Switch Up

Chapter 20

Blair

I stood at Claire's side as she talked to others at the party. Feeling uncomfortable, I stared at the ground, wishing I was at home. I couldn't believe I had agreed to go to a party, especially after the last party I went to. I especially couldn't believe I was spending time with Claire.

Her words had hit me hard. They sounded so sincere and honest, but Claire always sounded that way and she made fun of me behind my back. I couldn't help but wonder if I could trust her, but I decided to suck up my feelings for the day. With Claire looking so happy, for once I decided not to be selfish and let things be.

Claire was a social butterfly, I noticed as she went to person after person, talking to them about anything and everything. I trailed along, never acknowledging the person she spoke to, and just listened quietly. As I heard her speak, I thought about how different we were and how I didn't think we could ever be close again. We were just too different and it seemed unlikely that we could bond.

The person Claire was talking to left and Claire turned to face me. She was smiling, looking thrilled, and I forced a smile. Claire's eyes softened at that and I blushed, knowing I was pitiful.

"You okay?" Claire asked softly. "Sorry, I should be talking to you rather than others."

I shook my head because honestly, I was happy Claire was sticking to my side. She could be with her other friends, but she had chosen to stay with me unlike Erin had. I was touched by that and decided to completely forget about my trust issues.

"It's fine," I said honestly. "I like listening to you talk. Sounds weird, but I prefer that over talking myself."

Claire smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. I kind of felt bad for dragging you here."

"Don't worry."

Claire was really sweet. She wasn't a bad person, I knew. Because of that, I suddenly thought about what I did with Carter and felt horrible. I had overreacted and done something that would really hurt Claire. Sometimes, I was the worst.

Claire's eyes suddenly drifted off to somewhere else. When they landed on something, they softened and I immediately knew she was staring at Carter. From the way her eyes held so much longing, I felt my heart drop. I couldn't believe I had hooked up with Carter again, even though I knew how much Claire liked him.

"He's so cute," Claire said quietly, sighing. "I really like him and even though I am making progress with him by being you, I still feel like I'm going nowhere. We still never had a proper conversation and we've never even touched. Oh my god Blair, just for one day I want to be held by Carter."

Her cheeks turned red and she looked down, seeming embarrassed. My heart ached for her. She was so in love with him and she was trying so hard to be with him, but Carter was barely giving her the attention she deserved. It was all my fault for leading him on, so I knew I had to make it up to her.

"How about we switch up?" I said, bringing Claire's attention back on me.

"Right now?" Claire asked, confused.

"Yeah, didn't one of your friends say we're going to play seven minutes in heaven? Why don't we switch up because Carter would be thrilled to be stuck in a closet with me."

I didn't mean to sound conceited, but thankfully Claire understood where I was coming from as her eyes brightened up. Knowing Carter myself, I knew he wouldn't touch Claire if they were together in the closet. He was the type of guy to be loyal, which I found sweet, so I knew it would be for the best if Claire and I switched spots. It would allow Claire to finally hold Carter like she always wanted to.