Chapter Fifteen: We Just Weren't Meant To Be

Marco

The day after graduation, we all got on a flight to Andrew's house in LA. It was huge. And by huge, I mean that we each had our own bedrooms, with the exception of Nate and Tyler, who shared a room. We all had king sized beds and a few of the rooms had bathrooms attached. Mine didn't, but I didn't really mind.

That was a week ago. Everyone was completely settled in, and we'd all taken the week to explore the house. I still haven't talked to Jesse. I've been planning what I want to say to him, but nothing ever sounds right.

Rory has been coming into my room every night to talk. He just lets me tell him how I feel, or even sits with me when I don't feel like talking at all. I know Jesse can't stand the fact that I'll talk to Rory and not him, but I'm just not ready.

Rory and I had also already found the nearest park, and we took a walk there every night to watch the sunset. I'd just been about to find him and ask him if he wanted to hang out for awhile before we left, and I bumped right into Jesse in the hall.

I looked up at him and bit my bottom lip.

"Can we talk?" he asked.

Remy

I felt like such a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders when we left that school. I didn't have to see Kelly anymore. He couldn't threaten me with anything.

The Headmaster of our school had to ask me questions about my "accusations" of course. I told him the truth about Kelly; that he'd been having sex with students, and forcing them to do things in order to pass his class. He asked me if I had any proof, so Nate came down to his office with me, along with six other boys that had been through the same thing.

When Kelly was confronted by all of the parents, and teachers, and the headmaster, he broke down and confessed. He said all kinds of crap; that he forgot to take his medication, just all different types of insanity. He was arrested, and that was the last I heard of anything. Since he confessed, none of us had to appear at his hearing, but the police did have us make written statements for proof.

As for Mr. Jackson, I told the headmaster that I "heard" that he raped some kids, but I didn't specify my brother. Rory asked me not to tell anyone because he didn't want to stir up his old problems. As long as he didn't have to see the guy, he was usually fine. Aside from nightmares every now and then, he said that he could go about his normal life and not think about it.

Mr. Jackson left town before anyone could confront him about anything. He's still out there, but no one knows where. I'm just glad I was able to put all of that behind me.

Jesse

"Make it quick," Marco said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I have somewhere to be."

"Marco, don't be like that. We need to have a real talk," I complained. I sat down on his bed and patted it for him to sit next to me. He slowly lowered himself down, but sat as far away from me as he could.

"There's not much to say," he said calmly. "You cheated, that's it." He turned away and I could tell that he was holding back tears. I never wanted to see him this way.

"You told me to go to him," I replied under my breath.

"I meant for you to be friends with him! Not shove your tongue down his throat!" he was up off the bed now, pacing back and forth.

"I can't help it if I fell in love with him. I didn't mean for it to happen…but it did. And I can't change that," I explained, trying to keep myself calm. One of us had to. Marco snorted and rolled his eyes.

"You could have broken up with me first! After everything you went through with Rex, and now you do the same thing to me? You know how much it hurt you, so why did you want to hurt me?" He stopped in his tracks and looked into my eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek.

"I didn't want to hurt you." I stood and walked over to him. I just didn't know how—I wasn't sure if I wanted to let you go." I took his hand in mine and lightly squeezed it, but he wrenched himself out of my grasp and took a step back.

"I thought that things were getting better between us. I fell in love with your daughter, and now you've taken that all away from me! How long was it going on?" he asked.

"You fell in love with Gracie, not me. And I'm not taking her away from you…" he interrupted me.

"HOW LONG?" he screamed it, more tears following.

"Five months," I whispered.

"Almost our entire relationship," he stated, looking at the ground. "You were only faithful to me for a month."

"You kissed Rory," I pointed out.

"Once. I kissed him ONCE. And I told him I couldn't cheat on you. And I WALKED AWAY. How many times did you kiss Andrew in those five months? How many times Jesse?" He turned his back on me and sighed. I saw that he was wiping his face off.

"Marco," I said softly. I reached out and spun him around by his shoulder. The look in his eyes nearly crushed me. He was giving up. "We were never in love," I said finally. "You were helping me get over Rex, and I was helping you get over Andrew. That's all it was."

