A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for the amazing reviews! I feel so repetitive telling you guys over and over how awesome you are, but you really are that awesome. I can't thank you enough. Anyways, on with the chapter! Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Anyone But You
Chapter Three
The first thing that I could remember was smelling the strong scent of coffee. It occurred to me after a second that I had just woken up, but I didn't feel nearly ready to get out of bed. I was half wondering what my mom was doing still here, she was usually off at work by the time I woke up on Saturday mornings. Then it hit me like a bag of bricks. It was my birthday today, so it was likely that my mom had stayed home to make me some sort of breakfast in bed type deal. Hopefully she made bacon and eggs, or even better, chocolate chip pancakes. I almost drooled just thinking about it.
I snuggled further into my bed, pulling my blankets closer to me, not wanting to get up quite yet. It was my birthday, I was entitled to sleeping in a little later than usual. I breathed in the smell of my pillow, which smelt a lot better than usual. I should really tell my mom I loved whatever fabric softener or whatever she was using to make my pillow cases smell so awesome. I sighed, my eyes still closed as I relaxed in the bed. It was so damn comfortable that I couldn't help but want to stay there until three in the afternoon.
I heard my door creak open and the soft footsteps echo through my room. Mom was either coming to collect the laundry, or to wake me up with my breakfast. I yawned silently, breathing in deeply and taking in my last few seconds in bed. When I cracked my eyes open, I was definitely confused at what I saw. The room I was in looked nothing like my own, in fact, it was one I didn't even recognize. I could remember waking up at Miley's a few times and forgetting that I had slept over, but this room wasn't Miley's either.
I gazed curiously around the room, still not moving from my position on the bed. My eyes trailed over the bright orange walls to the guitars lining them. There was a desk in the corner and a green chair that seemed entirely out of place in the corner. Hold up- If it wasn't my mom who had come into the room, who the heck was it? Actually, where did they go? Because they certainly weren't in the room now. And then the door to the walk in closet opened and I got my answer. My horrible, terrible answer.
He was standing there in just a pair of sweat pants, his arms raised above his head as he yawned. I watched, wide eyed as the shirtless boy tossed a pair of pants onto the chair at his desk, along with a plain white t-shirt. My eyes were focused on him as he leaned over the computer, blocking the screen from my view and checking something. Seconds later he popped a CD out of the drive and placed it onto a stack of about six or seven others. When he turned back around, he didn't notice that I was awake. I, however, did notice how absolutely grotesque it was so see him without clothes on. Nasty. Which brings me to- Why didn't he have a shirt on? Actually, why was I in his room at all? And then it hit me and I screamed, sitting up in bed. Oh, god, please no.
When he heard me scream, he stumbled a bit. It was obvious he hadn't been expecting me to emit such a noise since he thought I had been sleeping. When he got over his shock, he turned to me, eyes wide and with something like worry in them. Before I knew it, he had run to my bedside, sliding onto it next to me. His nasty, lanky, arms wound around me quickly and I was stunned by the action for a moment.
"Ew!" Was the first thing I yelled, shoving him off me violently. He tumbled off the bed, landing on the floor confused. "Don't touch me!" I continued, wiping his germs from wherever his arms had made contact. Unfortunately, as I looked down at my attire, which consisted of an Elvis Costello shirt and nothing more, I realized that me waking up in his bed wearing his shirt meant that he had probably touched a lot more than he had just now. I could have vomited right then and there.
"What the hell?!" He yelled back, narrowing his eyes at me from the floor, "Don't touch you?! I could hardly pry your hands of me last night!"
If anything, this only confirmed my suspicions. What the hell had been in that goddamn punch last night? It must've been pretty strong because I couldn't even remember drinking it at all. But that was hardly my biggest concern right now. I felt like my entire insides were about to melt, thats just how disgusted I was. The idea that his hands had been trailing my body made me gag. Not just gag, but empty whatever was left in my stomach for that matter. I felt like a disease. My face screwed up, preparing for the nausea, and my shoulders tightened.
"Oh my god, ew," Was all I could say, my eyes widening, "Get me a barf bag."
