Falling for You

Chapter 15

Sorry it's short and not very eventful, guys. And I'm sorry if my updates are irregular/not as frequent. (Also, I'm really tired so please excuse any mistakes). Anyways, thanks for 600+ reads - I'm stoked! So please, enjoy :)

- JS

- Josh's P.O.V - 

Friday night had been a big and exciting night. For the first time in years, our school's football team had actually won the final game of the season and on top of that, I was being scouted for colleges all over the US! Max Davies was the first of many people that had approached me on Friday. Not only did I get talent scouted, but Liam was also popular with many different colleges.

On Saturday morning, after a night of little sleep and plenty of partying, the first thing I did was call Jennifer.

'Hello?' she mumbled as she picked up the phone.

'Hey, Jenn,' I said. 'Did I wake you up?'

'Yeah, kinda,' she laughed. 'But it's alright. It's almost the best way to wake up.'

'What's the best?' I asked, not really knowing what to expect.

'With breakfast in bed,' she said, and I laughed. 'So what's up?'

'Guess who's been offered a position at a football recruiting camp for 6 different colleges?' I said with excitement.

Jenn gasped. 'Liam?!' she exclaimed, laughing. 

'Ha, ha, very funny,' I laughed, rolling my eyes.

'But really,' she said, a little more seriously. 'Congratulations on those offers! Do you know where you want to go?'

'Probably the University of Louisville,' I said. 'It's not too far and it has a good art program.'

'That sounds great,' Jenn said, genuinely happy for me. 'Now you've just got to finish your art portfolio this weekend and then all you have to worry about is your SATs and prom.'

'Yes,' I agreed. 'Of course though, I'm not looking forward to my SATs, but prom is another story.'

'I can't wait 'till prom,' Jenn said excitedly. 'I've already got a dress and shoes.'

'I can't wait to see!' I said with equal excitement. 'Anyways, I'd better let you get up and start studying. I've gotta finish my art, so I'll talk to you later?'

'Sure,' Jenn replied. 'Talk later, Josh.'

I hung up and got started on finishing my portfolio.

- Jennifer's P.O.V - 

After speaking with Josh, I had a shower and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Just as I was heading downstairs, I heard mum's voice calling from the front room.

'Jenn, there's someone here to see you,' she yelled across the house.

I made my way downstairs and towards the front door where I saw Sam standing with mum, chatting casually. When they saw me, they both smiled.

'Morning Jenn,' mum said happily.

'Hey, Jenn,' Sam greeted me, still smiling.

'Morning, mum,' I said. 'Sam.' I acknowleged, nodding in his direction.

'Well, I've got something on the stove so I'll just be in the kitchen,' mum excused herself.

Mum left Sam and I with an uncomfortable silence lingering between us. 

'So, uhh...' I began but was quickly interrupted.

'Can we talk?' Sam butted in, getting straight to the point.

'Skipping the small talk this morning are we?' I said with a smirk.

'Shall we go for a walk?' he asked, ignoring my remark.

'Ok,' I said hesitantly and called out to mum to let her know where I was going.

Sam and I walked around our block with the cool, morning air delicately caressing our skin and the sun still awakening from its slumber.

'How've you been?' he asked after an awkward silence.

'Good, you?' I asked shortly.

'Good.' There was another awkward pause.

'Jenn, I know I've said this a million times already,' Sam began. 'But can we please go back to the way things were before?'

I hesitated and I fell a little behind his step. I wasn't really sure what to do. Of course I wanted things to be just like the way they were before but I doubted whether that would really happen, even if we tried. And I wanted to forgive him - I already had in my mind, but was I willing to admit that to him?

'Sam,' I said after quiet contemplation. 'I'm willing to forgive you, but I don't think that things are going to be the same as they were before.'

He looked at his feet and nodded sadly, but knowingly. We stopped to sit down on a secluded park bench.

'I know they won't be exactly the same, but can we try and forget what happened?' he pleaded.

'Sam, it's a little hard to forget when someone confesses their love to you,' I pointed out. 'But I can try.'

Sam sighed and we were silent for a short time. 'I meant it though,' he said quietly, under his breath.

'What?' I asked, motioning for him to speak up.

'I do love you,' he elaborated, confirming my previous suspicions. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it in a friendly, reassuring way. 'But I won't show it in a romantic way. I'll love you as my friend.'

'That's all I'm asking,' I said. 'And as I always have, I'll love you the same.'

'Deal,' he said, smiling.

It was weird to see Sam this vulnerable. Out of the two of us, he was probably the more resilient and stronger one. But now, I had managed to whittle him down into a weakened, defeated state without doing so much as lifting a finger. I felt bad, but I knew we were on the track to becoming best friends again.

As Sam and I walked home, we talked about school and our SATs and study and wished each other luck before departing back to our own houses.

When I got home, I trudged up to my room to begin studying when I noticed a new message on my phone. I opened it to discover a picture of Sam and I sitting on the bench with his hand clutching mine. Although the picture was innocent, to an onlooker it could've been viewed as romantic. Below the picture was some text that read:

cheating on ur bf again? looks like ur the 1 that cant be trusted. Meet me @ mcdonalds near the school at 1pm or im sending this photo to Josh.

By the spelling and lack of grammar, I knew straight away that this was the work of none other than Stephanie Evans. Initially, I wasn't phased by the picture, but the more I looked at it, the more I believed that Josh could take it completely out of context without any background information.

I had 2 options: 

1. Tell Josh that Sam and I had met up and talked this morning

2. Meet Stephanie and find out what she wanted.

I couldn't help but let my curiosity get the better of me, so I decided that I would meet Steph at 1pm and confront her in an attempt to put an end to her jealousy-driven antics.