– MOLLIE ROVIA –

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➳ DEAR Diary,

Henry and I are not together anymore. He dumped me. Maybe we were never together; at least, according to him, what we had wasn't real. We were just "pretending," apparently.

Maybe he's right. We were only pretending. Now, he doesn't love me anymore. He was my first friend and love, and I was his. I...

"Hey," I heard someone breathe out, and I looked up from my journal, noticing Gage now standing there. I was sat on a bench next to where Earl works as the blacksmith. "Mind if I sit?"

I didn't speak. I just moved over and closed my journal. It was for my eyes only. She gingerly walked over and sat down next to me, smirking.

"Um," he gulped out, turning his head slightly to look at me. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your uncle. Rodney, Addy, and I are all sorry for your loss."

I nodded and kept on frowning but kept staring at him. "Thank you."

"I also wanted to say sorry about what went down between you and Henry," he claimed, now taking a slight turn in the conversation. "Addy told me, but don't blame her. She's just worried about you, that's all. We all are."

I shook my head, and without holding back, questioned, "Why would she care — or you, for that matter? Not like any of you ever spoke to me before today. Plus, you and your friends got Henry in trouble."

"Yeah, but we're not gonna get you in trouble, though," he reassured, but I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. "We know you got enough going on with the loss of your uncle and all that."

When I didn't immediately reply, Gage smirked and briefly shook his head. "Plus... Us kids have to stick together. Wouldn't you say?"

I stared on until asking, "Kids?"

He smiled at me for another moment longer before rising to his feet, walking a few steps until stopping and turning back. "You know what I mean," Gage asserted, smirking. "Anyways... If you wanna make Henry jealous, then I can help you with that."

I didn't know what to say, so I just stared at him until he smiled and walked away. Whistling around in the wind, I could hear him say, "Think 'bout it."

- - -

➳ THE truth be told, I didn't think very much about what Gage said or him, in general, whatsoever. Although I was still angry towards Henry for practically spitting in my face and crushing my soul, I couldn't see myself crawling to Gage of all people.

He was gross, but not in the he-doesn't-shower way; but, he was gross because of his attitude. If he really thought I would just get with him because of my recent heartbreak, then he really is scum to the Earth.

After a lonely dinner by myself, I cleaned up and even tried to help out a little. My mother and sister ate their dinner up in the mansion by themselves, mostly because Tara Rose didn't seem fit enough to be around other people again. She is still taking Uncle Paul's death really hard, and I really couldn't blame her.

I spotted Henry when he gingerly walked up with his dirty plate in hand and his eyes straight on me. "Hey," he whispered. He said it so quietly that I hardly heard him, even though he was standing right next to me. "Need any help?"

My instinct was to tell him no, and I even wanted to throw something at him, but I still remembered him for the boy he always was. We grew up together in all of this mess, and there was a time when he actually cared about me.

Instead of answering, I simply reached out and gently took his plate, throwing it into the big water tub to wash alongside the other dirty dishes. I tried to refocus on my work, anything to distract myself from my aching heart.

Between losing Uncle Paul and having my heart torn out by Henry, I was doing anything I could to keep myself distracted from thinking about it. One was dead, and the other was standing right here, but I was mad at the latter. If I am being honest, I am sort of mad at Uncle Paul, too, for dying. I wish he hadn't died at all.

"Hey, look," I suddenly heard Henry say. At first, I didn't realize he was speaking to me until I glanced up, and he was staring straight at me. "I'm sorry. Y'know, for what's it worth." Again, I decided not to speak. After all, this was me being civil. "I'm sorry about Jesus, and... I'm sorry about us."

For a split moment there, I was hoping there was a slight chance for us to make amends. With Lydia gone now, Henry and I could go back to being together again. However, it was very clear to me now how the damage was done and there was no going back. This was it.

Like before, I decided not to speak, but I did show how I wasn't deaf, either, so I simply nodded my head towards him and left it at that. Then, with that said, he slightly nodded back and walked away.

I went back to scrubbing dishes in the tub when, abruptly, I felt someone's eyes burning a hole in me. I couldn't shake the feeling, so I looked and scanned the area until I saw who the stalker was.

