It had somehow already been just over a week since Ana had any interaction with Reid whatsoever.
He was making his avoidance of her painfully obvious, maybe not to everybody else, but definitely to her. She'd physically witnessed him choose to take a different route to a class if he caught even a glimpse of her in the hallway, creating as much space from her as possible in the classes that they happened to share and thinking up any excuse conceivable as to why he wasn't sitting with everybody at lunch.
This type of situation was a complete unknown to her, unsure of how to navigate such an affair.
So far, it seemed as though the group had picked up on the fact that he was being strange but hadn't yet connected that it was mainly aimed toward herself and Tyler. It was so frustrating for her to not be able to discuss how she had been feeling with anybody, feigning ignorance of the reasoning behind why Reid had been acting so oddly on the handful of occasions someone happened to ask.
It was becoming very tiring.
This cumbersome quarrel was not still ongoing for a lack of trying to make amends on her part, but rather that he dismissed any possible attempt by refusing to be in her presence.
He was being far too juvenile and she told herself that she would end it, no matter what it took or how uncomfortable it got; she was going to get him alone soon and talk it out. It was decided.
Taking her resolute footsteps when leaving the dorms, she had a much more chipper start to her day than she had in a while. She figured it had to be a jolt of energy from the thought alone of resolving her stress-inducing mishap with Reid and that was fine by her.
Kate and Sarah found her not long after she walked through the doors of the main school building, falling into pace beside them and picking up on the mood of the discussion she just joined, knowing it had to be about Pogue.
"Finally forgive him yet?" Ana asked, distantly wondering why so many people were ignoring one another at the same time, readjusting her bag on her shoulder.
"I've been talking to him a little bit, but I don't know." Kate sighed. "I'm still annoyed."
"Well, you still love him, don't you?" Sarah quizzed, though she knew the answer. They all did.
"You know I do."
"Then you should give him a chance! He's been moping around with those sad puppy eyes, Kate. You're torturing the poor boy." Sarah pleaded.
Ana certainly appreciated that Sarah was such a peacemaker, though it did make her slightly bitter that she couldn't benefit from that fact in her current situation.
Having an immediate double-take, she stopped herself mid-step as she then instantly noticed the backflow of other students outside of the room bleeding into the hallway, thinking it really bizarre.
The girls stopped as well, hushing their conversation at the realization that Ana was no longer walking, observing the scene before them just after Ana had.
Her brows furrowed, looking between Sarah, Kate and the cluttered doorway, the same perplexed expression mirrored on their faces as well as her own.
"What's going on?" Sarah asked, attempting to peek around the mass of people.
"There shouldn't be any events today-" Kate started, questioning her memory, "Or at least I didn't think so?"
With a shake of her head in response, Ana extended to her tiptoes, pursuing a view of the doorway but it was too difficult to get an accurate look over the many heads.
She informed them that she'd opted to go see what the problem was, maneuvering past the mob and stepping close enough to the line of people to see what exactly was the cause of the hold up.
Craning her neck, it was very apparent that the entrance of the English classroom was being blocked by a large projector as the stand it was on was stuck, leaving only a tight niche left immediately after entering through the door and making entry pretty slow going. It became clear fairly quickly that once a person was in line to go in, there wasn't any leaving; no backing up and no getting a higher spot to go in earlier than others as it was far too tightly packed and there was nowhere to go.
Making her way back to them through battling the crowd, she relayed the information she'd just gathered and the trio agreed that getting a spot sooner rather than later was the best idea, though they were sure anyone who wasn't in the room by the time the class was slated to begin wouldn't be penalized for it as it wouldn't be their fault; there was a traffic jam of sorts, after all.
Just as they were slipping in line, a large group of boys materialized out of nowhere, Ana being swept into the party of other students and pushed into a place in the line that ended up being about seven people in front of either Kate or Sarah. Great.
It wasn't the end of the world, of course, considering that they would all be in the room before she knew it, but it did bother her all the same. The doorway became more visible by the second and the nearer she got, she could view that just opposite of the door, a pond of coeds were gathered who finally managed inside, laughing and joking about the whole ordeal.
Ana wasn't laughing, however.
It took nothing but a second for her to realize that where she had been slotted in line wasn't ideal in the slightest. Just on the other side of the door, he was visible.
Unsure if he had already observed her or not, her emerald irises frantically searched for a way around or to slide back lower in the lineup, to give herself more time, to hope that he would move by the time she was through the door. It was futile and she knew this, seeing no other alternative path.
