"If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots."
-Napoleon Bonaparte
Chapter Ten
"So, where are we heading to tonight?" Sarah casually asked Carlos as she climbed into his car. He sent her a grin.
"Well ... I assumed that we'd go attend that party over at Michael's house," Carlos informed her, "unless you don't want to."
"No ... no of course I do," Sarah hastily said. There was something telling her not to be alone with Carlos right now. And the party seemed the perfect place for the two of them to be together, yet also apart.
"Sounds good then," Carlos flashed her a smile. Then he must have noticed the look on her face because he proceeded to ask her with a voice of concern, "are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Sarah muttered. She couldn't help but think that if Carlos was as really as bad as she had heard than he wouldn't be worried about her right now. This actually helped to calm her nerves.
---
"Lainey, you have to get up," Margaret commanded two days after the fiasco at Rachelle's house had happened. Lainey had yet to get out of the bed for more than an hour at the time. She still refused to even leave the house.
"You don't have to be my friend," Lainey replied hollowly, "if you want to go back to Rachelle's side, I'll understand."
"What are you talking about?" Margaret asked, bewildered, as she sat on the edge of the bed.
"Well, being here, choosing my side, is going to totally ruin your status at school, and I'm not going to be there next year to help keep it up," Lainey explained.
"Do you really think I care about that?" Margaret sharply asked, "do you not remember previous fights in our group, you and Rachelle were always on the same side, leaving us unpopular girls to fend for ourselves."
Lainey smiled up at her. She had never realized how great of a friend Margaret was until right now. At first, she just thought Margaret had lost her mind in allowing Lainey to stay at her house. That was automatically picking sides. And not even with the person whose side it would be beneficial to be on. Not to mention the fact that here she was right now making Lainey feel totally incompetent in the ways of a true friend. However, she was still being constantly bugged by the friendship factor of her former home by one thing.
"Is it just you and me?" Lainey sadly asked her friend. She would really like more people on her side within her group.
The look, however, on Margaret's face was enough to give Lainey her answer. An answer that she had known, but had held out hope that she was wrong.
---
"You gave up a perfect opportunity to dance with Scott to go comfort Shannon?" Madison asked that night as her, Bailey, Beth, and Jennifer sat on the front porch of the cabin.
Bailey looked between the three girls. The expressions on their faces seemed to give away way too much of their feelings. Beth was giving her a look that was crossed between pity, which she could only assume was pity for her naivety, and anger, for Beth had been hoping for the day that Scott would sweep Bailey off her feet all summer. Madison just looked plain confused, as if she didn't understand why in the world Bailey would give up a chance with a guy that she knew she liked to help an enemy that she sure as heck didn't like. Jennifer's expression was the most helpful, she looked like she understood. It seemed like she had once been torn between the same emotions that Bailey herself was. A deep liking of a guy that she barely knew against an intense feeling of guilt towards someone she did not like very much.
"I just had to," Bailey quietly answered.
"No, you just have to go to the bathroom, you just have to sleep, you just have to eat, but, under no circumstances, whatsoever, do you ever have to go and comfort Shannon," Beth ranted, "Shannon who has wanted you to just make a fool of yourself and for everybody in camp to hate you since the first day. Shannon who dated Scott, who is the guy you like. Shannon, who, for Heaven sake's, is Shannon."
"And Scott couldn't tell her 'I love you'," Bailey calmly replied back, "Scott decided that he was done with her."
"You know what I think?" Beth asked. Before Bailey could respond, Beth proceeded to tell her exactly what she thought, "I think you are afraid of a relationship. You said yourself that you don't have many friends back home, never had a boyfriend. You are afraid that your hearts going to be broken."
Jennifer had remained quiet through the whole conversation, so, on instinct Bailey turned to Jennifer to seek assistance, but Jennifer seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everybody. Obviously she did not want to be associated with any one view on this highly controversial issue at the camp.
"That is not true," Bailey heatedly answered. Even though, deep down she knew Beth had a point.
---
Craig put an arm around Vanessa's shoulder. He then smiled down at her.
"You do realize that your parents love you, right?" Craig asked, a look of worry shining through his eyes.
"I know it with my mind, but sometimes my heart has a hard time following my mind," Vanessa admitted. She then gave him a watery smile.
"Who would've ever thought we would be friends?" Craig teased her.