"Grow up Lola," He rolled his eyes, standing up from his place on the floor, "You were the one that wanted me. And to think, I actually let you wear my favourite shirt." He snapped. He was watching me with his arms crossed over his bare chest, annoyance clear in his features.
"I don't even know who Elvis Costello is!" I complained, "Why would I care?!"
"Maybe because you wouldn't have had anything else to wear?!" He fired back. The two of us were pretty much full on yelling at each other. If we were at his house, I was amazed that no one else had heard us.
"Oh my God!" I yelled, absolutely horrified. I'd been toying with the idea in my brain, but then my eyes landed on the black dress on the floor of his room. The black dress that I'd been wearing last night. It became pretty clear to me then that I didn't really matter if I hadn't had anything else to wear because he had probably seen everything this shirt was covering by now anyways.
"Will you stop yelling, please?!" He yelled, clamping his hands over his ears. How ironic. Stupid jerk should take his own advice before he decides to give me any.
"I can't believe this happened," I whispered to myself, my whole body slumping. My mind fully wrapped around the idea and I stopped to think about anything else besides that it had unfortunately been him. I wasn't one for the whole waiting until marriage, but I had honestly wanted to wait until I found someone I had really, truly, loved, and Nate Gray wasn't that. The feelings I had for Nate Gray were the furthest things from love. I disliked him to the extent that when he spoke he made me want to go deaf just so I wouldn't have to listen.
"It's, uh," I looked up to his voice. He was standing there, rubbing his neck awkwardly, "It'll be okay." I kind of felt bad for him. At least I didn't have to remember the experience for the rest of my life, even if I knew it had happened. He, however, had to have that plaguing his mind forever. I think if I had had to, I would have banged my head against the wall until I got permanent brain damage just to get it out.
"How is this going to be okay?!" I freaked. I may not have been ready at eighteen, but he wore a freaking purity ring. How could he say it was going to be okay?! The press was going to have a flipping field day with this one. God, Lola was going to be all over the news. Worst of all, he didn't even know that Lola didn't even exist. Actually, maybe Lola could just suddenly disappear and I wouldn't have to deal with it.
"Well, no one knows," He told me, coming to sit next to me on the bed. He left a fair amount of space between us, which was a good idea since I wasn't in a great mood. I mean, what am I supposed to say when I realize I've just slept with my worst enemy. Oh god, what if I was pregnant?! Cue my eyes widening double their size.
"No one can know," I turned to him, pleading. I just hoped to God that the both of us could forget this and not have any consequences to deal with.
"You think I don't know that?" He scoffed, slouching over. His head instantly went into his hands and his fingers tangled into his curls. Oddly, I remembered seeing him do it before, but I couldn't place my finger on when.
"I-um," I mumbled, looking down, "I don't remember much. Was it- Was I-?" This was awkward enough. I couldn't really bitch and yell at him because it takes two to tango and this was as much my fault as his. The both of us had probably drank a cup too many of the damn punch. This never should have happened.
"I don't know, but," He sighed, his hands dug deeper into his curls as he pondered something. It was as if he was trying to figure out how to say something, or if he should say it at all. "I don't think I'll ever forget that look you had in your eyes. It just made me forget all about how we're supposed to hate each other."
"O-Oh," I stuttered out. I studied my hands as they played with each other in my lap. I wasn't sure what else I could really say. What do you say to that? I wasn't sure what he was even trying to tell me. Was he saying that all of a sudden he had feelings for me? Because it wasn't the slightest bit mutual if he was. I just couldn't believe this had really happened, especially with him.
"Nate?" I broke the silence. His hands came off his face and he turned to look at me. I could hardly remember a time when we had been this civil to each other, but this kind of situation pretty much demanded it. "What if I'm pregnant?"
When I said it, he immediately looked taken aback. It became apparent to me that he probably hadn't considered the possibility. His face screwed up, watching me as if I was insane and his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "What?" He asked, genuinely out of the loop.