She wanted to talk to him, yes.
Of course she did.
But this absolutely wasn't the time or place and it felt like this forced encounter from the universe was merely going to waste; as though it were just taunting her.
Taking a rooted breath with eyes closed, she opened them once again on her exhale, taking the first step closer to the crowded entry as the girls in front of her moved up.
Walking through the door, she shuffled to one side after coming in, aiming to make room for everyone else and get as far from him as possible thereafter when a foot oh so quietly slid out in front of her stride, hooking her shoe. A sharp gasp shot past her lips at the collision, falling forward before she even entirely perceived what had happened and causing her to plummet against him. Reid's eyes widened, catching her body on instinct as she grasped each of his biceps for balance, his hands at her waist holding her steady before looking over to where she was previously standing in an attempt to determine what just took place.
Aaron was grinning from ear to ear with awful delight, looking pleased with himself. Reid rolled his eyes.
"Watch where you're going, dickhead." He spat, making sure Ana was solid on her feet again.
"You two have been a little distant lately." He stated, the counterfeit concern creating a false frown, "Just wanted to help you out."
"And you must be in the mood for another black eye?" Reid inquired, "Or maybe two this time?"
Shrugging with a tight smirk, Aaron laid an arm around Kira's shoulders lazily, her having watched the full scene unfold and obviously finding her boyfriend's elementary antics humorous.
Even his own friends were noticeably puzzled though as one went so far as to slapping his arm, asking what he felt the need to trip Ana for, scolding him that he could have actually injured her and criticizing Kira for laughing about it. It was a surprise reaction from his minions, truly. Choosing to chuckle it off instead of taking accountability, Aaron and Kira dispersed to search for open seats with their friends following there after and she finally looked up toward Reid for the first time once they were gone.
"Thanks." She muttered quickly yet received no reply, not even so much as a glance.
So he was fine with helping her out and didn't want her to get physically hurt, but speaking a single word was where he drew the line? Was he just utterly oblivious to the fact that he himself was hurting her, only emotionally instead?
She watched in scrutiny as he shifted away, heading toward one of the farthest seats in the very back left corner.
It was then that Kate and Sarah appeared, speeding over after witnessing the blunder from afar but being trapped within the horde of the other students and unable to help at the time.
They were asking so many questions, one after another, with breakneck speed and she couldn't process and answer one in time before a new one was being proposed.
She held her hands up in defeat, offering that they sit down and she would instead tell them everything that had happened at once. They eagerly accepted, finding three unclaimed chairs directly in the middle of the seating selection on the right side of the room, all but forcing Ana into her seat and setting her bag down for her.
Rehashing the entire ordeal, their eyebrows raised in sync, evidently baffled by what they were hearing.
Thinking to herself that if they thought this was bad, they wouldn't know how to react to learning what had happened the night of Aaron's party, just inside the kitchen that was no more than a few feet from where they were dancing and having a great time. They already knew he was a piece of shit but that knowledge would surely put it on another level. Perhaps she'd tell them one day, just not today.
"Oh my God, what a pathetic ass." Kate said, disgusted, shaking her head. "I couldn't see if it was an accident or not but since it was Aaron, I could only assume it wasn't."
"Good thing Reid was there." Sarah added, opening her notebook.
"Yeah-"
Ana paused, the overwhelming feeling that someone was looking at her impossible to ignore and locking eyes with him for a moment; just a moment before she was rolling her own, turning her face completely away from his stare.
"Good thing."
When Ana received the text from her mother telling her that she finally finished the job for that picky client, it was like her faith in humanity had been restored. She knew that having her mom back with her the subsequent day would be heaven-sent, especially in a time like this.
She'd just opened one of the doors to the dorms when she felt her phone buzzing against her pocket, this time indicating a phone call rather than a text and once it was fished from her jeans, she saw that her father was calling. Backing up and out of the way as a couple was coming up from behind to use those exact doors, she sat on the steps and answered the call slightly confused, but at the same time always glad to hear from him. He notified her that her mother had sent him a list of items she needed either picked up by someone else or she'd have to get herself the minute she landed at the airport, obviously preferring the option of somebody getting them for her so she could spend time with her family when she returned. He would have to go into the hospital as he was on-call, unable to purchase the listed items himself. He didn't even have to finish his sentence before she'd offered to do it, asking him to forward the text and finished the call with two 'love you's' exchanged.
