CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: NO LOVE

Adam's POV

My feet clicked loudly against the wet pavement underneath my feet. Clouds of white appeared in front of my mouth every time I exhaled now. It was really getting cold these days. Just last week it had been snowing constantly. Now it was just as cold as it had been without the snow. It had been raining all week instead with flood warnings toward the end of the week. It still confused me as to why Bianca had arranged for her big party to be tonight. I could already hear thunder off in the distance. Why on earth would she want to have her party outside in the first place with the weather dropping into negative temperatures? If it did end up raining tonight I might get hypothermia.

Not a single car had passed me since I'd first snuck out a good ten minutes ago. It was really odd how quiet it was tonight when Bianca had arranged a party. Normally I would've been able to hear the distant sounds of chattering teenagers or loud music if the party had already started. Maybe Bianca had noticed the flood warnings and had decided to cancel the party after all. I wouldn't have known either way seeing as how I'd been missing my cell phone all day. Well I suppose it would be wiser to at least check at the abandoned church before turning around and sneaking back into my room.

I hid my face to the best of my ability while I went on further down the street. I had on a plain pair of dark grey skinny jeans hanging off of my waist, an Avenged Sevenfold t-shirt, and a zip-up grey hoodie. I wasn't exactly dressed to impress. I'd just done my best at trying to look simple for my last intimate night with Bianca. I didn't need to be dressed in a tuxedo when I revealed to her who I'd chosen to end it with tonight.

Eventually my feet came to a stop as I stood across the street from the old abandoned church. I remembered the party I'd thrown for Fiona just last year. She'd unfortunately stood me up, so it wasn't a very happy memory to reminisce about. But at least the almost forgotten memory caused Fiona's cheery face to appear in the confides of my head as well. I shook the pretty girl from my thoughts and began to walk across the street to the dark lot. As I'd thought, the place was completely empty. My feet met with the first showings of grass. I had just started turning back to make my way to my house when Bianca's voice pulled me back.

"You came," she said to me in a sweet voice. I turned my head to look over my shoulder at the girl. She was dressed in simple skinny jeans and a leather jacket that stopped mid-length of her waist. She wore silver hoops in both of her ears. Bianca looked more than surprised to see that I'd shown up at all.

I met her eyes for a millisecond before glancing around at our empty surroundings. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a street light blinking continuously. I focused back on the pretty girl standing in the shadows. "I think some of your party guests ditched you," I said jokingly.

Bianca laughed. She sounded a bit nervous if I wasn't mistaken. She smiled at me and said, "Actually, you're the only one that I invited. You're the guest of honor tonight."

I frowned and let what she'd just said to me sink in. Why had she only invited me, and why had she just confessed the secret to me? If I was the only one she was going to invite, why hadn't she just invited me to her house tonight instead? It was about four degrees outside. I wasn't really inclined to spending my last intimate moments with her in this weather. Lightning sliced the black night sky open above me.

"Why did you only invite me?" I finally asked hesitantly. Her smile melted a tiny bit, and her eyes wandered around my feet for a short moment. She finally looked back up and met my eyes in the darkness. "I wanted tonight to be special."

"Special, huh?" I asked with an amused smirk. "I'm not exactly encouraged to take my clothes off in this weather, Bee."

Bianca chuckled softly under her breath at my innocent joke. She glanced down at her feet again. Her bottom lip quivered unnoticeably in the shadows. She got control over herself and looked up at me daringly. Her brown eyes met mine once more. She looked so mellow as she stood far away from me in the dim shadows. Bianca looked no less and no more than what she'd looked like earlier this day. And she definitely hadn't been happy or daring today like she usually was around me. She hadn't flirted with me at all today, and she'd been totally unfocused in the advanced classes I had with her.

"Bianca?" I watched her with concerned eyes. I took one step towards her, and she took one step back away from me. She looked so frightened right now for some reason. Had I done something to upset her today? I know I'd told her we couldn't see each other anymore, but I thought she'd understood. She'd acted pretty understanding today in the lunchroom with me. She'd even confessed her true feelings for me. So why was she acting so abnormal towards me right now.

