By Your Side (Preview)

Chapter 5

Being overwhelmed by my emotions was the last thing that I wanted to have happen. Yet here we were all over again, only this time it was at a waterpark. I didn't know what to do to settle my aggravation, and I didn't want to spiral off the deep end with Clare right next to me. Except while looking at Nathan, all I wanted to do was punch him as hard as I could for treating Hannah the way that he did. Unlike my rival, I was at least mature enough to restrain my teenage urges to the highest degree. Yet, with Nathan now looking up at Clare and me, it only made me want to pull him off his high horse more with his smug attitude.

"So man, you drove here today, right?" Nathan asked as I saw my first opportunity to fire a shot back at him.

"Yea, I did. Why do you ask?" I replied, hoping that he would say the thing that all of us knew would embarrass Hannah.

"You don't have a chaperone, nor do I, but my mom dropped me off here." He chirped, and it was like music to my ears.

As the words left Nathan's mouth, I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face, which I didn't hesitate to show off. Hearing how much Nathan relied on his parents to get around was always amusing since everyone else in his immediate friend group, Hannah included, could all drive and had a car of their own. It wasn't even like we lived in a grid-locked city, either. We were well spread out. The downtown core was the exception, but it was a collection of streets you never had to go to. Overall, it benefitted knowing how to drive because it made you worth so much more. Only with Nathan never having to worry about money I could see why he never bothered to better himself as an individual.

However, I knew I wasn't the only one who got enjoyment out of this because this was a constant topic for Clare and me to joke about. Sitting there beside me, I knew that she likely had a smile across her face as we shared the same thought. Then, turning to glance at her while also getting a better look at Nathan, I confirmed my suspicion. Clare wore the same smile that I had on my face. I don't know why, but I liked seeing Clare smile. It was almost calming and took some of the darkness out of my world. She was my best friend for a reason, and the inside jokes we shared made everything better. Finally breaking the silence, Nathan continued with his questions.

"So, what are you driving around nowadays?" He asked, and I couldn't help but think about my dad and how he really saved the day on this one by letting me drive his car.

"Just a challenger. Nothing too crazy." I said, trying to play it off like it was nothing, but internally, my excitement was just waiting to seep out of my pores.

"Just a challenger?! Dude, that's so sick. Y'know how cool I'd be if I showed up to a party in one of those." Nathan said, and for once, I thought he may actually call me cool, but I wasn't surprised when he made it all about himself.

Oddly enough, that was one of the many odd things about Nathan. He had a fascination with practically anything with a motor in it. Yet he avoided driving like the plague. Over time, I just assumed that maybe he wanted a car collection to look at, as entertaining as that sounded, but he always wanted the highest-end cars but made absolutely zero effort in achieving that, other than having temper tantrums in front of his parents, and even as narcissistic as they were, I think they were also getting tired of it.

That being said, as the words left my mouth, I watched as Nathan's eyes lit up in front of me, and with my sentence at its end, I couldn't help but feel a rush of satisfaction race through my veins. It was the first time that I ever felt like I was more impressive than the coolest kid in school. However, maybe I was being generous when I gave him that title since you can only be so cool when your mom is still your chaperone to all of your play dates. For me, though, with my newfound confidence racing through my veins, I waited to deliver yet another blow to Nathan, but that's when he lost interest in me. Turning his attention back to Hannah, he kissed her passionately, and I couldn't help but feel like he was doing it to spite me.