Oyeeee como va? :D Never mind that. XD. Well, here I am with a new/revised chapter. Kristen's arc still stays the same but Dylan's is a bit revised. And wait till you see Josh's POV. Oh goody...
Well, hope you enjoy and I hope I didn't make too many mistakes!
I shall start posting shoutouts of my reviewers! God bless!
DISCLAIMER: THE CLIQUE BELONGS TO LISI HARRISON
Chapter 6: Teenage Love Affair
KG
When the dark green Jeep had rolled around to the front of the park, Kristen was already waiting. The correct term would actually be anticipating. Her cheeks were flushed from the March breeze in New York and she adjusted her red blazer.
She entered the car only to meet his lips.
"Hey," Kristen breathed.
"Hey yourself," her boyfriend of almost four months Harris responded in practically the same way.
Kristen had never really told her friends about the kind of guy she was into. Much less about who she was into. She managed to keep that secret under lock and key. She met Harris Fisher when Cam and the guys invited her and the girls over for a barbecue at his place. She was laughing while the girls and guys were playing with Nerf water guns when Harris chuckled that he hadn't done that for a while and that he missed it. When their eyes met, that's when it all started.
"So…where to?" Kristen asked, nothing but innocent curiosity on her face. She was simply content with being with the guy she was crazy about. His bright green eyes were drawn to her own. "What is it?"
"Why do you hang out with my brother and his friends?" Harris asked as he drummed his fingers against the wheel. "You're more suited for older guys, in my opinion." He chuckled.
"Funny," Kristen said, "Up until now, I didn't know that I had to choose between my friends and my best friend's brother."
Harris was jealous because Cam and Kristen had always been super close. However, it was obvious that Cam had always been in love with Massie and it was even more obvious, despite the fact that it was still kept under wraps, that Kristen only had eyes for Harris.
Harris rolled his eyes as he exited Westchester Park and got onto the boulevard where restaurant signs blinked, shopping malls offered sales, and teens were clustered in groups to head to night clubs downtown which were five minutes away by foot. Kristen stared at him with eyes that didn't reveal anything she felt.
He turned to look at her and he frowned in frustration. "When you make that face, you're so unreadable. It drives me crazy."
She revealed a little smile.
Harris looked away as he contemplated over telling her something. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I was just kidding when I said that but…it's just that I feel…threatened."
Her eyes widened. "Why would you feel threatened?"
He groaned and hid his face with his hands as they stopped at a red light. "You're a magnet for guys…Hormone-raged…Idiotic…Stupid guys. Every time you're out on the field practicing with the guys, it's like someone's going to pounce on you and there's nothing I'll be able to do about it. Especially because no one knows that we're together."
Kristen was shocked at his stark sincerity. She had never seen him so vulnerable and so…honest. Sure, he had always tried to be as honest as he could with her but this felt so new and so different. Like their relationship had been taken to a whole new level.
She couldn't control herself as she gently wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. When he returned the kiss, she had felt in utter paradise.
It was when the uncontrollable beeping of cars from behind them had broken them from their enchanted stance that they came back to reality and realized they were holding up a ton of traffic.
Kristen had gone back to her seat, completely red in the face. Harris cleared his throat and pressed hard on the gas pedal so they could drive off.
"Well, that was embarrassing," Kristen laughed, staring down at her jeans.
Harris nodded but then a huge smile formed across his face. "It could've been worse."
"Oh yeah?" Kristen's interest had been peaked, "How?"
"I could've been dressed as a drag queen back in Columbia at a frat party…" Harris stated in one breath.
Kristen broke out laughing. "No way! That was you? That was one of the top stories on the news a few weeks ago!"
"It was on a dare…" Harris muttered. "I got 500 dollars out of it and the media didn't figure out who it was because I wasn't the only one who got all dolled up."
"Now that I think about it…You did remind me of that magazine cover that James Franco did…And I likey James Franco…" Kristen's fan girl side had made its appearance.
"Well, do you likey me?" Harris asked and shook his head. "I mean, do you like me?"
"Of course. Why would you think otherwise?"
"Because I told you one of my darkest secrets tonight and I wasn't sure how you were going to take it."
"Harris, it's going to take more than a costume and make-up for one night to make me stay away from you." She squeezed his hand tightly.
