They Say Love Hides Behind Every Corner. I Must Be Walking in Circles

Chapter 35

“Ow,” I muttered to myself, rubbing my temples absentmindedly because of my killer headache as I tried to decide whether or not I should open my eyes. I was sort of dreading it, especially after the whole fortune-cookie-blackout. I hadn’t even eaten that stupid thing yet! How could the cookie have upset my stomach or whatever the heck it was that it did to me? Gosh. I was weaker than I had thought. This thought made me sad. I wanted to be badass, like every other person in the world secretly hoped for. I didn’t want to be the type of person who fainter because of a freaking fortune cookie!

“Looks like she’s awake,” a male voice I recognized as Paul’s said with a snicker.

What the heck was Paul doing here? But then, when I realized he had snickered, I reached out and blindly swatted, trying to smack Paul, but apparently, I hit Ceci instead, if her cry of pain told me anything. Actually, it wasn’t a cry of pain. It was just her being a drama queen, as usual. Wait, no, that’s me.

“Ow, what the hell?” she complained, and I felt a sharp pain on my leg where she slapped me back.

“Ow!” I screeched five seconds after she hit me. It took me about five seconds for me to realize something hurt, usually. Don’t judge!

“Okay, that’s enough!” Jasmine scolded, and I could just see her shaking her head at us.

I heard Ceci’s grumbled response and I felt so proud at that moment. She was becoming more and more childish by the day! It was awesome!

“Are you gonna open your eyes?” Forrest asked me, prodding my side.

This earned a smile and a giggle from me, but that was only because I was ticklish, I swear! I would not give in! I wouldn’t!

“I bet she’s just hoping to listen in on something good, like when she stayed crouched in the bushes just listening to you guys’ talk when she was ’sposed to be interrogating Forrest,” Maddie remarked with a snort.

“She was listening in on us that day?” Paul repeated incredulously. “Seriously?”

“How much did she hear?” Forrest sounded freaked out, while Paul just sounded amused. But then again, Paul wasn’t the one who confessed his love that day… but still!

And then, it clicked.

They remembered.

They remembered!

They actually remembered!

“Holy crap!” My eyes shot open along with my body. “You guys’ remember?”

“Yes, no thanks to you, missy,” Jasmine reprimanded me while shaking her head. “And we even told Ceci everything, too. Aren’t we awesome?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I waved my hand dismissively. “But how? How do you guys remember?”

And then, it clicked. Again. The fortune cookie. Had it been a sign from God, or something, since Chucky had mentioned something like that before? Of course, he hadn’t mentioned there being a fortune cookie involved, but still.

They all shrugged.

“We don’t know,” Forrest answered for the group. “We just suddenly… did.” He shrugged again.

I frowned, since I didn’t like feeling so puzzled because of everything. But then I realized that that was a stupid reason to be sad. Everything had been fixed! My life was awesome again, finally! Yes, I knew there would still be issues to work out, because when you were Shay, life wasn’t easy. Mostly because of things I caused, but still.

“So, Forrest,” I began innocently, “does this mean that if I made out with you right now, you wouldn’t get freaked out?”

Forrest grinned at me. “I’m thinking even if I didn’t remember, I wouldn’t have minded.”

I rolled my eyes. That was so typical. He was such a guy.

But, my pride was sad to inform, that did not stop me from making out with him.

***

“I told you so!” Serena screeched the next day as I tried to cover my ears, in an effort to save my poor eardrums. I failed miserably. “I told you so! Guess what, Shay? I TOLD YOU SO!”

“Alright, alright, Blondie, enough!” Blondie was my nickname for her. She hated it, which was exactly why I used it, especially in moments like these.

She scowled at me, which made me grin. But she got over it really fast. “Oh! We’ve gotta think of your celebrity couple name!”

I rolled my eyes. Of course Serena would say that. “We don’t really—” I began to protest, but Serena wasn’t even listening.

“Hmm… Forray? No, that’s gay, what was I thinking? God. Umm… Oh! How about Shayrest? I like that one better? Don’t you? Then it’s settled! Shayrest it is!”

I didn’t even get the chance to speak, but she was right. Shayrest was better than Forray. That way, my name was first, too!

