Chapter 11-Could you please get back together?

Bridgette was sitting in her kitchen, with her head on her table and her eyes closed. Leshawna, who was drinking a cup of coffee, looked at her and sighed.

"Bridgette!" She called.

"What?" Bridgette mumbled, half asleep.

"Girl, did you even sleep last night?" Leshawna asked.

"No. Courtney had no place to stay last night, so I allowed her to sleep in the living room." Bridgette replied, yawning.

"So?"

"You know how much she talks on that goddamn cell phone? And she talks loud, too. I heard every word she said." She continued, raising her head.

"Oh, not cool." Leshawna said.

"Tell me about it…" Bridgette said, putting her head back on the table.

"So where is Miss Talk-a-lot now?"

"Don't know, I think she's at some meeting or something." Bridgette replied.

"Alright then, let's talk about the Gwen and Trent issue." Leshawna said. "I saw a lot of movies where young women move out of their apartments, because of fights with their boyfriends. And they all go to the same place."

"Disneyland?" Very sleepy Bridgette asked.

"No, at their mother's house." Leshawna replied.

"Oh, right."

"That's why I'm gonna call her." Leshawna said, dialing a number on her cell phone.

She placed the cell phone at her ear and waited for Gwen to answer.

"Hello?" A male voice answered.

"You're not Gwen!" Leshawna exclaimed surprised.

"Excuse me?"

"Who are you?" Leshawna asked, bothered by the person at the other end.

"Who are you?"

"It's none of your damn business!" Leshawna snapped.

"Then why did you call here?" The guy asked confused.

"I want to talk to Gwen."

"Gwen? Alright, I'll call her over." He said calmly.

"Wait! Is she cheating on Trent with you?" Leshawna asked suspicious.

"Oh, God, no! I'm her brother." He replied disgusted.

"Good. Now call her over." She ordered.

"Alright, alright." He agreed. "GWEN! Somebody wants to talk to you!" He yelled. "Who is it?" Gwen's voice could be heard.

"Who are you again?" Her brother asked Leshawna.

"I said it's none of you business, fool!" She snapped.

"A very loud friend of yours!" The guy told Gwen.

"WHAT?!" Leshawna yelled in the phone. "Oh, you idiot, when I get my hands on you, you'll…!" She continued to say on a very angry tone.

"Hello?" Gwen asked, picking up the phone.

"Gwen!" Leshawna said, on a very gentle tone. "What's up, girl?"

"Oh, nothing much, I'm just hanging around at my mom's house, at least until I find another apartment to buy."

"That sounds…nice."

"Did you call to tell me that I should try to talk to Trent and get back together?"

"Nooo." Leshawna lied. "I just wanted to invite you to…to…um…the…the beach!"

"Why?" Gwen asked a bit confused.

"Sunbathing."

"It's cloudy outside."

"Swimming."

"Did that yesterday."

Leshawna seemed panicked and Bridgette raised her head giving her a confused look.

"What are you doing?" Bridgette whispered.

"Shh, I have a plan." Leshawna whispered back.

"Leshawna, why do you insist on taking me to the beach?"

"Because…it's important to Bridgette!"

"Why?"

"She's having a birthday party."

"Her birthday was in March."

"Yeah, but what I wanted to say was that she is throwing a party for…one of her students, you know, at her surfing school." Leshawna continued to lie, while Bridgette looked upset that she was dragged in this story.

"How cute! Who is he or she?"

"You know what? Why don't you ask Bridgette? She's right here." Leshawna said, handing the phone to Bridgette.

"What are you doing?" Bridgette whispered to Leshawna. "I don't want to be part of this."

"You have to!" Leshawna said, putting the cell phone near her friend's ear.

"Bridge?"

"Hey, Gwen!" Bridgette said, trying to remain cool.

"So who is having a birthday today?"

"Oh, it's…Little Tommy…Thomson." Bridgette replied.

"Cute…So you need help with the party?"

Bridgette looked at Leshawna, who was whispering 'yes, yes!' and moving her arms up and down.

"It would be awesome if you could come." Bridgette told Gwen.

"Is it okay if I come to the beach around 2 p.m.?" Gwen asked.

"Sure, oh, and don't forget to bring…A party hat."

"Alright, see you later then!"

"Bye-bye!" Bridgette said, before pressing the 'end call' button. "What was that all about?" She asked Leshawna irritated. "You lied to your best friend and made me lie, too!"

