Chapter 19

When I walked into the school on Wednesday morning, I was slightly tired because of the lack of sleep I received the previous night. I hadn’t realized that babysitting a little kid could drain your energy levels so quickly and, with both Evan and his parents staying out relatively late, I only arrived home a after eleven ‘o’clock.

Not letting a small fact like how tired I was stop me, I headed straight for Olivia’s locker because I was dying to know how her date had gone.

Turning onto the hallway where her locker was located, I saw Olivia, alone, with her locker open as she transferred books out of her bag and onto the top shelf of her locker.

“Hey there.” I greeted, walking up to her as I tried to contain a smile, but in the end, the smile won over.

Olivia turned to acknowledge me with a smile, but as soon as she saw the massive grin I was sporting, she knew immediately what I was thinking as a light blush spread across her cheeks. “Hey Jessalyn.” she replied shyly, closing her locker to face me fully.

“So…” I said, edging her on.

“So, what?” she asked in reply, shrugging her shoulders as she tried to act innocent. Her act, however, didn’t exactly work on account of her massive blush that had grown down her cheeks to reach her neck.

I rolled my eyes in disbelief at my friend. “Come on!” I screeched quietly, trying not to gain the attention of our classmates who passed us in the hall. “Tell me how your date went last night!”

Olivia chuckled at my enthusiasm as she shook her head in amusement. “First of all, calm down.” she said with trailing laughter. “And second of all, what do you want to know?” she asked with a small smile on her face.

“Well,” I started, “I want to know what happened last night between you and Evan that is making you smile and blush at just a simple question.”

The side of her mouth lifted up slightly, widening her smile. “Not much happened, just a simple date is all.” she replied vaguely.

“Okay, how about you tell me the truth now.” I stated, rolling my eyes at her attempts to dodge my question.

Olivia bit her lip, containing her smile and nodded reluctantly. “He took me to the beach, as you already know, and there weren’t a whole lot of people there.” she replied as another blush crept up on her cheeks. “Anyways, I was really nervous at the beginning of the night because I knew that I liked him, but I wasn’t sure how he exactly felt about me. I guess my nerves were showing because while we were walking down the beach he grabbed my hand and told me that there was nothing to be nervous about; that we were just having a fun night out.”

“Okay, I get you were nervous, I get it.” I said, waving my hand in front of me. “Now get to the good stuff.” I stated with a smile, containing the urge I had to bounce up and down in excitement.

Obviously Olivia wasn’t annoyed with my reaction, but rather very amused. “Well after my nerves calmed down, he brought me to where he had apparently set up a picnic dinner. It was all really simple and plain, but I thought it was sweet because he had put effort into the date instead of just buying me a burger and fries.” she explained, her blush becoming a little more prominent as she got to the main part of her night.

“Anyways, it turns out that not only did he bring a picnic, but he also brought a game of horseshoes, a Frisbee, and a football to play with.” she continued, drifting her vision from me to the end of her shirt as she picked at a string or two nervously. “I guess he knew that I wasn’t amazing at sports so, he brought some simpler things to try and he basically spent half of the time teaching me how to play. All in all the date was cute, fun, and we spent a lot of time just goofing around and talking like we normally do.”

I smiled at her, not even trying to resist my happiness as I threw my arms around her in a supportive hug. I was genuinely happy that things had gone well for her last night. “I’m happy that you’re happy.” I said genuinely as I pulled back with a smile. “So… are you guys going out again?”

Olivia bit her lip nervously and shrugged. “I mean, I’m going with him to the beach Friday again, but from my knowledge you and Cason are coming too.” she said, and I nodded. “He didn’t outright ask me out again though, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Well, I will bet you ten dollars that by the time Friday night comes to a close you’ll have another date lined up with him.” I said teasingly as she blushed and smiled slightly at the idea of it. “Oh, and I have one more question before we head to first period!”

“What’s that then?” she asked curiously, adjusting her bag’s strap on her shoulder.

“Did he kiss you?”

