27...

ON TO THE NEXT ONE

Letting his eyes slowly open, Ted looked over to his side and saw Layla was no longer there. There was no trace of her left; her clothes were no longer lying on the floor, and her handbag...he couldn't even remember what it looked like. It didn't surprise him; normally if he slept with a girl, she'd leave before he woke up, or vice versa if he was at hers. It just prevented any morning after awkwardness. Sleeping next to Layla hadn't been too much of a pain, she didn't make a lot of noise, but she hogged most of the covers, so Ted ended up having to steal a duvet from the guest bedroom.

He got out of bed, and grabbed his boxers off the floor, slipping them on. Then, he moved over to his closet and got out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and put them on. Knowing he had to get to school, he slipped his books into his backpack, before slinging it over his shoulder, and making his way downstairs.

On the stairs, Ted could hear the sound of a tap running in his kitchen. None of his family was at home, and Riggs the dog certainly didn't have the ability to operate the sink. His first guess was that maybe Mike was back from college for the day and had used his spare key.

"Hello?" Ted called.

"It's only me." A British response came shrilly.

Ted walked into the kitchen and saw Layla was still very much in his house. She was sat on a barstool at the kitchen counter, drinking a glass of water and reading through one of her school textbooks. When she saw him, a bright smile spread across her face.

"You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to disturb you," Getting up from the counter, she went over to Ted and placed a small kiss on his lips. "So I thought I'd do my homework downstairs. Your house is insanely huge, I could barely find the-" She stopped midsentence, noticing the expression on his face. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry," He shook his head. "I just didn't realise you were still here. I thought it was a burglar or something,"

She laughed. "Did you expect me to just leave before you woke up?"

Yes. "Of course not." He walked over to one of the cupboards, and rifled through. "Did you want breakfast or something? There isn't much in the house, because my parents are away in Mississippi at the moment, so I've pretty much been living off takeout."

"I've actually already eaten," She replied, holding up an empty bowl. "I found cornflakes in the fridge, so I helped myself. Hope that's alright."

"Yeah, fine."

"I'm gonna go up to the bathroom and freshen up." Layla left the kitchen and went up the stairs, into the bathroom, leaving Ted alone in the kitchen.

Ted had been with Layla for almost two weeks, and they were having a lot of fun together. She was sexy, fun, sweet, and pretty much everything he could want in a girl, and more, but yet, somehow, there was something missing. Knowing he wasn't an expert n relationships, Ted's expectations weren't exactly high, but of the top of his head, he couldn't find a single fault in Layla. So what was the problem? His cell phone in his pocket was the only thing to pull him away from his thoughts.

Going through his text messages, he had a whole bunch he had yet to read, and most of them were from Eve. He didn't realise until he was away from her what a huge part she played in his life. Everytime she had a problem, it was Ted she'd text. If she wanted to have some fun, it was with Ted. Four missed calls proved that, and it was because of this that getting over Eve was never going to be easy.

Soon after, Ted felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, and he instantly answered. "Hello?"

"Hello stranger, nice to see you're picking up your phone." Eve's voice came through bright and cheerful. "How've you been?"

"I'm good," The bathroom was directly above the kitchen, so Ted wondered if Layla could hear him. "What's up?"

"I just wondered if you and Cody were still coming around afterschool for pizza and Bourne movies. I mean, I haven't heard anything from you in a while-"

"Yeah we'll be there." Seeing Layla come into the kitchen out of the corner of his eye, he decided to get out while he could. "Listen, I've gotta go, but we'll be round at four thirty-ish." Eve didn't get the chance to say anything else, as Ted had hung up.

"Who was that?" Layla asked, going through her school bag in search of her own cell phone. She was wearing her school uniform, which was a total turn on for Ted. Short skirts and tight blouses were always going to be his weakness.

"One of my friends," He shrugged, stuffing his cell phone back into his pocket, and slinging his backpack onto his back.

"Someone's being shady." Layla winked. "Anyway, I've gotta get to school."

"Me too. You need a ride?"

"Yes please." Ted knew he'd have to put any feelings he had for Eve aside, and get on with the day ahead.

Sitting down on one of the desks, Kelly dug into her bag and pulled out her sketching pencils and notepad, before meticulously lining them up in order of colour. She had a thing about colour organisation, and her art pencils in particular. She began whispering to herself, "Red, orange, yellow-"

"Is it just you keeping me company today, or are the other two members of your group joining us?" Ms Gilligan asked from her desk at the front of the classroom.