"Your kidding me right?!" I yelled. How stupid was he? Did he not attend a sex ed class at least once in his life? When he continued to remain confused, I figured I'd be the mature one and clear it up for him. "You know, that's a possibility, since the two of us just had sex with each-" I couldn't even finish my sentence before he interrupted.
"Oh, No, no, no, no, no!" He yelled, standing up from the bed and holding his hands out, "No, ew! Never! Gross! Mental image, ewwww," He whined, looking as if his face was about to go green.
"We didn't?!" I asked, completely relieved at his reaction.
"No! Gross!" He shuddered, "First, like I would ever break my vow for you." I had to admit, that stung just a little considering my past track record with guys. Years of getting stood up and cheated on, followed by a comment like that didn't sit too well with me. "Second, no! Just no! That's wrong on so many levels."
"Wait a minute," I paused, thinking, "If that didn't happen, what the hell am I doing here?"
"You honestly don't remember a thing?"
"If I did, would I have just asked you about me being pregnant?!" I screamed. What an idiot! He shot me an annoyed look and moved forward grabbing my arm. Against my will, he hauled me out of the bed and to my feet. Even if it was his bed, I had to admit, it was super comfortable and did smell really nice. He dragged me across the room and towards his computer. When he released my arm and started messing around with the machine, I stood there confused. What ever he was getting at, I didn't have a single clue.
"This," I snapped out of my thoughts, "Is what happened last night." A movie on his computer screen started playing and after only a few moments everything started flooding back to me. Not only did the memories refresh themselves in my mind, but the panic and fear were back in my heart. At my eighteenth birthday party there had been a murder, which was almost as bad as sleeping with Nate Gray. Now that last night's events were so vivid in my mind, I scolded myself for even considering the idea that anything had happened between me and Nate. Even if I had been drunk, Nate disliked me and was a respectable enough guy not to take advantage of a girl. I could admit that, even if I believed that he didn't have a good bone in his body. Even if he had been a sleaze, Jason and Shane would have never let it happen.
"Remember?" He asked. I tore my eyes away from the screen to nod at him, still a bit shocked. He stopped the video just as Hannah had run up to us.
"The camera," I furrowed my eye brows, "When we were in the crowd... it was still on."
"I know," He answered. He picked up the stack of CD's sitting on his desk and split them, handing me half, "These are copies," He explained, "I made twelve. Hide them, so that if we need them we know where to find them and no one else does." The way he said 'else' made me immediately know what he was talking about. He didn't want the criminal to be able to destroy all our evidence, because then we'd be six feet under. If there was nothing to stop him from going free except our memories of the events, I had no doubt that he would have no problem in increasing his death count to three.
"What are you doing?" A voice cut through our conversation. Any amount of seriousness disappeared and we were both reminded of the extreme dislike of being in the vicinity of the other. I turned to the doorway and saw Shane's head peeking in, watching us curiously. I'm sure it probably looked a little odd to see Nate handing six blank CD's off to me.
"I burned Lola a mix CD," Nate automatically made up an excuse, "Uh-several," He added, glancing down at the pile of discs in my hand. "She has awful taste in music. I figured I should introduce her to something good."
"I have awful taste in music?!" I scoffed, "Oh please! You wouldn't know music if it walked up and hit you in the face and was like 'Hey Nate Gray, your an idiot'"
"Said the girl who doesn't know who Elvis Costello is," he retorted, "By the way, you don't even deserve to have the privilege of wearing his name. Take the shirt off." I'm sure he didn't realize what he was saying when he said it, but that was expected when he had the mental capacity of a four year old. I saw Shane raise an eyebrow and I mimicked him. Nate, who could have passed off as a lobotomy patient because of how unaware he was, didn't seem phased by what he'd said.
"Fine," I huffed, trying to prove a point. I wasn't actually willing to take the shirt off, but I'd known Nate for long enough to know he was predictable. The shirt, which naturally rested mid-thigh, hadn't gotten any higher than my hips before he realized his mistake and told me to keep it on before his eyes burned out. Yeah, serves him right thinking he knows anything about music at all. Please, he may have been a musician, but that didn't make him like.. official decider of.. good music... or whatever. Doesn't matter, he thinks he knows all just because he can play a guitar and cough out a few stale notes.
