I started school last week, and I'm so done already. Anyways, I'll try to write as much as I can, but I've already got the next two chapters almost done for you so there won't be that much of a delay. I left you guys on a cliffy, ik. So I won't hold you back any longer, keep on reading ;)
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Stella's P.O.V.
Me - Sorry Liam, I can't make it back in time :(
Liam - It's okay Stel, take your time, I get it, ly.
Me - Ly too, and you better save me a piece of cake :P
That text convo? Well, I'm currently still in Miami, and It's Liam's birthday tomorrow. And I told him that I can't make it in time, but that's a lie, no freaking way am I missing one of my closest friend's 17th birthday. So, I've told everyone except him that I'm taking a flight tonight, and I'll make it to Gardenia early in the morning. Then Brandon is gonna take Liam out while Musa and I are at Brandon's house, preparing a surprise party. Everything I came here to do, I've done, and I'm ready to go back. I wasn't really in the best of a mood, but I can't let that spoil it for him.
"You all packed and ready to go?" Angelo asked, standing at the door.
"Yup." I said, closing my suitcase.
"You know Stella, I admire how considerate and selfless you are. Sacrificing your time here just so you can make it in time for your friend's birthday." he said.
"Yeah well, I know he'd be upset if I wasn't there, I mean who wouldn't" I joked, as he grabbed my suitcase, laughing along with me.
"Hey Angelo?" I asked.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Thanks" I said, hugging him.
"For what?" he asked.
"For being there for us. To be honest, my mom was a complete wreck up until she met you. I mean you could only imagine what someone would be going through after something that...crazy. I thought she'd be all moody for the rest of her life, but you seem make her happy, so thank you for that. And also for the food you cook, without you, I'd be eating ramen for every single meal." I smiled.
"You are one of a kind, kid" he chuckled, ruffling my hair, before leaving with my luggage to load the car. My phone suddenly vibrated, and I looked down and saw a text from Brandon.
Brandon - He agreed to go to that restaurant tomorrow, and it's an hour away. So one hour there, and two hours of driving there and back gives you 3 hours to prepare. Is that enough?
Me - Yeah, perfect, thanks. My flight's gonna leave in an hour, and I'm about to go to the airport. See ya tomorrow.
"Time to go Stella, come on before we miss the flight" My mom said.
"Okay, let me say bye to dad first" I said, going to find him.
"Have a safe flight Stella" my dad said, giving me a hug.
"Thanks dad, I'll text you when we land. Love you" I said.
"Love you too" he said, before I went to go to the car.
"Finally, we're back home" My mom said, exhausted, as she opened the door. It was currently 12:30 pm, and we just got home. Brandon's taking Liam out at 2:00, so I have an hour and thirty minutes to spare.
"Well I'm gonna take a shower and then go to the store with Musa to get stuff, then when he leaves we can go prepare" I said.
"Are you sure? You can sleep for a bit you know" My mom said.
"I know, but trust me I'm fine, I just need a gallon of coffee" I said.
"I admire your enthusiasm Stel. Well have fun, I'm going to sleep" My mom said.
"I rushed upstairs, quickly unpacked my stuff so my room wasn't a mess, then I took a shower. I changed into a burgundy tank top with white writing on it, a pair of dark grey drawstring shorts and white converse. I left my hair wavy, and grabbed my phone to call Musa and tell her to pick me up.
After about 20 minutes, she got here and we left to go to the mall and get everything we needed. Once we got back, Brandon and Liam had already left. Musa started decorating, and I was making the food. Yes, me.
Obviously, we ordered loads of pizza and a big chocolate cake and all that, but I wanted to try out this lasagna recipe that Angelo gave me, it's a family secret. And yeah, I know, if I leave it out everyones gonna dive in, so I'm gonna leave it in the fridge so he can enjoy it himself.
"Stel, come here and give me a hand will ya!" Musa yelled from the living room. She was golden sticking letters on the wall, spelling out 'happy birthday mustard'.
Typical Muse.
"Whatcha need?" I asked.
"Can you pass me the sticky tack?" she asked.
