Chapter 14

Shanna's P.O.V

Shanna didn't know how she felt about this party. Maybe it was because of the last time she had been to one of Blake Edwards's renowned social gatherings, or simply because she just didn't trust him with Nellie's heart. She sighed as she applied some mascara, thinking about how heartbroken Nellie had been after Blake had slushied her for the first time. She remembered how she had received a call in the middle of Geography, and as soon as she had seen the caller I.D., she had immediately left the classroom, hurriedly excusing herself from her teacher as she walked by.

Shanna fumbled around with her phone as she arrived in the girl's bathroom, hastily pressing the call button. She knew that this couldn't be any good. Nellie never called her during class, and the last time she did, her grandma had died, and she was in desperate need of consolation. So this definitely couldn't be good news.

'What's wrong?' She asked. She could hear Nellie crying on the other end.

'It's Blake.' Shanna sighed. She knew it. She knew that he would just end up being bad news. Ever since he came back from Texas, everything had changed between the three of them. He started canceling every time they tried to meet up, saying that he had to go to another practice. He talked to them less and less, barely making any time to see them. Nellie didn't notice as much since she saw him everyday at school, and besides, she was too much in love to even care. But Shanna noticed. And at that party, she told him. She was glad she had slapped him, hoping that he would get a wake up call, but it seemed that he had just forgotten all about it, and managed to do something worse.

'What did he do this time?' She questioned.

'He… he slushied me.' Shanna gasped, watching her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she opened her mouth in surprise. She hadn't expected that. Blake, even though he hadn't really been the nicest recently, was the kindest person she knew. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Sure, he was a bit of a pushover, and he would let the jocks slushy Nellie, too scared to stop them, but she would never have thought that he would be the one hurting anybody, even less his best friend.

'And he wasn't even sorry.' Nellie sniffled. Shanna could hear the hurt in her friend's voice, finally realizing how much of a blow this must've been to her. She had always been the one to stand up for Blake, always challenging the people who said anything bad about him, even if it meant that she would get bullied. She didn't care, because she was protecting her friend. And now this friend, whom she had worked so hard to defend, was bullying her. It didn't help that she was in love with him.

'Look, sweetie, I'm sure there must be some reasonable explanation for this. Maybe he was pressured into doing it. You know that he isn't as strong as you.' Shanna only partly believed in what she was saying; even though she was pretty sure that the jocks had made him do it, she still wanted to tell Nellie to stop being friends with him, that it would only hurt her even more. But Shanna was surprised by Nellie's strong reply.

'No Shan, you were right the whole time. He is just a mean jock. The Blake I knew is gone.'

'Nell, you can't say that-'

'No, he is gone. If the old Blake was still there, he would at least have excused himself.'

Shanna listened regretfully at Nellie's words. This was Nellie's coping mechanism. She was trying to be strong, pretending that she wasn't hurt, and was just putting up a façade.

'Nell, please. I know you're hurt, but please don't close off like you did when your sister died.'

But it was already too late. Nellie had already hung up. Shanna tried to help her, visiting her every day after school, but Nellie simply locked herself up in her room, not listening to anybody. She tried to send her texts and e-mails, but they were all ignored. After weeks of trying to reach up to her, she gave up, not knowing what to do. She had even tried to reason with Blake, but he wouldn't see her either, saying that the damage was already done, and that there wasn't anything he could do about it. And then one day, Nellie showed up at her doorstep, asking if she wanted to go out for some ice cream. Shanna had barely recognized her as she answered the door. Her long hair was gone, leaving place to a short pixie haircut. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad. She knew why Nellie had done it –Blake had always insisted on how beautiful her hair was- and felt sorry for her, knowing that she had done it because she was trying to forget all the suffering and pain she had felt, yet she couldn't help but rejoice in finding her best friend once again.

But she had been wrong, thought Shanna as she finished up the final touches of her make-up. That Nellie had only been a ghost version of the old happy and positive Nellie that she grew up with. That Nellie was a hurt and broken replica that was trying to find her way back into the world. And know that her cracks were nearly healed up, Shanna was just scared that they would break once again. She pushed away all the negative thoughts from her mind and made her way to the living room, only to find a waiting Nellie.

'Finally.' Her friend exclaimed. 'What were you doing in there? It's not like we're going to some royal ball.'

'Well, at least I made an effort.' She teased back, eyeing her friend's casual outfit made up of a simple white tank top and jeans.

Nellie simply rolled her eyes in response and tugged on her best friend's arm. 'Let's go. We're going to be late.'

Blake's P.O.V

'You look restless.'

Blake broke from his trance as he looked at Aylin, one of his closest friends from college.

'I'm just looking forward to seeing someone.'

He watched the Turkish girl seat herself next to him on the couch. She arched one of her eyebrows at him.

