simplicity ✩ pm

three

third person pov
it's been a week since chapter 2: within these 7 days, lots has happened. zion and dahlia are now super close friends, brandon and elle haven't spoken of the kiss since the night it happened, and some new characters who might just stir up trouble are introduced.
elle's pov
*tuesday, february 3rd: lunch*
"yeah, and apparently there's a new girl at our school, austin was telling me about it. i guess he knew her over the summer or something?" i said, eating my salad. dahlia looked down and sighed, weirdly frowning. uhhhhhhh.

"you okay, dahli? i'm sure she's not even that cute." i said, trying to reassure her. she nodded and we continued talking before austin and zion walked over to our table at lunch.

"hey cute girlies, wassup?" zion said, winking. i laughed, smiling. austin and elle were talking about something, leaving me to make conversation with zion.

"hey zi, do you know anything about the new girl?" i asked, suddenly feeling nervous.

"i mean i don't know but i'm pretty sure she's into austin, and from what i know, she's such a snack." he said laughing. i laughed along nervously, hoping that wasn't true. clearly, he noticed.

"i have a question for you like straight up though, dahli." he said, setting a serious tone. i asked what it was and he said,

"do you have a thing for austin or somehthing? just wondering i guess." i blushed and looked down, but quick enough for him not to notice.

"what? no way man, that's my best friend's step brother. i couldn't do that to elle." i said, hoping he wouldn't call my bluff. unfortunately, he did.

"bullshit, i know you like au-" he was interrupted by austin and elle joining our conversation.

"what's up guys, what are we talking about over here?" elle said, smiling innocently. we all just went on chatting and shit until  the lunch bell rang and we finally went to our 5th period classes. i walked slowly to art when i saw brandon and charlotte talking to a girl with jet black hair and huge lips. i walked over , and i immediately regretted it lol.

"oh hey dahlia. this is grace, the new girl." he said gesturing over to her. holy mother of fuck, why is she such a goddess. this is not okay. he's totally gonna fall for her.