"It's literally 3 inches away from you" I said, before chucking it at her.
"Also can you stand back and make sure they're straight?" she asked.
"Okay" I said, moving back a bit. "The T and U are a bit crooked, to the left a bit...yeah that's perfect"
"Done, finally" she said, hopping down. I looked around, and it looked pretty good. There were lots of helium balloons floating around, streamers, and confetti cannons and those party horns at the ready. We told everyone to come at 4:45, which is 15 minute before they're supposed to come back. And it's already 4:15.
"Shit" I exclaimed.
"What?" Musa asked.
"I forgot to get him a present!" I said.
"Well Bloom will be here in a couple minutes, she can go with you to the mall to get something, while I wait here for people to arrive. You know teenagers, this place will fill up quickly.
"Okay, she's here, make sure he doesn't come back!" I said, rushing out.
"He won't" she said.
"Stella, you're back!" Bloom said, hugging me. "Gosh I missed you, you know, I forgot how hard it was to control Musa, can't believe I used to do it alone before we met you"
"Yeah? Well she's all good now" I said.
"How are you? Did you do everything you needed to? I mean you looked pretty upset at the smoothie bar" she said.
"I'm fine, trust me. Now, we have half an hour before Liam gets back and I need to get a present for him, so lets go!" I said, getting in her car.
"Are you done now? I think you've got him enough" Bloom laughed, as we walked out of a store.
"Oh, no those snapbacks were actually for me, but yeah I'm done" I said.
There's still something at the back of my head I'm forgetting.
Wait a minute...
"Bloom?" I asked.
"Hm?" she said.
"What happened with the girl Liam was talking to?" I asked.
"He's still obsessed with her, and she likes him too. But he hasn't seen her in real life since they met for the first time." she said.
"We should invite her to the party" I said.
"We don't know her phone number though" Bloom said, as we sat down near the food court.
"So? We're girls, lurking and internet stalking is what we do best, we could find her in a second" I said. What's her name?"
"Sierra. Sierra Davidson." she said.
"Bingo" I said, finding her Instagram. I messaged her, and she replied as soon as she saw Liam.
Aw, young love.
"She said to send her the address, which I did. So I got him tons of presents, made him lasagna, and got him a hot potential girlfriend. Boy, am I a good friend" I said.
"That you are. It's almost 4:50, we should get back now. When did she say she's coming?" Bloom asked.
"She's near this mall now, let's give her a ride" I said, texting her to meet us at the parking lot.
We went down to the parking lot and met her, and Liam was totally right about her. She's a really nice person, infact, she knew about his birthday, not so much the party, but still got him tickets to see some game, which must be her way of asking him out.
I ship this so hard. Siam? Lierra?
We drove back to Brandon's house and Musa was right, it was full of people, but she's too controlling to let to get too crazy.
"So, this is the notorious Sierra?" Musa said, taking a good look at her. Poor girl looked kinda scared, I mean anyone would be under Musa's glare.
"Liam's so dumb if he hasn't asked you out yet" Musa said, causing her to relax. "I'll give him a push if you want"
"No need, she's gonna do it tonight" I said.
"Bold, I like it" Musa said.
Suddenly, I got a text.
Brandon - We're about to take a turn and we'll be on the road of my house, make sure he doesn't see you.
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP AND GET INSIDE HE'S COMING!" I yelled, as everyone rushed in. We closed the door, turned the lights off, and stayed silent for a minute or so, until the door opened and the lights switched on. Confetti and glitter exploded everywhere.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" everybody said, but I yelled, because I like making quite the entrance.
Well not entrance, but like...comeback? You know what I mean.
"Stella?" he said, literally gobsmacked, as he ran up to hug me.
"Happy birthday Liam" I smiled, ruffling his hair.
"I thought you couldn't make it" he said.
"You really think I'd miss your 17th birthday?" I asked, as the music started playing and people started...well, partying.
"You know, Stel practically planned this whole thing, infact, she hasn't got a wink of sleep since she came back from the airport since she was so busy planning it for you" Musa said.
