I'm so sorry about the long wait guys. I went on vacation for a week, and when I came home I learned I had a virus on my computer that had progressed so much in a week I couldn't open any program or files on my computer. Actually, I have three virus's on my computer. My dad managed to get one of them off so I can get to the internet, but I still can't get to anything else. So I wrote this entire chapter on this website using a document I'd already uploaded. I deleted what I'd uploaded and wrote this in a hurry, about half the time as it usually takes me. As a result I didn't have the editing capabilities I usually do so I apologize for my mistakes.
I also apologize for this not being nearly as good I wanted it to be. I had to rewrite it, and I couldn't remember how I connected things and made everything flow the first time and I had to leave entire parts of this chapter out because I couldn't remember how I did them the first time. Still, I think I did an okay job with it...let me know what you think?
xXx
Sighing, DA closed her arms across her chest and hunched her shoulders forward in an attempt to shield herself from the cold. It was a warm night for December, yes, but it was still so cold. And as a firm lover of the beach, DA was not a fan of the cold. At all. Sucking her lower lip into her mouth, she nibbled on it gently as her gaze lifted from watching her feet, instead looking ahead to the fire pit in the corner of the Ramone's backyard. Already she could feel some of the warmth, her muscles slowly starting to unclench as she grew closer to the flames. Sitting on one of the bench's around the fire, her best friend was staring into the red-orange flames, hunched as well. When she'd started over here, she'd had every intention of calling Carlos out on how he'd completely ditched her earlier. Her dad was replacing the battery in her Mustang, and Carlos was supposed to drive her home. When she'd gotten to his locker after school though, she'd been informed by the girl with the locker beside Carlos' that he had already left with Shannon. Not wanting to believe he would have just left her there, she'd hurried out to the student parking lot. But when his car wasn't there, she'd been forced to admit that he had. Thank god Ralphie hadn't had weight lifting after school on Thursday's, or she would have had to walk home in the cold.
Seeing him now, she just couldn't be mad at him anymore. He looked like a little boy whose birthday cake had been dropped on the ground before he'd had the chance to take a bite of the sugary delicious-ness. Not to mention that he was her best friend, and ever since the third grade she hadn't managed to be at him for to long at a time. She'd made it a week once, but that was probably only because it was over spring break and he had gone on a family trip to Mexico so she hadn't seen him. One look into his big brown puppy dog eyes, and she would have caved. She always did, unfortunately.
"Hey" Her voice was barely loud enough to be heard above the crackling of the flames as she settled down beside him on the bench. Glancing over, she took in his hunched over profile and couldn't help the pang she felt over how sad her best friend seemed. Giving up any hope of chewing him out, or even managing to hold onto a shred of her anger, she let her eyes fall back onto the dancing flames in front of them.
He nodded when he heard her voice, and shifted above an inch to the left as she had sat down, but he didn't acknowledge her in any other way. She knew not to push him though, he would open up to her when he wanted to, she had to give him his space. "Hey" He finally breathed, tilting his head enough to glance over at her.
The corner of his lips pulled up into the slightest smile, his hair falling over his warm brown eyes to create an irresistible look. She couldn't help returning the smile, or the chuckle that escaped her lips when he nudged her knee with his own. The muscles in her back and neck finally unclenched completely, and she sunk into the stone bench, her body now more at ease and comfortable. Just as she'd always been unable to stay mad at him, she'd never been able to be uncomfortable with him - well, there were those few weeks when they had hit puberty....They talked about anything and everything, no subject was to taboo. And they liked it that way. But even if they could say anything to each other, sometimes just sitting and enjoying the silence was much better. So when he didn't offer up any other words, neither did she, instead enjoying the warmth of the fire and watching intently as the flames reached for the deep purple sky, dancing around each other. She could feel him looking at her though, and only made it about ten seconds before she couldn't help but look back.
Her blue eyes met his chocolate brown ones, and they sat there just looking for each other. So much could be said with out even opening their mouths, like that he was just as happy about her being there as she was. But after what seemed like forever, but was probably only a few minutes, of just looking at each other, she had to say something. "So," She started, looking away once again and scuffing her toe against the ground. "why are you hiding in your backyard?"
"What makes you think I'm hiding?" Even though he was trying to sound all tough, they both knew it was all an act. "Maybe I just enjoy a nice fire every now and than, ever think of that?"
