The Ugly Friend

Chapter 5

"Hey ... Are you okay?"

I blink, breaking out of my trance.

"Yes, of course. Just felt good to let it all out." I force out a small smile. Sam frowns, crossing his arms.

"You're not okay." He scoots closer to me. "Come here."

"What?" I look at him, surprised.

"Come here; it's obvious you need a hug right now." Sam's arms stretch out, waiting for me to fall into his embrace.

"Sam, it's okay, really. I'm fine-."

Suddenly, I'm pulled into a warm chest, my head resting gently against Sam.

I feel my arms wrap around Sam's torso, relaxing into his touch.

I stare into his gorgeous blue eyes and wish to stay in his arms forever. He makes me feel safe, something I have not felt for a long time.

"God, you're so beautiful."

My heart skips a beat, and my cheeks turn pink.

I tell myself it's not true; I am not beautiful and that Sam is just feeling sorry for me, but for some reason, I want to believe him.

I really want to believe him.

All my life, it was Maddie, the popular girl, the IT girl, who was in the spotlight. All the boys fell to her feet, and all the girls wanted to be her friend.

I was shoved aside, labeled as 'Maddie's best friend.'

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Maddie is my best friend. In fact, she's basically my sister. But sometimes, I wish I could be a little more like her: the perfect girl whom everyone loves. I wish that people would notice me, and that I'm not always the person alone in the corner when there's social gatherings, the person always chosen last.

I just wish to be loved.

"No I'm not. Don't lie."

"I'm not lying. You're really beautiful."

A tear drop slowly trickles down my cheek. I reach up to wipe it away, but another hand beats me to it. As soon as his finger makes contact with my face, I immediately stiffen up, causing him to pull his finger back.

I untangle myself from Sam and sit up straight.

"Are you a high school senior," I ask, trying to forget about the nice moment we had, before I unwillingly ruined it.

"Yes," Sam clears his throat. "You?"

"I am too. Where are you going for college?"

Apparently I hit a sore spot because Sam looks away, looking kind of angry.

"I rather not talk about that right now," he mumbles.

I nod, understandingly. "Well, I'm going to NYU. It's not the school I wanted but it'll do. I mean, it's here in New York, so it's not that far from home. I'm going to be a law major, and their law program isn't that bad. I'm also moving in with my best friend so that's a plus. "

"You really like your best friend huh?"

I smile, explaining to him our story. Her family is basically my family. My mom left my dad and I when I was 10 and ever since then, my dad has been drowning himself in work. Maddie's family really helped me when I was at my worse. I owe everything to them; to her.

"Where did you want to go? Did you get in?" I nod.

"I got into Yale, but I turned it down," I bow my head in sadness. Yale was my dream school. It was the school my dad went to, but it was Maddie's dream for the two of us to go to NYU. I didn't tell her I got into Yale; it would crush her.

"Why did you turn it down?"

I sigh. "It's ... complicated." I turn to look at Sam, changing the subject, "Tell me about yourself."

"There's nothing to say. My life is pretty boring."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"I have a brother. He's kind of a mess, but I love him nonetheless."

"Aww. That's so cute." I look down at my phone, checking the time. 10:49. "Oh no. It's late. I need to go."

I get up and prepare to leave, but a warm hand grabs my wrist. "No, please stay."

I look down at the source of the voice, and before I can say anything, Sam pulls me down. He pulls a little too hard and I fall on top of him.

I feel myself drowning into his calming, sea-blue eyes, before I notice him leaning in.

Is he going to kiss me? Should I kiss him back? So many thoughts run through my mind before I block them out, and make up my mind.

I lean down, capturing his lips on mine. I'm never going to see Sam ever again so I decide to let my guard down for one day.

His lips are soft and warm. Our kiss was slow at first but soon became rough and passionate.

He pulls away, both of us gasping for air. I look into his eyes once again and put my head on his chest. I can't think of a more perfect moment.

We fall into a comfortable silence, looking at the stars.

For the rest of the night, we talked about our interests, dislikes, and life in general. I haven't laughed and smiled this much in a long time.

For one night, I let my guard down.

And I felt beautiful.

A U T HO R ' S   N O T E

Not that anyone cares, but this is probably the last chapter I'm going to post for a while. School has been rough lately and I have so many things to do this weekend. 3 tests to study for, 1 project to do, a debate to prepare for, and a bunch of homework to catch up on. I just can't simply write like I did during break, not that I wrote a lot after break anyway  ://

My chapters have been getting less and less views, not that I'm surprised, but I just want to thank those people who are actually reading my work. Does not matter if you have only read one chapter or two. I love all of you. Thanks for making my dream come true.