Really Not Edited...

Chapter 37

"You went out last night." I choked on the cereal I was eating slowly. I was avoiding any conversation with my Aunt but she seemed to figure me out.

"What?" I asked, swallowing another spoonful of cereal.

"I saw you leave." She told me, staring at me above her computer. I nodded. "Care to tell me where you went?"

"I got a call from Adrian." I started to say and my Aunt's face went pale. Did she think...?

"No! He was drunk at a party." My words just made it worse! No! "No, he needed a ride home."

The amount of relief on my Aunt's face was insane. "I had to drive him home." I clarified completely.

"Why'd you come inside crying?"

I pursed my lips. "I told him."

"Told him what?"

"I told him that I like him." The words made it even realer, as if it was really happening and it wasn't some messed up dream.

"What did he say?" My aunt's words were slow and cautious.

"He was partially drunk, what do you expect him to say?" I sighed, pushing the cereal away.

"He rejected you?"

"Nope, he did worse. He gave me false hope. He called me beautiful and told me I was different. Sick, right? He's just trying to let me down easily and that's not what I wanted. By doing that it's making my mind think I have a chance but I don't. I want him to tell me to leave him alone and cut all ties with me."

"How drunk was he?" She bit her lip.

"So drunk that he vomited twice around me." I sighed, placing my head on the table.

"Maybe he meant what he said." She explained and I shook my head.

"I don't want a 'maybe;' I want a definite answer. But I have one; he doesn't like me." I replied with a sigh. "Why do things have to be so complicated?"

"Maybe you should try getting out, huh?" I nodded.

"I guess you're right."

***
I had a missed call on my phone. It was Logan. I felt that I should call him back, I owe him an apology.

I pressed the phone to my ear; his voice filled the line a moment later. "Hey!"

"Hi, Logan."

"Are you okay? You don't sound too happy." He replied. I sat on the guest bed.

"I haven't been very happy lately." I replied and Logan sighed.

"I know, that's why I called you." His voice was turning happier towards the end of his sentence. "Em and I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out with us today."

"Just you and Em?" I didn't want to intrude or be a third wheel.

"Nope, Trent and Jessie will be there, too!" Or a fifth wheel.

"I would but I don't want to intrude on your double date." I bit my lip.

"If you're worried about being a fifth wheel, don't worry. We're just going to have game night." I curled my lip at that. What teenagers spend their weekends playing trivia and monopoly?

"Well..."

"Say yes." Logan replied.

"Okay, fine. What time?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Seven should be good, is it okay for you?" He asked me.

"Seven is great, I'll see you then."

A moment later, I called Jessie. I wanted to ask her how her date with Trent went.

About an hour and a half later, Jessie's still going on about Trent and I didn't mind at all, surprisingly. It took my mind off of what Adrian did. That was until my Aunt called me downstairs. "Jessie, I'll call you back. I promise."

"Yes?" I asked my Aunt once I walked downstairs. She was dressed in a large tee shirt and sweatpants, her hair was tied up and she had a broom in her hands.

"Can you bring your shoes upstairs?" She asked, staring at the bag with my white Converse in them. I nodded, grabbing the bag. "No, the bag stays downstairs."

I took the shoes out of the bag and walked upstairs. I tossed them onto the floor before walking back over to my bed. Although the suspense was killing me, I didn't have the heart to look at them, especially when I have plans later. I can't go there looking like I'd just been hit by a train.

***
"Are you sure you want to go out?" My Aunt asked me and I nodded.

"Why wouldn't I? Aren't you the one who told me I need to?" I raised an eyebrow.

"We're supposed to be getting a snow storm." She told me and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, coming from the same news channel that said we were getting a hailstorm when we got rain. They're never right, Auntie." I laughed and she shook her head.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

***
I arrived at Logan's house at 6:55 P.M. The door was already cracked open and the inside was dark. "Come on in, we've been expecting you."

I walked in the house when I heard the familiar voice. It was Logan. I turned on the light to see my four friends standing there. Emilia smiled at me but it was more of a creepy smile than one of welcome.

"Hey, guys." I drawled, awkwardly standing there. The door slammed behind me and I looked back to see Trent locking the door. I blinked a few times before turning back around to the three people. Logan was sitting in the recliner while Em and Jessie stood behind it.

Logan looked up and had a fake mustache taped to his face. I let out a bark of laughter and I was laughing so hard that I had to hold my stomach. "SEE, I TOLD YOU SHE'D FIND IT FUNNY!" Jessie smacked Logan's arm and he frowned, ripping it off. He let out a shriek once it was fully off of his face.

"Are we going to play some games or something?" I asked and they all smiled before nodding, synchronized might I add.

"Yes, we're going to play very fun games." Jessie replied while she and Emilia came walking towards me, looping their arms around mine before walking towards the living room. Trent was standing guard by the door.

"Let's make a stop at my room, eh?" Em stated, turning to look at Jessie who was on the other side of me. Jessie nodded while I just stared at the two girls. They made their way up the stairs with me dragging behind.