"Uh, mom wants you both downstairs," Shane coughed out awkwardly, "The party's on the news..." I spared Nate one last glare, walking away from him and towards where Shane was standing. I could have sworn I saw him take a glance at my bare legs, but when I looked back at him his eyes were on Nate, waiting for him to follow. Either way, if he was looking or not, I didn't really care. Me and Shane weren't interested in each other, we couldn't really even be considered friends. Besides, my legs were pretty dang hot. If I were a guy, I'd look at them. This is why you skateboard daily, folks.
When I got downstairs, Mr. And Mrs. Gray were sitting at the kitchen table with Jason. They were talking about something in a serious tone, but stopped when I entered the room. All attention was on me, and I could tell the Grays were uncomfortable with my attire, and probably really wondering why I was in Nate's shirt, but no one said anything. Awkwardly, I sat down at the table next to Jason and the two of us shared a smile. I'd been to his apartment before to hang out, but this was my first time at the house and at least someone was making it a little more bearable.
I tried to focus on anything but the people in the kitchen, trying to avoid the conversation. I was both still embarrassed over what had happened with Nate this morning, and terrified because of what had actually taken place last night. I had never really been in any kind of real danger before, and this was just about as real as it got. In a way, my mind was acting like the child I no longer was, telling me that if I avoided the conversation, I could avoid accepting it all together and then it couldn't hurt me. The mature side of me, however, realized that choosing to ignore it would only make me an easy target because I wouldn't be cautious and protected.
"I heard you and Nate fighting upstairs..." Jason sighed. I knew he didn't like the fact that one of his closest friends and his younger brother couldn't stand each other. It must've sucked to be in the middle, but Nate was just so annoying. However, at this moment, I wasn't thinking about the fight that had occurred upstairs or Nate's antics- I was just grateful that Jason wasn't going to make me talk about my party. I was half ready to break down again just thinking about it. This was supposed to have been the best birthday ever, it never should have turned out like this.
"I'm sorry Jase, I really am," I whispered to him, trying to keep the conversation private and between us and not everyone else that had seated themselves around the table. "He's just so- so urugh," I groaned. There were no words for the way Nate Gray frustrated me. He was just so...Nate Gray, that was the only right word I could come up with. Annoying and frustrating seemed far too much like understatements.
"Wow, what a vocabulary," Jason joked back, grinning. I was glad he wasn't going to get angry with me for not acting nice to his brother. Me and Nate just didn't get along. I don't think it really mattered what the other did, it was more the idea that it was him doing it that severely pissed me off. It was just the way he was. He was so damn easy to hate. Everything he did just screamed reasons to not like him.
"Shut up, Jason," I warned, a smile playing on my lips as I nudged him a bit. I could easily say it was the first time I had smiled since I had been woken up from the state in which I still believed my mother was going to bring me breakfast in bed. Jason was just so easy to get a long with, so easy to befriend. It was odd how he could be a complete contrast the the devil whom he shared a family with.
And then Jason's parents coughed rather awkwardly, gathering all our attention. It became quiet in the room and the only thing that could be heard was the news. They were talking about last night, about the murder. Apparently very few people had seen anything at all and what they had seen was questionable. The second I could hear the news anchor saying that police wanted anyone knowing anything to come forward, my eyes automatically bored into the table's wood grains. Witnesses weren't obligated to come forward, right? And it couldn't be considered withholding evidence, could it? Me and Nate shared the tiniest of looks that lasted for no more than a milisecond, but I knew. We were both on the same page on this one topic. No one was going to know, unless absolutely necessary. We weren't going to go to the police and risk getting our names out there. Although Nate had yelled my name so many times that night in front of him, I wasn't really Lola, and there was a good chance that he hadn't caught a good look at our faces.
"Good morning... Lola, is it?" Mrs. Gray greeted me kindly. Despite being such good friends with Jason, I had only ever met her once or twice over the last two years.
"Yeah, Lola," I smiled and nodded, "Uh, Luftnagle."
