whole time. I told her I was the one that should be sorry, but nothing happened between me and her crush.

"I know. I was just being immature and stupid and I hate myself for fighting with you." 

I nodded in agreement, and we hugged again.

After twenty minutes of this, I texted Nolen to tell him not to come over because of Sidney. He responded with an 'I told you so'.

The rest of the day, Sidney and I watched tv and made up for all the lost time we had wasted. We gushed over Channing Tatum, and I told her all about Nolen. It felt so good to tell someone else, and I could tell she was exited to hear my news.

~_~_~_~

Later that night, after she went home, I headed into my room, into the bathroom to brush my teeth. 

When I came out, Nolen was seated on my bed. 

"What are you doing here?" I questioned warily, wondering how he got upstairs since my room on the second floor and there weren't any trees to climb.

"You left the downstairs door unlocked. And I couldn't go a whole day without seeing the girl I loved, so I figured I'd come now."

"Oh." I blushed, and made my way to lay next to him. He opened the covers and got in next to me, turning out the lights.

I faced him, and used my hand to trace his jaw. I could feel Nolen's heat radiating off his body, and he stroked my hair as I curled next to him. 

"Wait." He whispered, flipping the lights back on. I sat up and watched as he reached into his backpack, pulling out something I hadn't seen in a long time.

"Is that... the bucket list?"

He nodded, staring at me. "One day, I was online and saw a bucket list. I decided even though it was kinda girly, I would make one. Little did I know, it would lead me to you."

I kissed him then, and he kissed me back, the bucket list falling to the floor. 

"I love you, Nolen."

"I love you, California."