"You gave up sleep for me? Damn I feel special" he said.
"Yeah well that's what Starbucks is for" I said.
"And I assume that was Musa's idea" he asked, his tone unamused, pointing to the 'happy birthday mustard' banner thing.
"Yup" She grinned proudly.
"That's not all." I said, before calling Sierra in.
"You..she...woah" he breathed.
"Have fun" I said, tapping his shoulder.
"Damn it" I huffed, as my phone died. It was almost 10pm and pretty much everyone was drunk. I was bored out of my mind, and too tired to drink or anything. I decided to go upstairs and look around. To my surprise, no one was there, so I decided to knock on Brandon's room.
"If you're looking for a place to make out or bang, try the other rooms"
"It's me you dumbass" I said, rolling me eyes.
"Who's with you?" he asked.
"No one" I said.
"Fine, come in" he said.
"What aren't you down there? I though you were the king of partying?" I asked, shutting the door behind me. He was just on his laptop on his couch, eating a bag of cheetos.
"I don't know, I'm not really feeling it." he said. "How about you?"
"I'm too tired" I yawned.
"Take a nap then" he said.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, go ahead" he said.
"Yay!" I squealed, literally jumping into his bed and snuggling the covers.
"I get it okay, you're excited to be in my bed, who wouldn't be" he said cockily.
"Shut up, I'm excited about finally getting some sleep" I said, closing my eyes, before drifting to sleep.
"Stella"
"Don't shoot!" I yelled.
"Stella, wake up!"
Right before he pulled the trigger, I woke up, shaking, sweating, screaming. My heart was pumping rapidly, and I was on the verge of crying.
I shot up, and saw Brandon sitting on the bed, looking at me worriedly.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly. After a short pause I finally spoke.
"No" I answered truthfully, before breaking out into tears.
Fuck. Well done Stel, you're crying in front of Brandon. Way to embarrass and make a fool of yourself...
All of a sudden, I felt his arms around me, holding me closely.
Is he hugging me?
But...why? He doesn't care.
Is this some kind of alternate universe?
"Tell me what's going on" he said.
"Nothing, I'm fi-"
"Don't say you're fine, it doesn't take a genius to know something's bothering you. Just tell me" he said.
Should I tell him?
No. I can't. Out of all people, why should I tell him? I should tell my best friends, I should-
"Trust me. Whatever you say will stay between us, I promise" he said, pulling back and looking into my eyes.
"It's...a long story." I said.
"Then start from the beginning" he said. I took a deep breath, before telling him something I haven't told anyone, and I mean anyone, else..
"The reason I moved here, the reason my parents are divorced, the reason I went back...is because I had a brother. He's a year older than me, and his name is Luke. Luke Solaria." I said. "A year ago, he was dating this girl, Alexia. He really loved her, but she didn't give a damn about him. I tried to warn him, but he was too blinded by love to see it. She was cheating on him, and when he found out, things got crazy...he took a bullet for that ungrateful bitch."
Flashback
"Hm, that one looks cute...but then again, the pattern is kinda tacky" I said to myself, as I scrolled down on the website. I was in the middle of online shopping in my room, until I heard Luke punch the wall. I stayed silent, and listened to him yell a series of curse words.
Something's definitely not right.
I heard him slam the door, and I ran behind him, but I didn't let him see me, because he'd definitely force me to go back home. I saw him get in his car, and so I got into mine and followed him. He pulled up outside this dodgy warehouse place, and I ran after him.
"Stella? What are you doing here? Go home, it's too dangerous" he said.
"No, why are you here? What the heck is going on?" I asked.
"Nothing, go home, now." he said.
"Fine" I sighed, getting in my car, as he walked inside. As soon as he was out of sight, I quickly ran out and followed him again, and I was outside a door, eavesdropping.
There was a violent argument going on, between Luke, some dude, and...Alexia? His fuckface of a girlfriend.
I listened a bit more, and from what I heard, she was cheating on him. But he didn't believe it was her fault.
Why? Why is he so freaking naive? Of course it was her fault, she's using the fact that he loves her against him, to control him.
