A Walk Apart (Episode 4: All In)

Chapter Three

Adam nodded dubiously while trying to lock onto a conversation careening into multiple directions. He picked up something about a sport he'd never heard of, but Will informed him with so much animated enthusiasm he would have thought he invented it himself. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ashlee plop herself at the counter. Her sad face planted in her hand. Duty called.

He sat down his idle rag, which had been diligently scrubbing the counter spotless until Will arrived. "That's incredible. One second." He moved over to Ashlee. "Hey, Ash. Why the sad face?" He was used to the big grins and giggles. They were a welcoming break from the moodiness that generally surrounded him.

Ashlee huffed. "I'm an idiot."

Adam waited. "Why are you an idiot?"

She blinked up at him and removed her fingers from her mouth to give a less muffled response. "I kissed a boy who has a girlfriend."

Adam squinted one eye. "I'm not sure that's the right word for it."

"I want to crawl down a manhole and live in the sewers for the rest of my life. I feel so stupid." She shook her head and crumbled into a pile of misery.

Adam felt for her. He understood entirely, living a similar conundrum. "You're not stupid. You're human. We make mistakes."

"What kind of person falls for someone who's taken?"

Adam dropped his eyes. Misery was incredibly contagious. "Someone without control over his or her feelings. You can't help who you fall for. That doesn't make you any less of a good person. You just have to move on from it. Anyway, this planet is full of single guys who would love to kiss a beautiful girl." There was the smile he knew and admired. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to return to a conversation that I'm not entirely sure has a subject."

Ashlee pity patted his hand. "Wish I could help, but I will be locked in my room for the rest of eternity." She offered a wounded smile and removed herself, noticeably in a slightly better mood still un-Ashlee like.

Adam's own tank of happiness drained as Nathan took her place. Per usual, he didn't look too happy himself. Moods were shifting gears quicker than drag racing in this place. Nathan put down his cell and pushed it across the counter. Adam's video played on the screen. That got around disturbingly quick. "Right. That. It's nothing compared to your stuff." That may not have been the best word to use when describing a musician's creation. The last thing he wanted was to offend him any further than he looked.

"I know it's about Maddie." Too late. They locked eyes. Nathan's blazed, daring him to deny it.

Adam trekked carefully. He couldn't lie to the guy's face, but what else could he possibly say? Of course, it's about Maddie. I'm madly in love with your girlfriend? "It's just a song."

Not the response Nathan wanted to hear. He shut down the video. "Between the comments, the balloons and now the song, I don't know what you're trying to do, but I don't trust you."

Adam glanced over at Will, who had thankfully trapped someone else with one of his never-ending stories. Hopefully, Adam's wouldn't end up in the queue. "I'm not trying to do anything. I'm well aware of the way she feels about you."

"And I am very aware of the way you feel about her." Nathan picked up his phone and walked off. That could not have gotten any more uncomfortable. 

***

Nathan knows about Adam's secret crush, but what about Maddie? Will she ever know how Adam feels? Stay tuned! 

-Love, Charly