What She Forgot

Chapter Nine

part three of four in the backstory of ariana's first boyfriend seth. this backstory is almost over. it explains why ariana has a hard time figuring out romantic feelings and why she went to LASPA. hope you guys are liking these! part four is going to be up tonight too! (I FINALLY DON'T HAVE HOMEWORK)

also for everyone in america: PLEASE DON'T STRESS. trump might be our next president, but love always wins <3 (also if he sucks we can just petition to impeach him or something lol)

PART THREE

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It was surprisingly cold today, which isn't something that happens often in Australia. I shivered and ran my hands up and down my arms. The boy sitting beside me chuckled. I sighed happily as Seth Hutchings pulled me against him. As I rested my head on his shoulder, a smile grew. Even after five months of dating, I still couldn't believe that Seth was my boyfriend. My first boyfriend was also the perfect boyfriend. 

Seth had managed to pull me out of my bedroom and onto the porch. Together, we sat on the bench swing. Seth's arm was thrown around my shoulders, my head resting on his shoulder, and my legs lying on top of his. It was a position we found ourselves in a lot. I'm not complaining.

The sound of a door slamming had me and Seth sitting up quickly. We saw Jai running out of his house next door and racing over to us. When Jai made it to us, he shoved a letter into my lap. "This was put into my mailbox instead of yours. It's your letter! From you know!" 

Seth's back stiffened. "Who's you know?" 

"Not who, lover boy. But where," Jai corrected. With a laugh, he added, "Ariana isn't cheating on you with some pen pal."

I didn't laugh. I didn't say anything at all. I just stared at the white envelope sitting in my lap. I traced my finger over the return name. Los Angeles School for the Performing Arts. My dream school. I had applied six months ago, right before Seth and I started dating, but I had lost all hope. The envelope was thick. That could only mean one thing.

I pulled my legs off of Seth's lap and eagerly ripped open the envelope. Several papers spilled out onto my lap. I rifled through them until I found the letter I was looking for. I scanned the top until my eyes landed on "We are pleased to say that you have been accepted into the Los Angeles School for the Performing Arts." I let out a shriek. Seth jumped beside me. 

Jai grabbed the letter from my hand and read aloud, "We are pleased to say that you have been accepted into the Los Angeles School for the Performing Arts. Miss Brooks, we think you have outstanding talent and we would love you master your beautiful voice. We hope to have you join our school year now as a freshman or join next year for your sophomore year." Jai and I shrieked. Jai lifted me into a hug and spun me around. "That's my best friend!" He whooped. 

I was smiling so hard that my cheeks hurt. My smile immediately dropped when I saw Seth's expression. A frown sat on his lips. "Seth?" I asked, trying to keep the hurt from my voice. Was he upset that I made it in?

"Why didn't you tell me you applied?" He asked.

I reached over and took his hand. "I applied before we started dating. I didn't hear back from them for a while so I thought I didn't make it in. I didn't think I needed to tell you if there was no hope." 

Seth ran his thumb over my hand. "I'm so proud of you, Ariana. Of course you would make it in. You have the best voice in the world." 

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"Los Angeles is really far away, Ariana," Seth said quietly. "What if you meet someone else?" 

Jai's jaw dropped. He ran into my house, eager to get out of this conversation. I took a deep breath and looked Seth straight into the eye. As the months had passed, I had fallen in love with Seth's beautiful brown eyes even more and more. "Seth, I'm not going to fall for anyone else, okay? It's you. Only you."

Seth looks down. "Los Angeles is full of people, Ariana. Your school is full of people so much better than.

"No, Seth, don't say that!" I said. I cupped his face in my hands, forcing him to look at me again. "I want you, only you. No one in Los Angeles is going to make me change my mind about you." 

"Okay."

"Seth, do you believe me?"

Seth took a deep breath before nodding. He grinned his gorgeous, heart stopping grin before saying, "I believe you." 

I sighed in relief. "I love you." 

I stiffened. Seth and I had never said I love you before. It just slipped out! I certainly meant it, but I didn't want to say it first. I winced when I realized that Seth wasn't going to say it back. Because he didn't mean it. He might've liked me, but he didn't love me. I had said it too soon.

Seth split into a smile. The most gorgeous smile. His eyes lit up. "I love you, too," He said. Seth leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine. I kissed him back, smiling against his lips. All of a sudden, Seth pulled away. "I have to get home. I was supposed to be back five minutes ago."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." 

I frowned. Seth smiled apologetically. "Bye, babe," He said. He wrapped his arms around my waist in a quick hug. I barely managed to get a kiss on his cheek in before he was bounding to his car. I gave him a halfhearted wave as he drove away.

"He left suddenly," Jai said, coming out onto the porch.

"He's just late getting home," I said.

Jai shrugged. "Okay." 

As I followed Jai into the house, I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in my stomach. I had a feeling this was the calm before a storm. I shook my head. I was just being ridiculous.

It turns out I wasn't being ridiculous at all.

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ooh dramatic cliff hanger. 

see you guys in the next chapter, coming in about two hours !!

xoxo,

  mikailaxryan