One Drunken Night

Chapter 18 (Road Trip!!!)

"You-h-how...what?" I stutter, trying to find the right response. I don't know how I should feel honestly. Pity? Guilty? I don't know because this is my cousin we're talking about, we-I'll admit-like the same guy. There's some unknown feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.

Hailey let out a tired sigh as she placed her hand on her forehead. "There! I said it, okay? The big secret is out." She said finally.

I asked the first question that came into my mind. "When did you start to like him?"

"The first time I saw him." She answered without hesitation. "At first, it wasn't really a crush thing, I just thought he was hot, that's it." She bit her lip and looked anywhere but me. We stopped walking, Axel and El still hasn't noticed our absence since they were still walking towards his car. "But after a few days of hanging out with him," she continued, "he's nice and funny, the kind of guy almost every girl wants. I started developing feelings for him, feelings of wanting to be with him, making him laugh and all that, as long as I'm with him, I'm happy."

I listened as she described her feeling when she's with Dylan. I didn't want to hear this, it's like she's describing me and her description is so accurate of what I'm feeling. "Then after a month of having those feelings, I noticed that he hangs out with you a lot, wanting to interrupt every time because I was slightly aware of being jealous." She said.

"That's why you took his phone." I said, continuing her story as realization finally slaps me in the face. "You were jealous that he told me to look after his phone." I said quietly, not to rub it in her face or anything.

She was quiet but slowly nodded and bit her bottom lip, looking down at her shoes. "You noticed I was slightly bitchy this past month every time I talk to him." She whispered, not quite looking at me. "But you know what a guy can do to a girl who likes him, her feelings heighten whenever she talks to him and that's me." She gave out a humorless chuckle. "He always goes near you, he barely notices me, sure he talks to me and I'm happy when he does but now, when I heard him say that you go wait for him, all I can think of is, 'why not me? I'm his friend too'."

"Hey! What are you guys standing there for?" Someone calls and we both turn to see El and Axel waiting by his car a few meters away. "If you guys are waiting for Christmas, it's just three weeks away." El called with a grin.

I glanced at Hailey beside me but she wasn't looking at me, instead she walked towards our waiting friends without giving me a backwards glance. I followed suit after a few seconds, I placed my bag inside his car and looked at Axel. "What are you guys gonna do while you wait for us?" I said, not looking at Hailey as she stood quietly beside El who was leaning against Axel's car.

He shrugged. "We could just wait in the car, honestly, I rather stay in the car rather than wait for an hour in school."

I sighed and was about to say something when my phone rang, cutting me off. I pulled it out an glanced at the caller ID before ignoring the call, I turn back to my friends. "And the king awaits." I said sarcastically. I turned to go, not before making eye contact with Hailey, mentally telling her with my eyes that our talk is not yet over. She just looked down in response.

I stepped into the school just as my phone vibrated in my pocket again and I answered it with slight annoyance in my tone. "Calm down, I didn't know you were that desperate for my company."

I heard a slight chuckle on the other line. "Don't be so full of yourself, Coleman. I'm just calling to tell you to hurry up since it probably takes you one minute to lift one foot, Big Foot."

I rolled my eyes and felt guilty for some unknown reason. "How do you expect me to wait for you anyway? I might as well just sit with Axel and the rest in his car if I can't go in." I tried to reason.