Chapter Six: Craig's Apology

~*Craig*~

I looked up at the house before me and took a deep breath. This was it. Now or never. I walked up the steps and rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened.

"Craig?"

"Hey, Bianca." I said. "What's up?" I tried to smile, pretend everything was cool.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "How did you find out where I live?"

"Manny told me." I replied. "Can I come in?"

"Um...." She looked back behind her, and I could hear a male voice muttering in the background. Suddenly, Jimmy appeared at the door.

"Jimmy?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Just hanging out with my girlfriend." Jimmy replied. I looked at Bianca, startled, my mouth hanging open in shock.

"Um, Jimmy, can you give us a second? Please?" she looked up at him.

"Sure." Jimmy replied. "I'll be watching TV."

Bianca stepped outside, shutting the door behind her.

"You're with Jimmy?" I asked, a little hurt.

"You didn't expect me to be single for the rest of my life, did you?" Bianca replied.

"Well, no, it's just..."

She sat down on the brick railing of her steps. "What do you want, Craig?"

"I came to apologize. I'm sorry for the way I've been acting."

She nodded. "You should be."

"Ouch, Bianca." I said.

"I just don't understand why you snubbed me like that. I mean, we have history, Craig. Ten years of being friends. Two years of being more than friends. And you ignored me."

"In my defense, you were the one that told everyone we were just friends in the beginning." I replied.

"Yeah, well, I figured that announcing I was your ex wasn't the best way to get in with your friends or your girlfriend."

I nodded. "You're right. But she knows now."

"Does she know everything, Craig? Have you told her?" Bianca asked.

I shook my head. "Not everything."

"Are you going to? Because I'm not. She's your girlfriend, Craig."

"Have you told Jimmy?" I shot back.

"Jimmy and I aren't at that point yet. When the time is right, I'll tell him."

"When's that gonna be?" I asked.

"When we've been dating longer than three days." Bianca responded. "Look, he's waiting for me inside, so...."

I nodded, standing up. "Things are never going to be the same between us, are they?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"I miss you, B." I replied.

She smiled. "I miss you too. Do you know I thought about you every night for two years? I dreamed about seeing you again, and then I finally did, and...you let me down, Craig."

I nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Me too." She replied. "I'll see you at school, Craig."

"Bye." I said, feeling somewhat defeated.

Bianca opened her door, and giving me one last glance, shut it.

I stuck my hands in my pockets and walked down the steps, my head hanging.

I felt like the biggest jerk in the history of the world. I had hurt the first girl I ever cared about, and I was finding out that maybe I never stopped caring about her.

I sighed, and looked up at the night sky. I began walking quickly. I had my girlfriend to meet.

~*Jimmy*~

"So what did Craig want?" I asked as Bianca flopped down next to me.

"Um, he just wanted to make sure I wasn't too upset about what Ashley did." She replied.

"Oh." I replied. I paused. "You're not, are you?"

She smiled. "Jimmy, I told you, I'm fine."

"Alright. I'm just worried. The girls seem to be ganging up on you a little bit." I replied, feeling genuinely bad for her.

She shrugged. "I'm used to it. Manny's actually my first real female friend."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Yeah....all my other schools I went to....I don't know how to describe it, but the girls were just..."

"They were jealous." I finished.

She looked at me, surprised. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Bianca, I see it, trust me. You're drop dead gorgeous and you're sweet, and you just happened to befriend the guys that have the most drama going on in their lives..."

"You, Craig, and Spinner." Bianca groaned.

"Yeah. The way Ashley and Paige see it, that's their property."

"But I thought you and Ashley have been broken up for awhile." She said, confused.

"We have. But come on, Bianca. You dated both of her ex boyfriends. That's bound to piss her off." I replied.

She nodded slowly. "I guess you're right."

"Let's just not talk about it right now, okay? It puts both of us in a bad mood." I said, putting my arm around her.

She nodded. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I am." I replied. "You wanna go get a burger?"

"We could." She said slowly. "Or I could cook for you."

I reeled back and looked at her. "You cook?"

"Yeah." She replied. "I can cook you something if you want..."

"Okay, that'll be great."

"Alright!" She hopped up from the couch and ran to the kitchen. I smiled at her enthusiasm.

Something told me this was the start of a very beautiful relationship.