Chapter Six

Ella's POV

"Stace? What's the matter? Come on, Peralta, talk to me," I pleaded. He had suddenly gotten a pained look on his face.

"Elle, really, I'm fine," he said. He was still avoiding looking at me.

"Stacy…I love you and I want to help, but I can't help you unless you talk to me," I said.

"I love you too, Ella…but seriously, I'm going to get through this. What else did you and Jay do on your date? Tell me about it," Stacy changed the subject back to Jay.

"Well…I met up with him, he kissed me, we went to the beach and did some drinking, did some other stuff, and that was pretty much it," I said.

Stacy muttered something that I didn't quite catch.

"What was that?"

"I said that maybe you deserve better than some booze and a quick one," he said, still quietly.

"What are you talking about?"

He sat up, still avoiding looking at me, and said, "Ella, you're an amazing girl. You deserve the very best. Jay's a great guy and all but…I just think that you can do better than a guy whose idea of a good date is when he gets buzzed and into the girl's pants."

"Stacy, my date with Jay was fine. I had a good time."

Stacy's POV

I was trying so hard not to look at her.

"So you're happy with him then?" I asked my voice barely above a whisper.

With one word she drove a knife into my heart.

"Yes."

I forced a weak smile and said, "Alright, as long as you're happy. That's all that's important."

She squeezed my hand a bit.

"Stace, you sure you're okay?" she asked.

"Positive…hey, I' kind of tired, I think I'm going to grab a nap. I'll call you later, okay?" I said lying back down.

"Yeah, alright," she said hesitantly as she stood up. "Later."

She left the room and closed the door.

"Stacy…I love you" kept echoing in my head. She loved me…as a friend. Nothing more...not in the way I wanted her to. The way I wanted was the way she loved Jay and the way Jay loved her.

I turned up the music; it was the mix tape that I had made for her.There was a knock at the door and after a second Sid walked in.

"Hey man, I saw Ella at the end of the street," he said coming in, closing the door, and sitting on the floor next to my bed.

"Yeah, she was just here. She's worried about me," I said staring at the ceiling.

"If I were her I would be too. Man, you bolted out of there…what was your deal?" Sid asked.

"I love her, Jay loves her, she loves Jay," I said using small words so that Sid could understand.

"Um…kill Jay?" Sid suggested.

"Then I'd go to jail and Ella would find someone else…besides, her boyfriend dying would break her heart, I can't stand to see her hurt," I replied.

"Stace, why don't you tell her how you feel? Maybe she'll drop Jay and run off with you," Sid said.

I sat up. "Sid, why would Elle go for me? Jay's the 'cool' one, he's not tied down to work or anything else, he's wild and exciting. I freak out when I'm late for work, I'm the one who's trying to push responsibility, I almost wasn't even a Z-boy! Why would she go for the boring one when she can live life with Jay, where she never knows what will happen next? You know Ella; you know she's one of the freest spirits on the face of the earth. She's wild and crazy, and loves to live on the edge. She and Jay are perfect for each other."

"Well, maybe a crazy girl like Ella needs a calm guy like you?" Sid said.

"Ella wouldn't want someone holding her back…no, she and Jay are definitely made for each other. Sid, she's happy with Jay. I love her, and I want to see her happy, even if that means it's not with me. I'm going to have to accept it, no matter how much it hurts," I sighed.

"Hey, that's really sweet man. Seriously though, kill Jay and it'll only be like five, maybe six, months of mourning and then you can move into the picture," Sid said.

I smacked him with a pillow and muttered, "Smart ass."

"Hey, it's what I'm here for," Sid smiled.

"So…what now?" I asked.

"Um…pie?" Sid suggested.

"How about a skate around Dog Town?" I said as I stood up and got my board from my closet.

"Then pie?" Sid asked jumping up and grabbing his board.

I smiled. "We'll see."

Ella's POV

When I got home Gloria was just about to leave, saying something about tomorrow being her day off so she was staying at her sisters and Dad going to meet with a business partner (he was at a bar somewhere drinking). She also told me that one of my friends was waiting for me in my room.

I climbed the stairs to find Jay lying on my bed shirtless.

"I thought you were taking a nap," he said.

"I did, then I decided to go skateboarding. I thought you were with Sid," I said.

"He went to Stace's," Jay replied. He shook his head. "I don't know what's up with that guy…anyway, I've been waiting for you. Look what I still have."

He dug into his pocket and pulled out my bra. I smiled and walked over to the bed.

Sid's POV

I was sitting on the beach a few weeks after the whole Stacy running away incident. Ella and Jay made their relationship public to the rest of the Z-boys and they all seemed cool with it. Although a bunch of them (Tony included) later muttered something to me along the lines of that although Ella and Jay had a lot in common, Ella would be better off with someone more like Stacy. Every time I heard that I'd laugh and tell them they had no idea how right they were.

Ella was lying next to me as Jay, Tony, and Stacy rode the waves.

"So why aren't you in the water?" I asked.

"Exhausted…what about you?"

"Kind of tired…why are you exhausted?" I asked.

"Out with Jay last night…you can imagine what made me exhausted," she said. Her face was expressionless. Her voice seemed…less than satisfied with her situation.

Jay came running out of the water and slid to a stop next to Ella.

"Come on babe, the waves are awesome today," he said offering his hand to pull her up. She opened her eyes and hesitated for a moment before taking his hand.

She grabbed her board and let Jay lead her towards the water, but she glanced back towards me. With that one look I realized that maybe Ella wasn't completely happy at the moment.

As I watched her catch a wave I said to myself, "So…teen drama anyone?"