Status: In a Relationship

Chapter Nine

Fay, please. I'm sorry, okay?

    This was one of the latest texts I had received from Jake. Although he irritated me and contiuned to pester me, I was beginning to feel a little guilty that I was making him feel bad. Even though he made me feel just as bad, I guess I should cut him some slack...?

    "Hey, you got your phone back?" Olive pointed out, sitting at our hang out.

    "Yeah," I said, lifting it slightly as a gesture of having it.

    "Got any pics?" Ellie asked between bites of her sandwich.

    "No, not really," I looked down at my phone, contemplating.

    "What's up?" Olive asked, concerned.

   "Yeah, what's up with you lately...I mean you're either angry or sad...you never seem to smile these days. Is Tyler hurtin' you?" Ellie asked. When I looked up, her face was telling 'he better not' but her eyes seemed to be secretly hoping that I would say yes. I chuckled.

    "No. We've just hit a rock. That's all," I smiled, trying to hide my conflict.

   "I can't believe you Trip!" Neal exclaimed, as I watched him round the corner of the school building and walk over to us.

    "Oh come on! It's not that bad," Trip said in cool and calm voice.

    "It's not that BAD?! Are you out of your mind?" Neal said, stopping dead in his tracks.

    All the girls looked at each other with confused faces. As we all looked back at the Neal and Trip show, we all had our eyebrows raised.

    Trip stopped in front of Neal. "It isn't that bad."

    "Trip...if Deion finds out..."

    "Deion is not going to find out," Trip said in a reassuring tone.

    "Oh! And how do you know that?" Neal asked, clearly a little skeptical.

    "Simple, Kaitlin isn't going to tell him."

    "No! It's going to be beaten out of her!" Neal yelled.

    "Beat it out of her? Damn, that's hardcore," Ellie commented, which made us giggle.

   "Oh come on Neal! He's not going to beat her," Trip said brushing off the subject as if it were a leaf. Trip began walking over to us while Neal was left standing by himself, irritated.

    "No! He's probably going to do a whole lot worse, to YOU!" Neal exclaimed.

    Trip stopped half way and spun around. He clearly gave Neal look because his face changed and so did his stance.

   "Look, I'm just saying, you need to be more careful otherwise he's going to figure out all this bullshit," Neal argued.

    "Hm...don't you guys think that Neal should be a lawyer?" Olive commented leaning against the metal frame. We all nodded our heads in agreement.

    "Then we'll be more secretive..." Trip said in ghost like voice.

    Neal just gave a look that clearly said he didn't believe him. I wouldn't either, Trip's motor-mouth. Trip continued his walk towards the stairs and sat in his favourite spot at the last step, Neal reluctantly followed behind him.

    "What the hell are you guys fighting about anyway?" Ellie asked, leaning against a step. She was sitting in the Neal's spot today, Ellie can be such a freeloader sometimes.