"Well, that's good to know." Harris pecked her on the nose.
"That tickled." Kristen giggled nervously.
Harris took note of how shaky she sounded. "Are you okay?"
She played her hair, avoiding his eyes. "This is all just so new to me. I never thought I would go out with a guy who's…way older than me."
"You know…This is the first time you've actually told me this. I expected to hear it at least once a week…But you never-"
She interrupted him softly. "That's because I never wanted to bother you about it. I didn't want you think I was annoying or immature…But the thing is, I learned something. What's the point of me covering things up when I'm around you, if they'll eventually come to the surface?"
"Hey." His eyes never left hers as they had parked in front of the movie theater, "You aren't annoying or immature…You can be sometimes but hey, so can I and every other person in the universe…But you…" He caressed her cheek. "You're never a burden for me."
She smiled. "Wow, Harris…I never knew you thought that way."
He returned a small smile. "I guess we've still got a lot to learn about each other."
"Well, I don't know about you but I'm willing to learn." She shrugged.
"Hey, I am, too." He got out of the driver's seat. Kristen followed suit by getting out of the passenger seat.
They held each other's hands as they went up to the ticket counter and debated on whether to watch Battle: Los Angeles or Black Swan.
They both turned to each other. "Battle: Los Angeles." They nodded and high-fived each other. Kristen and Harris were all smiles for the rest of the evening.
DM
"So why do you think Kris was off in such a hurry?" Alicia asked Dylan. They were both sitting on the bench, having completely given up on the fire they had set on making.
Dylan sipped on her water bottle. "I don't know. She's been doing that a lot recently, though." She wasn't as preoccupied about that as she was about Claire and Massie almost discovering that the beanie she received wasn't just a gift. It was a gift from someone…surprising to say the very least.
Alicia began to play with her hair and make tiny braids. "Do you think we're being good friends?"
That had knocked the red head out of her thoughts. "What do you mean?" Her green eyes had slightly widened as she turned to her best friend.
"She's been through so much since last year. I mean, I know we've never doubted her for a second. We've been really supportive of her, right? She got accepted into her dream school and things are looking up for her…But don't you think she's hiding something?"
Dylan pursed her lips and really took to heart what Alicia just said. "Leesh, we've always been there for her and…she might be hiding something on account of the fact that she's been…well not technically sneaking off because she does tell us when she's leaving but…not telling us where she's going. Maybe we should let her tell us whatever it is when she's ready. If there was something wrong, she would look more depressed and she wouldn't care if her shoes matched her top…But she does….More than ever now. So…it could be something else." She had recently developed a tendency to speak her mind and at times, it proved to be pretty useful because she might have discovered the truth behind Kristen's secretiveness.
"What?" Alicia beamed. "Like she has a boyfriend or something?"
"It makes sense now that we think about it, right?" Dylan laughed, completely surprised that she could solve a mystery that seemed so impossible to get.
"You're a genius!" Alicia laughed as she high-fived her. "What should we do about it?"
"Well," Dylan began sarcastically, "You were never one to meddle into other people's business."
Alicia caught on to her sarcasm and raised an eyebrow. "I wouldn't stoop that low, Dyl. I just think we should try to figure out who this guy is and if he's good enough for Kristen. To tell you the truth, I just want to know who this guy is."
"Because Kristen's never told us about what kind of guy she'd be into." Dylan remembered that whenever she and Kristen went to Panda Express after working on school plays after school that Dylan would always joke with Kristen saying that the assistant director of the entire play, who wounded up to be a college student from Columbia or NYU, had always taken an interest in Kristen.
"Kris! Hollis is definitely into you!" Dylan laughed as she playfully punched Kristen on the arm. They had just stepped out of Panda Express after laughing over the second year student from Columbia who was helping out with the play. He was an attractive guy with dark brown hair and blue-green eyes of the age of about 19 or 20. But the girls were sixteen at the time so Kristen wasn't exactly fond of the idea of a guy pursuing her who was practically four years older than her.
"Dylan, he is not." Kristen smiled stubbornly. The two girls were on their way to Cam's house to work on a history project.
"And what was all that 'Kristen, do you want to run over these lines between Patrick and Kat since Robby's not here for today?' I mean, he could've gotten Plovert or Cam to run the lines with you." Dylan pointed out.