Wait a minute...the other dude must be that guy Alexia was cheating on Luke with...
I peeked, and saw him pointing a gun at Luke, and Alexia was on the other guys side.
He pulled the trigger, and I ran in, but it was too late. The booming gunshot echoed through the room, piercing through his chest at lightning speed.
Oh my god...he shot my brother...in front of my eyes.
"LUKE!" I screamed, running to him. I kneeled down, putting his head on my lap. Blood was pouring out of his wound, and I tried to stop it but there was no use.
"I told you not to come here" he whispered, as tears streamed down my red face like a waterfall.
"This is your fault, you fucking slut." I snapped at Alexia.
"Shut up, little girl. I wasn't the one dumb enough to risk my life for a girl" she retorted, her nasally, high pitched voice just fuelling my anger. It was like there was a fire burning in me, and every word she spoke was like gasoline, adding to the flames. My jaw clenched, and I was about to explode like a bomb. I wanted to rip this whore's head off, I wanted to strangle her with her own fake ass hair extensions. Luke didn't deserve this, he was nothing but loyal, kind and loving to her.
What was she? A fucking careless little rat. She only used him for when she wanted attention, and she'd manipulate him, luring him further into her evil trap.
The rage consuming me was like a deadly poison, like a volcano about to erupt. And her bitchy attitude aggravated me further.
How the hell could she let that jackass shoot him?
Oh yeah, I forgot, she doesn't have a single drop of compassion or kindness or even pity in her blood.
I looked up, and saw the gun now pointed at me.
No. I can't let him shoot me. I won't let him win. He won't get away with it.
Luke, with all the strength he had left, pointed at his jacket pocket, which contained a gun. I grabbed it as fast as I could, and not out of intentional revenge, but out of self defence, shot the guy in the head, making him fall to the ground instantly. He managed to shoot right before, but thank god he missed.
It scared off Alexia, who ran for her life. She must've left town, because I never saw her after that day.
The fact that I had just killed a murderer didn't even hit me. My brother was dying in my arms, and I couldn't save him.
I looked back down, running my fingers through his caramel hair, which was now streaked with the blood from my hands. My other hand remained on his crimson chest, in attempt to lessen the bleeding. I could feel his hopeless heart beating desperately, getting slower and slower.
"You're gonna be alright, I promise" I cried, biting my quivering lip, unsure if the words I was speaking were true. I knew deep inside that his time was up, because all of a sudden, every memory with him, even the good ones, were painful. They cut through me like a knife, because that's all they were; memories. And this would be the last one we had together, starting off in a fight, ending in this tragedy. I looked into his eyes, which glistened with guilt and pain. But they only reminded me of what I was going to lose. I wasn't ready for this.
"You have to be...y-you can't leave me. You t-told me you'd be w-with me f-forever" I stuttered, hoping and praying he'd make it.
"I will. I'll look over you until the day you die" he smiled weakly, as his breath got slower.
"No, no, no, no, no. Please stay with me, please Luke" I whimpered, clutching his hand, which was as cold as ice.
This has to be a dream, it can't be real...
"Take care of yourself, okay?" he mumbled, as his eyes started to get heavy "I love you so much, Stellie"
Those were his last words, before his heart finally gave up on him, as he lay dead in my arms.
"I love you too" I whispered.
*end of flashback*
"Oh my god Stella. I'm so sorry" Brandon said, looking at me with sympathy, sadness and concern.
"It's okay. I went back to Miami because it was his death anniversary. My dad didn't think I was ready, but I wanted to go because I know he wouldn't want me to be stuck in the past. The reason I woke up screaming is because I had a nightmare of it replaying in my head, and I just felt so useless because I was watching it, and couldn't do a damn thing. I felt so guilty, like there was a way I could've warned him, saved him, instead of standing there listening. Anyways, after I called the cops, I told them my brother shot the other guy in the head, and I got there when he was already dead, because I was only 16, I was completely terrified of anyone finding out I shot a guy, even though he was the murderer of my brother. I had a really close bond with him, and it scarred me, especially since it was in front right of my eyes and I couldn't stop it. After that, my parents started blaming each other, which later on caused them to get a divorce. Since they were so caught up in a fight, I had nowhere to turn. I started getting into gang activity and all sorts of dangerous shit, until one day, I had a near death experience" I said, lifting my shirt a bit, to reveal a small scar on the right side of my stomach, above my hip. It was bigger but most of it healed, only leaving a small scar.