"Bridgette, listen to me! The beach is the perfect place where Gwen and Trent can meet. And if we play our cards right, they'll be tying the knot right there on the sand. Get it, girl?" Leshawna asked.

"That's a good plan, but how will we bring Trent to the beach at the same hour?" Bridgette asked.

"With a little help from the guys." Leshawna replied, dialing another number on her cell phone.

"Alright, so at the beach at 2 p.m.?" Noah asked the person he was talking to on his cell phone. "Don't worry; we'll make sure Trent will be there. Okay, bye!" He added, before ending the call.

"The girls are trying to get Gwen and Trent back together by organizing a romantic set on the beach? It's just like a bad romance novel I've read. I just hope there won't be a scandal near the sea when those two meet." Noah thought.

He put his cell phone on the coffee table and headed towards his bathroom. He knocked on the door.

"Cody, you've been in there for almost half an hour!" Noah complained.

"I'm not coming out!" Cody's voice was heard from the bathroom.

"You have to. Leshawna called. She and Bridgette want to arrange a meeting between Gwen and Trent on the beach at 2 p.m. today. And it's up to us to convince Trent to come." Noah explained.

"What? What kind of plan is that?!"

"A stupid one. But you what they say 'it's so stupid, it just might work'." Noah continued. "Now get out of my bathroom!"

"I can't! That lady destroyed me! I just wanted a simple haircut and she messed up my look completely." Cody wined.

"First you come into my apartment wearing a paper bag on your head, and then you lock yourself in my bathroom. Either you're coming out, or I'm turning out the light." Noah threatened still calm.

Cody left out a small gasp.

"Yes, I'm sure you forgot that the light switch is on the outside. And I know you don't like staying in the dark."

"But I'm bald!" Cody wined. "The ladies will never look at me in the same way again!"

Noah rolled his eyes and leaned on the wall.

"There are many famous bald men, so stop making such a fuss!"

"Name one!" Cody said, still in the bathroom.

"Ben Kingsley." Noah replied, without blinking.

"Name another one!"

"Patrick Stewart. Churchill. How about Gandhi? We could do this all day long, Cody!" Noah continued, not seeming bothered by having his knowledge put to the test.

"Okay, but don't expect me to go like this in public." Cody said, before opening the door.

When he head him unlocking the door, Noah turned around and saw a bald and not too proud Cody coming out.

"Don't you dare make a joke about this!" Cody said raising one finger.

Noah didn't reply. Instead, he took his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling?" Cody asked, rubbing his scalp without noticing.

"Trent, how are you?" Noah started his conversation, answering Cody's question at the same time.

"Hey, Noah. I'm fine; I was just watching a movie. You know… boring stuff…"Trent replied.

"Nice, how about we go for a walk on the beach? Fresh air would be better for you than awful movies."

"Sounds cool, but I'm not really in the mood today. Sorry, Noah!"

"But, you have to come…For Cody." Noah continued calmly.

"Is Cody with you? Say 'hi' for me."

"I would, but I'm afraid he's a little down today. He just received a bad haircut."

"What are you doing?!" Cody whispered irritated.

"Oh, that sounds harsh. How bad is it?"

"Let's just say I can see my reflection if I look at his scalp." Noah added.

"He's bald?!" Trent asked shocked.

"Yes, and it would have been good for him to be in your presence. You know how you always make him forget about his problems."

"I didn't realize he had that sort of problems. Alright, how about I meet you guys at 3 at the beach?"

"Make it 2, Cody is really depressed. I don't know how much he'll hang on, without starting to cry." Noah continued.

"Okay, then I'll see you at 2. Bye!"

"Have a nice day, Trent!" Noah ended.

"Are you nuts? Why did you tell him about my…issue?!" Cody expressed his frustration.

"I wanted to tell him the truth. I don't like to lie in my spare time. I do that enough at work." Noah explained. "Now, come on, the girls asked for our help with all the organizing."

Cody crossed his arms and glared at Noah. Noah looked at him and sighed.

"My brother left one of his caps here a few weeks ago. Go look for it in the closet, put it on and get moving." He instructed.

Cody just smiled and headed towards the closet.

"And make it quick, Gandhi!" Noah shouted from the other room.

"I told you not to make jokes about this!" Cody yelled, causing a smile of satisfaction to appear on Noah's face.

