-Chapter Thirty One-

“Shocking, right?” Lily asked. Her eyes landed on my own, and I just blinked at her. “Aren’t I going to get some feedback?”

“Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say you’re in love with my brother?” London asked, dumfounded.

“Yes, I’m pretty sure that is what just came out of my mouth.”

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! She cannot be in love with him. Do you have any idea how much harder my life will be now!?

“Since when?”

“Mm. Since I was nine.” She smiled, probably thinking of when she was a little nine year old girl. “But you absolutely cannot tell Jake. I swear to God if you tell him or drop any hints, I will personally kill all of you with my bare hands.”

Lily is in love with Jake. Lily is in love with my boyfriend. What am I going to tell her? I can’t just break her heart, just like that, now can I? Well, I could, but that’s just mean.

“And you never told me? I’m practically your sister!” London exclaimed.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Lo. . . So what was the big news you wanted to tell me again?” she asked, changing the subject.

Before I could say anything, London, or ‘Lo’, beat me to it. “Blake is throwing a party this Friday! And we are all invited. I’m bringing Danielle and Alex as my guests. They already agreed to come, too! Isn’t that right girls?”

“What? I never—” I started, but was cut off when London stomped on my foot under the table. I winced in pain. What does that chick wear, steel toed boots!?

“Yes you did.” She glared at me. “And you, Lily, are coming too!”

“Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t do parties. Remember what happened junior year?” Lily asked.

“Yes! That was so funny!” London started to laugh at the memory. Danielle and I were just sitting there wondering what happened in junior year. . .

“For God’s sake, just tell us what happened!” Danielle finally said after a good, few moments had passed.

“Okay, so we were playing Truth or Dare, right?” London started to explain, trying to hold back more of her guffaws. “And Lily was dared to go streaking through the whole house, which was huge and filled with people, if you were wondering. Then she had to run two blocks through the neighborhood, too. She was so embarrassed because people still talk about it.”

Lily’s face was red. “That was so humiliating, but everyone seemed to think it was so funny.” She cracked a smile, though. “You want to know the worst part?”

I was smiling when I said, “Yes!”

“I was stoned and I didn’t even remember it the next day. I had to find out about it when I saw pictures of it on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter—any social network, you name it.”

I was really laughing now. That must have been so terrible, especially not even knowing about it!!

“Okay, okay. You three can stop laughing at me now. This just shows me how much you guys love me, doesn’t it?” Lily sighed, propping her chin up on her elbow.

The three of us all sobered up, taking deep breaths. “So will you be the plus one to my plus two?” London asked Lily hopefully.

“Will you stop bugging me about it if I say that I’ll think about it?”

London smiled triumphantly. “Yes, because when you say that, it’s almost a definite yes.”

Lily rolled her eyes and checked the silver watch that was on her right wrist. “Oh, I’ve got to go, guys. I’m sorry I have to leave so soon!” She gathered her stuff and stood up.

“Wait, where are you going?” I asked.

“I have to go see my grandmother. See ya later, gals!” She tipped her nonexistent cowgirl hat at us.

As soon as I heard the bells jingle above the door, clarifying that she was gone, Danielle turned to us. “What are we going to do about Lily and Jake?”

I sighed. “We have to tell him, I guess.”

“There is no way in hell we are telling Jake. No, that is not going to be on my to-do list,” London said.

“Then how about we just tell Lily that he’s your personal eye candy?” Danielle suggested.

“No. She will kill me. We can’t tell her either,” I said. Why did this have to happen? Seriously, this is so cliché! I thought this only happens in books, the girl always falls in love with the male best friend. Why couldn’t Lily have told Jake that she was in love with him before I came into the picture?

Yeah, yeah, I know. . . It would ‘ruin the friendship’. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! Am I right?

“I hope you know that one of them will find out sooner or later.”

I smiled at the thought that came to mind. “Then how about we just don’t tell them at all?”

* * *

“I am so bored. . .” I moaned, stretching out the word ‘bored’. I watched as the white, cue ball made contact with another white ball that had a red stripe horizontally running through the middle. London and Dan were playing pool, and I just sat there and watched.

“Then why don’t you go do something fun?” Danielle asked. “You don’t have to sit there and watch us.”

“But nothing is fun without friends! And you two just look so absorbed into your game. Therefore I shall not go anywhere.” I explained. “There is no need to ruin a good ol’ game of pool.”

“Why don’t you go hang out with Jake or something?”

“He’s busy!” I groaned. It would be good to hang out with Jake. I wonder if he’s going to the party or not. . . Speaking of him going to the party, I wonder if he’s going to ask me to it. “Hey, guys?”

“Yeah?” London asked, hitting the cue ball with her pool stick. She made two balls in at once.

“That was luck,” Danielle commented.

“You mispronounced the word ‘skill’.” Danielle rolled her eyes at London’s reply.

“Do you think Jake will ask me to Blake’s party?” I questioned the two, voicing my thoughts.

“Huh. I never really thought about that. . .” said Dan. “Did he even say that he’s going?”

“We haven’t really talked about it yet.”

“Trust me, he’s going,” London told us. “Blake’s one of his best friends, of course he’d go. Plus, my brother would never miss a party!”

“So he’s a party animal, eh?” I asked.

“You mean the party animal. He has never missed a party—not kidding. His high school nickname was the ‘Party King’. That boy knows how to party,” London explained. “He has had about a thousand hangovers—okay, that's an over exaggeration—but he says that it’s all a part of the experience. Pfft.”

“So I’m guessing he was the school’s golden boy, then?” Danielle questioned. “Was he the quarterback of the football team too? Was he the school player?”

