That One Girl

Chapter 2

***Well, here we are! This is the longest chapter I've written in probably a month - it's around 3500 words. What can I say? I'm becoming a pretty big advocate of Coliel romance <3

Okay, also, don't kill me when you're done reading Cole's POV. And don't kill Lloyd, either. I can't write a story if I'm dead, and Lloyd...I still need him! LOL

Also, I never knew this song was about depression until today. I guess I never listened to the lyrics. Huh.

And just a note: If you all haven't noticed by now, I double-space before and after flashbacks, then italicize all the words in the flashback.***

***(Cole's POV)***

"Some party, huh?" Vania beams, gazing up at me.

I nod and smile for her benefit. "Yeah, sure." I don't really want to be here.

Kai and I are the only members of the team who attend parties. Now that he's seriously dating Skylor – actually, they're engaged – he spends a lot less time with the night life.

Technically, Lloyd did attend one party. That was the night he got absolutely drunk and almost subverted his team after breaking Nya and Jay up. Now, however, Lloyd stays away from anything resembling an external social life. He really only has the team.

Okay, he has the team, minus Nya and Jay. Jay's just plain snappy toward him, and Nya...I think she dislikes being around Lloyd more than even Jay does, but she does a pretty good job of hiding it.

So essentially, Lloyd has me, Zane, and Kai. And Kai doesn't even know what happened that night, or he might break ties with Lloyd, too.

"Coooooole?" Vania says, drawing out my name. "Are you all there?"

I shake my head. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry." I stuff my hands in my pockets. "Hey, I'm going to check out the kitchen and see what there is to eat, okay? I think I see some of your friends over in the TV room. Do you mind if I join you later?"

She nods emphatically. "Yeah, of course! Have fun!" She rushes over to the people I pointed out, glad to rid herself of me. I guess I'm too distracted to be an interesting date tonight.

I make a beeline for the kitchen. With luck, I'll be out of here in the next half hour. I might as well grab a snack for the road.

I pause when I hear crying coming from the back porch. If someone's upset...

I'm an all-around nice guy. I don't like to hear people hurting. Maybe I'll be turned away, but if there's anything I can do to help, I'd be happy to cheer up whomever it is.

***Music Cue***

I gently open the back door, rehearsing what I'm going to say in my head. Hey, I'm Cole. I heard you crying. Are you okay? Do you need me to call someone for you? I could give you a ride home.

All those thoughts flood my head as I see my best friend curled in a ball on the back porch, sobbing.

What's he doing at a party?

And...why is Nya with him?

"I'm sorry," Jay hiccups. "I didn't mean to drink so much. It just all happened so fast." His voice is slurred.

Nya rubs his back, biting her lip. "Jay, this isn't good. You've been so depressed lately. You should get help."

Recovering from my shock, I rush to join them. "What happened?" I demand.

Jay just cries harder when he sees me.

Nya wraps her arms around him in a hug. "Jay decided to drink away his worries, if you couldn't tell," she sighs.