Dead ahead stood Gage, sort of hanging out in the shadows and watching me with a smile. If I had to guess, he watched mine and Henry's little interaction just now, much to his satisfaction.

For a few more long seconds, Gage watched me with the same smirk until he winked and turned his back on me, walking away. I wanted to run after him, just so I could strangle him with my bare hands. I resisted the urge and continued to do my work in the quiet.

- - -

➳ BY the time I was done helping clean after dinner, it was starting to get dark. Aunt Tara encouraged me to get up to bed, and I told her that I would as soon as I grabbed my stuff from one of the benches.

I had left my backpack behind and wanted to retrieve just in case it were to rain, so I started that way. Upon arrival, I quickly noticed it was nowhere to be seen. I could've sworn this was the bench I had left it on.

I started looking under the table, and about the time I had bopped my head back up from underneath it, someone was standing on the other side of the bench. In their hands was a book of some sorts with a backpack strap over one of their shoulders.

"Dear Diary," the person started to read from the book, "Henry and I are not together anymore. He dumped me."

Immediately, I started to growl, and actual smoke was coming out of my ears. I balled up my fists and sprinted around the bench; although, I could've probably had a better chance of jumping on it and flying onto him.

"You asshole," I cursed, reaching for my journal. "Give me that!"

"Hold on," Gage laughed, holding my journal up in the air. He had the benefit of being taller than me. "This is good stuff."

I started jumping, reaching up towards the journal up in the air. "Gage, stop!"

In one swift motion, he spun around and sheltered the journal away from me. He kept reading on, "Now, he doesn't love me anymore. He was my first friend and love, and I was his."

With balled up fists, I hit his back repeatedly. "This isn't funny! Give it back! It's private!"

By this point, Gage was hysterically laughing, and as he turned, he was doing it right in my face. I had the right mind to knock him out just to get that smirk right off of his face.

Finally, he dropped the whole act and seemed to be fully serious when he asked, "Want it back?" I frantically nodded. "Kiss me."

I nearly puked in my mouth but quickly recovered. Just like he did with me, I did to him by laughing straight in his face with my arms crossed. "No, thank you. Now, give my stuff back."

He titled his head and teased, "You sure? I mean, Mollie, you ain't gonna want other people to see this."

I stepped up with my right balled fist and threatened, "Give it back, you jerk!"

He started flipping through the pages and said, "You're not gonna want this stuff getting out. It's all these little details about you and Henry, and I think that I even read somewhere about how you want to hit Daryl right where it hurts, too. He won't be so pleased to hear that."

Again, I tried reaching for the journal, but to no avail. He kept putting it high up in the air and out of my reach. This is what I get for being so damn short, I guess.

"You can make this all go away, Mollie," he reassured with his eyebrows high up. "All you have to do is kiss me."

I growled under my breath and countered, "But, this is my stuff. I shouldn't have to do anything to get it back. You purposely went through my stuff."

He laughed and explained, "I swear that I didn't know whose stuff it was before looking inside. I wanted to give it back to the rightful owner." He placed his free hand over his heart in good faith. "But, then, I started reading... And, well, I couldn't stop. This is juicy."

I squinted my eyes together and growled, "You're a prick."

He leaned in and confessed, "You're beautiful. And, so, if you want this back, you'll have to kiss me for it."

I thought about this for a moment, but I also wanted him to think I was, too. As he stared back at me, I quickly tried to snatch the journal away from him again, but he was too fast for me and laughed back in my face. Jerk.

Finally, I rolled my eyes and snarled, "Fine."

He smiled and placed the journal by his side, but to where I couldn't snatch it and run, either. "That's what I'm talking about."

"You must be desperate," I commented with the face of judgment.

He laughed, "So are you."

"I only want what's mine back," I claimed. "You're the one who has to goat someone into giving you your first kiss. It's sad, really."

He smirked, not letting my little comments get the better of him. "I'm a great kisser, actually, so this will be bliss for you."

I laughed out loud – literally – in his face, but tried to keep it down because we weren't supposed to be out here after dark. "Oh, yeah? Who have you been kissing?"

"None of your business."