Instead of going into Emilia's room, we passed by it and started walking further down the hallway. "I thought that was your room." I stated, looking back at the door. Emilia smiled at me without replying and they just kept walking.

"Guys, where are we going?" I asked them, trying to keep my voice leveled. I was freaking out right now. They were technically dragging me towards a room in which I have no clue what it is.

They opened the door to the room and shoved me in there saying something along the lines of: we just want to help you, don't be angry at us.

I looked around the medium sized room; two couches were set up and a table. Chips were on the table along with sodas but other than that, nothing else was there. The carpet was white and the walls were a light green. It reminded me of the dentist's office.

I heard talking outside of the door, it was Logan's voice. "Yeah, bro, the new games are in this room." Suddenly the door was opened just enough and I dived out, rolling through the hallway before getting up. "ESCAPEE!"

I was running towards the living room, in an attempt to escape the idiots trying to hold me hostage for God knows what. Somebody grabbed me and I was being carried back. "NO!" I repeatedly cried before I was shoved back into the room. I landed in a pile on the floor.

"Crap." I sat up, running a hand through my hair. "Escaped fail number one."

"Hey." I jumped at the sound of a voice, and I jumped again at the owner of the voice. Adrian was sitting on the couch. "How are yo-?" I cut him off by running over to the door.

"HELP! LET ME OUT!" I started pounding on the door, kicking it and elbowing it.

"YOU'VE GOT TO WORK, WORK, WORK THIS OUT!" Logan shouted from the end of the long hall.

"I'm going to pee on your carpet!" I shouted and Logan laughed.

"GO AHEAD, I DON'T CARE." I stomped when I heard his reply.

"Hi." Adrian stated again and I turned to face him.

"Shut up, just shut up!" I snapped. I was in search of another way out.

"There isn't any other way out." He calmly replied.

"Don't you think I know that?" I retorted, flopping down onto the couch. I opened a can of soda and started chugging it.

"You're going to have to pee a lot sooner and they're not going to let you out."

"Don't you think I know that, too?" I hissed, putting down the half-filled can.

"Can we please talk?" I glared at him.

"What is there to talk about?"

"A lot." He was swirling his finger around the can of the soda as he stared at me.

"Whatever." I muttered.

"So how's Blake?" I looked up at him.

"He's amazing. He's at home, snuggled up in bed."  I retorted. "How's Mattie?" I asked.

"He's great; he's moving into his room someday this week. He loves it, even the accidental pattern." He smiled.

"He told me about that, I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was just us fighting." I bit my lip.

"About last night..." Adrian trailed and I clenched my teeth.

"Nothing happened." I snapped.

"I don't regret it." I looked up at him, throwing my empty soda can at his face.

"Why are you so stupid?" I snapped, glaring at him. He shrugged.

"My mother dropped me as a baby?" He suggested with a smile.

"Is that all you have to say?" I asked, standing up.

"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? Because I am; I'm really sorry, I shouldn't have gotten so angry about Isaac. I overreacted and let my jealousy get the best of me. I shouldn't have done it." He apologized and I just shrugged.

"Do you know what you should do?" I questioned, standing beside my couch. He furrowed his eyebrows. "You should be helpful and help me move this couch." I whispered.

"Why?" He asked me and I smirked.

"I hear a vent." I said, struggling to pull one side of it.

"Okay, on one condition." He stood up, biting his lip. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"You forgive me." He smiled hopefully. I shrugged.

"Okay." I replied. "Now grab the other side." I whispered.

"Wait one more thing." He retorted. "You have to hug me."

"You said on one condition!" I snapped.

"They go together and make one, just hug me." He told me and I shook my head. "Why not?"

"You know why not." I retorted, holding onto the couch.

"Just one hug!" He cried out and I shook my head. "I hardly doubt it'll make you fall in love with me, if anything, it's my charm that'll do that." I glared at him.

"For us to be friends, I have to try and get over you." I snapped and he encased me in a hug. I tried to move away, restraining but he was too strong. He rested his chin on my head as he lifted me off of the ground. "Let go of me, you dimwit!"

He slowly put me back down, kissing my forehead. I felt my skin tingle and my face went warm. "Just grab the other end of the couch." I snapped and he smiled.

"Anything for you."  He winked before walking over to the other side of the couch. He swung it away from the wall in a second and I was just standing there. "No, no, I got it. Don't strain yourself."

"You're the one who wanted to go all hulk on the couch!" I hissed and he smiled at me.

"Anything for you, my dear." He winked and I glared at him.

"You're not helping."

"I just moved the couch for you." I glared at him.

"I'm not talking about that." I snapped and he smiled before nodding.

I sat down behind the couch and looked at the vent. "I wish Tommy Pickles was here right now." I muttered. He furrowed his eyebrows.

"Why?" He asked, from the other side of the couch.

"The vents are screwed down." I told him. He still looked confused. "Tommy used to carry a screwdriver in his pants."

Adrian let loose a loud laugh. He continued laughing. "Wouldn't that hurt?" He asked between breaths.

