I Understand Now (Ricky Dillon Fanfiction)

Chapter 24

"So, is he okay?" I ask my dad nervously. The last thing I want is to go through the same argument I went through with my mum, even though she's changed her mind.

"Of course," my dad replies with a smile, and I am filled with relief. "He seems like the kind of guy who really loves you and wants to look after you."

"He is," I assure him. "Thanks, Dad."

"Hey, don't mention it," Dad says. "You're 18 now. I can't control the choices that you make. Well, most of them." He chuckles.

...

The idea of school doesn't seem as bad now that the tension between Jen and me has been relieved, and Sarah has been dealt with. I am able to walk through the gates without feeling like everyone is judging me, and without dreading what I'll have to face during the day. Except for classes, obviously.

"Hey, Ellie!" Jen calls when she sees me arrive at my locker. Her long, brown hair is in a hairstyle I have never seen on her before, two long plaits framing the sides of her face. It suits her better than I would've guessed.

"Hey," I reply. "I like your hair today."

"Thanks," she grins, playing with one of her plaits. "I wanted to try something new. Also, I'm feeling a little better about myself."

"I think we all are," I point out, and she laughs.

"I'm glad we're on speaking terms again," she sighs.

"So am I, believe me," I agree. "Well, how have you been?"

Jen and I catch up on all the things we missed out on during the time we spent, well, hating each other. I find out that Jen's mother is getting married, and that she's excited about getting to be a bridesmaid. It makes me think of how much her mother must love this guy that she's marrying, how committed she is to him, how she's probably willing to do anything for him.

I tell Jen about my relationship with Ricky, and this time, she is happy to listen. She tells me how happy she is for me that I've finally found someone who is helping me get over my practically lifelong fear. While she is single herself, Jen says she has her eyes on a cute boy in her Bio class called Jack who has been talking to her a lot lately.

"Maybe you should ask him out," I tease, just as Mum did when I first told her about Ricky. Jen laughs, as do I.

"I'm pretty sure he's single as well," she says. "Maybe he has a crush on me."

"Maybe he does," I agree, "if he talks to you a lot."

Jen sighs. "I've missed the days when we would talk to each other about boys without any tension between us," she says. "Without anything going on."

"So have I," I reply. "I've just missed you, Jen."

She smiles and puts her hand over mine. "Remember that BFF promise we made when we were little?"

"Oh my God, that was so embarrassing!" I laugh. "I can't remember the whole thing, but it was something like 'you have to promise you'll never leave me, if I tell a lie, you'll still believe me.' I'm not too sure how well we kept that." We both laugh.

Jen's smile drops when she looks out the window behind me. "Oh no," she mutters. "Oh, no no no. Ellie, I don't recommend you turn around." I frown, and despite what she said, I turn to see what she's looking at.

And I wish I'd listened to her.

Ricky's POV.

The girl standing next to me smiles, and I realise just how beautiful she really is. I never would've thought this before today, but a lot of things have changed. She's telling me about the time her family went to Thailand.

"It sounds like you had a fun time," I say. The girl nods.

"It was amazing," Sarah beams. "We got to ride elephants and everything. I nearly fell off one once!" I laugh, and she smiles, looking a little embarrassed.

"That's probably what I would do if I ever rode an elephant," I admit. "I'm pretty unco."

"I can imagine that," Sarah jokes. "Hey...thanks for forgiving me about all this. I never meant to hurt anyone."

"No problem. I'm sure you weren't intending to make Ellie feel bad," I reply.

Ellie. What would she think if she saw us together?

"Or Jen," Sarah adds. "I understand that I can be a bit of a control freak-I always have been. I just never really liked Ellie during my time here, and I wanted to get back at her somehow. But now I realise that she never actually did anything to make me hate her-I just did. I'm past it now, I promise." She smiles again.

"That's good to hear," I say, mirroring her smile. "There were people at my school back in LA who were like that towards me, except they never got over it. They just loved bullying me, but I never did anything to hurt them." Sarah looks at me sadly.

"I'm sorry about that," she says. "If I was there, I would've stopped them, definitely. At least they're behind you now, right?"

I nod. "Right," I answer. "I hope I'll never have to see them again." After walking with her, I realise that we've come to a bench.

"Do you wanna sit down?" Sarah asks, pointing to it. I nod and we sit down next to each other on the bench.

For a while, Sarah and I talk about what we've been doing recently. I don't want to mention Ellie, because that would probably cause a lot of tension between us, both Sarah and me, and Ellie and me. We mostly just talk about how school's going, which classes we like, which classes we don't. Sarah isn't in very many of my classes, so we each have a lot to talk about.

"By the way, I'm glad you and Ellie are alright now," Sarah says. "I'm sorry if I ever came between you two. Which I'm pretty sure I did at one point."

"It's fine," I assure. "Ellie seems to fine with it, too. She and Jen are sorting things out now. I guess everything's okay." I smile.

"I guess it is," Sarah agrees. "I just hope there isn't any-" She stops and looks at something in front of us.

I frown. "What?" I ask.

"Uh-oh," Sarah whispers. "We're dead."

I look in the direction that she's looking, and I realise what she means.

Jen.

And Ellie.

Not looking happy.