The Friendzone

F O U R

Grayson woke up to a wet pillow. He sighed as he sat up in bed. He looked to his side, to see it empty. His heart dropped when saw that Jade wasn't with him. She was usually there to cheer him up. But he had ruined their friendship.

Grayson climbed out of bed and took a long hot shower. He let the boiling water run over his body. The burning was no where near the pain he felt in his heart. He got dressed and walked downstairs. He got his car keys and left the house.

He drove to McDonald's before driving to Jade's. He ordered himself some food and ordered Jade's usual. He parked outside Jade's house and walked to the front door. He knocked on, but no one answered. He walked around to Jade's window. He threw pebbles at her window.

Eventually, he saw her opened her window. She glared at him as she leaned on the window seat. "What are you doing here?!" She asked in so much anger. He could physically taste the hatred she felt towards him.

"I came to apologise!" He replied. She raised an eye brow at him. He sighed as he held the McDonald's bag up. "I brought you food". She sighed as she closed her window. He waited for a while.

He heard the front door open. He ran to see Jade standing with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked tired. She was wearing a black vest with short shorts. She looked at Grayson, waiting for him to speak. He walked towards her. "Can I come in?" He asked.

"No!"

He sighed before speaking. "I know I messed up, like always. I shouldn't have invited Kirsty. I had pinkie promised you that it would be just us. And I broke that promise. I know what I did was wrong. I know I hurt you. And it's eating at me! The guilt, the regret, the pain. It's slowly killing me! Will you please forgive me?"

Jade chewed the inside of her lip as she thought about her answer. She looked at him dead in the eyes and said, "No. I don't think I could ever forgive you! We were best friends! You promised, but you broke that promise! I don't think I can trust you anymore. Blame no one, but yourself and your girlfriend". Jade slammed the door shut on him.

Grayson stood dumbfounded in front of her door. He sighed as he placed the bag on the door step. "I'll leave the food here!" He yelled through the door. He turned back and walked to his car. He drove home to seek advice from Ethan.

When he got home, he couldn't fine Ethan anywhere. He sent him a text to see where he was. Turns out, Ethan was on a date. Grayson sighed as he went to his room. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he threw his pillows across the room, releasing his frustration.

He was disturbed by a voice. "Gray, what's wrong?" He turned around to see his mom. He ran to her and engulfed her in a hug. She was shocked at first, but hugged back. She led him to his bed and sat him down. "What's wrong?"

"I ruined everything with Jade!" He exclaimed. "I promised her we would go to the movies together, but then I had to invite Kirsty! And now Jade hates me! I tried to apologise, but she won't forgive me! I ruined everything! Why am I so stupid?!"

"Shh" his mom soothed him. "I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually. You two are inseparable! You make each other so happy! You've grown up together, I'm sure you'll be friends again. Try to surprise her. Take her somewhere. Just you two. Away from all distractions. And then you can apologise properly! She can't stay mad at you forever!"

Grayson wiped his tears away. He looked up at his mom and smiled. "Okay, I'll take her somewhere. I need to make things right. I can take her to the tree house! And I could take my laptop and order pizza! We would just watch movies all night! She enjoys doing that". He smiled at the idea.

His mom smiled at him. "I think you should start preparing for tonight!" Grayson hugged her before running out his room. He drove to the store to buy movies that they could watch at night. He also brought snacks so they could munch after pizza. He took everything to the tree house and then went to Kirsty's house to ask for advice.

When he got there, no one answered the door when he knocked. He tried the door to find it unlocked. He walked inside and walked to her room. As he got closer, he heard moans. He was confused, but walked closer towards her bedroom. He opened her door to see her having sex with... Aaron Carpenter?!

Grayson's heart broke. His girlfriend was having sex with his best friend. He didn't make a sound. He didn't stop them. He didn't yell at her. He left the house in silence. He sat in his car and cried for a while.

"Jade was right!" he realised. "Kirsty wasn't the one for me! Why was I so blind to notice?! She seemed too perfect! Of course she was hiding something! I'm going to be alone forever! No one is ever going to love me!" He wiped his tears and looked up. "I've still got Jade - if she accepts my apology".

He drove to Jade's house as fast as he could. When he got there, it was beginning to get dark. He knocked on the front door and waited. Jade's dad answered the door. Grayson smiled at him. "Is Jade here?" Grayson asked. Jade's dad shouted Jade down.

Jade came running downstairs. She answered the door and huffed when she saw Grayson. She glared at him. But her expression softened when she saw that he had been crying. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Grayson shook his head. "Nothing! I need you to come with me! Now!" Jade was confused, but obeyed. She got in the car and watched him drive along the streets. She saw that they were near the woods. She looked at him.

"What are we doing here?"

He didn't answer her question. Instead, he walked into the woods. She followed behind him. Eventually, they reached the tree house. Grayson stopped and faced her. He looked down at her. "I know I have made many mistakes in my life. But the biggest of them all was hurting you. I should never have broken the promise! It hurt me! But, most of all, it ruined our friendship and destroyed you. I was so stupid! You were right! You always are! Please, let me apologise for everything I've done wrong".

She smiled at him. "Okay, how are you going to apologise?" He told her to climb up to the tree house. She sighed, but began to climb. Grayson climbed up behind her. She stood in the tree house and looked around. She saw blankets and pillows on the floor. She looked at Grayson. He smiled at her.

"I know you love watching movies, so I brought some movies and a bunch of food" he replied. "It is just us two, I promise. And this is a promise I will keep. There will be no distractions, no one to interrupt us. Just us two. I have taken you for granted. I never knew how much you mean to me until I lost you. I was stupid to ever think I needed someone to love me to be happy! I can be happy having no lover, as long as I've got you as my best friend".

Jade's heart melted at his words. But she felt upset that he only saw her as his best friend. She sighed as she forced a smile. "What movies have you brought?" She asked. Grayson led her to the blankets and wrapped them both in a blanket. He placed the laptop on his lap as he showed her the movies.

"Wait!" She stopped him. He looked down at her in confusion. "What about your girlfriend? What will she say if she finds out?" Grayson tried to hold back the tears, but he failed. Hot tears ran along his cheeks. Jade was speechless.

"She cheated on me!" He whispered. Jade pulled him into a hug. She placed his head on her chest as she played with his hair. She let him cry while she comforted him. Like always.

"I'm sorry" she apologised. "You can do 100 times better than her! She was a b*tch! The only reason why I hated her was because I knew you could do better than her. But I guess I can't stop you from being hurt. Although I try, I never succeed. I'm sure there is someone out there who will love you with all their heart. Just be patient, they will come eventually".

They didn't watch movies. They cuddled the whole night until they both fell asleep. Grayson cried himself asleep while Jade hugged him. She is in love with him, and hates to see him hurt or upset. Finally, they were both asleep in each others amrs.