"I guess." I laughed and he smiled at me. I awkwardly turned away. "Can I see a can?" I asked and he nodded, handing me a full can of Pepsi.

I opened it and took the bottle opener off of it and tried using it to unscrew the screws. Adrian looked at me for a minute before walking over to his bag that they tossed him into the room with and dug around. "Voila."

"Why do you carry around a screwdriver?" I asked him and he shrugged.

"I was building Mattie's bookshelf and I put this in here because it's Logan's. I had to return it." He told me and I nodded slowly. I took it out of his hands and began unscrewing.

"Are you guys doing okay in there?" Jessie's voice asked from the other side of the door.

I looked at Adrian. "NO! Jessie, please let me out!" I replied, walking closer to the door. Jessie sighed.

"I would if I could but I can't so I shan't." Adrian furrowed his eyebrows at that while I sighed.

"Thanks anyway." I muttered. I made sure I heard her retreating footsteps before walking back to the vent and working on unscrewing the screws.

"You go first." Adrian said once he looked into the dark vent system.

"No you." I retorted.

"You go."

"No you, if you get stuck when you're behind me- I won't be able to get out." I retorted and Adrian looked horrified. "To get help, of course." I added.

"Whatever." He mumbled, crawling into the vent. I hadn't thought through the fact that I had to stare at his butt the whole entire time. "I still think it's because you want to look at my butt."

"Shut up and go." I responded.

About fifteen minutes passed and Adrian was still moving. "Adrian, where does this go?" I asked and he laughed.

"I think this is the laundry chute. When Logan, Trent, and I were kids, we wandered into the master bathroom and slid down the laundry chute for fun. When their parents found us, they closed it off."

"So this goes to the master bathroom?" I asked him and he made a sound of confirmation.

"Isn't that Trent and Emilia's parent's room?" I asked, nervous. I didn't want to just walk into their parent's room.

"Not anymore, it's Trent's bedroom now." He simply said.

"Where do they keep the dogs?" I asked and Adrian stopped crawling for a minute. "Adrian!" I hissed once I nearly walked into his butt. "Adrian, do they keep them in Trent's room?"

"No, I'm only joking; my arms got really tired. They keep the dogs in the dog room, duh."

"They have a dog room?" I asked. Adrian started crawling again.  

"Yes." He replied. It was silent for another few minutes before I saw light over Adrian's shoulder.

A few minutes later, Adrian was opening cabinet doors in a bathroom and crawling out of it. He reached his hand out and I grabbed it, getting pulled upwards. I stretched out my back. "I hate crawling."

"And I do, too. Now be quiet, we need to get out of here." He told me, leaving the bathroom after closing the cabinets. Trent's room was dark blue. I didn't see much because it was dark but I made out Adrian's footsteps. He opened the door and peeked down the light hallway.

He exited the room, grabbing my hand and we continued walking down the hallway. "What are we going to do?" I suddenly asked. He stopped walking and turned to me.

"You're the one who forced us to go into the vent, you should have a plan!" He hissed and I shook my head.

"Just keep walking." I snapped and he did.

We arrived at the hallway separating the kitchen and the living room. We heard them talking. "Should we let them out? They need to get home soon. I hardly doubt they want to be stuck here for the snow storm, especially if they didn't make up yet." Trent spoke.

"Yeah, when I walked to the door, they still were arguing." I heard Jessie say.

"Don't you think their parents will be worried if they don't get back? There's a chance the phones will go out and there will be no communication." Em replied.

"We can always call their families for them. It'd be fun to have a big sleepover." Logan giggled. Adrian looked at me and shook his head.

"Should we make a peace offering?" Trent asked. I heard Jessie, who sounded like she was on a phone.

"Yes, Aunt Cherry, she's staying the night here." I gaped at Adrian who just shrugged. "No, I think school will be canceled. It's already flurrying outside."

"Yes, yeah, she's here, too. No, I don't think so. I'll make sure it won't happen." Emilia said. "Bye, Denise." Adrian looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Let's go." I whispered to Adrian. We stepped out from the hallway. "Hi, friends."

"How'd you get out?" Jessie asked, eyes widened. Logan was staring at us guiltily and Trent was staring at us with a shocked face on. Em, on the other hand, was laughing loudly.

"Laundry chute." Adrian replied from behind me. I didn't realize how close he was and I took a step forward.

"I don't suppose you know about the snow storm tonight." Logan stated and I snorted.

"Sorry Logan, we couldn't watch the news because, well, we were trapped in a laundry room!" I snapped.

"Sorry about that, but anyhow, we're supposed to be getting a foot of snow, no biggie." Logan shrugged.

"It wouldn't be a biggie if I were at home!" I retorted, glaring at them.

"I see you two are okay." Jessie piped in and I groaned.

"Yeah, whatever, we already covered that!" I snapped.

"Your Aunt said she tried to warn you." Jessie said and I glared at her.

"Are there any adults?" I asked and Trent nodded.

"My mother's in her study and my father's on his way home." He smiled and I ran my hand down my face.

"Then I guess we should get comfortable." I muttered. This was going to be a long night.