Olivia’s eyes widened at my question, as if she was genuinely surprised that I had asked such a thing. “Umm, no.” she replied slowly. “He kissed my cheek when he dropped me off but that’s about it. He knows that I’ve never been kissed or been out with a guy before, so I guess he’s just taking it slow.”

I nodded, actually praising Evan for not rushing into anything physical, even if it was something as small as a kiss.

As our conversation switched from Olivia’s date to my babysitting experience, we headed down the halls towards my locker before the bell rang, making sure not to be late.

The rest of the week after that passed at a relatively even pace. Evan and Olivia seemed to be slightly more affectionate during lunch; holding hands and whispering to each other, but really, Cason and I couldn’t complain since they seemed to be happy.

Also, according to Olivia, Evan hadn’t asked her out on another date, but I knew that she didn’t have to worry. Just by the way I saw him looking at her and how they acted when they were around each other, I knew that he would ask her out again and, I had a feeling it would be at the beach tonight.

The last bell of the day had just rung, letting all the students out for the weekend.

Olivia and I were walking down the hallway, having just been let out of class, but we looked like the only ones in the halls that had their head on straight. Everybody around us was buzzing about the Halloween dance tonight at the school. The only words I could hear from anybody mouth had something to do with a costume, an after party, or who everybody was going with, and to be honest, it was starting to get annoying. Why should students care so much about a dance that will last four long hours in a high school gym? It just didn’t make sense.

As we approached the front doors to the school, Cason and Evan popped out of nowhere.

“Hey girls,” Cason greeted nonchalantly, his hands stuck in the side pockets of his board shorts. “Where are you guys headed?”

I raised an eyebrow at his question. Why did he have to know where we were going? All he needed to know was that we were all meeting at the beach later tonight. “Why do you need to know?” I responded teasingly.

Cason rolled his eyes at my response, but still smiled. “I don’t, I just want to make sure that you guys are still meeting us down at the beach around six or so.” he stated.

I nodded my head in sync with Olivia at his comment. “Don’t worry boys, we’re not ditching you guys; we’ll be there.”

“Great. Okay, see you then.” Cason said with a nod, before heading down the front steps of the school.

“Yea, see you guys tonight.” Evan repeated, giving Olivia a sincere smile before heading down the stairs towards his own car.

After both Evan and Cason were out of sight, I bumped Olivia’s hip with mine as we continued our walk towards my house. She was coming over to my house until we left for the beach so we could just hang out and catch up a bit before the night started. “He is totally going to ask you out again tonight.” I stated with a smirk, successfully making my best friend blush.

Olivia looked at me with a small, yet hopeful smile. “I hope so.” she said quietly as she looked down at her feet, but loud enough for me to hear her.

"You guys are adorable, so don’t worry, it’ll happen.” I said reassuringly as we continued the short walk to my house.

The hours of the day dwindled down after we arrived at my house. My mom breezed into the house around four ‘o’clock while Olivia and I were just relaxing in the living room watching television. She looked slightly frazzled from her day at work and, I had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that the elementary school had given the students a play day for Halloween.

“How was work mom?” I asked with a comforting smile when she came back into the living room five minutes later in comfortable clothes.

My mom sighed as she sank back into the chair beside the couch. “Those little kids have a lot of energy when we give them candy. I’m just glad that Halloween is only one day a year and not once a month.” she stated, still looking tired.

“So, what are you doing tonight?” I asked my mom, wondering if she was doing anything special for Halloween this Friday night.

My mom smiled at me. “I’m just going to go over to Diana’s and we’ll hand out candy over there. You probably don’t want your mom around while you guys are getting ready for that dance tonight.” she commented.

At her words, I was confused. I thought that I had told her we weren’t going to the dinner, but rather to a barbeque camp fire at the beach. I could see Olivia’s questioning gaze turn to me as she was probably also confused.

“Mom…” I started slowly. Maybe I really did forget to tell her I wasn’t going to the dance. “We aren’t going to the dance tonight.”

My mom’s eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. “Then where are you guys going for the night?” she asked. “Sorry, but I just thought that since you mentioned going out tonight with Olivia, I immediately assumed that you guys were headed to the dance.”