Making sure her wallet was with her, she put in her earbuds and made the short trip to the pharmacy. Once inside, she'd grabbed a basket and pulled up the list on her phone, needing it ready to get everything on the docket. The last thing she wanted was to forget something and lose valuable time with her mom.
"Ana?"
The tell-tale sound of Tyler's voice was audible over the low sound of her music, acting as though she heard nothing and grabbing the shampoo bottle from the second highest shelf, placing it into her basket.
So desperately hoping that he'd believe that she just simply didn't catch his words and decide to move on to try again another time, she continued gathering the staple hygiene products her mom needed and began walking down the aisle some.
She could make out the thud's of footsteps approaching closer and closer until they were matched with the sound of her own, feeling a tap on her shoulder and letting out a quiet sigh.
Turning on a smile the instant she turned to face him, she removed an earbud, meeting his look and holding the eye contact.
"Oh, I hope I'm not bothering you." He immediately began, gesturing to the earbud that was now in her hand, looking genuinely apologetic.
He was always so attentive and considerate of others; of her. She swallowed thickly.
"You're totally fine. What's up?"
Looking like he was almost afraid to ask what he really intended to, he seemed to lead with something else to soften the impending doom.
"What are you picking up?" He questioned somewhat nervously.
Ana glanced down at her basket and shifted some of the items around.
"My mom is getting in tomorrow so I'm picking up some stuff she ran out of and didn't have time to replace herself." She informed, "My dad's on-call tonight so I told him I had no problem doing it."
He smiled brightly.
"That's really great of you."
She smiled in return, a real one this time around, bobbing her leg and waiting for him to speak since she could see behind his eyes that there was something more he wanted.
"I- I uh, I know I asked before but Reid's still acting weird." He began and she felt her pulse begin to soar, "Has he mentioned anything of why he'd be mad at me or...?" He trailed off, looking at his shoes.
Her stomach dropped, feeling as though it suddenly weighed ten pounds. Apparently he hadn't quite noticed that Reid was also ignoring her as well.
"I can't say he has." She claimed, far too easily for her liking, "I'm sure once he's over it he'll come find you, though?"
Ana hated lying to him like this.
"Yeah, you're probably right." He shook his head, waving off his own concern at her words.
"It's just so weird, you know? He hasn't been sleeping in our room lately and he won't talk to me."
"He's been going to his house to sleep?" She inquired, astounded.
He nodded. "That's why I feel like I had to have done something? He's never done this before so it's gotta be me he's upset with but I can't think of anything I did."
"That is really weird." Ana agreed, "Again, I have no doubt he'll get over it and it'll be like it never happened."
He thanked her, apologizing again for the intrusion and it was like a stab straight to the guttural.
Here he was, being so kind and thinking he'd inconvenienced her and she had just lied directly to his face.
Turning on his heels with his purchases in the bag held in his hand, her smile immediately fell, following him with her gaze as he vanished out of the door.
She had to fix this.
Pogue arrived at the Danvers residence, ringing the bell solemnly before rubbing his palms together as he waited, dropping his hands to his sides after he successfully warmed them up.
The door swung open only a moment later, looking to Caleb with shoulders slumped.
"Kate is still barely talking to me."
"Yeah, because she's pissed." Caleb declared, "And rightfully so." He added, guiding the way inside with his arm outstretched.
Pogue huffed.
How many times would he have to apologize? It had to have been fifty times by now, minimum, and he felt he was slowly losing it.
He wasn't insane to not want her around Chase. The guy didn't give him a good vibe and it wasn't just Kate he didn't want interacting with him. It went deeper than that; he didn't want any of them to. It went miles beyond supposed jealously. It was apprehension and it was really beginning to wear him down to nothing that nobody else seemed to understand or feel it, sick of enduring the gaslighting that he wasn't actually doing anything weird.
A person didn't always need to be trusted off the bat until they gave you a reason not to. That was something Pogue fully believed in. Sometimes, someone needed to earn your trust first and continue to prove that they deserved it.
Chase did not warrant trust.
Chase was infiltrating the group, getting close to Caleb and it didn't seem like he purely wanted friends; to join them and have people to hang out with. It looked like he was making an effort to nudge Pogue out, to replace him as Caleb's closest friend as he was already making an attempt to change the dynamic within them. He wasn't going to stand for that. He wouldn't go quietly.
The Sons were more than just friends, they were family and Chase certainly didn't understand that.