When a thought crossed my mind, I smirked at Serena. “What about you?”

"What about me?” She looked confused. Gosh, she was so dumb sometimes, I swear.

“You know what I mean!”

"No, I don’t!” she protested. “I’m not the one dating Forrest, so what about me?”

 I rolled my eyes. She really was dumb at that moment. “Not Forrest, stupid! Finn!”

Her cheeks turned a bright pink, which was really noticeable since it was winter and she hadn’t tanned since the summer. “Uh… w-what about Finn?”

“Have you done what you were ’sposed to yet?”

“Um… of course I have…” She wouldn’t look me in the eye.

She hadn’t done it, obviously.

“Serena…”

“I was gonna do it, I swear!” she blurted out. “But then I chickened out ’cause I got scared at the last minute!”

I rolled my eyes at her and grabbed her arm. “C’mon, Blondie.”

“W-what?”

“You heard me.” I tugged at her arm to get her to move.

“But…”

“Let’s go!” I tugged at her arm again and shot her a look.

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and she followed me.

***

“Who are you?” Finn asked, giving me a weird look.

“I’m Shay, Serena’s awesome-sauce secret lover,” I blurted out immediately.

“Shay, shut up!” Serena slapped my arm.

Five seconds later, I screeched an, “Ow!”

Finn gave me another weird look. It was sort of awkward being around him, knowing that I made out with him. He didn’t remember because he had been important in Serena’ life, not mine. Thank God, too. It was awkward enough for the both of us, after all.

“So, Serena, didn’t you have something you wanted to say to Finn?”

“Yes…” she replied evasively.

“Aren’t you gonna say it?”

"Yes…” She gave me a weird look.

“When?” I prodded, using my hands to speak.

“Today…” She nodded her head at me. Was that some kind of signal or something…?

“Are you going to or not?” My patience was done with.

“As soon as you leave~”

I gasped. “Well then… I guess I can see when I’m not wanted!” I pretended to cry to myself before I walked away. I heard Finn and Serena laughing from behind me.

Well, at least I gave them an ice-breaker: my “weirdness”.

*** 

Top 3 Quotes of the Day:

1: "I read that nobody would remember what happened and i was like, "WHAT?!" and i was close to crying. Then when i read what the fortune cookie says, i was like ... Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeessssssssss!!!!!!!!! Then i started dancing in my head. My brother started looking at me weird so i thought i must be smiling like crazy. So i just smacked my hand into his face. Aaanyway, i have a connection to how they met. I was thirsty so i went up to a random house and asked for water. The guy was like, uuuuuummmmmm-, and then i just pushed past him and got some water" -zubaphore

 [Lol, I’m glad there are actually people like Shay in this world! The world needs more Shays’! Your story cracked me up. :)]

 2: ""Over dramatic gasp here" the evil bald man really wasn't evil! But what the hell is the thing they will remember? AGHHGaggdgshaj My platypus NEEDS TO KNOW! Like OH MY SHIZ! At least the ending is coming soon. HOORAH! I'm happy... Imma shed a tear :'( but I'm really looking forward for the sequel cuz Shay's daughter must be a 2747647382929275361891 times more crazier than her (if that's possible O.o) AnYWHooooo duckarooo do u like chocolate bars? I fed my puppy one... Not the smartest move ever. I'm not that smarticle. But the freaky fortune is freaking my eyeballs out and Im afraid to eat bacon! UGHhh why must you do this to me!!?!?? Chuck. Does Forrest have a twin brother that likes weirdos becausee I would like him! Nananananan MINE :P HA! TEE-HEE! I love seeing random comments about stuff not even being about the story and I just laugh until Im rolling on the ground hoping somebody will feed me cheese. What was I talking about again? Oh, right platypuses are awesome and so is your story! Did ya know it’s the first one I read on here! Well NOW YOU KNOW! Yeahhhh buddy and as Shay would so say: GOODBYE LOVER! I said that to my friend once and my mom looked at me like 'uh... she’s not my daughter.' why is she ashamed of me? WHY!!!???? BYE!" -thecheesymuffing

 [That last part made me laugh :) If you guys’ haven’t noticed yet, I love laughing and funny stuff!]