“It’s fine.” I said, waving off her apology which wasn’t exactly needed. “But we’re going to the beach for the night. Cason and Evan skip dances and go to the beach to have a bonfire and barbeque and, they invited us along tonight.”

“And whose Evan again?” my mom asked.

“Oh you know just Cason’s best friend and Olivia’s future boyfriend.” I stated teasingly, but truthfully.

My mom’s eyes sparkled in amusement as she turned her gaze to a horrified Olivia. “Is that true Olivia?” she asked in the same teasing tone I had used. We really were mother and daughter.

“I… uh…” she started, stumbling over her words before taking a deep breath and nervously bringing her hand through her hair. “We went out this week once, but that’s all.” she mumbled quietly.

“Well he must be a good guy if he likes you.” my mom commented before standing up and stretching her tired limbs. “I’m going to get ready and head over to Diana’s in a couple of minutes. You girls have fun tonight, but not too much fun.”

“Bye mom.” I said, smiling at her retreating form as she headed upstairs.

Over the next two hours Olivia and I made ourselves some small snacks and just caught up while watching television. I learned that her mom was getting a little pushy as to when she was going to see Evan again and, I also realized that my teasing might have been annoying her as well so, I apologized, which she just waved off. She really did want to go out with him and I knew she was starting to develop true feelings for the guy; I just hoped he got over the nerves, or whatever it was that was holding him back, and just asked her out.

As the topics changed, I told her how the babysitting had gone while she was out on Tuesday as we never really got time to talk alone between then and now except for a few minutes between classes when Cason and Evan weren’t hovering around us.

It was strange; how just over two months ago I was completely alone and depressed about the death of my dad, and now, I had a best friend and two guy friends that were actually pretty cool and understanding.

For the first time since we moved here, I felt sad yet happy that we had made the move down to Avondale. I know we never would’ve moved down here if my dad had still been alive, however, I guess I was coming to the point where I understood that my dad was gone, but that he’d always be watching over his little girl from the skies above.

Smiling at my thoughts, I glanced sideways at the clock and saw that it was already five to six. “We better get ready now, we should’ve left already.” I stated sheepishly, jumping up from the couch.

“Well shit, why didn’t you mention it earlier?” Olivia exclaimed as she jumped up from her own spot on the couch.

I raised my eyebrow at her as I stayed with my feet planted in the same spot. “Since when do you swear?” I asked seriously, not remembering a time where I heard a word that wasn’t sweet and innocent escape her mouth.

Olivia blushed nervously. “I swear once and a while.” she mumbled, running a hand through her slightly knotted hair.

“Sure you do.” I replied with an eye roll as I started to make my way upstairs. “You’re just a little frazzled that you’ll be late for some quality time with Evan.” I teased as she followed me.

“Oh shut up.” she muttered quietly as she ducked her head.

I laughed lightly at her embarrassment as we entered my bedroom and started to get ready.

Twenty minutes later, we had both changed from our clothes and were now in slightly more stylish clothes. We had both combed our hair and styled it into identical side braids before applying our own light makeup.

“Are you sure you don’t want to bring a sweater for later tonight?” Olivia asked as she threw a light sweatshirt over her arm as we left my house from the back entrance. “It gets colder at night, especially when you’re near the water.”

I shook my head. “I grew up with long and treacherous winters, unlike this town, which always seems to be warm. Anything around 15 degrees Celsius is warm for me.” I replied, confident that I wouldn’t need another layer of clothes.

“Okay, whatever you say.” Olivia said, shrugging her shoulders as we made our way towards the public beach which, like expected, was almost empty.

In less than ten minutes our walk was complete as we arrived at the public beach; however, there seemed to be something wrong with picture that stood before us.

“Where are Cason and Evan?” I asked out loud, asking anybody and nobody at the same time.

Olivia pulled her phone out of her pocket quickly to check the time before placing it back safely in her front pocket. “It’s already a quarter after six because we left late.” she stated, probably just as perplexed about the situation as I was.

“Maybe they’re just down the beach a little more.” I suggested with a shrug, hoping that they would have enough sense to call us if they decided to go to the dance instead.

