Feelings Again

"Who's there," Chester asks and it echoes through the whole gym.

For a second, I decide to just wait for the earth to swallow me whole, but I realize that won't happen.

I breathe out a shaky sigh and lift my body out of my hiding spot. I spot Chester standing on the court in confusion.

I walk down the bleachers awkwardly. This is a tricky situation to be in.

"I'll just be on my way out," I say, hoping he'll let me go. I do a nervous laugh. At first he doesn't say anything and I think he actually is going to let me leave, but then he speaks.

"You heard everything?"

I stop in my tracks and turn back to him. I can't tell how he's feeling. His face is blank.

"Yeah. I heard everything. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was already in here." He nods his head in understanding.

"Do you believe me now? That I'm trying to change," he asks. I make eye contact with the ground, not wanting to get trapped in his deep eyes.

"I believe that you are trying to change and that's good for you. That doesn't mean that I'm going to prom with you."

"I know I messed up, Spencer. We don't have to go to prom together. I just want to start over. Could we be friends?"

Would this be a mistake? I can't see anything bad happening if I agree to just be friends.

But could I actually do that?

I know I don't want to admit this to myself, but I really love Chester. Even after our break up. I don't know if I could see him everyday and act like the only thing I want is a friendship.

"Sure. We can be friends," I say like the idiot I am.

Even though I know I shouldn't have said yes, I feel glad I did when I see him plaster a grin on his face.

"I guess I should get going back to class," I lie. I already told my teacher i was going to the nurse, so I wouldn't be expected to come back to class. I was just hoping I'd escape this awkwardness.

I start to walk away, but Chester stops me again, this time by gently holding my wrist.

"I can tell you don't really want to go back. How about we start our new friendship now?" I look at him crazy, not understanding what he means. "Let's get out of here," he clears up.

I can't help, but smile.

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"Chester, what are you doing?!" I watch as the idiot jumps into a lake. The water splashes on me because I'm sitting on the edge of the boardwalk.

"Come in," he tells me once he pops his head back out of the water, splashing me again.

"No! I have to eat first. The food is going to get cold." I pull out the burgers, fries, and milkshakes we got from the burger joint before we came here.

I bite into my burger, watching Chester float on his back in the water.

"Why'd you choose to come here," I ask him.

"The same reason you agreed to come with me," he says and my eyebrows furrow, waiting for him to continue. "To get away. To not think."

"What do you need to get your mind off of? Is your brother okay?" The last time he needed to get away from school it was because his brother relapsed.

"He's okay. I just want to get my mind off of everything. You, Max, my brother, football, everything."

"Why did you invite me then?" He swims over beside me and eats some of his fries. I can tell he's just trying to hide his blush.

He mumbles something under his breath.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," I tease him. He says it a little louder and I can hear him this time, but he's still low.

"Because I missed you," he mumbled.

"Say that one more time. A little louder." He rolls his eyes.

"Alright, that's it," he says and I feel my body being pulled into the water. I let out a scream, but it's silenced once I'm under water.

I swim back towards the surface and I can hear Chester laughing his ass off.

"Jerk! Now all my clothes are wet! I didn't even get to take my shoes off!" I splash him in the face with water. Feeling unsatisfied, I splash him again.

He grabs my wrists and pulls me forward, halting my attacks.

"You're no fun," I tell him, mocking him from earlier. He just smiles.

"I've really missed you," he whispers. I finally realize how close I am to him, my face only inches away from his.

I can feel my cheeks flushing, so I break away from him and swim back to the boardwalk. I could feel butterflies in my stomach like crazy and where his hands held my wrists are tingling.

"Where are you going," I hear him ask me.

"I-I'm just going to f-finish my burger," I stutter. My nerves are all over the place.

"Are you cold?" I can hear him swimming after me. Damn it! I was trying to get away from him.

When I get to the boardwalk, I notice my burger is missing.

"Where's the rest of my burger," I ask him, turning to scold at him. He looks nervous.

"It kind of fell in the water when I dragged you in."

"Chester, you asshole," I whine.

"You can have mines," he says, but I just shake my head.

"I'll just eat my fries."

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"I had a great time," Chester says once he stops the car in front of my house.

"I had a great time too." I sit in his car, fiddling with my finger nervously. "Do you want this back," I ask Chester, motioning to his sweater that I was wearing. All my clothes are wet, so he gave it to me to stay warm.

I look over at him, his eyes a dark blue. He's in a very good mood.

"No, you can keep it."

"You sure," I ask, raising an eyebrow. He nods his head.

He comes closer like he used to do when we were together and had to drive me home. We would always depart with a kiss and I almost freak out, thinking he's about to do the same thing now.

Instead, he just extends his arm and holds up his fist for me to bump it. I breathe out a sigh of relief and bump his hand playfully.

"I guess you should get going now, friend," he says and my smile kind of drops. I try to hide it, but I can't.

"Yeah. See you at school," I rush and get out of his car.

I can't help but feel down. I tried to be ok with it, but once I heard the word friends again, I freaked out.

Can someone really erase all the feeling they had for a person and replace it with something so unfamiliar? Trying to be friends with him is so awkward.

I like being close to him to the point where there's no space that divides us. I like being enveloped in his warmth. I like when he attacks me with kisses all over my face.

I hadn't realized how much I missed him because I blocked everything I felt for him, but now everything is rushing back in and it's all happening too fast. I feel like a volcano.

"Spencer," I hear Chester call me. I turn around to see he's standing inches away from me.

"What's wrong," I ask, not expecting him to get out car. He doesn't say anything, just stands there, examining me. It's like he's trying to read my emotions.

"I probably shouldn't do this. Please don't hate me after this," I hear him whisper.

Before I can question him, his lips land on mines. I feel like I've just been struck by a thunderbolt.

My knees go weak and I feel him put his arms around my waist to steady me.

I kiss him back, pulling him closer by his shirt. Every time one of us tries to pull away, the other one pulls in closer.

It's been a long time since I've felt like this. This is the guy I love and I don't know if someone else could ever make me feel the same way. That scares because it gives him too much power.

Although I'm scared he has so much power, I'm not doing anything to take it away from him.

We finally pull apart, both of us breathing hard. His face is flushed and I'm sure mine looks the same.

"I guess I'll see you later," I whisper to him, smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Yeah. See you later." He walks back to his car with a huge grin on his face.

I walk into the house, laughing to myself.

The sound of crying breaks me out of my daydream. I look up and see Sky sitting on the couch with my brother, balling her eyes out, and Nick holding her in a hug.

"What's going on," I ask, bringing attention to myself. Sky's eyes are red from crying. Nick looks like he's ready to commit murder.