But he couldn't keep dwelling on that. This stance was the very thing that was pulling apart his relationship with her right at the seams. He needed to make it up to Kate as she clearly took his mistrust of Chase as him mistrusting her and that was the furthest thing from the truth. There were only three other people he trusted more than her and that didn't exactly count in his mind because he trusted them for entirely different reasons.
He loved her and couldn't stand that he was making her ache in this way. He didn't want to live without her. He couldn't live without her.
Sliding off his coat, he set it nicely on a chair in the foyer, following Caleb into the living room.
"I don't know what to do. I've apologized time and time again and she's only just now warming up."
"You've gotta give it some time."
"I've already given her time, though. I don't want to anymore, I just want her." He stated, somewhat defeated.
"Oh, honey." Caleb's mother chimed in, "You should consider making a big chivalrous move. Show her how much you've missed being with her."
Both boys turned their heads toward her voice, following the sound until they saw her standing at the bottom of the staircase.
He pondered her suggestion, pursing his lips in thought.
"Well, like what?"
"Plan a date! Not just an ordinary one though," She began, walking toward them, "Go somewhere that's special and specific to your relationship. No cell phones, no distractions. Just you two."
She smiled to herself. Mrs. Danvers was lost in a memory it seemed, Caleb's father perhaps doing the exact thing she described to make up for a calamity in their youth. Her face said it all: after all of these years, she still remembered the day so fondly and it must have meant a lot to her; meant everything, even. That really solidified it for him.
"Yeah, I'll do just that." He spoke, drawing her from her own recollection. "Thanks, Mrs. D."
Taking her exit with a nod, she left the eldest Sons in the grand living room, disappearing somewhere else within the home.
They were both quiet for a bit, getting comfortable on the couches that were parallel to one another before continuing their conversation.
"Alright, what are your ideas?" Caleb asked, "Make them good because you can't afford to ruin this."
"Maybe I could start my formal apology at Nicky's? You know, get the juke box playing something slow? She's always begging me to dance with her and I've been an ass." He admitted.
That would just be the beginning though. He planned to participate in all of the things he's missed out on with her when he chose to spend time with the guys or didn't want to risk embarrassment; dance with her, sit close at the table and cuddle, give her his sole, uninterrupted attention. Afterward, take her to a restaurant in town, just the pair of them, turning their cell phones off and leaving them in her purse the whole night. Finishing off the rendezvous strong with a peaceful walk back to his home, maybe, and spend the rest of the evening together in his room.
Caleb agreed that it sounded like a solid plan and something that would definitely go a long way with Kate.
Now he just needed to implement it without messing it all up as his friend had so kindly pointed out; be on his best behavior as Chase would undoubtedly be starting off the outing alongside them all at Nicky's.
That would be the hardest part.
The following day seemed to drag on for an eternity.
Every class felt an hour longer than usual to Ana, draining the life out of her already anxious soul. She was waiting the entirety of the school day just to reach the end of it and corner him, giving him no option of running off and making his abstaining from her last any longer. It had already gone on plenty long enough.
The final course of the day had finally wrapped up and Ana wracked her brain for a good location to scout out Reid. She'd decided on the courtyard on campus considering it was a central location and she figured it was her best bet to ensure she'd find him eventually. Taking a seat on the wrought iron bench and being sure to watch out for a tall blonde boy, she was a little surprised that she'd found him fairly effortlessly.
He was walking with his bag over his shoulders, staring straight ahead with his disheveled hair and not quite dress code approved uniform. He never wore it nearly tidy enough.
Getting up from the bench, she entered the corridor stealthily and stood idlily by the wall for a beat until he was nearby and within earshot.
Ana hadn't yet said a word, simply making eye contact for a split second as he walked in and she watched while he diverted his look promptly.
"You're really just going to keep ignoring me?" She asked, tone hushed.
Nothing in response. He continued walking as though she hadn't spoken at all, knowing damn well that he had heard her. She was unwilling to cause a scene though, as much as she may have been tempted, keeping an eye on her surroundings and waiting rather impatiently for any passerby's to make their exit.
The moment the outdoor corridor was freshly bare save for the pair of them, she was rapidly closing their distance, determined to finish the whole debacle.
"Hey!" Ana stated assertively, grabbing his forearm from behind and pulling his back toward her, leaning in close to his ear.
"You can be an asshole to me all you want, that's fine. But you need to stop ignoring Tyler." She whispered in a rush, dropping his arm from her hold and lightly pushing his form away from her with a huff, turning around in the direction of the dorms.