"I know, I mean the last time I saw you had to have been like ...," Vanessa trailed off.
"I would say about six years ago," Craig thoughtfully answered. Vanessa looked at him like he was crazy, "well, it was Christmas when I was around twelve was the last time we all got together. Because I remember when you guys all came up that week I was pretty excited that I was going to be gone at soccer camp that week."
"Oh yeah," Vanessa giggled, "I remember that we went in and hid all your shoes around the house. I think that was our one bonding moment the whole trip."
"I had the hardest time finding those shoes," Craig muttered to her.
"It was truly fun though," Vanessa protested, "if you would have been there, you would have found it hilarious."
"Well, I'm glad my shoes brought you closer together," Craig rolled his eyes at the girl next to him.
"Well, I'm glad my adoption brought us closer together," Vanessa winked up at him, before skipping ahead of him, "come on, let's play in the park."
"You are one crazy girl," Craig yelled at her retreating figure, before following her to the park.
---
"Sarah, how many of those have you had?" Susie asked, an amused expression on her face as she saw Sarah pick up another cup of beer.
"I don't know," Sarah shrugged, then held four fingers. Then changed her mind and held up two more, "maybe that many."
She was really trying to wash away the fact that as soon as they had gotten to the party, Carlos had asked her if she wanted to go into a room. And not feeling entirely comfortable with the idea, she had turned him down. Then he had left to go say hi to some friends and never returned. She figured that she had really made him mad by not going into the room with him.
"I'm going to go find Carlos," Susie told her, before walking off. Sarah vaguely wondered why Susie would go and find Carlos.
---
"Okay, Lainey, lets go," Margaret said, an encouraging tone in her voice, as the two of them walked out of Margaret's house. Lainey looked up at the sun. She really didn't want to admit it, but she had missed being outside. Outdoors was the place where she thrived. She got to run, play soccer, swim, and see nature out here.
"Let's just go back in the house," Lainey suddenly spoke up.
"No way," Margaret firmly said, pulling Lainey around the corner of the house, "I have a surprise for you."
As they finished rounding the corner, Lainey noticed two familiar people sitting on the hood of Margaret's car. Before anybody could say anything, Lainey had run to the two boys and jumped into their arms.
"I guess your glad to see us," Nick ventured a guess, a smile upon his face.
"You guys have no idea how much I love you," Lainey gushed. She then gave each of them a quick kiss on the cheek, first Nick, then Donny.
"But, why are you here?" she confusedly asked.
"Well ...," Donny started, "we didn't think what Rachelle and Marcus did to you was very nice. I was trying to get Marcus to tell you up until the point you made out with him. So, it wasn't like it was a foreign concept that you liked him. Plus, I hate seeing my favorite girl depressed."
"Flirting with me will definitely not be permitted right now," Lainey firmly established, then settled herself between the two boys, "so, who's up for a game of soccer?"
---
Carlos led Sarah up to one of the rooms upstairs. Sarah could vaguely remember telling Carlos that she didn't want to go into a room earlier that evening.
"Hey baby," Carlos whispered, pulling her close to give her a kiss, "you look so hot."
"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself," Sarah giggled. Carlos led them to the bed and gently laid down with her, making out some more.
"Carlos, I think we should stop now," Sarah protested. However, Carlos seemed not to hear her as his hands slid farther up her shirt.
---
Lainey merrily kicked the ball down the court. After drawing straws, it had been decided that her and Nick would be playing against Donny and Margaret. Which actually made their teams pretty evenly matched because both Donny and Lainey were really good, while Margaret and Nick were mediocre. She didn't think that she could ever have this much fun while consciously knowing that she had lost her best friend.
Lainey narrowly made a goal, causing Donny to fall face first into the ground while trying to block the shot. Lainey was half a laughing at Donny for how ridiculous he looked and half cheering at her victory of a soccer goal when Nick and Margaret joined the duo, laughing as hard as Lainey had been. Lainey thought that this was one of the best moments of her life.
---
Carlos left the room right after he had finished with her. All Sarah could do was wrap her arms around her legs, and silently cry to herself. Why had he done this to her? He had seemed so nice. Well ... he was so nice at some points in time. And now he had done this.
She should have listened to Vanessa's warning. Should have listened that gut instinct telling her to not go near him.
She just sat there, arms wrapped around her legs, silently sobbing, rocking back and forth. Today was definitely the worst night of her entire life.