 "this isn't even a cliff hanger, this is you throwing us over a cliff. the places you decide to stop at just kill me." - imarshyonshuffle

[Short, but sweet and hilarious :) I haven’t heard that one, ever, actually! It was funny!]

***

A/N: I, Alex, solemnly swear NOT to let the Shay-ness die. So to all of my fans that didn’t receive the message that the story will have a sequel of sorts, just without Shay as the female protagonist, here’s that message: There WILL be a sequel, just without Shay as the female protagonist. It will be her daughter’s story, but just trust me on this one: Skye, Shay’s daughter, will be just as crazy (if not crazier) as her mom. I promise! You guys’ will like it, I think. Hopefully! 

Here’s an excerpt to the story, and just so you guys don’t freak out (that bad) when the next update comes out, I’m gonna say it: the next update will also be the last. Yes, the last chapter of “They Say Love Hides…” is almost here. There’s only one chapter left! Ohmygod! I know! Eeep!

Okay, I’m done. Here’s a small excerpt to the sequel: “Cute But Psycho. Things Even Out!"  

 ***

“So, Skye,” Jasmine, my best friend Danielle’s therapist mother, began after we had all begun eating. “How are you feeling about starting high school tomorrow?”

I groaned internally. This was completely annoying. What did it matter how I felt about starting high school tomorrow? I was still going to be forced into going. “Just dandy,” I replied after I had finished complaining to myself in my head.

Bryce, Danielle’s father who was, unfortunately for me, also a therapist, shook his head at me immediately, like he knew what I was going to say beforehand, and said in his annoying professional voice, “Obviously it’s not fine. I can understand perfectly that it’s not fine. I was a teenager once, after all.”

“Naw,” I retorted, rolling my eyes. “I actually thought you were a Cheez-It back then. Thanks for clearing that up, Bryce.”

Bryce sighed at me and shook his head.

At first, I was expecting one of his famously boring lectures on how I needed to learn that just because he was like a fatherly figure to me (hah!) didn’t mean I could get away with disrespect all the time.

I had been forced to sit through at least four of those lectures before, among other types of lectures that I was not going to dive into at that moment, or at all. I was already way too emotionally scarred because of those lectures without having to relive them a second time.

The first time he lectured me, or tried to, which was probably a better way of putting it, I just randomly stood up and walked to Danielle’s room when I got bored. This didn’t stir well with Bryce or Jasmine, so my lecture was extended, as was expected.

I learned my lesson that day. It was better to just sit there and pretend that you were listening and that you were deeply moved by their words. It made them shut up a hell of a lot faster. But I didn’t need to worry about that that day, because Bryce surprised me by saying, “You’re obviously trying to use your wits to cover up what you’re truly feeling, and that is perfectly normal.”

I heard Danielle snort loudly from her seat, so naturally, I kicked her for it.

I knew why she thought it was funny, of course. I was probably the least normal person you could find, other than Mom, of course. I still wasn’t quite sure if that was a good or bad thing. I mean, if it wasn’t me that was the weirdest person, then it was Mom, who was my own flesh and blood. Either way, our family name was “tainted”, as one particularly haggish lady at the grocery store pointed out so helpfully (note the sarcasm) one day.

She started it, not us. I swear.

“Talking about cover up, you might want to cover up that nasty zit on your nose,” I suggested, pointing at Bryce’s nose. “I didn’t even know adults got zits, especially not honkers like that one.”

“Me neither,” Danielle agreed, leaning forward in her seat, trying to get a better look at it. Her medium-length golden blond hair fell in her face, and she moved it out of her way, hazel eyes squinting as she struggled to get a good look at it. “Ugh. Look at it!”

“Bryce!” Jasmine gasped, shaking her head. “You didn’t use what I told you to, did you?”

“Jazz, what you gave me was for women,” he replied in exasperation. “I wasn’t going to use it!”

“It would work on men just fine!”

This was the good thing about Jasmine and Bryce. When one of them was heavily questioning me, the other was bound to eventually pick a fight, ultimately distracting both of them and leaving me off the hook.