'Already found yourself a girl Edwards? I know some people who are going to be disappointed.' She grinned, looking at a group of women dancing, clad in their most revealing outfits, and trying their hardest to catch Blake's eye. He grinned back at her. Even though he had done his best to stop the news of his breakup from spreading, they had inevitably circulated around the office, judging by the amount of girls who had come, doing their best to attract his attention.

'So tell me about her.' She prompted.

'Well, I've known her since middle school, but long story short I kind of screwed up our friendship in High School, and we haven't talked since. And now she is my employee.' He sighed. He was surprised at hearing the girl laugh.

'Only that kind of twisted up shit could happen to you Edwards.' She explained. 'So what are you going to do about it?'

'I think I'm going to tell her. That I like her.' He said hesitantly, looking up at his friend for approval. She simply nodded before changing the topic of the conversation. They were in the middle of a very animated discussion, when he noticed Shanna and Nellie enter the room. He noticed that she was wearing the most simple of outfits, yet somehow, she was still the most beautiful girl in the room.

'That's her.' He quickly whispered to Aylin, before making way to meet the two girls.

'Happy Birthday!' He heard Shanna say, before she gave him a quick hug. He then turned to Nellie, who just mumbled a happy birthday before clumsily hugging him. He wanted to hold on and feel the sensation of her warm body against his, but he reluctantly let go after a few seconds, not wanting to make the situation awkward.

'So are you going to introduce me?' He heard Aylin say next to him. She must've followed him as he went up to say hello.

'Oh sorry. Aylin, this is Shanna and Nellie, and girls, this is Aylin, one of my friends from college.'

'You mean your best friend. And your only friend for the matter.' She teased.

'Come on, we both know that that isn't true. If it weren't for me, you never could've sneaked out and go to parties.' He teased back, grinning as he remembered how they always snuck out from their freshmen dorms, trying their best to avoid Aylin's body guard, imposed by her strict Muslim parents, to go to clubs.

He turned back to Nellie, wanting to ask her if he could speak privately with her, only to find Shanna looking at him, disappointment and contempt clear on her face. He looked around, and saw a flash of Nellie's short hair before it disappeared, seemingly making way towards the exit.

'Excuse me.' He left the two newly acquainted girls to follow the third. He caught up with her as she opened his front door to leave. He quickly put himself in-between her and the door, stopping her from going anywhere.

'Hey, what's wrong?' he asked, trying to catch the girl's eye, noticing a tear slipping down her cheek. She tried to fight him off, trying to find an escape route, but he just held her still. 'Tell me.' He demanded softly.

She looked up at him, her watery eyes glaring at him accusingly.

'You're such a jerk. Playing mind tricks with me, inviting me here, and then you just go around and flirt with this girl-' He interrupted her by hugging her. He laced his arms around her, resting his chin atop of her hair. He delicately touched a strand of her hair at the nape of her neck.

'You're jealous.' It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Even after all these years, he still knew her well enough to notice when she was hurt. He could hear her grumble in protest, but he silenced her by hugging her tighter against his chest. 'You're jealous.' He repeated once again, savoring the word. He smiled, pushing her away and looking her into the eyes. 'Nell, Aylin is just a friend. We tease each other, that's the way our friendship goes. Besides, she's got Charlie.' He couldn't help but chuckle as he saw her smile with relief. 'And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm just going to hurt you again.' She started to open her mouth to protest, but he stopped her by putting a finger on her lips. 'Let me finish. I'm not going to hurt you. This time, I'm going to make it right. I'm not going to let you go. I'm not going to mess up agsain. And I am so sorry that I did. That never should've happened, I should've stood up for you, like you did for me. I'm sorry I was a coward. I just threw all of our friendship away. I'll never forgive myself for all the pain and misery I made you go through. You didn't deserve any of that. You're an amazing person inside and out, who saw the best in me, even though I was just a weedy kid who had no friends. You're beautiful, Nellie Stromberg, and you deserve someone who treats you like you deserve to be treated. I know I didn't treat you well, and just made you suffer, but this time, I'll do everything to protect you. I won't repeat any of the mistakes I did, and I will do everything in my power to make you smile every single day, and make you happy that you chose me.' He finished his speech by kissing her on the forehead. He then looked her into her eyes, awaiting her answer.

'Come on Birthday Boy, time to blow out all the candles on your cake.' Blake was pulled away from Nellie by all his friends, who were all too excited to notice that they had interrupted something.

But he didn't mind. Because somewhere, amidst all the chaos and noise, he heard the faintest of whispers, muttering the three words he had wanted to hear.

'I forgive you.'

A.N.: Hey guys :) I'd just like to thank penfilly for giving me an idea for this chapter. So shout out to her :D I'm so sad this is nearly over. thank you so much for all the reviews and all your kind words :) Only the epilogue left and then...