-PREQUEL TO SERIES- The New Girls (YouTube FanFic)

[Chapter 11] Shot In The Dark

-Anthony's POV-

Kalel and I returned to California shortly after the proposal. She was ecstatic, it was almost the only thing she could talk about. I was happy too, just not to the extent she was.

When we got back, Kalel was going around showing everyone her engagement ring. I stood there politely, smiling as people congratulated Kalel and I on the news. Almost everyone who I knew already knew about the engagement and had already told me they were happy for us. Except one person. The one person whose opinion mattered the most to me - Rachael. And Ian, but he already knew about it before I popped the question.

I walked up to Rachael and Natalie's apartment and heaved a sigh before knocking on their apartment door. "One moment!" I heard Rachael call from inside.

I grinned as the door opened. She saw me and the smile on her face dissolved. So did mine. "Anthony, I wasn't expecting to see you," She told me, clinging on to the door.

"Yeah...uh...I came by to see if you knew," I remarked, "You know, about Kalel's and my engagement."

She nodded her head, "Yeah...I saw the video."

"And?" I asked, anticipating her answer.

"I'm happy for you guys," She replied, smiling that fake smile I'd seen once before. And that was when we were driving back from the airport after Natalie left, and I asked if she was really going to be alright. She smiled and yes. But she was lying. Just like she was now.

"Are you really happy?" I dared to question.

"Of course," She continued to lie, "There's no reason I wouldn't be happy."

"Sure there is," I tested.

She stared at me for a little before laughing and saying, "No there isn't."

"Yeah...what about the reason that...sometimes our friendship...doesn't seem like a friendship? It feels like something more..." Once I said that, she went as white as a ghost. I mean, I didn't know for a fact she liked me. I took a shot in the dark saying that. But I just knew that, part of the reason why I wasn't as happy as Kalel was, was because I had some feelings for Rachael that were slowly growing.

Just before she was about to say something, Natalie came up behind her, "Hey, are you...?" She looked up from the bag she had her hand stuck in and saw me, "Oh, hey, Anthony! Congratulations on the engagement!"

"Thanks," I replied, slipping my hands into my jean pockets.

"So, Rach, are you ready to go?" She finished her question. Rachael glanced over her shoulder at her and nodded her head yes.

Rachael turned back towards me and softly said, "I have to get going, Anthony. Maybe we can talk later."

"Sure," I retorted, the corner of my lips slightly curling up, "We can talk later."

She gave me a quick smile before closing the door in my face. I slowly turned away and walked down to my car, regretting what I said back there.

-Joey's POV-

The video Rachael and I decided on doing was One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful". We planned it out over the course of three days: one for recording the song, one for the video, and one for editing. Natalie made it to all of them. And so did my good friend, Luke. Over those three days, we all grew really close.

After the video was edited and up on YouTube, the four of us went out to dinner. Rachael and I sat in one booth while Luke and Natalie sat in the other. Rachael and I shared a menu, as well as Natalie and Luke, because the place was pretty crowded and they were running low. With Rachael's shoulder pressed up against mine, and when she occasionally looked up at me with her blue eyes, I don't know, I felt...

"What are you ordering?" Luke inquired, snapping me back into reality, "Natalie and I already made our decisions. We're just waiting on you." That's when I noticed the waitress standing at our table, impatiently tapping the pen she had in her hands against the pad of paper.

"Uh...I'm not sure yet," I answered, looking at the menu briefly before glancing over at Rachael, "What about you?"

"I'll have what you're having," She replied with a smile.

"Wonderful..." I remarked sarcastically, looking back at the menu. I chose the first thing I saw and handed the waitress the menu. The four of us talked and talked for a good forty-five minutes before our food arrived.

We ate our food, talked for a little, and left shortly thereafter. And that's when I did something I didn't even plan on doing, it kind of just happened. After walking Rachael and Natalie up to their apartment with Luke, I kissed Rachael goodbye on the cheek. She just grinned at me before following her sister into her apartment, who gave Luke a hug goodbye.

As Luke and I walked back down to the car, he smirked. I looked up at him and chuckled, "What?"

"Oh nothing..." He retorted as he got in the driver's side of the car.

-Ian's POV-

I sat nervously on the couch, tapping my foot and staring at the small box that sat in the palm of my shaking hand. Melanie was going to be home in five minutes. And in five minutes, she was going to have the surprise of her life.

I looked up at the clock and watched each minute painstakingly go by. That's when the door clicked open and I jerked my head in that direction. Melanie walked through the door and smiled at me, "Hey, babe."

I rose to my feet and walked over to her, bending down on one knee and opening the small box before she could take another step into the house. "Melanie, I love you and want to be with you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?"

She dropped the bags in her hands to the floor and moved her hands to her mouth.

I stood up and grinned, "So what do you say?"

She nodded her head yes, and before I could pull the ring out of the box to put on her finger, she pulled me into a tight hug. "Ian, I'm so sorry. I underestimated you."

"It's okay," I remarked as I hugged her back.

To be honest, I wasn't really ready to do this. I just didn't want to hear her constant "you don't love me"s and "you're cheating on me, aren't you?"s anymore. And no matter how hard I tried to convince her and myself that I did love her and that I wasn't cheating on her, there was this feeling I had. A feeling that I didn't love her anymore and, though I wasn't actually cheating on her, that I was.