"I completely agree with you on that…He's been acting really weird. Maybe I look like an ex-girlfriend of his or something?" She looked so clueless that Dylan was forced to believe that she really was clueless.
"Makes sense." Dylan nodded. "Or…like with Daniel and Luis from the last two plays…Every college dude to ever set foot on the stage has fallen in love with you, meaning Hollis has got the hots for you."
Kristen rolled her eyes. "Thank God, this weekend is the opening of the play so we can get this whole insanity over with. He'll go back to Columbia and I'll be a thing of the past or just be the girl with amazing hair whose face he forgot after he ran into some college girl…You know, someone his own age!"
Dylan had only laughed at her and the two kept at it all the way up to Cam's house.
"Now that you mention it, she's always managed to dodge the question…" Alicia said as they walked over to the guys now that the game appeared to be over.
"I hope we can figure out who this mystery guy is…" Dylan began to whisper because some of the guys passed by them and waved. They waved back.
"We will. I'm an aspiring journalist, after all." Alicia whispered back.
"Rivera! Marvil!" Dempsey shouted over for them. He was with Josh, Plovert, Kemp, and Landon.
They made their way over to them and Dylan saw that Landon shamelessly stared at her. She pretended not to notice as she asked Dempsey, "What's up, Solomon?"
"My cousin Melody's in town and I was wondering if Tyson would be interested in showing her around…" Dempsey began.
"I'd have to ask Tyson." When she thought about it, she knew her cousin would say yes. He was still slightly sad about his break-up with his ex-girlfriend Alexis but she decided she would tell him about Melody after all.
"I'll text you tomorrow then to find out what Tyson thinks." Dempsey nodded. "Thanks Dylan!"
"Cute, Solomon, playing matchmaker and all." Alicia laughed.
"It just so happens that Melody's trying to get over her stupid ex so if coming here's not enough of a distraction, maybe meeting Tyson will get her mind off of things." Dempsey and Tyson were good friends because they both worked as camp counselors for junior soccer camp for the past few summers.
"That's really sweet of you, Dempsey." Dylan shoved him jokingly.
The guys started mocking him with 'So adorable, Solomon!' or 'Maybe you should work for eHarmony!'
"Anyways," Dylan giggled, "I've gotta get going because my mom wants to discuss some wedding details." She pretended to barf. "And at 9:30 at night! Who does that?"
"Procrastinators like you." Plovert laughed. Kemp nodded in agreement.
"Goodbye, you guys!" Dylan laughed and waved frankly at them.
Once her friends said their goodbyes, the crowd dispersed but then someone's voice had caught her attention.
"Mind if I walk with you?"
Dylan saw that Landon still remained, looking at her with hope in his eyes. One thing she liked about Landon is that he didn't expect anything but he hoped. He was ready to face anything that came his way.
"Nope, not all." She smiled.
Landon smiled as he hesitantly attempted to take her hand. She could feel his approach and she responded by easily taking his hand and smiling up at him. None of their friends turned back to realize what they were doing.
"So how are things?" He asked, picking things up where they left off. Their Skype conversations didn't come close to seeing each other in person.
"Things…Well, they've been decent. Despite my mom's hysteria and my sisters fighting over who should be the maid of honor, life's been fine. It feels like…a lot of stuff is falling into place and that I shouldn't worry. But…"
"You can't help but worry?" Landon offered, half a smirk on his face.
"Exactly." She laughed, staring up at the starry night.
They slowly made their way back to the park's front through the pathway with the lights. It kind of felt like something out of a fairytale, she thought. But it wasn't like she was going to share that thought with Landon anytime soon. She had been sharing too much already.
She continued since Landon only looked like he wanted to hear what she had to say, "I mean, what's going to happen when I leave New York? It feels like I'm going to be detached from everything I've ever held so close to me…"
"Hey, everybody gets to feeling like that once senior year's about to finish. I'm still undecided about what I'm going to do and where I'm going to go. And yet…so many opportunities lie ahead for me to choose…I just don't know what that right opportunity's going to be."
"So we're both in a pickle here, aren't we?" Dylan joked but still meant what she said.
"Yeah, I guess we are," he replied, chuckling to ease the tension.
