Beside You

Chapter 11: Consoling

Chapter 11: Consoling

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It’d been three days already after Luke kissed me and now it wasn’t just me avoiding him, it was him avoiding me. In fact, I had tried to talk to him several times and each time he had ‘something going on’.

After my fifth failed attempt to go and talk to him I finally decided to go and tell someone about it. Of course Derek was my go to man. Unfortunately I knew he had his soccer finals right now and Luke and Calum were on the same team. All I could do right now was to wait.

~*~

"No! Come on! I'm dead! I lasted so long!" I complained, throwing my controller down. "This is bullcrap."

"I wish Cal was here, he's my only worthy oppponent," Michael said sadly.

Ashton and I looked at each other, shrugging. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Ashton and I both turned to Michael to go and open the door.

"Other people make the losers go get the door," he grumbled.

"But I'm the guest, and you don't make the guest go and get the door," said Ashton.

Michael looked at me. "And I'm the girl and I'm not you're slave. Equal rights!"

"Ugh fine," Michael got up from the ground and went over to the door.

Ashton and I laughed and fist-bumped before deciding where we should hide Michael's controller. The idea was short-lived when there was a bump of the front door banging open and furious swearing.

Calum came around the corner, angrily trying to take off his jacket but failing when his arm got stuck.

"Agh fuck this!" he shouted. "Even this fucking jacket is against me!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out he was angry.

"Cal are you okay?" I asked attentively.

"Oh hi El, hi Ash," Calum said, acknowledging me and Ashton. "Well that fucking bitch fucking cheated on me. I saw her behind the bleachers with some guy who doesn't even go to our school and she only saw him today. And what's fucking worse is that she fucking dumped me before I could dump her. Like who the fuck does she think she is? So after that I couldn’t really be fucked to go to the soccer match and I somehow ended up here."

“It’s okay, we know it’s tough breaking up with someone.”

“Have you ever been dumped?”

I shook my head. “My best friend Jen’s broken up with guys and I’ve seen it happen plenty times in movies.”

“It’s really, really awful, it makes you feel like shit.”

“Um… do you want to talk about it? I know we’re not really close, but if there is one thing I’m good at, it’s listening.”

"Yeah and we're here if you need to hear cruel things about her we could never say to you when you were dating."

I looked hopelessly at Michael. "You're not helping."

"I'll go get you some pizza then, I suck at this kind of stuff."

"Me too," Ashton stood up too. "We'll go get food," he said, winking at me and giving me a dimpled smile. Before leaving, he mouthed 'good luck' to me.

“I’m really sorry…” I raised my hand to pat his back gently but then I thought the better of it and dropped it. “Are you okay?”

“Sort of. She’s not worth me getting upset over anyway. But you just don’t’ know how it feels to be rejected.”