7:30 am. I glare at what woke me up (my alarm clock) as I grab my phone drowsily. Ooh, texts. Clare asking me to pick her up and take her to school, Adam asking me how I was, and Zane saying he's sorry. I pop a piece of toast in the toaster, pour myself some orange juice, and eat breakfast. Then, I grab my keys, get into my car, and drive to go pick up Clare. While we drive to school, she flirts with me and I, being pissed off and hurt, flirt shamelessly back. I should probably stop doing that. Once at school, she races off to join Alli and I find Adam.
"So, how was last night?" he asks me suggestively.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Look on the bright side, there's always Clare."
"Shut up."
"You wanna make me again."
"No."
"Come on, we both know you wanna talk about it."
"You are really annoying."
"And you really are an idiot." He paused a couple seconds to gauge my reaction, before speaking again. "Come on, it can't be that bad."
"Oh, really?"
"Worst case scenario: He said no."
"Worse."
"Really? How?"
"He said yes."
"Um, how exactly is this worse?"
"Shut up and let me finish."
"Gladly."
"Then, I waited 2 hours for him to show up. And guess what!"
"What?"
"He never did."
"You got stood up."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious."
"You're welcome, Mr. Hearse-Driver."
"Shut up."
"Fine. So, tell me what happened, exactly."
"Why?"
"Because, um, that's what chicks do, right? I'm just trying to help, by, like, being your girl friend. As in friend that's a girl."
"You are a moron. Anyway, I called him up and asked him if he wanted to go out. He said yes, and to meet him at The Dot in 20 minutes. I said sure, I'll be there. Then, I get there and wait and wait and wait and wait for him to show up. 2 hours later, I gave up."
"Wait, so you waited 2 hours for some jerk who never showed up and he never apologized?"
"Oh, no, he did." I whip out my phone and find the text to show him.
"He texted you an apology?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So? That's, like, not sincere. I would know, being a guy and having done it before to a girl that I stood up because I didn't actually want to go out with her and –"
"Would you shut up?"
"Shutting up."
"Could this week get any worse?"
"Yes."
"Really? How?"
"Ask nicely."
"Would you please tell me how this week could get any worse?"
"Of course, Clare could find out and never talk to you again."
"Thank you, oh Wise One."
"You're welcome, Young Grasshopper. Are you sure you don't need to cry or something?"
"Shut up."
"Ah…I see."
"What?"
"You're waiting for me to leave so you can run back to the death-mobile and start crying."
"That's not true. I cried yesterday."
"Of course."
"You're such a guy."
"You're such a girl."
"Just…shut up!"
"No."
"Come on, let's just get to class."
"No."
"Why not?"
"We're gonna go find Zane, and I'm going to kill him."
"I thought death was my specialty."
"You'd think."
"Do we have to find Zane? I really don't want to see him."
"Come on, I'll be there."
"Real reassuring," I answer sarcastically.
"Shut up."
"I'm gonna need something to do with my mouth."
"Here's some gum," he says, handing me a stick of spearmint gum. Obviously, he doesn't actually want me talking or maybe he was just taking me seriously or maybe I'm not supposed to say anything once he finds Zane. We finally do find Zane, standing around in the library. "Zane!" Adam calls out.
"Dude, we're in a library," I whisper.
"Right. Hey, I thought I told you to shut up."
"You can order me around all you like, but this is what got us into trouble last time."
"Seriously, be quiet, stand back, and look sad and pretty."
"Fine."
"Zane," Adam says. "I need to talk to you." Zane makes his way over to us.
"Yeah?" he asks Adam, eyeing me suspiciously.
"Did you seriously think you could stand up my friend and get away with it?" Adam demands. Zane looks like he's floundering and he turns to me for support. I feel a lump forming in my throat and my eyes prickling. I'm going to cry, again.
"Let's go, please," I beg Adam, my voice cracking with the strain of trying not to cry.
"Eli…" Adam replies, trying to reassure me that he's got this.
"Please," I plead, my voice rough. Adam turns to face me, takes one look at my face and nods. He turns back to Zane.
"We'll finish this later," he warns Zane as he pulls me away. "What happened? I thought you said you were okay."
"Just because I say something, doesn't make it true and I guess I just didn't realize that seeing him would mess me up," I retort angrily.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to piss you off."
"Really? Cause it sure seemed like that was your goal."
"I'm trying to be a good friend here."
"Yeah? Well, you're failing miserably."
"Get in the Hearse."
"Why?"
"We're going somewhere?"
"Where?"
"Somewhere."
"You're going to make me drive to some random place so we can do something and you won't tell me where."
"Yep."
"Ugh! Fine."
"Just trust me, okay?" We drive for about a half an hour, him directing and me following said directions. "We're here!" he exclaims as I pull up to a lake.
"What is this place?" I ask.
"Where you're going to get better," he answers. I roll my eyes as he drags me to the edge of a pier. We sit down. "Now, cry," he orders.
"I can't just cry on command."
"Come on, you know you want to. You were practically sobbing at school."
"Yeah, well…that was when he was around."
"So, you're not going to cry over a boy who told you he'd meet up with you, then stood you up, made you wait for 2 hours, and texted you an apology?"
"No," I answer, the tears already starting to form.
"And that's what I thought," Adam tells me, as I completely break down, and he pulls me into a hug. Once I'm all cried out, he tells me the next course of action. "Now, swim. Swim until you can't swim anymore."
"What?"
"Trust me, okay."
"Okay," I reply shakily, pulling off my shoes, socks, jacket, shirt, and pants, before jumping into the water. It's embarrassing to be stripping in front of a guy I was in love with only a day ago, but I do it anyway. "Where do I swim?"
"To the island and back."
"Okay." I do, and one time feels horrible, the second is just as bad, the third starts to feel better, and by the tenth time I feel amazing. However, by the thirtieth time, I'm starting to drop.
"Keep going," Adam tells me. I do, and I make it to fifty before I literally collapse.
"Can't…swim…any…more," I get out, between gulps of air. Adam pulls me back onto the pier.
"Here're your clothes."
"But my underwear…"
"There's an extra pair in the shed. Now go change." I do so and come back.
"Thanks," I tell him.
"Whatever," he mumbles, embarrassed, his face turning red. Thank God for my good genes. "Just don't worry, okay? You'll find somebody amazing eventually. Trust me."
"I wish I could."
"Oh, come on."
"Fine, but only because you didn't lie about the underwear in the shed." He rolls his eyes as I smile.
"Just, be careful, okay? I don't want to see you hurt."
"I'm going to get hurt, it's inevitable."
"Maybe you should pick someone more trustworthy next time, someone you know, for example."
"If I never put myself out there, I can't find someone."
"Fine."
"Come on, let's go."
"Happily. And don't think I've forgotten about killing Zane."
"Not for a minute."