Landon Crane had attended and graduated from Abner Double Day School, which was about twenty minutes or so away from Westchester High. Landon is best friends with Chris, Layne Abeley's older brother. Layne had been close to Claire and everyone for many years now. Landon currently attends the University of Pennsylvania and he had come back to New York a couple of days ago since his spring break had finally arrived. And since Dylan and her friends had gone to welcome him back at the airport, something between the two of them had blossomed.
And Dylan wasn't sure what it was but it felt like something good.
"Thanks for walking me over," she said as they reached her red BMW.
"Anytime." He smiled.
Dylan raised an eyebrow at him.
"What?" He asked.
"So if I needed a walk to my car again, I would call you while you're in Pennsylvania so you can make a flight all the way back here to walk me to wherever I needed to get to?" She challenged, a childish grin on her face.
Landon laughed at how outrageous her question was. "Airfare's pretty expensive…"
"So I'm guessing that's a no…" She nodded slowly, not appearing disappointed but disappointment was heard in her voice. "That's all I needed to here. See you around."
"Dylan." Landon said loud enough for her to hear as she got into her car.
She put her keys into the ignition and started up the car. She rolled down her window.
"Landon, relax. I was only messing with you." She laughed. "I wouldn't make you do that. I'm a big girl. I can handle things myself."
She stopped laughing when Landon had reached over to touch her face. "I really missed you, Dylan." He whispered.
"Huh?" Dylan said, almost breathless at his touch.
He smiled. "I'll call you tomorrow."
She nodded and smiled at him. She left the parking lot in bliss.
Dylan had her fair share of crushes in the past few years but not once had one of them reciprocated her feelings. Of course, she'd been asked out a handful of times as well and she accepted. However, they never led to anything but just dating. She never found someone to start a relationship with. But when she was with Landon, and she didn't know he felt anymore, things seemed right and a lot of things felt possible. She had hope again. When she remembered his touch and his fondness towards her, she felt a surge of confidence to face any dilemma, including the one she was about to face with her mom, the about-to-be bridezilla and her sisters, Ryan and Jaime, who acted sometimes like Cinderella's evil stepsisters.
JH
"Thanks for the ride home." Josh said as he got shotgun.
Alicia tied her hair into a bun. "Don't mention it."
The brunette was avoiding him. He just knew she was and it was bothering the hell out of him because he thought they were getting along decently. Was it something she heard? What could she have possibly have heard about him? All the guys were on the field all night and her friends didn't know him. He had to know what was up with her. "You okay?" He asked. "You've been kind of quiet."
"Me? Quiet?" She raised an eyebrow at him, after having focused on her boots for the past five minutes. "What are you talking about?" She climbed into the driver's seat.
"I mean, after everyone ditched for the night, you haven't said a word since we left the park." The two were about to leave Dairy Queen because Josh was in need of a sugar fix.
Alicia was lost in her thoughts and then she shook the thoughts away, so it appeared. "I'm fine."
Josh smirked. "And I'm adopted."
"Liar. You're the spitting image of your dad." She slightly showed her mischievous grin.
"Right…" Josh laid his head back on the headrest of the car. "Now tell me what's wrong."
Alicia's smile immediately disappeared. She placed the key in the ignition and started up the car. She was exiting the plaza and was driving him home. "Josh, please…"
He realized that he struck a nerve with this girl. He liked Alicia. He knew they would make good friends. He already enjoyed picking on her. "All right, I won't push it."
"Thank you." She never took her eyes off the road.
"So…"
"Hmm?" She said as she turned on the radio. "Good To You" was playing. Her eyes widened with recognition.
"Good song." He said, surprised that their tastes in music could possibly be the same. "You like Marianas Trench?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "This is my favorite song right now. They never play it on the radio…" She actually showed a smile and it made Josh feel…relieved. There had been a tense atmosphere between them since they got together alone tonight.
"I guess I brought along good luck for it to happen." Josh let his smugness show.
"I'm sure that's what it was." Alicia sarcastically said.
The song had finished and "Animal" by Ke$ha followed. "Okay, I swore this wouldn't bother me but when I saw you…I just couldn't get it out of my mind."
Josh was surprised at how Alicia went from Miss Silent Treatment to a complete blabbermouth so quickly.
"Did you mean what you said at Slice of Heaven?" She asked. "I mean, I thought you were just at the heat of the moment and then we met up with everyone but…it just came back to me."