"So I meant nothing to you?" he whispered, his shoulders slumped. He was still staring at the ground. Defeated.

"You meant everything to me." I lifted his head up by his chin and made him look at me. "I loved you from the moment I sat next to you on the train. And I always will. But neither of us were in love. You are meant to be with Rory, and I'm meant to be with Andrew. That's just how it is.

He nodded sadly, sniffling.

"I love you Jesse," he told me, throwing his arms around me and hugging me tightly.

"I love you too," I answered, pulling back and kissing the corner of his mouth one last time.

He looked at me one more time before leaving the room and closing the door.

The door clicked into place and then everything was silent.

Theresa

I don't wanna do this anymore
I don't wanna be the reason why

I still don't know what to do about Thomas. I've been deliberating for a week now, and I haven't come up with an answer. How can I tell him that I fell in love with someone? It scares me that I've fallen in love with Lindsey. It's not only because I'm still with Thomas.

But I've never been in love with anyone. Not with Remy, not with Thomas…only with Lindsey. That's why I'm not even sure I'm in love. If it's never happened before, then how do I know it's happening now?

Maybe because I can't stop thinking about him, no matter how hard I try. And that I wish he was here with me right now, so that I could be with him for every second. I visit him every day—fly all the way across the country—and it's still not enough for me. I don't want him to be in prison. I want him to be here. Is that love?

I feel like I'm dying right now because I haven't visited him in two days. He's asked me every day if I told Thomas yet, and I keep telling him that I need more time. But I almost feel like he knows. I lie to him every day about where I'm going, and I'm sure he suspects something. The way he looks at me—like he's going to cry—just breaks my heart. I'm not the cruel person that everyone thinks I am. I'm just screwed up like everyone else.

Every time I walk out the door
I see him die a little more inside

So that's why I have to do it. I have to tell him, before it's too late. I really think that I'm the person he should hear it from. Because I don't want him to hate Lindsey. They're best friends right now, and I don't want to talk that away from either of them.

I don't wanna hurt him anymore
I don't wanna take away his life

"Can I talk to you?" I asked Thomas as I walked up to his room. The door was open, and he was shoving stuff in a bag.

"I gotta go, sorry," he said, walking past me.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"To visit Lindsey." My heart dropped. I didn't want him to find out this way.

"Can we talk first, please?"

"I don't have time. He called and said it was really important, and my flight leaves in an hour. I have to get to the airport and get through security and all that," he explained. I followed him down stairs.

"Can I at least drive you there? Then we can talk on the way," I begged, my last way out of this mess. I heard a horn beeping outside.

"Sorry, that's the taxi. I'll call you later, okay?" he asked. He gave me a quick kiss on the lips and then he was gone.

Now what?

Rory

It feels so good to finally be back home, even if things are still crazy. Marco and I spend time together every day, which is something that I always look forward to. He knows that I still love him, and right now he's going through a bad breakup with Jesse, so I'll let him figure things out for himself. I'm not going to pressure him into jumping back into a relationship with me, or anyone else, for that matter.

To be able to watch the sunset again with Marco is probably the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. Just being able to sit next to him and hold his hand without feeling guilty means the world to me. More than once I've wanted to just let go and kiss him, but I don't want to complicate anything for him right now. I want him to be with me because he wants to be; not just because he feels like he should be.

Whatever happens, I'll always love Marco, and I'll never forget about him or leave him behind.

Lindsey

"What was so important that I needed to rush myself over here?" Thomas asked, sitting down at the table.

"I have to tell you something," I said, looking him straight in the eye.

"What, that you fucked my girlfriend?" he asked, never breaking eye contact.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? The way she acted at graduation was enough for me. And maybe I got a clue from finding the airline ticket receipts under her pillow. Receipts that showed that she flies to New York City every day, when she says she's going shopping. How stupid do you both think I am?" he explained.

"Thomas, I didn't mean for it to happen. The first time, I was drunk, and you weren't together," he said.

"How about all of the other times? How many other times did you FUCK her while we were together?"

"One other time, that's all. Before the party."

"Before the party I threw for you? You're such a dick Lindsey."