She scoffed, her blond hair swinging as she shook her head back and forth. "Yeah, and I enjoy being forced to play football in P.E every other day"
"You never were one for sports" He chuckled, shifting his weight so instead of leaning forward, he was tilted back with his arms behind him and his weight leaning back into the palms of his hands. "You'd rather map the stars than run around a field" He must have sensed the hand flying towards the back of his head, because he ducked it down and held up his arm to block her just in time. "Not that there's anything wrong with that Mrs. Parker"
"Nice save" She couldn't help sticking her tongue out at him even though she knew how ridiculous it was and how childish she was acting, he just had that effect on her. But he just laughed before sticking his tongue out at her as well. "So, are you going to tell me or do I have to take your soccer ball hostage?" Nodding to the old, beaten up ball sitting on the ground by her friend's feet she raised an eyebrow as she waited for his answer.
"Woah, woah, woah" Holding up his hands, he turned so his upper body was facing her before kicking the ball underneath the bench and therefore out of her reach. "No need to go and threaten Lola"
She rolled her eyes at him, not able to get over the fact he had actually named a soccer ball. No matter how many times she heard him refer to it as 'Lola' - and sternly remind anyone who referred to it as a ball that 'she' had a name - she would never get over it. But it was just part of who he was, and she'd come to accept it of him in the fourth grade. She'd given him the ball for his birthday back than. She'd also learned that day that he was born on September 17, not the 18 like she had thought, and his favorite color was now green, not blue. Still, he'd seemed ecstatic when she'd given him the royal blue ball with a silver ribbon tied around it, than promptly given it a name and hadn't gone anywhere without it for the next two years. It was part of his charm. That and his stupid jokes, his secret love of watching the stars and catching firefly's - he'd never admit it to anyone because he thought it made him sound gay - and the fact he could actually play the guitar sitting in the corner of his room, and really well actually. But that was just another secret of his that only she knew. Another sign of how close they really were.
He laughed at her, shaking his head at the blond girl sitting only a few inches to his right. "What? You got a beef with Lola?"
"No Carlos, of course not" She huffed, trying as hard as she could to hold her composure and not show him how much she wanted to laugh with him. "Why would I have any issues with a soccer ball?" She asked, emphasizing her words before turning her 'HA!' expression on him and raising an eyebrow.
"Maybe because you know I love her more than you!" He threw back with a smirk, which only grew wider when DA'S jaw dropped open. She immediately cursed herself for her reaction, but didn't have time to offer back a witty remark before the smirk slowly slid off his face. "Of course, Lola doesn't listen quite as well as you do..."
She couldn't help the way her chest swelled with pride at his mention of how he could always talk to her. At least, that's how she could took it, because she knew that he always could. "Maybe because you've kicked that crap out of her one to many times" She mumbled, though she knew the light banter between them was over and settled in to help her friend with his problem. She knew that she could always count on him to help her with anything, and wanted him to think of her the same way.
"Yeah, maybe" He let out what she assumed was supposed to be a laugh, but that came out as more of a sigh. Leaning forward once again, he hunched over and rested one hand against his knee, the other running through his raven colored locks. She nodded as he let his bangs fall back over his eyes and pulled his hand from his hair. "Shannon broke up with me today"
Of all the things Carlos could have told her, this was probably the one she was least expecting to hear. He was more likely to announce that he was moving to Mars - something he could easily do with a quick phone call to Mrs. Frizzle if he had really wanted to - than that the obnoxious read head had broken up with him. Of course, she wasn't exactly what one would call sad over the news. 'Completely ecstatic' was a much better explanation of her feelings. Not that she was going to tell him that, what kind of heartless best friend would do that? Instead she slowly nodded, the news still sinking in. As happy as she was to hear this, it was still hard to believe. Just a few hours ago Shannon had been draped all over Carlos at lunch, what could have changed in such a short amount of time?
"Why?" She asked, watching his face closely as he tilted his head just enough to be able to look at her. "Why would she break up with you? She loves you"
He scoffed, his left hand curling into a fist. "Please, Shannon doesn't love anyone. She just uses people to get what she wants" As much as DA agreed with that statement, she could see the sadness on Carlos' face despite how hard and sharp his voice sounded. "On the way home today she started saying some stuff about you and I defended you" DA could hear him swallow in the still air. "And when she got mad and said I had to pick between the two of you, I told her we'd been best friend since third grade. Sooo, she slapped me and ripped the necklace I gave her for her birthday off. Than threw it at me"
"She always was one for dramatics" DA regretted saying that as soon as the words left her lips, she hadn't realized what she'd said until it was to late. But Carlos was nodding, so she didn't feel so bad about what she'd said. "Why would you do that though?"