"Damn. Well I personally think scars are hot. Shows you're a fighter" he said.
"Thanks" I laughed. "Some dude tried to stab me in the gut, but I took him down, while I was bleeding and all. Which did get me a lot of street cred at the time, but I didn't care. The doctors said it managed to somehow dodge a major artery, and if it didn't, I probably would have died of blood loss. After that I got a therapist, and she helped me through it. Later on my parents divorced, my mom came here and my dad stayed in Miami, and I stayed with him. But then they decided that I'd be better off here, away from that place. So that's the story of why I moved here. Insane to say the least?".
"You know what. Since you shared all of that with me, I should share my deepest secret with you" he said. "Do you know why I'm slightly less kind to girls?"
"Slightly less kind? Brandon, you're fucking brutal to them. They're literally intimidated by you. Damn, you even promised that you'd ruin my life, which never happened by the way" I said.
"Because it's different now. So, back to the story. When I was 16, I was dating this girl named Mitzi. I really loved her, but I didn't realise she was only using me. One day, I walked in on her hooking up with one of my closest friends at the time. It left me completely shattered, and kinda hot headed I guess. Mitzi just happened to leave town, and later on the other guy did too. I didn't really have the motivation to do anything, which is why I quit football, even though I loved it. It just struck me - how blind I was, and how all that time, it was all fake, all lies. I wasn't just betrayed by her, I was played by my best friend too. I haven't dated anyone since that, and I guess I just couldn't trust anyone, specifically girls so I was distant and cold to anyone who tried to talk to me. Not even Sky or Riven know the full story, only Liam and now you too." he said.
"I'm sorry" I said, not really not knowing what to say, as I lay my hand on his, being the one to comfort him this time.
I could actually see the agony and pain in his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hide it or act nonchalant about it. I've never really seen him this vulnerable, and for some weird reason, it was getting me sad too.
Jeez, I did not expect that, like, at all.
I mean, I know that it's still no excuse to think all girls are like that and treat them that way, but he was only hurting, and I get that. I felt like I actually understood him for once. I mean Mitzi was just like Alexia except worse since she chased his best friend.
"Stella?" he asked.
"Hm?" I mumbled.
"You know it wasn't your fault right?" he asked.
"Yeah...but, I shouldn't have let him go in there in the first place. I should've called the cops before it got out of hand, I had a bad feeling about it at home, and I was right." I said.
"You were brave enough to follow him into some random warehouse, and then run into a room, risking your life, to try and help him, regardless of the fact there was an armed guy who could have killed you in an instant" he said.
"But I shot him, I freaking killed that guy Brandon. No one knows that, not even my parents. Only you, and Alexia. What if she told someone?" I asked.
"She was probably too scared to tell anyone, because then they'd know she was at the crime scene and since she got out of town it would be worse on her part. Plus, it was self defence, not murder. You saved more lives than you took." he said.
"True. You know, I feel relieved finally telling someone, thanks" I said.
"No problem. So, do you wanna go back down there and get wasted with everyone else, or would you rather stay up here and watch me finish school stuff" he said.
"I'll stay up here. I can help you if you want" I said.
"It's science homework" he said.
"I'm helping" I said, my face lighting up.
"I've always wondered, why do you love science so much?" he asked.
"Believe it or not, I used to hate it, but Luke always liked it. He used to help me at it because I was shit at it, and once he took me to this lab. Everything was blowing up and setting on fire, which is when I realised it was pretty fucking cool. Ever since then, I've loved it" I said.
We ended up just talking for a long, long time.
"Hey Brandon, last night was so fun, you sh- Stella?" someone said.
