He's Giving Me a Reason, an Emblem3 Fan Fic (Sequel to Riptide)

Chapter 22

Drew was face down on the couch before I knew it. I shot Wes a weird look. What's up with him? I tried to ask. He took deep breath out and motioned for me to join him in the living room. I followed him to where Keaton and Adrianna were talking quietly.

"So, you guys didn't make it?" Adrianna asked silently.

"Uh, no, that's not it." Keaton coughed.

"Wait, so you did make it?!" I practically screeched, having no desire to supress my joy. I turned to Wesley with bright eyes, but he remained stoic and silent. I whipped around to Keaton whose face displayed the same set of emotions. What was going on? I thought they said they made it through... I turned to Adrianna, she seemed just as confused as I did. "What is it? What's wrong?" I directed the second part mostly to Drew who still had his face buried in the pillows.

"We made it to Judges Houses." Wes said plainly. A huge smile spread across my face. This was great! Wasn't it?

"Then why-" I couldn't wrap my head around why this was a bad thing.

"The legal team made us go sign a bunch of contracts today." Keaton cut me off. Okay... that still didn't explain why they were bummed out about advancing in the competition. He must have noticed my confusion because he started talking again. "They were on this spiel about how we have this reputation to keep up and shit..." He trailed off. Drew sat up suddenly and picked up the story from there.

"They were going on about our fanbase- which is apparently going to consist only of teenage girls." Drew said.

"So in order to be on the show we have to pretend to be single so we can get more votes." Wesley muttered. His words hit me like a bunch to the stomach. So he would be seen as single? As in girls will be throwing themselves at him all the time? I bit my lip, thinking to myself when I encountered a small bit of relief. "But this is just on screen, right? I mean we don't have to actually break up?" I asked quietly.

"Well... we don't." Wes said sucking in his cheeks. We don't? Phew, we don't. Wait, but then who does?

"But we do." Drew said looking Adrianna directly in the eye.

"What?" She choked out. She didn't sound mad or disappointed. She didn't sound much like anything actually. She just stood there, expressionless. "Why?" I heard her voice harden.

"Because you're a minor." Drew rubbed his face with his hands and leaned back on the couch. He seemed really stresssed out. "The label doesn't want us sneaking around off camera because I'm 19 and you're still 17. They said they don't want anything like an inappropriate relationship dragging the show into scandal."

"So we can't date because I'm not 18 yet." Adrianna said blatantly. I spoke up deciding to take some of the pressure off Adrianna.

"Wait, so why can we date? I'm not 18 yet." I pointed out.

"Because you'll be 18 before we go to Judges Houses." Wesley said taking my hand in his. My face burned as he intertwined our fingers. I felt so guilty. It was so unfair that Adrianna had to give up the one thing that made her the happiest girl in the world while I got to hang on to mine. I knew Wesley felt bad but he didn't take his hand away. I could tell he felt guilty too, but just needed for someone else to be there with him.

"You know I don't want this to end." Drew was now standing next to Adrianna by the entrance to the kitchen.

"But it has to." She turned her face away from him to avoid his gaze. Those intense blue eyes that once offered her warmth and happiness probably felt like a punch to the face right now. Drew was right there, but she couldn't have him anymore. Now I felt like crying. Those two are so perfect together, it's like magic. Who the hell would try to rip them apart?

I watched as I saw Drew cup her face with his hands. I made eye contact with Keaton and Wesley and jerked my head towards the kitchen. The two boys nodded and followed me out. Drew and Adrianna needed some time to figure out what was coming next. 

When we walked in I saw Owen sitting at the table with a mug in his hand. He just sat there quietly, pretending that he hadn't heard anything.

"Well this sucks." Keaton said. I nodded in agreement. Well someone had to say it.

"You want some more ice?" I asked Owen trying to change the subject. He nodded. I walked in the direction of the freezer and saw Owen pull his shirt over his head in my peripheral vision.

"What the hell happened to you?" I heard Wes ask.

"He got the shit beat out of him for hitting on some guy's girlfriend." I chuckled while scanning the freezer for some ice. The ice machine hadn't refilled itself yet so I pulled out two bags of frozen vegetables.

"I thought she was single!" He groaned, which earned a laugh from everyone.

"Peas or carrots?" I asked smirking, holding up the two bags in my hands.

"Peas." He said without skipping a beat. I nodded and wrapped the frozen veggies in a towel. I walked back to the table and placed the small frozen bag on his ribcage. He winced slightly, but then looked relieved.

I sat down at the table and sighed. Then it hit me. It was quiet... too quiet. I walked over to the livingroom and popped my head in to see what was up.

"What's wrong?" Wes asked standing up.

"They're gone."

Hmmmmm where could they have gone? :O Thanks for reading guys :D yay!!! 

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