Love - A
"I just wish Layla wasn't so head strong…" Kelly sighed and over at Michelle for a response. Michelle sat up from the towel she was tanning on and looked over at Kelly. "I know." She agreed. "But she's always been this way." Michelle added. "And you just have to look past it and do what is right for you." She finished. Kelly gave Michelle a polite smile.
She was so happy to have Michelle by her side threw high school, and even after. Michelle was like an older sister to her. She was like the mother figure of the whole group of friends. She was smart and reasonable. She was the best listener and usually gave the best advice.
With that said, Kelly and Michelle both laid back down on their towels. Silence fell over them but only lasted a minute. "So you know how I told you about the party tomorrow?" Michelle asked, hiding behind her sunglasses. Kelly sat up almost instantly. "What party?" she asked. "You didn't tell me about any party?" she assured. "Opps…" Michelle said, looking over at her from the spot she was laying in.
Kelly looked down at her. "Well since tomorrow is the annual summer beach bash… We're going to grill out at the house and have some people over." Michelle smiled nervously.
The beach bash happened every summer at Laguna Beach. The street was blocked off for festival rides and the board walk was filled with food, music, and games. At the end of the night there were always fireworks. It was a very typical summer festival. She couldn't deny that the idea of having a party during the bash was a good idea. Even though she wasn't much of a partyer herself, it would be nice to just unwind a little bit.
"Sounds like fun." Kelly said finally, adjusting her sunglasses. Michelle smiled. "I thought so… but anyway, we need to stop and get some drinks and stuff." She said. Kelly nodded and they went back to relaxing under the sun, Kelly forgetting all about Layla.
The music played loudly as Kelly sat awkwardly on the back patio steps. She shuffled her feet around in the sand as she watched everyone enjoy each other's company.
Suddenly someone walked in front of her, blocking her view from the steps. She looked up to see John Cena smiling down at her. Quickly she sat up from the steps. "Hi John." She said smoothing out her shorts. "Hey Kell, I'm glad I found you" he said charmingly. "I was with Wade but he won't leave Layla's side." He said nodding in their direction. Kelly looked over at them, and to her surprise Layla was smiling at whatever it was Wade Barrett was saying. "Well are you enjoying yourself at least?" she asked in a friendly way. John nodded with a smile, but Kelly watched as it faded.
She could feel someone approaching from behind her, and when she looked over her shoulder she now saw Randy Orton. "Hey Randy." John said politely. Randy simply smirked and took a sip of the beer in his hand.
Before a conversation could even take off, Mike Mizanin walked over and nudged John. "We need one more person for a volleyball game." He said. John nodded to him and looked back at Kelly and Randy. "Guess I'll talk to you guys latter." John smiled before trailing off behind Mike towards the volley ball net set up.
"I didn't know he was going to be here." Randy mumbled. "Everyone's here Randy." Kelly pointed out. "I feel like a circus animal." He said following in her steps as she walked away from the back patio of the house. "Why?" She asked curiously. "Because everyone's been giving me weird looks." He complained. "That's what happens when you just appear out of nowhere after five years." She snapped.
She was right, so he didn't say anything back. "Why didn't we think of this when we were in high school?" Randy said, making an effort to keep a conversation going, as he walked side by side with Kelly. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Having a party while the bash was going on" he said. Kelly looked at him and raised an eye brow confused. "Because no one trusted a bunch of 17 year old kids to throw a party at a house" she replied. Randy felt dumb founded by her answer, so he chuckled and nodded. "true." He said awkwardly.
Kelly was so caught up in the fact that she and Randy had actually been having a civil conversation for more than a minute she didn't realize how far they wondered. She looked over her shoulder to find that they were several feet from the house and the rest of the party. Still she continued to walk along side Randy until she reached the shore and water splashed her bare feet.
"I'm not much of a party person." She mumbled. Randy looked down at her. "You never were." He remembered. "Did you really love me?" Kelly asked. Randy sighed. "Yes" he said mumbled. "I just don't understand why that would make you leave" she confessed. "I already told you." He said threw gritted teeth. "If I wanted someone like John, I would have chosen him in the first place." She said frustrated. "Either way." He said, becoming irritated. Kelly threw her hands up. "Either way what?" she said.
"Either way, you were perfect and I could never live up to that no matter how much I loved you!" He yelled. Her eyes flickered with emotion. "Are you kidding me? You were popular and athletic. You were good at everything you did! You were the life of ever party while I just sat there. Star football player, star baseball player, every girl had a crush on you - I could never ever live up to you in high school." She cried.
Randy started to feel bad. Even then he never realized how she felt. While he was afraid he wasn't good enough for her, she had feared she wasn't good enough for him – only he ran and she didn't.
With sudden impulse he pulled her into him. His arms circled her petite body. "I wish I knew how you felt then..." he mumbled, still holding her. She pulled away from him, drying her eyes. "It doesn't matter." She said composing herself. "That was then, this is now." She said.
He wasn't for sure what she meant by that, but he followed her back up to the house and said no more.
Kelly huddled next to Michelle. The lights around the house kept the back yard light up for the party that was still going on under the night sky. "I'm so happy I did this!" Michelle beamed. Kelly bit her lip and nodded, thinking about Randy. He caught her eye, standing up on the patio with Adam. However, she could only tune Michelle out and hold her focus on Randy for so long.
"I haven't seen Layla all night." Michelle said looking around. "She was with Wade earlier." Kelly said to Michelle's surprise. "She still is." John Cena said surprising them even more. Both girls turned to look at him. "They headed down to the bash about an hour ago." John said. "They should be back any minute because the fireworks are about to be starting." John pointed out. Kelly nodded. "I saved you a seat Kell..." John looked at her. Kelly couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. "Umm..." she said, her eyes flickering to Randy. "That was really nice but I already have somewhere to be." she turned around and headed up the deck finding her place next to Randy.
And just like that, Kelly still found herself choosing Randy over John even after five long years.