“Yes, yes, and no. Jake’s the complete opposite of a ‘player’. Sure, most of his friends were, but he believed in this little thing called love.”

“Aw!!” Danielle cooed as she leaned and put her weight onto her pool stick in a dreamy manner. “Maybe Alex is ‘the one.’” She winked at me.

“Hardy-Har. Shush it. I doubt it. The one, really, Dan?”

“Yes really! You never know, Alex! If you ever need a wedding planner, you know where I live! Don’t be a stranger, now.”

“How could I be a stranger? I see you every single day of my life!”

“Bleh. Whatever, you know what I mean.”

“You guys never agreed to going to Blake’s party with me,” London stated, interrupting our bickering.

I gave Danielle a questioning look and she nodded to me with a bright smile on her face.

I smiled back at her. “I guess we’re going!”

* * *

“Ha, I got your queen,” Jake said with a smirk on his face.

I furrowed my eyebrows together, staring at my chess piece in his hand. “Yeah, I guess you did.”

“Alex. . .”

“Yes?” I looked up from the Jake’s  tan hand to meet his green eyes that were filled with worry.

“What’s wrong?”

“Er- nothing. I’m fine, see? Nothing wrong here.” I denied him. I mean, I couldn’t just say that I was still trying to wrap the whole Lily situation around my finger, could I? Having Lily murder me with her own two hands isn’t exactly very appealing to me.

“Alex,” he told me in a warning tone of voice. “Tell me.”

Sighing, I stood up. “Sorry, Jake but I can’t tell you; mostly because there’s nothing wrong.”

He grunted at me. “I’ll believe  you if. . .”

“If?” I asked, my eyebrows meeting my hairline.

“If you would let me escort you to my friend’s party this Friday.”

Yes! I knew he would ask me! Why was I ever worried? I am his girlfriend, aren’t I? Who else would he go with?

I grinned at him like a Cheshire cat. “Yes, it would be my honor, Mr. Party King.”

“You know about that?”

“Obviously.”

“How—” he sighed. “London told you, didn’t she?”

“Yes, in fact, she did. I can’t wait to see your inner Party King come out on Friday. . . Just don’t go around kissing other girls, okay?”

“Why in the world would I ever do that?”

“Because I’ve heard you do pretty crazy things when you’re partying,” I explained. “And I don’t want another cheating situation to go down while you’re being all drunk at the party.”

“I don’t get drunk. I get. . . Tipsy.”

“Sure you do.”

“Fine, and don’t worry, it won’t happen. I promise.”

I smiled, holding up my right pinky finger. “Pinky promise?”

“There’s no other way to make an official promise, now is there?” Jake questioned, smirking.

Our pinky fingers linked together. “Of course not.”

* * *

-Jake’s P.O.V-

I looked up at the sky, not a single cloud to be seen. The sun shone brightly above the beach, making the blue water sparkle. The waves crashed against the shore, relaxing me.

I know what you’re thinking, why isn’t he surfing?

I just don’t feel like surfing at the moment―even if that is the only thing I seem to do whenever I’m here at the beach.  Today I just felt like relaxing. . . But how can I relax when I know there’s something wrong with Alex? And more importantly, why isn’t she telling me?

“Hey, bro,” Mason greeted me. He shook his soaking wet, blond hair, out of his face, letting a few droplets land on my bare chest.

“Hey, man,” I replied and gave him a fist bump, blowing it up like a little kid. I took off my Ray Bans and placed them on the top of my head. “What’s up?”

He took a seat next to me in the warm sand. “Okay, well you know your girlfriend’s best friend, right?”

“Danielle? Yeah, what about her?”

“Do you know if she’s interested in anybody?” He kept his gaze away from mine, trying to keep his cool. I could tell he was getting more nervous as he awaited my answer. My best friend, Mason, likes my girlfriend’s best friend, Danielle. Crazy how things work out, right?

I smirked at him. “She already has her eyes on someone, sorry, dude.” 

“Damn it. But Lily told me she was single!”

“Hey, I got that information from Alex herself. And London, too. . . Does Mason have a little chrushy-crush?”

He gave me a death glare. “Shut up.”

I laughed at him. “I’m pretty sure the guy she likes has blond hair and blue eyes that just light up like the beautiful, Pacific Ocean. Danielle can just go on and on about him. . .” I teased.

“Shut up, you’re torturing me here―if you haven’t noticed yet,” he said. “Do you know who this guy is?”

“Actually, yes. He’s sitting right beside me.” I smiled.

“What?” He inhaled a large breath. “Me? You’re kidding, right?”

“Nope. You should ask her to the party,” I told him. It was a great idea, really. Danielle and Mason would make a good couple, I guess. They’re both fun to be around, and they like each other, so why not?

“Thanks, man.”

“Anytime. That’s what bros are for. Am I correct?”

“When aren’t you?”                

“True. But don’t you dare trash her after you get what you want, Mason,” I warned him.

“I left my player façade back in junior year, no worries.” He stood back up, once again towering over me.

I nodded at him. “Where are you going?”

“To go ask out Danielle!” With that, he was sprinting up the beach, kicking sand up behind him.

I found my phone lying next to me on my beach towel and texted Alex.

“Hey, Alex. Mason’s on his way to go ask out Danielle ;) Don’t tell her.”

Hey, guys. I had writer’s block for the first time ever on this story D: I hate it. I’ll try to make up for this crappy chapter, and for the crappy part that was known as ‘Jake’s P.O.V’ First person to comment gets a dedication!! Xx

          ~Storylover11~