Olivia nodded in agreement as we headed up the beach a bit, passed the food stands that were lacking line-ups but still remained open. As we got to the part of the beach that was completely deserted except for a pile of abandoned drift wood, we stopped walking.

“Okay, it’s starting to get dark and they obviously aren’t anywhere to be found.” Olivia stated, pulling her sweater on so that the slight wind wouldn’t affect her.

I, being from up north, wasn’t bothered by the light, humid wind that was starting to make its way onto the shore as the sun started to set. Instead of being bothered by the wind, I pulled out my own cell phone from my back pocket and turned it on.

“I’m calling Cason because if they just decided to ditch us I’d really like to know why.” I stated, slightly angered as I went to my contacts and taped on his number before bringing the phone up to my ear.

I looked up and saw that Olivia’s face was not one of happiness, and I immediately knew why. This was supposed to be more time for her to spend with Evan and, if she were to find out that he went to the dance, she’d probably be crushed.

After one ring, the phone connection immediately died as a never-ending beeping sound greeted my ear. It sounded like a heart monitor after it flat-lined, and that wasn’t a nice sound to have ringing constantly in your ear.

Pulling the phone away from my face, I looked down at it worriedly. Why would a place with enough phone service not allow me to call one of the guys I was supposed to be meeting?

“The phone line went dead.” I said, informing Olivia of the peculiar situation we had on our hands.

“Let me try.” she suggested, pulling out her phone and dialling a number. I presumed it was Evan’s, but I wasn’t sure, her and Cason may have exchanged numbers in the past couple of weeks for all I know.

Less than thirty seconds passed before Olivia pulled the phone away from her ear with a frown on her face; telling me what I already guessed. “It went dead in the middle of the second ring.”

This situation was starting to feel eerie and with the fact that Halloween, the scariest and most spine-chilling holiday of the year, my senses were now on high alert.

“Let’s just go,” I said in a defeated voice after a couple minutes of standing around in the sand and doing nothing. “They obviously aren’t…”

“BOO!”

At the sudden loud noise, both Olivia and I released two ear-piercing screams that would more-than-likely make a horror movie director proud. We threw our arms around each other as we turned around to see what had spooked us, and when our eyes latched onto the two hooded figures behind us, we screamed even louder.

As my voice started to strain, my scream started to get quieter and I opened my eyes, only to be greeted with the two hooded figures bent over laughing their asses off.

My mind started working normally as I realized what had happened in the last minute.

“You guys are such dicks!” I screamed with the voice I had left, unlatching my arms from around Olivia as I walked up to the two hooded hooligans and pulled off both of their hoods.

As their faces were revealed, I wasn’t shock at all to see Evan and Cason still laughing like hyenas.

Olivia, having realized what had happened as well, had an identical angered expression plastered onto her face. “Are you guys’ idiots?” she asked in a loud enough voice. “Are you so stupid to not realize that tricks that come from horror movies are not at all amusing to girls, but rather horrifying?”

“Oh come on Liv,” Evan pleaded as he calmed down his laughter. “It’s Halloween; what did you expect to happen?”

“I expected exactly what you told us.” she said, calming herself down as she spoke. “I thought you guys would have the barbeque set up and we would all just be hanging out, not being scared to death.”

As she was speaking, the guys had stripped themselves of their black cloaks and stood before us in their normal clothes, except they were both wearing light sweaters because of the wind.

“The barbeques in my car.” Cason stated, rolling his cloak up into a ball. “Evan and I are going to get it so we can start it up.”

I took a glance at Olivia and, although she was angry a couple of minutes ago at the prank the boys had played on us, I could see that her expression depleted slightly when Cason mentioned Evan leaving again.

Acting impulsively, I stepped up quickly. “Actually, how about Evan stays here with Olivia and they can collect some drift wood while I help you out with the barbeque.” I suggested.

Cason looked at me strangely for a second, but as soon as he saw my eyes move to where Evan and Olivia were standing, he understood what I was trying to do and nodded. “Yea that’s fine.” he agreed as a small smirk grew on his face. “Pass me the cloak and I’ll take it back to the car for you.”

