The Upside of Heartbreak

Schemes and Rumours

I had hoped to have this up yesterday, but editing just didn't allow for that. Meh, such is life I guess. This was originally going to be Halloween themed (of course), but the plot and timeline just felt WAY too rushed. Instead, it and the next chapter are just inspired by one of my fave holidays, and dedicated to all those ghouls and goblins that spent their night out Trick or Treating, or partying under the full moon. Or, perhaps more so to those like me that thought Halloween wasn't going to happen this year so they spent the entire night hiding in the house with the lights off :S Oops! Oh well, at least I managed to get a chapter written...lol

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Scott was feeling pretty good for the first time in a week and a half. Since Tyler had decided to go with Frank to visit Frank's parents for some strange reason, he had taken full advantage of the empty apartment. Last night he had taken Sabrina out for dinner to apologize for last Friday. That had turned out to be a stroke of genius. Especially since she was more than willing to come home with him afterwards.

It had been admittedly weird to have sex with someone that wasn't Astrid, but Scott had forced those thoughts from his mind. He really did need to make up for his appalling lack of performance last weekend, and he knew full well that the girls loved to gossip. Your reputation amongst the cheerleaders could make or break a guy in this group. Did Scott really want to get ranked alongside the nerdy Fishlegs just because he was still a little hung up on his ex? Not a chance!

Still, as soon as Sabrina had left in an Uber this morning, Scott's mind had immediately strayed back to Astrid. He just couldn't help wondering what she was doing this weekend. Was she studying with her friends? Or maybe sitting at home alone instead? Secretly wishing that he would call. Of course he had eventually surrendered and tried to ring her up this afternoon, but her phone had gone straight to voicemail. Astrid probably just wasn't ready to admit that she was sorry yet.

Scott refused to consider the possibility that she had truly moved on with her life. No matter what she had said in her anger, Astrid had to miss him. At least a little. What they had was amazing, and Scott was even more sure of that after spending the night with someone else. It had been decent, as far as sex goes, but that didn't change anything. It was just sex. You can't just throw away 4 happy years that fast!

Now it was Sunday evening, and Scott was sitting on the couch watching the highlights from some game last night. His mind not even focused enough on the tv to know what sport it was. Too lost in his thoughts to even care, really. Only the sound of Tyler crashing through the door with a duffel bag was enough to shake him out of his funk.

"How was your weekend with Fish," Scott asked as Tyler dropped his bag on the floor. "Did you two nerd out over Viking Wars: Age of Dragons the whole time? Or did you convince him to get out and finally lose his virginity instead?"

Tyler glanced over at him with an arched brow. "I don't 'nerd out' over video games. I just think they're fun," he offered with a shrug. "You shouldn't hate on the big guy so much. Frank's actually pretty easy going away from school. Well, easy going for Frank. Honestly he'll probably even have a girlfriend soon."

Scott snorted a laugh at that. "Pfft, yeah right," he scoffed. "Well, unless he's got the hots for one of those other science class nerds he hangs with."

"You do realize that your ex is one of those other science class nerds," Tyler replied with a smirk. His grey-brown eyes almost seeming to laugh at some joke that Scott wasn't privy too.

"Yeah, but Astrid would never date Fishface," Scott countered flippantly. Sure that Tyler was trying to rile him up by hinting that Astrid might get with Frank. As if! "He's not her type."