At 1:58 p.m., Gwen arrived at the beach. She was wearing a dark blue blouse with jeans and was holding her shoes in her hand. She looked once again at her mobile phone to check the time. As she looked around, she saw a small white table, with two chairs near it. Gwen approached and saw that on the table, there was a bouquet of flowers in a wooden vase and a little piece of paper held by a stone with 'Gwen' written on it.

"This is a bit too less for a party. It looks more like a breakfast on the beach setting. Or in this case a lunch on the beach." Gwen thought.

When she heard the sound of somebody walking in the sand, she turned around expecting to see her two friends. But instead, she saw Trent. He was dressed similar to her. Even the colors matched: dark blue and a bit of white.

They both just stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Gwen tried to look away.

"Oh, hi!" She said.

"Hey!" He replied.

"I didn't...expect to see you here."

"Me neither, I'm actually here to meet…But I think details don't interest you right now." Trent said, trying to look away as well.

"Why are you acting as if it's my fault that we broke up?!" Gwen asked irritated.

"Excuse me? You were the one who started accusing me of cheating on you with Heather. And now you're the one who can't even look me in the eyes."

Gwen lowered her head.

"You're right…It's my fault. Heather explained her whole plan after you left. She manipulated you, Trent. She manipulated both of us. I knew she couldn't have changed…But you had so much faith in her. And when I saw you two that day in the office…I couldn't take it. The thought of losing you was too much for me to handle." Gwen confessed.

"But you should have trusted me. You knew you were the only one I loved. I don't even know why I kissed her. I fell for the same trap twice. It's just that she started asking me if I consider myself ready for marriage and I think I wasn't too sure…" Trent admitted.

"You mean…?"

"No, it's not that I didn't love you enough! I didn't know if I could make you happy enough…" Trent sighed.

"Trent…" Gwen said, seeming touched. "You…"

"GWEN! TRENT!" They heard somebody shout.

When the two looked, they saw Bridgette, Leshawna, Cody and Noah heading towards them.

"Don't…say…anything yet!" Cody said, trying to catch his breath.

Trent and Gwen exchanged confused looks.

"Look, before you start arguing…" Bridgette started.

"Like you always do when you're angry." Leshawna added.

"Wait…Why are you all here?" Trent asked.

"You planned this, didn't you?" Gwen asked, crossing her arms.

"Nooo…." Leshawna said innocently. "We're here at little Ernie…"

"Tommy!" Bridgette coughed.

"I mean little Tommy's…Umm…." Leshawna tried to remember.

"Bar mitzvah!" Cody added quickly.

"On the beach?!" Noah asked glaring at him.

"Oh, give me a break; it was either that or a circumcision!" Cody defended himself.

"You planned it." Trent affirmed.

"I knew it." Gwen added.

"Alright, so we lied to bring you two here." Bridgette admitted.

"Speak for yourself, I told the truth the whole time." Noah added, taking the cap off of Cody's head; his baldness being revealed.

"My eyes!" Leshawna exclaimed.

"What the…!?" Gwen tried to express her shock.

"Okay…So you didn't lie." Trent said. "Sorry, bro!" Trent patted Cody's shoulder.

"It's alright; I think I'm getting used to it anyway…" Cody mumbled, as he put his cap back on.

"Anyway, we're losing the main point here!" Bridgette interrupted. "We did this for a reason. So you two can get back together. Don't you see that you belong together? You're soul mates!"

"Bridgette…" Gwen started.

"And you don't have to let a viper like Heather ruin that special relationship that you have." She continued. "That's why we brought you two here, because we knew that your love still has a chance."

"I read similar lines in a novel last year." Noah told Cody.

"Really? How did it end?" Cody asked.

"The future bride shot her best friend and then jumped into the sea."

Cody gave Noah a terrified look.

"What? I didn't say it was a happy ending." Noah added. "But don't worry; I don't think Gwen carries a gun with her."

"Guys, we believe in you as a couple, so why won't you?" Bridgette asked them.

"From what I see, you two love birds have to make a decision. Are you gonna get married or not?" Leshawna added.

Both Gwen and Trent looked at each other, not knowing exactly what to say. Trent took a deep breath and Gwen bit her lip.

"Oh, this is going to be good. I could actually write an article about this someday." Noah said, while sitting on one of the chairs.

A small cliffhanger here, sorry for that, but I couldn't think of any other way to end this chapter. The next chapter is going to be the last one…Will Gwen and Trent finally say their vows? Will Heather get away unpunished?

Make sure not to miss the final chapter of this story! Also, I'm accepting ideas for future stories.

Lots of hugs, dear readers,

-PurpleFunkytown-