It looks like she finally struck an nerve and it was his.
"And I was hoping that you changed your mind," she said after the longest second had passed.
"I don't get it." Alicia placed hands on her face. "Why do your parents want to get in good with mine?"
Sitting at a booth at Slice of Heaven with a half-eaten pepperoni pizza on the table, Josh and Alicia were getting to know each other.
Well, as far as either of them would let them get to know each other.
Josh drank some of his lemonade. "I may have exaggerated a bit when I said my parents were here to kiss ass. But they do want to get in good with your parents."
She waited for him to explain.
"Your dad works for a law firm, right?"
She nodded.
"Well, my parents want me to try to get an internship with your dad…"
"Really?" She looked surprised.
"Why are you so shocked?" His eyebrows crinkled.
"I didn't know you were going pre-law…" She played with her fingers.
"I honestly don't care right now." Josh bitterly remarked.
"Well, don't take it out on me, okay?" She had the same amount of venom in her voice as he did.
He calmed down. "Sorry…I just…"
He wasn't sure if he should…But he did. Because something about this girl said that he could trust her. After what happened with Brittany…He could use a new friend in this new town, where he wasn't sure if he'd know anyone. And it wasn't like he'd be here for long, anyway.
Alicia looked like she could keep a dirty secret or two.
"I just got out of a bad relationship." He revealed. "She cheated on me but I found out after she dumped my ass at the movies…"
Her eyes widened.
"Spare me your pity." He sighed. "I already got enough at the airport when we were leaving for here."
She nodded. "Well, I can see why you're bitter…"
"That whole skateboard fiasco…" He began on an impulse.
Her eyes were attentive. She waited expectantly for him to continue.
"I don't know…Maybe you were right…I wanted to try and convince my parents to let me go back…Try to get even with Britt…That was her name. And I miss everything in Santa Fe. You wouldn't understand." He couldn't believe he was saying any of this out loud. And to a person. A girl he'd just met over an hour ago. But she was different…There was a feeling in his gut that told him to confide in her.
"If my parents told me to pack up and move across the country, there wouldn't be limits to how far I would go to convince them to let me go back home." She closed her eyes, her eyelids were covered in copper eye shadow…She wore makeup…But it wasn't like Britt's, who usually didn't even care. She just plastered loads of makeup on her face. He couldn't believe he didn't realize that he was the fool in love…
"I'm glad you see my point…So that's why I'm running away. Going back."
He thought that she would shriek because of how wide her eyes had gotten but she stayed calm. "What?" She sounded unnerved.
"I know it sounds stupid…"
"It is!" She jumped out of her seat on her side of the booth and pounded her hands against the table for effect.
People around the restaurant stared and Josh muttered, "Sit down."
She sat down.
"You can't stop me…" He said with an ease that left him on edge. He didn't even know if this was going to follow through the way he wanted to but that was Josh: spontaneous, rebellious, impulsive Josh.
She knew she couldn't protest with him. He read that in her face. She only sighed and asked for the check so they could hit the road. They'd only just met but she was a good judge of character so he knew she would try to convince him to change his mind after they met up with some of her friends at the park tonight. But his mind was made up.
"Well, did you?" She demanded but it was with a softer tone than he expected.
It took him a moment to consider it and after he found out that some of his closest friends were living here that it wouldn't be so bad to stick around. "Yeah."
She sighed with relief. "Thank God. Do you have any idea what trouble you could have caused?"
"I guess not…" He laughed. "But Westchester doesn't seem so terrible anymore."
"Oh yeah?" She laughed, fully relaxed again. The tension had finally dissolved. "Name three reasons why it doesn't seem so bad, then."
His laughter subsided as he pondered the question. "Well, my camp buddies, of course! My future can be set here if the internship follows through here so I wouldn't have to go all the way to Boston…And…"
"You really can't come up with a third reason?" She grinned.
He threw caution to the wind and spoke his mind. "You."
When he revealed the final reason, they had just pulled up to Josh's house.
Josh is my new favorite character. He's a contradiction after another. I think it's hot. XD. Hope you guys stay tuned for the next chapter!
Cassie/Derrington Chapter Coming Up! :D
Chapter Title based on: Teenage Love Affair by Alicia Keys (no pun intended with Alicia XD)