"I'm so sorry, Adam," she whispered in an injured tone. I crunched my eyebrows together and was about to investigate further when another deeper voice interrupted us. A guy who looked like he should be in college about now stepped out of the shadows and stood beside Bianca with a cocky smirk. He clapped his hands, mocking us, and said, "Wow, I am very impressed with your work, Bianca. Well done."

I tried to meet Bianca's eyes again, but she was no longer watching me like she'd been before. Now she was gazing off into the distance with an angry look in her eyes mixed with strong sadness. I couldn't quite name the feeling that she was putting off on me right now. Whatever it was, it was making me feel almost as depressed as she looked. The bottom line was that her mellow mood was already having lingering effects on me, and I was standing at least six feet away from her and her "friend".

The older teenager's eyes bounced off of my face as he turned and grinned at Bianca. She looked away from the open air in front of her just long enough to catch a glimpse at the guy's creepy grin. He looked like the type of guy she would've normally been seen with in an alley somewhere in town near The Dot or at The Ravine. I took a guess that they knew each other quite well from the way his empty eyes were going up and down her body like a metal detector. But Bianca looked more and uncomfortable while he did this. I had half a mind to lunge at the guy's throat just for looking at Bianca like she was another piece of meat on his dinner plate.

He looked back at me again still wearing that grin. It was more of a smirk now that he locked eyes with me. "How does it feel knowing that you did a job well done, Bee? Does it feel good?" Bianca never answered. She just continued to gaze off as if she was in a spell-bound trance.

"Tell me, Adam Torres, what would you say to me if I told you that Bianca never liked you?" I raised an eyebrow, and I made a face at the older boy. "What are you talking about?" I asked with an annoyed tone. "Is this some sort of joke? Is that it? Are you guys pranking me?"

He looked back at Bianca as if it was a practical joke itself that I thought this was a joke. He shook his head playfully before meeting my eyes again. "So she hasn't even told you yet? That's good. I wanted to see the grand finale with my own eyes anyhow."

Now I was starting to get angry. I'd been brought to the abandoned church just for this? It sounded like a load of bologna to be honest. I was tempted to turn around again and never say any proper farewell to Bianca or her freakish friend. But the expressions playing out on Bianca's face tempted me to stay there with her. She still looked mellow and depressed. I swallowed hard and asked her, "What's he talking about Bianca? What is this? Is it some sort of joke?"

Her brown eyes finally met mine again. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Adam. I never meant to-"

"She doesn't love you, Adam. This was all a big joke set up by myself and Owen to ruin your relationship with your girlfriend Fiona."

"Ron-Ron!" Bianca looked enraged. I'd never seen her so angry in my life. My blue eyes grew wide as I instantly recognized the name she called him. So this was the goon who'd been responsible for Bianca getting jumped in an alley? Boy did I seriously want to attack him right now. Ron-Ron noticed my sudden change of attitude and grinned knowingly. He pranced over to Bianca and stood behind her with his hands resting on her shoulders gently. He rubbed her shoulders slowly. I opened my mouth to say something rude when a familiar tone echoed my world. It was my phone's ringtone saying that Fiona was calling. And it was coming from Bianca's pocket.

I felt a muscle in my jaw twitch irritably, and I took a step back from the two imbeciles. I pursed my lips tightly. "Do you want proof?" Ron-Ron whispered to me. He stopped rubbing Bianca's shoulders long enough for her to reach into her pocket and answer my phone. I could hear Fiona's voice from the other side of the empty church lot.

"Hello?" Bianca asked nonchalantly.

"Is Adam there?"

"No…"

"Who is this? Why do you have his phone?"

"This is Bianca." I felt something shake violently within the cavity of my body. It was shaking hurriedly, begging to be let out. I knew what it was. It was simple anger tempting me to tackle Ron-Ron where he stood next to Bianca with his smug face glowering at me.

"Why do you have Adam's phone, Bianca?" Bianca looked lost for words now. She swallowed hard and looked down at her feet with my phone still held up to her ear. Ron-Ron leaned closer to Bianca's ear and said, "Tell her why you have his phone, Bee. Tell her the truth."

