Surf's Up?

Inhale... Exhale

Brian's POV

My breathing became quick and heavy. I could feel the anger bubbling, creeping to the surface. I wanted to rip off Steele's face. How dare he? After everything, how dare he? Ellis would feel horrible for years about the fact that she cheated on someone, and Steele is probably dancing in an empty room because he kissed her. Inhale... Exhale. Breathe slowly. Count to ten. Drink water. Better? Better. I went to the front office to get a late pass for my class, but at this point it seemed unnecessary. It was halfway through and I had a free period afterwards. Instead of walking to English, I turned sharply left and headed through the double doors. I was done. 

The next day I walked through the halls feeling lighter. Maybe not happy, but I had calmed down. Until I saw him standing at his locker. I immediately turned around and walked in the opposite direction. And then I saw Hill. Shit. I stopped in place and waited for him to get to me. He stopped directly in front of me and clenched his jaw. I raised my eyebrows.

"Look man, I'm sorry about what happened last week, but it wasn't Ellis' fault -" 

"I know. And I'm going to talk to her about it. I just wanted to say that I don't want you hanging around her anymore."

Wait, did I hear him right? He had the nerve to tell me who I could or couldn't hang out with? Especially concerning his ex-girlfriend? My look of disbelief must have spoken for me because he continued quickly. 

"I know you two were friends, but I also know that you have feelings for her."

I scoffed. His eyes narrowed. "Don't even try to pretend, I know that it's true. I'm going to get back together with her and I don't want you hanging around trying to confuse her. Got it?"

Before I could throw anything back in his face, he slipped by me and strutted away. 

Ellis' POV

Lunch was quiet. For whatever reason, everyone seemed to be in a somber sort of mood. The overcast sky reflected the tone. I set down my lunch tray and opened my water. I looked up and smiled at the sound of footsteps approaching my table. My smile wavered when I noticed who it was. Hill's eyes stayed downcast and he couldn't meet mine. 

"Could we talk?" He asked in a low voice. My breathing hitched and too many thoughts swam chaotically in my brain. I remained stoic on the outside. 

"Sure."

Brian walked swiftly by, not even glancing in my direction. Weird. I stood up and followed Hill to the Senior hallway. It was dead. No one in sight. I turned to face him and I saw that he had tears in his eyes. They were tinged pink, and my heart immediately melted. Whatever I had against him for breaking up with me immediately dissipated. He shook his head and rubbed roughly at his eyes. 

"Ellis, what I said last week was not what I wanted to say. I was just frustrated with Steele and him thinking that he could go around doing whatever he wanted and I took it out on you. I imagined things between you and Brian that I knew would never happen. Please don't hate me."

I let his words sink in. He seemed genuine and the week without him had been so weird. I sighed. 

"Hill, I missed you. But I don't want you to get the wrong idea. You hurt me. I expected you to come to me and communicate before breaking things off cold-turkey."

A hint of a smile played at his lips. I knew he was thinking about the fact that I just said 'cold-turkey.' *sigh. He stepped forward and pulled me close to him. I allowed him to wrap his arms around me. After several seconds I surrendered and embraced him. He rested his chin on my shoulder. 

"We good?" He whispered. 

I nodded against his chest. He pulled away and kissed my forehead lightly. I realized only later that he never even said that he was sorry.