"I told them I'd be here, but I doubt they're gonna show up." Kelly was supposed to be meeting Kofi and Alicia to get their project finished, but she wasn't expecting an appearance from either of them. The cheerleader and the basketball player were hardly going to stay behind to finish a pointless art project.

"How are things between the three of you?" Ms Gilligan asked, shakily walking over to Kelly's desk and sitting in an available chair, resting her walking stick against the table. "Love triangles are never fun."

"It's awkward." Kelly couldn't put how she felt into words; she was a mixed bag of emotions. "I miss having Kofi as a friend, but I can't say anything, because he's in a different league to me."

"Why's that?"

"There's a social hierarchy, and he's at the top, being one of the junior class' top athletes, and I'm the white trash, former cheerleader and would-be teenage mom. Why would he even care? Losing me isn't going to harm him in any way." This sense of desperation she felt; it wasn't fun. It wasn't good for her.

"Darling, you have a lot going for you, and you don't even realise it. You're beautiful, you're sweet and regardless of what's happened, your future is full of wonderful, wonderful things."

A blush settled on Kelly's cheeks; she wasn't used to flattery.

"Hey," The art room door opened, and Kofi stepped into the room cautiously, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I thought you might've left by now."

"Nope, I'm still here." She caught Ms Gilligan's eye and resisted the urge to smile. The art teacher retreated back to her desk, leaving Kelly and Kofi be. "Is Alicia coming?"

"She's got a doctor's appointment." Kofi explained, sitting down at the desk.

"Really? She's shopping, isn't she? Where is it, Robertson or Rodeo?"

"Wilshire Boulevard," He offered up a weak smile, seeing no point in arguing. She wasn't an idiot, and Kofi knew it. "But apparently it was a-"

"-Fashion emergency." Kelly finished. "You forget that I used to be a cheerleader."

"Okay, I don't know a lot about art, so I'm pretty much gonna leave you to make all the artistic decisions." Kofi smiled. "I'm happy to be the runner and to go get stuff for you."

"Well, I need acrylic paints, as well as some paint bombs."

"Paint bombs?"

"You said you were gonna let me make the decisions," Kelly winked, "So just trust me."

"Alright," Watching as he got up from his seat, Kelly noticed the smile on Kofi's face. It was the kind of smile he wore whilst they were friends. She wanted more than anything to tell him she wanted to make up, but how could she without giving away her true feelings?

"Say something to him!" Ms Gilligan hissed from her desk, when she was sure Kofi had disappeared into the cupboard. "He's away from his girlfriend; you might not get another opportunity to talk to him!" In her head, Kelly tried to come up with some kind of conversation starter. Should she apologize? Should he be the one to apologize?

"The only paint bombs they had were in green and purple," He announced, placing them down on the table so they didn't burst.

"You ever used a paint bomb before?" He shook his head; it seemed like a light way to ease them in. "It's easy," She placed the canvas against one of the wall's and handed Kofi a bomb. "You throw it."

"Like a baseball?"

"Just like a baseball." She repeated, standing back and watching as the green paint exploded over the canvas. "It's a total stress reliever, isn't it?"

"Totally," Kofi grinned, continuing his artist bombings.

Now was her chance. The tension was gone, so it was time to talk. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure,"

"When did things get so awkward between us?"

There was a silence, apart from the tension of Ms Gilligan's pencil scratching into her notebook. The elderly teacher used her instincts, and got up, making her way out of the classroom. It was quiet for a little longer, until Kofi threw another bomb. "Probably when you suggested we stop spending so much time together." He responded. "So I took a step back, like you said I should."

"There's a story behind that. Someone told me that the way our relationship came across..." When did explaining herself become so difficult? "They said that it didn't come across as very platonic."

"Who said that?" His head flicked around.

"I don't think it's my place to say." She bit down on her lip, wanting to tell him what a bitch his girlfriend was, but resisting the urge. "But I realised that other people's opinions haven't bothered me in the past, so I see no use in letting them bother me now, right?"

"Good to know."

"What do you say? My brother's got some new games for his Xbox, and he's kicking my butt at them. I'm thinking a little extra training wouldn't go a miss. You think you can help me?"

Kofi didn't answer. Instead, he looked intently at the paint bomb in his hand, before a mischievous grin crept across his lips, and he smashed the paint bomb into her back, leaving her baby pink shirt stained with a bright purple patch.

"Oh no, you didn't!" She laughed, grabbing a paint bomb of her own, and throwing it at his chest.

Eughhh I hate writer's block!
I guess you could call this a filler chapter...
I only posted this because I wanted to get an update done before I go to Glastonbury :)
Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review :) X