Evan threw a small glare in mine and Cason’s direction; however, he didn’t hesitate as he rolled his cloak up into a tight ball and chucked it towards his best buddy. “Sure, I’ll see you in a few.” Evan said, turning around to talk to Olivia, who I could tell from here was blushing.

I turned away from them and walked closer to Cason. “So, how far away did you park your car so that we wouldn’t hear you pull in?” I asked as we started to walk away from the two lovey-dovey humans.

Cason turned his head to look down at me and smirked. “It’s actually not far from here, you guys probably heard it but just thought it was another car driving down the road.” he replied.

I rolled my eyes at him as we continued to where he had parked. It turned out that he was telling the truth because after a minute or two of walking his car was in plain sight at the end of the parking lot.

“Now,” I spoke as we reached the car and Cason popped the trunk. “I’d like to know whose brilliant idea it was to scare both Olivia and I out of our boots.”

Once again, Cason smirked at me as he leant against the side of the car. “Now why would I tell you that?” he asked slyly.

“Because if it was you… I’ll have to kick your ass.” I replied nonchalantly, even though we both knew that I was only joking.

Cason released a bark of laughter from within him at my comment. “You could try.” he replied teasingly before bending over and reaching for a cardboard box that was stored in his trunk.

"Aah, so it was you.” I stated, nodding my head in mock understanding.

Cason shook his head as he replied. “Not totally, Evan and I thought it’d be fun to pull a small prank on you guys. I mean, Halloween is meant for giving your friends a well-planned spook.”

I shook my head at his reasoning, but let it go because he was right; it was all in the spirit of Halloween. In my old town people would’ve just ignored me when a holiday came around, but if it was Halloween, they would’ve tried to scare me to death and not even apologize after. At least now I knew that the joke was meant to be amusing and it was all in good fun.

“Fine, I guess I could find it in my heart to forgive you.” I said dramatically, really selling my performance with a sigh and the all-important eye roll.

Cason smiled at me and nodded to his popped trunk over the cardboard box in his arms. “You think you could be a doll and close that for me?” he asked.

I nodded as I returned the smile and used my strength to pull the older trunk down until I heard the satisfying click of the latch, signaling that I had used enough force to lock it.

“How is that barbeque staying in that old ratty box without falling right through?” I asked incredulously, looking at the worn out box in Cason’s arm as we walked back to where Evan and Olivia should be.

“I have no idea, but at the moment, I could care less as long as it doesn’t break in the next couple of minutes.”

I laughed at his reply. He, along with I, was probably hungry as the time was closing in on seven ‘o’clock and we still had to set up the barbeque, start it up, and actually cook the food.

Arriving back near Evan and Olivia a minute or so later, I saw them seated next to each other on a log looking all cute and couple-like. They were obviously having a private conversation that shouldn’t have been interrupted, but when Olivia flicked her eyes over to us, I knew that both Cason and I had unintentionally ruined a moment between them.

“Everything good here?” I asked timidly, looking at what they had done while we were gone.

I heard Cason place the barbeque box down at his feet beside me as both Evan and Olivia stood up.

“Yea, everything’s good.” Evan replied with a smile, sending a secret smile to Olivia before nodding at Cason. “Do you need help with that man?”

As the boys went off a little ways away to set up the barbeque and start cooking whatever else they had packed in that box, I walked up to Olivia with a smile on my face. “So, what were you guys talking about?” I asked in a quiet enough voice so that the sound wouldn’t carry to where the boys were situated.

“Umm… I think he was about to ask me out again.” she replied nervously with a smile on her face.

I smiled at her. “Well, he’s definitely going to try for that date again tonight, trust me.”

She nodded as she took a deep breath to relieve herself of any nerves. She wanted that date with him, and I really hoped that he took the opportunity he had tonight to ask her out.

As it turns out, Evan did take the opportunity that was presented to him, but not before putting it off for a little while.

The barbeque and bonfire had already been set up and we were all currently seated on logs around the camp fire, each munching on our own hotdog. They were really good and I was surprised that regularly grilled hotdogs could taste like that; Cason must’ve known what he was doing when he cooked them.