"You're my best friend DA" He shrugged, turning the full effect of his smile on her. She wasn't sure if the warm feeling in her stomach was from the look he was giving her or the way he said DA - the nickname he'd given her at the open house for third grade when he decided 'Dorothy Anne' took too much time to say - but she knew this was not the right time to be feeling like that. Not when they were talking about him getting dumped. "I wasn't going to let her say that stuff about you. And before you ask, no I'm not going to tell you"
He was always trying to protect her, and was always making her mad in the process. She was a big girl and she could handle herself, but she wasn't going to push it. She probably didn't want to know anyway, and on top of that she was sure it wasn't something the cheerleader hadn't already told her. Besides, the fact Carlos would choose her over his girlfriend was a much bigger deal to her than whatever Shannon had said. She smiled back before sucking her lower lip into her mouth, dragging her teeth across it.
"You do that a lot" Carlos commented absently, tucking his ankle under the bench and toeing Lola enough for her to roll back under it and rest lightly between his feet. Slowly, he rolled it back and forth between his heals and stared into the fire pit, missing the expression on her face. "Sorry I didn't take you home today" He sighed, reminding DA of why she had come to his house in the first place. The anger that flared within her quickly went away though as soon as she took a look at him. "I know I was supposed to but Shannon said there was some emergency with her little sister and I needed to get her home and I knew that Ralphie didn't have lifting today" He rushed to add, stalling at the end of his hurried sentence, his lips curving up in the corners once again. "Turns out the emergency was that she didn't know what lip gloss looked better with her outfit"
Dorothy Anne tried her hardest to hold in the laughter bubbling in her chest, but she only made it about three seconds before it burst through her lips. Before she knew it Carlos was laughing with her, and they were leaning against each other to keep from slipping off the bench and onto the ground. Sure, it wasn't thatfunny - not really - but they were both letting out their emotions through their laughter. Yet another thing they did together. And as they quieted down she could see from both the expression on Carlos' face and his body language that he felt at least a little bit better. Noticing for the first time how much the fire had died down, DA stayed where she was - leaning against his side - and shivered in the cold air. She wasn't sure how long they'd been sitting out there, but she knew the cold air was biting into her skin and she was not enjoying the feeling.
"Hey is that my sweatshirt?" He asked, looking down at the royal blue sweatshirt DA had thrown on before leaving her house (she really should have put a jacket over it). She looked down at the white lettering spelling out 'Walkerville High Soccer Team' in a circle around the soccer ball printed on the front of the sweatshirt.
She hadn't noticed it when she'd grabbed it from her closet and pulled it over her head in her rush over - she'd been eager to yell at him before she lost her nerve (so much for that) - but she was wearing his JV soccer sweatshirt from their freshman year. Carlos had been so proud of it at the time, he'd been worried he wouldn't be good enough and would be stuck on the freshman team, but instead had been a starter on JV. DA had stolen the sweatshirt one day when she'd gotten mad at him and had hid it in her closet. Carlos had gone insane for a few weeks before becoming distracted and forgetting all about the missing sweatshirt. DA had never owned up to stealing it and Carlos had just assumed he'd accidentally left it laying around somewhere.
"Um, yeah" She mumbled, glancing up at him sheepishly. "Sorry?"
He laughed, shaking his head at the very much embarrassed and now blushing blond sitting beside him. "It's fine DA" He smiled, looking much happier than he had when she had first gotten there. "It looks better on you anyway"
She was sure by now her cheeks were bright pink, and she was glad she could blame the color on the cold wind. She really should go home and study, she had a big test tomorrow in Spanish, and foreign languages had always been her weakest subject. But as long as Carlos wanted to sit out there with her she was going to stay, even if they didn't say anything. As close as they were, and even though they could always talk about anything, it was rare that they got moments like this to themselves anymore. Either one of the gang was around or he had a girlfriend or she was busy trying to keep her grades up or he was playing soccer. She couldn't remember the last time they had had time to themselves. So despite the fact her fingers were going numb and she was sure she would fall asleep at some point in school tomorrow, she was in no hurry to leave.
But she was sure their moment was over when she felt the vibration against her hip. She'd left her phone at home, so she knew it was Carlos' Dare virbrating from the pocket of his own hoodie. She tried to pull away from him, but the arm he'd casually let fall behind her tightened just enough to let her know he wanted her to stay before loosening once again. Still, she couldn't help glancing at the screen as he pulled the phone from his pocket.
Or the way she smiled when he pressed 'ignore', and Shannon's smiling face disappeared from the screen.
xXx
So before you even think it, we have NOT seen the last of Shannon, and this isn't done yet. I know exactly how I'm going to end this story, I'm just not entirely sure how I'm gonna get there yet (and I don't plan on it happening soon). But i'm working on it and I hope you guys love it. Telling me your opinion on my writing will help me get there :) haha