The Secret Life of Chloe Lyons #WATTYS2015

Ranch Day High - Morning Before School - Monday, August 22nd - 7:30 A.M.

Saturday Morning, August 20th:

I wake up extremely early today for some reason, to say I couldn't sleep last night.

I walk downstairs into the kitchen, still half asleep.

I grab the glass that I had last night and go straight to the refrigerator water.

I fill the glass up and drink it all.

I hear foot steps and make a sharp turn, running head to head with Joe.

"Joe! Jesus, you scared the crap out of me!" I say, still shocked, looking at him up and down.

He is shirtless, again, wearing nothing but his boxers.

"I'm... I'm sorry." He grins down at me. "I just heard something down here. Guess it was you."

"Where's Allison?" I ask.

"She's still asleep." He grins, again.

I just realize he's still close to me. I take a step back.

This is awkward.

"So um, Chloe, talk to Carter lately?" He asks, scratching his head.

I look down. "Since when did you start caring about me and Carter's relationship?"

"Oh. I don't... I'm just.... asking." He says.

Still looking down I respond. "Well, we're over. We broke up last night."

"Oh, Chloe. I didn't... I didn't know that. I'm sorry." He says, coming closer to me, trying to give me a hug.

I hug him back, surprisingly.

His body is warm and his hair is still in his low ponytail.

"I told you to stay away from that douche the day I..." He stops suddenly.

I know what he was about to say though. The day he told me he has feelings for me.

"I know." Is all I say.

We part.

He sighs.

"What even happened between you and Carter?" I ask. "We never really got to continue our little conversation."

He sighs again and sits on the counter top. I join him. "Well. We used to be friends. We used to go to each others parties. We talked about girls and skated together. We were unseperatable. That was until last summer, believe it or not. The summer going into sophomore year."

Also, the summer that Carter was dating his stepsister. I thought quietly. There's one lie of Carter. He told me I was his first girlfriend. He told me I was different.

"Chloe?" Joe waves his hand in my face.

Our legs are touching.

"Huh?" I looked at him.

"You still tired?" He asks, laughing.

"Oh no." I shake my head. "Just... thinking about you and Carter being friends. He is a douche. You got that right." I say.

He laughs a little. It's a sad laugh. "Yeah. He just started... avoiding me. So then we just kind of stopped talking. First day of school, his was different. I mean like that dude was so different. I didn't even recognize him. He even grew out his hair. I guess that's what happens over summer. People change, right?"