Chalk

A Girl Can Dream

This isn't edited. But I had a sick day so I figured I'd put that time to good use. This chapter is short but it's hard to make them longer when I'm writing on my iPad. So sorry. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.

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I made my way down the hallway toward my awaiting date and hard-ass of a best friend. Mattie's eyes found mine over Ariel's shoulder and the snarky remark he was about to say to her died on his tongue.

"Kat!" He grinned

Ariel noticed me coming up behind her and opened the door wider, giving me enough room to squeeze out of the apartment.

"It's Chutney." I corrected him.

I turned back to Ariel and gave her a small smile to show her that I'd be fine. "I'll be back later."

She didn't say anything and instead turned her eyes to Mattie. "If anything happens to my best friend I will personally castrate you, Cooper."

I bit my lip to hold back my laugh while Mattie gulped and gave her a small nod. After she felt she was reassured, she closed the door in our faces. The silence that followed had me strumming my fingers against my thigh nervously.

"You ready to go?" He finally asked after an eternity.

"Sure."

I followed him to where his car was parked against the sidewalk. He beat me to the passenger side and quickly pulled the door open for me. "Here you go."

"Thanks." I replied, climbing into the car with a small smile on my face. This was a good start, wasn't it?

He walked around the front of the car before sliding into the driver's seat and putting the key in the ignition. I heard him give out a little breath, as if he was nervous, before he started the vehicle. We rode in silence for awhile, me looking out the window and him manning the steering wheel, before either of us gathered the courage to speak.

"So how is it living with Ariel?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the road.

"It's great, actually."

"That's cool."

"Yeah."

I couldn't understand why we were being so weird around each other. We used to be as close as me and Ariel. Maybe even closer.

I glanced over at him, taking in how he was tapping his left foot quietly and how his back was so stiff from the way he was sitting.

"What's wrong?" I asked, finally unable to take anymore strange vibes.

He sighed, his left foot ceasing the tapping, and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."

"Okay?"

"I've never forced someone to go on a date with me before, but it's you and I just wanted to try to be us again so badly. Do you hate me?"

My eyes left him and focused on the passing images outside the window as my head slowly fell back against the headrest and a small smile formed on my lips. "I could never hate you, Mattie."

And it was true. I could pretend to hate him all I wanted. I could even say it, but I could never mean it. He was Mattie Cooper and I was Katerina Donovan. He was my first real love, even if he didn't fully know it, and I would always love him. Even if he was a huge ass sometimes.

I felt his gaze on me, but I didn't turn my head to look at him. The air around us changed. It was no longer awkward, but instead comfortable. We didn't speak the rest of the ride there. We didn't need to.