Into You

04 // balance

The next couple of days were not the greatest. I had to face Chad at school and deal with the dirty looks I was getting from his friends. There was no telling what he probably told them had happened and I didn't even want to know. When it came time to come clean to Skyler and Chloe, I left out the part where he came to harass me at the cafe. I wasn't sure why I was protecting him so much when I should have just exposed what he did and have him deal with the consequences. I thought maybe if I pushed it aside enough, I would get over it and let it go.

After ignoring that dilemma, the next big thing bothering me was Asher. It was official now; he had come back to Santa Monica. I wasn't positive how long he would be here. Jesse hadn't gotten any updates, and if he had, it seemed he was very keen on sparing me the details.

Wesley had ceased his teasing and gone for nicer approaches when talking to me. I knew as soon as he waltzed up to me all nice with a goofy smile on his face that Chloe or Sky had spilled the beans. I didn't mind this new attitude, but I knew it entailed that our bickering had come to a halt. Somewhere deep inside of me, I knew I would miss it.

It was now Thursday at lunch time. Chloe had saved three seats at our usual lunch table using her belongings to take up space and give everyone the message that those seats were taken. I waited for Skyler to finally get her lunch.

"Do you know who the extra seat is for?" I asked, nodding over to our table.

"Who knows?" Sky shrugged and walked off with a pep in her step. I knew something was up immediately since Sky couldn't come up with an answer because she knew she was the worst liar in the history of the world.

I followed her to the table and saw she took the seat next to Chloe, leaving me next to the stranger. I went on pretending I didn't suspect a thing, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking of all of the things these two might have come up with.

They continued on in their conversation about our plans for homecoming night and how they kept constantly changing. Originally, none of us had dates and had agreed to go as a group. We would rent out a limo with a couple of our other friends and get a hotel for the night. Now Bryson Pierson was hosting an after party that Skyler wanted to make a stop by, while Chloe was hesitant since she wasn't so big of a party animal.

While they were discussing this life-changing dilemma, I just nodded and agreed with any solution while munching on my tasteless school cafeteria burger.

Not too long into our lunchtime, we were joined by Wesley. I was very confused as to why this was, but greeted him anyway.

"Hey, Ridges," I said, before stuffing a few fries into my mouth. "Whatcha doin' here?"

I felt a nudge on my foot under the table coming from Sky. I glanced at her when she mouthed, "Be nice," as if Wesley didn't have eyes.

"Well, Skyler invited me over for lunch and she didn't really give me much of a choice," he said, chuckling towards to end.

"I just thought it'd be nice to have someone new over for once," she smiled bubbly at him while shrugging her right shoulder.

Immediately I knew what was going on. Having him over for lunch wasn't for me, it was for Sky. She had the look in her eyes.

"I didn't know you two were even friends," Chloe began. "When did this happen?"

"It just so happens that Lee and I got paired up in Chemistry lab," Sky answered.

"Man we had no idea what the hell we were doing," Wes laughed out before chugging down his water.

I just stared at both of them, not really knowing what to think. Wes and I had been friends since he moved here, but he had never really spoken to my other friends. We were from two completely crowds. Skyler and Chloe were the type to think he was immature and wouldn't be able to be around him. He grew onto me so being friends with him became an acquired taste that I didn't mind at all. Now with our two separate worlds colliding, everything just felt out of balance.

The rest of our lunchtime was spent on Sky and Wesley telling us about their science class mishaps together. Chloe seemed to feel strange about the whole thing too because her facial expressions said it all. Thankfully, we didn't have too much time left so I excused myself early from the table and went to the ladies' room.

♡♡♡

After school, the girls and I were meant to head to the Rock N' Roll Dinner Hole. We came to this old-fashioned diner at least once a month. It was our little safe haven in the middle of town where we came when we wanted a good time.

"So what's up with you and Wesley, Sky?" Chloe asked, taking a big sip of her milkshake.

"Nothing right now," she smiled brightly. "But maybe eventually."

"You sure he's your type, Sky?" I genuinely questioned.

"I know, we don't seem like we're the most compatible, but we get along great. I guess you could say we have...chemistry." She laughed cheesily, as we joined.

"Nope, get outta here," Chloe giggled, pointing to the exit.

We all rejoiced and enjoyed Sky's terrible joke. In the middle of our moment, we were interrupted by a deep voice coming from behind me.

"Naomi?" 

♡♡♡

What a twist you guys. Who could it be?

A little of what we had in the original has come back to haunt us, but this time with a little more development.

Don't worry, we aren't done with Chad. There's a lot in store for all of my lovely characters.

Anyways, I wanna thank you guys for keeping this story alive and well. As always we do have our spotlight reader.

Our honorary wattpader this week is... 

Thanks for adding me to your reading list, love!

Keep voting and commenting guys, you know that keeps me going!
Love you all so terribly much.

xoxo