I flickered my eyes, stretched my arms, and soon realised that I was in Brandon's room, more specifically - his bed.
Ah fuck, we must've fell asleep talking.
The person speaking was Liam, who had just walked in, and was clearly surprised. I saw Brandon sound asleep only a couple inches away from me.
Aw, he's kinda cute when he's asleep...
Wait, no, I did not just think that. Come on Stel you're better than that.
"You weren't there last night, so I though you left early. Apparently not..." he said, with a smug grin on his face.
"I can explain, we-" I started.
"Trust me, I totally get it. We all do dumb shit when we're drunk. I don't really blame you Stella, and who am I to judge" he said.
I looked back at Brandon, who was waking up now.
"Morning" he yawned.
"Anyways, you guys won't believe what happened to me. SIERRA. FUCKING. ASKED. ME .OUT." he yelled, shaking my shoulders simultaneous to each word.
"Good for you" I said, holding my head, trying not to get dizzy.
"Yeah. I guess I'm just that irresistible, huh? So what happened with you guys. You don't have to give me details, but you two are the last people on Earth I'd imagine to be hooking up." he said.
"Whoa whoa whoa, you think we hooked up?" Brandon asked.
"Uh yeah? Pretty obvious, why else would you be in bed together" he asked.
"You and Stella sleep in bed together sometimes, that doesn't mean you guys bang, now does it?" Brandon asked.
"That's different, we're best friends so it's fine. But you guys, that's just sketchy" he said.
"Well we weren't doing anything. I came up here because I got tired, and fell asleep. And then Brandon, too prideful to sleep on the couch, decided to sleep on the bed too. Trust me, nothing weird here" I lied.
Well most of it was true, I didn't include the full story. That's not lying, right?
"On second thought, that's much more believable than you guys, ya know, doing it. Just sounds like typical Stella, barging into someone's room, stealing their bed, and then Brandon trying to steal it back" Liam said.
"Yeah, see? No talking, nothing physical, or emotional happened, it was just Stel being too lazy to back to her own house" Brandon said.
"Cool. Anybody want pancakes?" he asked, dropping the subject.
"Ooh yes please" I squealed, jumping out of bed, shoving Liam out the way and literally bolting down the stairs.
"By the way, I tried that lasagne you made. Pretty good" He said, following after me.
"I know right. Hey, is there any cake left over?" I asked.
"In the very back of the fridge, I didn't want bitches stealing it so I hid it there" he said.
I opened the fridge, moved some things around, and finally found it.
Damn, it's so beautiful. Honestly, why is chocolate cake so sexy?
Grabbing a spoon, I dug in.
And holy frickin moly. It was like pure heaven in my mouth. I've been blessed, hallelujah.
"She's making out with the spoon again.." Liam sighed to himself.
"I'm not making out with it, I'm just, uh...devouring this perfection in the form of cake" I said.
"That's enough, you can have more after breakfast" he said, grabbing the cake and putting it back, and then snatching the spoon.
"Hey!" I pouted.
"By the way, I need your help. You're a girl" he said.
"Thanks for noticing" I said.
"Is it obvious when a guy is trying to impress you? Or is it cute?" he asked, flipping the pancake.
"If you're looking for relationship questions, go ask Musa or Bloom. Because if you haven't noticed, I'm very much single" I said.
"You are...it's about time we change that" he said.
"I don't need a guy, I have pizza" I said.
"Come on Stel, be realistic" he said.
"I am! And don't you ever try and set me up, because I'll just scare the boy away with all my food puns" I said.
"True, you do tend to scare the male species" he said.
"Hey, are you trying to say I have no game? Because I do, boys are lined up begging for me to be with them, I'm just too good for them" I said cockily.
"Whatever, just eat your pancakes" he said, tapping my head before handing me my plate.
So. What did you think? Was that an interesting backstory? If you thought Luke was an ex or something, don't worry, I kinda tried to make it look like that on purpose, for the element of surprise xD So you're probably thinking, they're gonna fall in love now, and all that. But no, not just yet. Well, they might've caught some feelings, but don't realise until later, so you do have to wait, but not that long.