"hey, it's nice to meet you! i'm grace, i've seen you around school before, you're friends with austin. speaking of, tell him i'm looking for him. we go way back." she said, winking before walking away. i sighed. damn, i bet austin's gonna fall for her. charlotte walked away and left me to talk to brandon.
"honestly i know we haven't really talked much but can i talk to you about something?" he asked in all seriousness.
"of course brandon, what's up?"
"i have a minor problem: i really like elle. and i know she likes me too, but i don't know how to get rid of charlotte." he said blushing.
"awe oh my god, just tell her how you feel and dump charlotte. clearly you don't have feelings for her if you're into elle." i explained. we walked into art and passed notes just talking about the whole situation. i realized i was super bored so i decided to go to the bathroom. i walked into the bathroom and reapplied my lip gloss when i got a really weird gut feeling. i walked out when suddenly i felt as if i'd been slapped across the face. there, standing outside the bathroom, was grace with her tongue down austin's throat. i felt my face become red and i gasped. austin looked up with sheer guilt in his eyes. i just shook my head and walked away. i had 3 words for grace and 3 words only, this means war.
austin's pov
god, i've never felt more confused in my life. grace was hot, scandalous, and we had a history from just last summer. but dahlia, she was something else. she was beautiful in every aspect, hilarious but unintentionally, and she knew just what to say. you'd think the obvious choice was, well, obvious. still, i didn't know what to do. i heard grace was coming to our school since she went away for awhile but i tried my hardest not to go back to her and to just remember how she hurt me. i was in the hallway when she came up to me.
"austin, babe, how are you these days? did you miss me?" she said flirtatiously, chewing her gum obnoxiously . i rolled my eyes.
"i've been fine without you, how are the multiple guys you cheated with?" i asked, rudely.
"ouch porter, watch your words. you know i'm fragile to the touch."
"whatever, i've gotta go." i said, remembering dahlia.
"not so fast, love. i've missed these lips, ya know?" she said, pulling me in. i don't know why i kissed back, i think having someone who repeatedly hurt you is better than being lonely. i thought of dahlia, her gorgeous eyes. i pulled away to find dahlia standing there, heartbreak reflecting off her eyes into mine. god, this isn't right. i was about to say something, but she walked away. i wanted to run, i wanted to tell her how much i'd rather be kissing her right now, but i just couldn't find the courage.
"grace, i don't want this anymore. please, you gotta leave me alone." i said, almost brought to tears. i hate that the most about being a guy, everyone expects you to be tough 24/7. i had feelings, emotions. sure i don't fall in love easily, but that's why i wanted nothing more than to run to dahlia and hold her until the pain melted away. she was special.
"whatever, way to burst my bubble austin. catch ya later." she said, blowing a bubble and popping it. i hope dahlia is okay, i know she likes me too. what the fuck am i doing?
elle's pov
"mrs. anderson, this whole assignment is extremely demeaning and ridiculous. you expect us to-" she interrupted me.
"elle, stop sharing your opinions in my class. you know what, go move next to edwin. hopefully, our top student can knock some sense into you, jeez." she yelled, irritatingly. i huffed and walked over to edwin.
"hey, what's up edwin?" i asked.
"hi you're elle right? i think your opinions are dope, i have hella opinions too but i never share. mrs. anderson is a pain in the ass bruh" he whispered, laughing. i laughed along and we continued talking until the end of class.
"you're pretty rad, elle. hit me up sometime and let's chill." he said, handing me a piece of paper with his number on it. i smiled and walked out to find dahlia wrapped in brandon's arms while she bawled her eyes out. is it bad that i questioned why they were hugging before i questioned why she's crying a river? whatever.
"lia, what the hell happened?" i asked. she quickly gave me an excuse.
"oh hi elle, i um i kinda sort of just found out my great um aunt died." she said, nervously shifting her eyes.
"oh yeah? which great aunt?" i asked suspiciously.
"great aunt uh sally, i gotta go elle." she said, pushing her way past me and walking away. i was worried for her and brandon noticed.
"don't worry about dahlia, she's got stuff going on but it's not my place to say anything. i'm sure she'll tell you soon." he reassured me. i felt my mind calm down a bit and walked with brandon for a silent minute.
"so elle, could we talk about what happened?" brandon asked nervously. i nodded, terrified of what he was gonna say. was i not a good kisser? does he think it was a mistake now?
"i mean im just gonna come right out and say it. elle, i really like you. and i know i have a girlfriend and your stepbrother is my best friend, but i don't think i could ever stay away from you. you made me feel something that charlotte hasn't made me feel in our entire time dating. i want more with you, but how can we make this work?" he said in short breaths, nervousness in his words. i smiled uncontrollably.
"brandon, i really like you too. i want to be something with you but i know austin will never let me date you." i said frowning. he looked down for a moment, but quickly reconnected our gaze.
"let's date secretly."
dahlia's pov
school ended, like i thought it never would. all i wanted to do was go home and curl up into a ball and cry. i didn't often catch feelings for guys, i couldn't recall what it was like to 'fall in love.' honestly, for the longest time, i was so set on the idea that love is just a myth, nothing more than a mind game. that was, of course, before i met austin. i'm not saying i love him, i just mean he makes me feel like i matter in a way that almost no one else makes me feel. i was so lost in my thoughts that i walked straight into zion.
"oh god, sorry dahli i didn't see you there." he said. i said it was fine and tried to walk away when he grabbed my wrist gently and pulled me back to him.
"hey, what's wrong?" he asked in a soft voice.
"nothing, im okay."
"dahlia, we may have only met not that long ago, but i know you better than this. tell me what happened."
i sighed and spilled everything about when i saw austin and grace. he frowned and gave me a huge hug. we sat in the parking lot for a while before texting elle that we would come over with the rest of the group. god, now i have to face austin. we got there, and what do you know: grace decided to join. this would be interesting.
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