Then, an idea hit me, so I teased, "Awe, I always knew you and Rodney were meant to be. Your little bromance got an upgrade, huh?"

He rolled his eyes but didn't seem to let it bother him. "Oh, yeah, sure. It's as real as your relationship with Henry was."

Oh, no, he didn't. Damn, he knew how to shut me up. He used my own words against me. What an asshole.

"So, you want it back or what?" Gage questioned, holding the journal up in the air as bait. "If you want it back, then you're gonna have to kiss me first."

I sighed and asked, "Haven't I been through enough?"

He smirked and reassured, "Trust me, you're gonna enjoy this. The smile won't leave your face ever again after we kiss."

I didn't know what to make of Gage. He was clearly a bully who enjoyed making other peoples' lives miserable while he sat there and gloat. I wanted to wipe the smirk right off of his face... with my fist.

Again, I rolled my eyes and agreed, "Fine. Whatever. Let's do this so I can get my stuff back." He eagerly smiled, but I held up my index finger and added, "But, if we do this, you have to forget everything you read in there and not tell anyone. Okay?"

He shrugged and said, "Yeah, sure."

"Gage," came my warning tone, my eyes glued to his. "I mean it."

He stared back and accepted, "Okay. Fine. I won't tell anyone."

Then, with that said, he slightly leaned down towards me – since I am so short – and placed the journal behind his back for safe-keeping. He closed his eyes and puckered his lips, so I leaned in, but I was not about to give him any joy.

Instead, I hiked up my right knee and was about to put it right where it hurt between his legs when his hand suddenly caught it before it could get there and his eyes were thrown open.

Fuck.

He started hysterically laughing again, "You really think I didn't think of that first?" It's official. I want to strangle him. "Okay. So, since you wanna play it like that, you have to kiss me twice now."

"Twice?!"

He nodded and added, "Yup. Twice. Throw some tongue in there, too, for good measure. I mean, if you want me to forget and not tell anyone..."

"Gage," came my warning tone once again. Dammit.

I wanted this over with, so I agreed to disagree. Alas, I leaned into him but immediately felt like I was going to puke beforehand. I did not want to do this. It didn't feel right. In a weird way, I felt like I was actually cheating on Henry; even though, according to him, it was all make-believe.

Nevertheless, I started with taking a deep breath before placing my hands on his shoulders to steady myself and leaning in. I wasn't the best kisser in the world. My only experience was with Henry, and we were only two kids playing around like adults.

For some reason, I closed my eyes and puckered my lips. Then, within a split second, my lips were touching his. To me, they were just lips, but what surprised me next was when Gage softly began to wrap his arms around my body. It sort of reminded me of a predator trapping their prey.

Gage was the one who deepened the kiss, smoothly transitioning his lips in different directions to keep things interesting. I'm not going to lie when I say that I was actually kissing him back. I was so entangled in the moment that I forgot where I was and who I was doing it with.

Then, when he abruptly grazed his tongue ever-so-slightly over my top teeth to make access into my mouth, I thought that I was going to flip the hell out. For the first time in my life, my lower stomach started cramping – like I had the sudden urge to pee really bad – or maybe there were real butterflies in there. I wanted – whatever it was – to just stop already.

The thing was, I wanted this to go further and further. I hated this feeling, but the urge wanted him to touch me everywhere all of a sudden. What the hell was I thinking?

Abruptly, before things could escalate, I decided to nip it in the bud by nearly jumping two feet away. I almost fell after he let loose of me, like I was tipsy. I tried not to show that, though.

I simply gulped down a heavy knot and held my hand out to him for my stuff. Gage was smiling but seemed a little starstruck, too, and a little unfocused as well.

Finally, he handed over my backpack first, which I immediately threw over my shoulder. Then, I held my hand back out for the actual journal. It took him a moment of thinking – or teasing – before he handed that over, too.

Without another word or look, I quickly spun around and started hastily towards the mansion.

Before I was too far away, Gage called to me, "Write about me tonight."

His words stopped me dead in my tracks as I glanced over my shoulder at him, but I didn't say anything. He was grinning from ear to ear, but I couldn't muster the courage to speak back.

I practically ran into the mansion, sweating.