My Personal Stalker

Chapter 27: False Promises

Joe's POV:

The party was a huge success. Every student seemed to be there except for the guest of honor.

Chloe and Aileen were standing on the other side of the room with two drinks in their hands. I gave them a questioning look but Chloe just shrugged.

Suddenly someone hit my shoulder. "Great party, buddy."

"Thanks, Travis" I said with a half smile.

"About what I said the other day... I didn't mean to make things uncomfortable between you and Chloe."

I chuckled slightly. "You didn't. Chloe and I are just friends, always have been, always will be."

"So she's not seeing anyone at the moment?" I wasn't sure how to answer his question. Technically, she wasn't... That's when I received a message from Aileen.

Aileen: Stacey is here! Now you have to get her attention. Just go with it, okay?

"Look, buddy. I don't know if Chloe's seeing anyone right now. But things are still pretty complicated with Mark..." I explained as quickly as possible.

"Hey you," her voice made me smile in an instant.

Aileen placed her hand on my shoulder and leaned in. My breath caught up in my throat. "What are you doing?" I whispered.

"Making sure Stacey wants you..."

"Alright, I'm gonna leave you two lovebirds alone." Travis laughed. I had totally forgotten about him.

Aileen traced her finger over my chest. "Is she looking at us?" She asked in a husky voice.

"What?" I couldn't concentrate on anything other than Aileen's touch.

"Stacey..." she chuckled. "Keep it together."

"I'm trying." I laughed as well. "Yeah, she's giving us some side glances."

Aileen smiled. "Good, now you have to act disinterested in me and maintain eye contact with her."

"I don't think I can do that." How could I act disinterested in the girl I loved?

"Do it for Cole..." She gave me a reassuring nod before placing her hand on my cheek. I brushed it off as gently as possible and took a step back from her. "I get it. A girl like me is not good enough for you." She hissed loudly.

It broke my heart but I had to let Aileen storm off. Keep it together. Her words were still echoing in my head. She was right. I had to keep up the act.

I smiled at Stacey before walking into the kitchen to pour myself another drink. Gladly, she followed me into the other room. Chloe had told me to let Stacey approach me since she only wanted what she couldn't have.

"Would you mind?" She asked giving me her empty cup.

"Not at all..." My fingers brushed hers while taking the cup. "How about some red wine?"

Stacey traced her fingers over my biceps. "That sounds inviting." I tried my best to hide my disgust at her sudden closeness. "So, how much do you work out to stay in shape like that?" She tilted her head to the side.

"As much as I can, I usually spend all of my free time at the gym to prepare for the next match."

"That sounds exhausting. You should really allow yourself to have some time for other things... things that include female company, maybe." She giggled.

I forced myself to smile. "Maybe I should." Every inch of my body told me to walk away from Stacey and find Aileen instead but I couldn't. It was now or never. So I leaned in closer and whispered, "I have some free time right now."

"Alright, meet me upstairs in five minutes." Stacey kissed my cheek before taking off.

Chloe's POV:

I knew that it would be though on Aileen to see Joe flirting with another girl but her expression told me it was even worse.

Her eyes were narrowed on Stacey, her nostrils flaring and her fists clenched. I felt like she was just about to walk over there and punch Stacey in the face. And as much as I wanted to see that, it wouldn't exactly help with our plan. "You know that he's just acting, right?"

Her face relaxed a bit. "I know. But I still hate seeing him with someone else."

"Aileen, if it wasn't for our plan, Joe would probably push her off of him. He's the most trustworthy guy I know."

"What plan?" Mark's voice made my jump.

"What are you talking about?" I didn't even bother facing him.

"You said that if it wasn't for your plan, Joe would push Stacey off of him. So... what plan?"

Aileen sighed heavily. "Joe's planning on losing his virginity, dumbass." I choked on my own saliva.

"That reminds me of Joe's last party. You were all over me, remember?" He whispered into my ear.

Gladly, Aileen pulled Mark away from me. "Can I talk to you for a second, Mark? In private..."

The distraction gave me a chance to follow Stacey into the restroom. Aileen nodded at me before dragging my ex boyfriend to the other side of the room.

"Hey sweety," I said to Stacey in a high pitched voice.

"What do you want?" She rolled her eyes at me.

"Oh, I just wanted to check up on you. All of this must be really hard after everything that has happened."

"What are you talking about?"

"Cole... you know I get it if you can't turn Joe down like that. You must be so afraid that he could do the same thing to you. But I can tell him to stay away if you want."

"What? No, it's fine... I'm fine."

"You don't have to stay strong. This is a safe place." I embraced her in a hug.

"What Cole did to me was horrible but I'm over it. He will get what he deserves."

I had to admit she was a good liar but two people could play this game. "Have you talked to your therapist about this? You must still be mentally hurt. Sleeping with someone right now wouldn't be a good idea trust me."

"I'm not mentally hurt." She pouted.

"Look, I get it. I have been through something really similar and it took me a long time to open up to someone. What really helped me was to spend some time alone, to come clean with myself before letting someone else come close to me again. I could set up a date with my therapist for you." Slowly, I reached into my pocket and pressed record on my phone.

Stacey tried to walk past me but I blocked the door. "It's really fine, Chloe. Just let me out of this bathroom. I will have a great time with Joe and forget about Cole, okay?"

"I'm just so worried about you... I know how arrogant and unapproachable Cole can be but I would have never imagined him to do something like that to an innocent girl."

"Alright, can you keep a secret?" I nodded carefully. "Cole didn't really harass me."

"I don't understand." I played dumb to make her confess the whole lie.

"We hooked up after he told me that he liked me and a few days later I caught him with another girl. I was really angry and wanted him to pay, so I told everyone that he had harassed me... Can I leave now?"

"Gladly," I smirked. "Oh and by the way, Joe won't show up."

"What?" Stacey's eyes widened.

"Don't worry about it." I just smiled at her and left.

—

Author's Note:
Hey loves, I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I was really busy with work.

What do you guys think about Tristan's sudden interest in Chloe?
Was Aileen right to be jealous of Stacey?
What will she tell Mark after taking him away?
Did you expect Stacey to confess her lie to Chloe?

If you like this story so far please vote, comment, add it to a reading list or share it with your friends. It would mean a lot to me ♥️