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CHAPTER SIX LET'S GO

SOMEHOW, EVERYTHING HAD GONE HORRIBLY WRONG. It was as if she had asked what could possibly go wrong and the universe was fiercely determined to answer her. Okay, there was a slight chance she was being dramatic, but who could blame her? First, Kaelyn drags her to the part that Beth and nobly stayed home from to comfort her friend even though Beth was the one who wanted to go in the first place. She had just been trying to do something nice and she had been coming to terms with the fact that her night was going to consist of a Gossip Girl marathon, but now she was standing at a party watching her best friend kiss Peter Parker. That was the second thing that had gone wrong. Flash was making fun of Peter probably because of some internalized insecurity he needed to deal with in therapy someday and then next thing Beth knew she was standing alone because her best friend and walked over to the victim and kissed him as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

There were a few things wrong with this, Beth knew. One, Peter and Kaelyn were very much not dating but Beth might be the only person in the room besides them that knew that. Two, Liz Allan was watching them kiss with heartbreak in her eyes and oh no. Liz had a crush on Peter. Not Beth. That makes way more sense, but that doesn't make it hurt any less. As Kaelyn and Peter pulled apart, Beth watched Liz run. Beth's eyes met the redhead's and she nodded, turning and chasing after the girl.

She had gone up the stairs, probably to her room so Beth took her guesses with random doorknobs. This led to her accidentally walking in on some couple making out in the bathroom, but she just rolled her eyes, shutting the door and continuing on her journey.

Eventually, she found the right door. There was Liz, sitting on the floor against the bed, scrolling on her phone as she bit one of her nails. The reflection in her eyes told Beth that the girl's eyes were teary, but she wasn't quite crying.

"Oh, hey!" Liz greeted with a smile that was very noticeably forced, "Sorry for being a bad hostess, I just, uh, needed to get away for a bit."

Beth just gave her a knowing look as she sat down next to her, "You don't have to lie. You like Peter."

"I'm actually a bit conflicted at the moment if I'm being honest," Liz scoffed, a small smile forming at the corners of her lips, "Uh, that just... surprised me, is all. I don't know, I'm probably just being stupid."

"Your feelings aren't stupid," Beth comforted as she nudged the girl gently with her shoulder, "If you like him or used to like him, it's still tough to see him with someone else. Especially someone like Kaelyn, she has a way of... taking the world by storm, I guess."

Liz nodded, "Yeah, she really does. Is she nice? I've always wondered. You're the only person she ever talks to in a way that doesn't sound like a threat.

Beth laughed at this as she nodded her head, "She's one of the best friends I've ever had. She can be... a little self-absorbed at times, but if she doesn't care about herself, she thinks no one ever will. She's more complicated than she seems, but I wouldn't be friends with her if she was some cold-hearted bitch. No matter what she'll try to tell you."

"That's good, that's good," the girl muttered, seemingly taking these words into consideration, "Maybe she and Peter will be good together, then. Maybe he'll even her out a little bit."

"They're not dating," Beth couldn't resist letting the truth slip out, "They're friends, yeah, but they're not together. I think she has a crush on him, though, she just doesn't wanna admit it."

The other girl seemed surprised by this, offering out a confused chuckle, "Yeah, well, I get that. Crushes suck."

"That they do," Beth mumbled, looking over at Liz who was looking down at the hardwood floor, twisting the carpeted rug between her fingertips. A heavy silence fell over them as Beth leaned against the side of the bed, letting her head fall back. She couldn't believe where she ended up. Comforting her crush over their crush on someone else. Beth wished she wasn't such a doormat.

After a moment, Liz broke the silence, "I don't know if I ever had a crush on Peter. I think he's cute, but I wonder if I only liked him because I knew he liked me. I mean, he was never exactly subtle."

"No, subtlety is not Peter's specialty," she scoffed, "That's for sure. Can I ask a stupid question?"

"Go for it."

Beth sighed, "If you didn't have a crush on him, why'd you get upset?"

Liz looked over at her with a sad expression that Beth didn't quite understand. After a moment, she whispered, "Because I think Kaelyn just did what I'm secretly too scared to do. I'm not jealous of who she's kissing, I'm jealous that she had the balls to just do it."

There was about a ninety percent chance that Beth was reading this completely wrong. That being said, the way Liz was looking at her was enough to kill her, and that had to mean something. There was no way this was all in Beth's head.

"So, do it," Beth whispered in response, her eyes flickering down to Liz's lips.

Next thing she knew, Liz Allan was kissing her. It was everything Beth dreamed of -- from the softness of Liz's lips to the way the girl's hands found themselves entangled in Beth's dark hair. She didn't imagine they would be sitting on a floor, but they had to make do, she supposed. Part of her still wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not. The warmth of Liz's hand on her waist, ever so slightly touching her skin from the way her shirt rode up brought her back to reality. This was real and this was happening.

As the door to the room opened, it was over. The two girls pulled apart as if they had been burned, only to find Ned Leeds standing in the doorway looking worried.

"There you are! Beth, I think Kaelyn is about to do something stupid in response to Peter doing something stupid and I need your help," the boy exclaimed, seeming like he hadn't witnessed what was happening moments before he interrupted.

Beth shot a worried glance over to Liz who just nodded, "Go, it's okay."

"I'm sorry," was all she could say as she pushed herself into a standing position, nodding over to Ned, "Ugh, let's go."