"Thomas, you're my best friend. I can't help that I fell in love with…"

"The same girl I fell in love with. What happened to Sarah? The bitch that got you in here? I thought you were in love with her," he stated.

"I don't want this to ruin our friendship," I told him.

"If you cared that much, you would have told me sooner. Much sooner," he said, standing up. "Good luck with that slut. You'll need it."

He walked away without looking back.

Thomas

Of course I'd known about Theresa and Lindsey. I didn't want to break up with her because I love her. But now that it's real, now that Lindsey had me fly in so he could tell me…

Now I have to break up with her. I'm sure she knows why he called me there. They probably planned it.

The flight was almost five and a half hours, and since I'd left at six the night before, and spent a few hours in the city, leaving at three in the morning to go back, it was nine in the morning on Saturday by the time I got home. I slept the entire flight, which was plenty of sleep for me.

I headed straight to the kitchen to get something to eat, and there she was, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in her hand. Her leg bounced up and down, something she only did when she was nervous, and her head snapped up as she heard me enter the room.

"How was your trip?" she asked, jumping up and trying to kiss me. I turned my head in time for her lips to land on my cheek.

"It's over Theresa," I said, backing away from her.

"What did Lindsey say?" she asked as a frown formed on her face.

"He didn't have to say anything. I've known all along. I hope you're happy with him," I told her, my tone flat. She placed a hand on my arm and looked up at me, but I pulled my arm down and turned, walking away from her for good.

I knew where I wanted to go next. I lifted a hand and knocked on her door. She opened it and let a small smile slip across her face.

"What's up?" Ellie asked, stepping aside to let me in. I sat right down on the chair in the corner, and she sat on the edge of her bed.

"It seems like you're the person I can come to when I need to talk," I said, watching her for some sort of answer. She nodded, and I started my story.

I told her all about Lindsey and Theresa, from graduation, up until the part where I broke up with Theresa. Ellie was frowning when I was finished.

"You're probably better off without her," she said, narrowing her eyes. "I knew she was trouble." I laughed a little at that.

"You're the one who told me that you could see how much I loved her," I said. "You told me to go talk to her that night." I pointed a finger at her playfully, and she smiled.

"Well, you didn't have to listen to me."

I stood up and walked over to her, still grinning.

"I guess I figured you were so wise that I should take your advice. So it's your fault that I'm single now."

"Is that such a bad thing?" she asked. I was standing right in front of her. Instead of giving her a "yes or no" answer, I leaned forward and kissed her hard. Her hands moved up and gripped my neck as I gently pushed her back onto the bed and climbed on top of her.

My tongue snaked into her mouth and it glided along hers, as my hands found their way up her shirt. She stopped long enough to pull my shirt over my head, then started kissing my neck. I slowly took her shirt off next, and kissed down her stomach.

I made it to the top of her jeans, and moved my hands to undo them. I had the zipper halfway down when I felt her hand on mine. But she wasn't holding it, she was pushing it away.

"I can't do this," she said. I'd been in another place, completely engrossed in her half naked body, and her voice sounded so far away. I stood up and she immediately crossed her arms over her chest.

"What's wrong?" I asked, obviously disappointed.

"I don't want to do this just because you're upset about Theresa. I can't—I won't—be your rebound Thomas. We both know that it never works out that way."

"You're not my rebound Ellie. I care about you a lot. I've already told you that," I said, hoping it would change her mind. She shook her head and bit her bottom lip.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. "Not like this."

I watched as she pulled her shirt on and fixed her jeans, then ran out of the room quickly. I sat down on the bed and rested my head in my right hand, feeling defeated.

A/N: This chapter took place on Friday, June 19th, and the morning of Saturday, June 20th. Yeah, I did my research for the plane trip and thought I'd add it in there. The title's mostly referring to the pairings of Jesse/Marco and Theresa/Thomas. I originally had it planned for Marco to be with Jesse in the end, but he and Rory fell in love. I don't know how many more chapters are left…I have a few more things planned and then it'll be over. How was the Jesse/Marco final breakup? The song during Theresa's POV is "Unfaithful" by Rihanna and she owns it.