The next words Bianca said shook me. They shook me violently and spastically. I felt like some sort of demon was clawing inside me. I felt a single gasp of air escape my mouth. I felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach by Mike Tyson. My eyes slowly began to fade and become empty as I stood there with Bianca's last words echoing in my ears.

"Because he's sleeping with me," she announced softly. I heard shocked silence on Fiona's end of the phone before Bianca ended the call and dropped my phone in the grass. I watched her with wide eyes.

Rain fell on us like a cold shower. I was paying no attention to how cold the rainwater was though. My hair instantly darkened from the water and plastered to my forehead. My bangs hung over my eyes as I stood there in utter shock. Ron-Ron's cackling broke me out of my trance. I watched him in disbelief and wasted no time in lunging at the older guy. I would've tackled him too if Bianca hadn't jumped in the way. I refused to meet her pleading eyes as I stared into Ron-Ron's emotionless eyes behind her. Her hands pressed to my chest as she tried to push me away from Ron-Ron's personal space. I was almost nose-to-nose with him now. A drop of water hung on one of my eyelashes as I watched him with hatred melting off of my body.

"Adam, please, just ignore him and listen to me," Bianca pleaded. She'd barely spoken the words before I stated, "I've heard enough from you. You've done enough."

Her face fell. But I didn't care if I'd hurt her feelings. If anyone's feelings deserved to be hurt right now it was most definitely hers. Her hands were clinging to my soaked t-shirt, and she was shivering now from how cold she was. Ron-Ron spat rainwater at me before backing away from me and Bianca. I didn't bother chasing after him. I was paying a lot more attention to Bianca right now. Honestly, I wanted to tackle her right now. Ron-Ron's figure disappeared into the shadows as I focused my eyes on Bianca now. I nodded to myself angrily and shoved her off of me hard enough to cause her to stumble a little bit.

"Adam! Adam, let me explain!"

I turned around, my hair slinging across my forehead. I pointed my index finger at her with raging anger. "Everyone was right about you. I can't believe I didn't listen to everyone! I knew you were a liar. I knew you couldn't have changed. You'll never change. You'll always be the same angry little girl."

Bianca charged at me, but I began walking back across the street. "Adam, I'm sorry! It was never supposed to go this far! I tried to back out of the plan, and I ended up getting jumped."

"NO! You've shown me NOTHING but hate, Bianca! It's too late to say you're sorry now. You've gone too far this time." I shook my head and turned to face her. She was about two feet away from me with tears seeping out of her eyes. I couldn't tell if half of them were just raindrops though. Thunder shook the ground beneath us, and another bolt of lightning was thrown across the night sky. All I could do was stand there and watch her cry. I didn't even feel bad about yelling at her. She deserved it after what she'd just done to me.

"I know I hurt you…," she stated calmly. My eyebrows shot up, and I let out a single laugh in mockery. Her brown eyes rose to meet mine again. It was a battle of sorrow and hate.

"Hurt me?" I asked. "No, you just killed me, Bianca. You're a bitch. A simple bitch."

Bianca lashed out at me on instinct. She tried to shove me as hard as she could, but I barely budged while watching her with hate-filled blue eyes. "Don't call me that!" she screamed before pulling her hands back and shoving me a little harder this time. But I didn't fight back. I knew better than to hit a girl.

I looked down at the wet road below us. Rain pattered the pavement. "You know what's really messed up?" I asked. "I picked you. I was going to break up with Fiona and be with you. But you just ruined your chances at that didn't you?"

Bianca's bottom lip began quivering even more thanks to what I'd just announced to her. I set the muscle in my jaw and turned around to leave her there in the rain. I'd barely turned the corner at the end of the deserted street when I heard Bianca let out an angry scream from behind me. I didn't even bother glancing back at her before turning the corner with my head down. I shivered beneath my already soaked clothes that were sticking to my skin. My legs were burning from how cold they were now. I needed to get home soon before I really did get hypothermia.

Just now… I'd left my heart back there at her feet. And she'd stepped on it without a second thought. She no longer hurt me. None of the things she'd said back there hurt me anymore. The heart I'd used to receive those kinds of feelings like hurt or angst was gone. I could barely even feel my legs by the time I was safe and secure in my bedroom.