When I saw Olivia take the last bite of her hotdog, Evan cleared his throat rather loudly.

“Olivia, did you want to take a walk for a couple minutes down the beach?” Evan asked nervously and, even though the sun had pretty much set and the night was upon us, I could vaguely make out a change in colour in his cheeks. He was blushing.

Olivia looked just as nervous as Evan as she nodded shyly and stood up with him, walking down towards the water before taking each other’s hands and walking around a little.

“Please tell me he’s asking her out again.” I pleaded as I stood up and went to sit on the same log as Cason.

Cason, who had just stated his third hotdog, looked at me and nodded. He obviously didn’t want to talk with his mouth full, which I should have applauded him on as the boy was actually using his manners, but I was too overjoyed that my best friend was basically gaining a boyfriend.

“Well I’m glad they’re happy, they look adorable together and I know that she really likes him.” I stated absentmindedly, not even minding that I was talking to Cason. He was the one that was here so, he would have to deal with my mushy and romantic thoughts.

Cason, who seemed to have devoured the rest of his hotdog in less than a minute, laughed lightly at my cheesiness. “Even though that was a completely girly thing to say,” he started in a teasing voice, “I’d have to agree with you on that one. He really likes her to, but believe it or not, he gets nervous around the girls who actually mean something to him.”

“I can see that.” I replied, looking over at Evan and Olivia, who looked like they were getting closer together. My eyes widened as I realized he was about to kiss her and my hands latched onto Cason’s arm.

“What’s with the nails?” Cason asked with laughter before he followed my gaze and saw what I was. “Oh, that’s what’s up.”

As I saw their lips connect, I forced my eyes away to give them their privacy and sighed happily. “Well at least they’re happy.” I stated, resting my elbows on my knees and the head in my hands.

For whatever reason, all of the sudden a cold chill ran down my spine and I started to grow goose bumps on the exposed skin of my arms. I guess when Olivia said that the breeze from the water can get cold, she actually meant it. Now I was regretting being my stubborn self and not bringing a sweater like everybody else seemed to.

All of a sudden, a lump of cloth was splayed out over my shoulder and, as I turned my head to look at Cason, I saw that he had stripped his sweater off and had given it to me.

“You didn’t need to do that.” I said with a soft smile, but letting the material around my shoulder drop as it actually helped with the breeze.

Cason looked at me out of the corner of his eye and I felt my insides soften. He smiled and shrugged as if the gesture meant nothing to him. “You’re cold and I don’t mind getting a little chill every now and then; it keeps me healthy.” he replied.

I chuckled at his messed up reasoning, but none the less, slipped my arms into his over-sized sleeves and was immediately comforted. “Well thanks.” I said in finality as Cason started to stoke the fire in front of us, creating a slightly bigger flame.

Soon enough, both Evan and Olivia returned to the logs we had set up and sat right beside each other on the log next to the open that Cason and I were currently occupying. I didn’t say a word about what I had witnessed between the two of them, and neither did Cason, we just sat there for a while in silence, taking in the wonderful night.

After a good amount of silence, the rest of the night was spent just talking between the four of us and joking around. I was glad that on nights like this, I now had true friends to spend my time with.

*****************************************************

IT HAS FINALLY BEEN UPDATED! I am so incredibly sorry that I haven’t updated in the last two weeks, however, last week was one of the busiest weeks of my entire semester so far, plus I started soccer practice for the spring.

Now that school has calmed down, I actually got a job! So, even though I’ll be slightly busy, I will try and keep a promise to update once a week at least, but I will also try to keep my 5-6 day updates going like they used to. I just have to get a feel for my shifts and time management before anything is permanent.

Anyways, I’m not exactly sure if the read count is fixed, but I do know that whatever reads I lost, I lost for good at the moment… which kind of sucks, but I am extremely happy with all the votes and comments I have been receiving – even in my weeks of absence!

P.S. Remember to always point out grammatical or spelling errors to me, as it helps a bunch. This story is up for the Watty’s so I appreciate all the help and support I can get :)

Check the website for news on updates x