"I'm glad to see your feeling better," She told me. It was easy to see that Jason was her son; she had the same likability to her that he did. "What an awful thing to have happen on your birthday."
"Actually," I coughed, "My birthday is.. um, today."
"Oh! Well then Happy birthday, sweetie," She smiled. I tried to mirror it, but I found I wasn't able to. How could I smile when I had just witnessed a flippin' murder. I was terrified for my own safety. I was half disappointed that I didn't feel nearly mature enough, or old enough to be dealing with this kind of situation. But this, this was something no one should have ever had to deal with, adult or not.
"Thank you," I mumbled, clearly out of place. I excused myself from the table, saying that I needed to use the washroom. They directed me upstairs and I swore I could have puked if there had been anything in my stomach. I still didn't have the slightest clue why this all had to happen to me. Why did the guy have to pick my party, and why did Nate have to lead me down that ally. Did I even know the guy who I had seen last night dead on the dance floor? There had been so many people at that party last night and I had recognized very few of them. Either I had known them well, or not at all. If the body had happened to be one of the few I was close to, I wasn't sure what I would do. It might just be too much for me to handle. Hell, this was already way too much for me to handle.
"Lola?" My head turned towards the door when I heard both my name and a gentle tap. "You alright?" Sniffling, I crawled a little closer to the bathroom door and reached out to unlock it. When the person on the other side hear the lock click open, they took it to mean that they could come in.
"No," I cried, curled up on the floor, "I think I'm gunna be sick, Jason." Being the good friend he is, he sat down next to me and wrapped me into a hug. I just cried, and he let me. He didn't tell me it was going to be okay, and he didn't try to make me laugh or smile. He was just there.
"I want to go home," I croaked, and he nodded. He helped me off the floor and down the stairs while I wiped my tears away. My breathing was still a little rigid as I waited by the front door while he retrieved my dress from Nate's room. He came down moments later with the black piece of clothing in one hand, and the six CD's in the other. He explained that he'd seen them sitting on the desk and remembered Nate trying to give them to me. I took them from him and he lead me out of the house towards his car. I thought for a moment how annoyed Nate was going to be when he found out that I'd pretty much stolen his favourite shirt, and I felt at ease for a moment. Anything that got my mind off the fact that I was a target was good, even if it was Nate.
A few minutes later Jason pulled up in front of my house. I was a bit hesitant to tell him where it was, but it wasn't like Jason was going to go looking up my address to make sure I lived there. He didn't really have a reason to believe that I wasn't Lola, anyways. He hugged me goodbye, and said he would call me later before I stepped out and made my way towards my house. I waved to him before he pulled away, and then took a deep breath.
"Lilly?!" Was the first thing I was greeted with when I opened the door. My mom had run to me and wrapped me up in her arms, "Lilly! Thank God!" I couldn't help but tear up.
"Lilly, what happened?" She asked. When she leaned back, she caught sight of Nate's baggy shirt on me, and the dress in my hand. Her eyes darted between the two, and then up to me, her forehead creasing and her eyes questioning.
"The Grays. They let me stay at their house." I mumbled. My mom pulled me back into a hug when she understood, "I don't know mom," my voice cracked, "It just happened, and I didn't see much, but everyone was running, and- and,"
"Shhh," My mom whispered, "It's okay. You go upstairs and get in bed. Maybe you should call Miley, she's been calling both here and your cell phone worried sick about you." I nodded, detaching myself from my mom and wiping my eyes.
"What do you need? I'll get you anything you want, honey, just say it. I can go buy more fudge-cicles," I shook my head lightly, but appreciated her offer. It seemed that the one thing I truly wanted was the one thing no one could give me: For me to wake up and have this all just be a terrible nightmare.
A/N: No questions today, just review :) Also, as a side note, look out for a new story that I'm co-writing with brookieebabbyy, hopefully it'll be up sometime soon. It's Loe. Anyways, yeah, review! Tell me what you thought, what you'd like to see, what you'd like to see less of. Also, do you think the chapters are a bit long and dragged out?