Making a decent amount of separation between the two of them without hearing him utter anything, the sigh she released was that of beyond relief. All she had been aiming to do that entire week was say those few things to him. To know that at least she did her part and spoke her mind. If he wanted to continue to behave in this foolish way, then that was up to him. At that point, he could give her the cold-shoulder forever but it brought her comfort to know that she attempted to make it right between the boys.
She was almost completely out of the empty corridor, foolishly believing she may have successfully finished this without incident until his voice suddenly broke the quiet. It sounded so foreign at that moment.
"You would defend him, wouldn't you?" He claimed, tone dripping with condescension.
Whipping around in an instant, she cleared the distance with a handful of long strides, steps furiously hitting the ground showcasing her lost patience. "He didn't do anything wrong!"
The exasperated shout echoed within the confines of the brick walls and Reid went silent once again, staring into her eyes at her outburst, his shock visible.
"If you had told him we had been together, he never would've kissed me and you know that. This is your fault, so you need to apologize to him."
He was now so reserved, holding her sight solid and she could practically see the cogs spinning in his mind.
"Why do you care?" He asked after a while, earnest.
"Because he cares about you." She replied, deadpan. "You're hurting him. He's so confused and worried for you."
Reid looked toward the ground, Ana following his gaze as they both observed him softly kick a pebble in the stillness. She sighed. Why did he insist on being this difficult and hard-headed? She was well aware that she wasn't blameless in the situation as she did in fact go along with his wishes and keep quiet this entire time but it wasn't like she had much of a choice; not unless she wanted him to be irate and there be no chance in hell of reconciling things. Chewing her lip in an anxious habit, she swiftly recalled her conversation with Tyler that had a role in sparking her need to find him in the first place.
"He told me you've even been sleeping at your parents' house, you know." Ana pried. "Is that true?"
She could just barely hear him mumble a light 'Dammit, Tyler.', simply nodding but not allowing himself to meet her eyes.
"You can't keep acting like this." Her voice was soft; disappointed, shaking her head.
"I already had a mother, alright?" He snapped, "You don't need to parent me."
"You know that isn't what I'm doing, Reid." The words came out in a whisper.
That all too familiar uncomfortable and unwelcome reticence clouded the discussion once again, sinking into every fiber of her being. It was remarkably tangible, never knowing silence could be so deafeningly loud until it was him who continued to be so restrained.
"Then what's the point of this, huh?"
"The point?" She scoffed, incredulous, "The point is that if you like your secrets as much as you act like you do, then you'll stop all of this. Aaron of all people already noticed you keeping your distance from me. You don't think anyone else would eventually be able to figure out that Tyler and I are the only two people you're actively avoiding?"
As he was too stunned to speak, it was apparent that she had really struck some solid ground with him.
Reid knew she was right.
Letting out a long, stressed breath, she crossed her arms tightly under her chest for comfort. "Just... go fix things before you lose your best friend, dummy."
The almost complete absence of sound had begrudgingly returned, Ana only faintly hearing some chirping of birds cutting through the quiet. She figured they'd have to leave it there, drawing a blank on anything else she could possibly say.
Progressing but a few steps toward the exit, she was just about to walk away completely when he gently cleared his throat.
"It's just hard, Ana." He whispered, so low that if the corridor weren't as muted, she'd have surely missed it.
"What is?" Ana bit, yet she still refused to turn back to face him.
"You're right. I know he didn't intentionally do anything and I shouldn't be upset with him. But, " He took a breath, " It isn't easy to look at him."
Ana's brows raised, stare unwavering from the opening in the walls that lead back to the outdoors.
"I just remember you two on the first floor of the dorms every time I see him."
She swallowed, turning her head to look over her left shoulder as her periphery caught the image of his head hung low, the shame radiating off of him and palpable.
There was an unspoken understanding between the pair, Ana nodding, still with her back facing him and returning her head to face forward once again. Reid sighed.
"I'm sorry."
Finally, chapter 12! She's a long one and I hope it makes up for my absence a little. I don't blame you if you've forgotten about this one but I hope you'll read back through and keep looking forward to updates. It's been a long time coming, I know, but I've been quite busy and that includes becoming a mother of yet another boy as of this April (3 sons total now!). I feel like every time I come back after a long break, I announce that I've had another child...oops? But as always, I hope you enjoyed! Be sure to follow, favorite and leave me a review below! Every review makes my day. xx
