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13-reasons-ideas · 2 years ago

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Can’t Go Back Part 24

A/N: Guess who’s back! Thank you for sticking with me. It’s been a rough several months and I think things are finally getting to a point where I can focus on my hobbies again. As always, feedback is appreciated and Character Q&As are open. Much Love -Em

I had finished the last book on my To Read shelf by mid-May. Hopping off my bed, I went over to my bookshelf. There was only one shelf of space left. The stack to shelve had gotten a tad out of hand. Sighing to myself, I sat down to start reorganizing. I pulled the books from H to Z down to fit the new additions to my collection in. My dad poked his head in when the stack fell over.

“Everything okay in here?” I was surrounded by books. Dad tried not to laugh as he took the scene in. Grabbing books, I turned back to the shelf.

“Perfect. Totally meant to sit in a sea of books this afternoon.”

“Sure. You have fun with that. I have to head into the office for a while. Tell your mother I probably won’t be home for dinner.”

“Will do.” I nodded, not turning my attention back to him.

Monty texted me shortly after I had finished the M’s. What are you up to today?

Organizing my bookshelf. I finished my TBR so now they go in the permanent collection.

Only my girlfriend would make a permanent book collection and a separate section for books that aren’t done.

Hey! Lots of people do this.

Yes honey.

What are you up to today?

Trying to study for my last History test. It’s very boring.

I’m sure it is. If you’re free Saturday, how about a get out of studying free card?

Oh? What did you have in mind Doll? I rolled my eyes and grinned. Of course he thought I meant something dirty.

Cool your jets Monty. I was going to see if you wanted to go to the bookstore with me?

I can make that happen. What time?

I think Clay and I are getting lunch to go over our study guide for the Math final. I could do like 1?

Sounds good. Do you want me to meet you at the bookstore?

Sure. I go to the B&N at the Everglade.

It’s a date.

I smiled and went back to my books.

When it was done, I snapped a picture and sent it to Justin. I finished my TBR! You know what that means?

Oh no. More books?

More books!

Do I have to come with you?

No. The parents gave me a limit of 10 books this time.

Only 10?

I have points saved up. And 10 is a perfectly reasonable amount of new books.

For you? Yes. For normal people? No.

Oh shhh, or I’ll make you come with me.

Okay, okay. It’s reasonable lol. I texted Monty a picture of my bookshelf too. He responded with a laughing emoji.

Teachers were beginning to wrap up final units and hand out study guides for finals. Justin was still mad about summer school so he kept up his not giving a shit attitude. I rolled my eyes whenever he sighed or complained about finals. And I stopped offering to help him. If he wanted to do more work in summer school, that was fine by me. It gave me more time to spend with Monty.

On Saturday, I met Clay at Rosie’s and we both got milkshakes. I wasn’t very hungry, and I didn’t want burger breath later. “So Clay, how’s Hannah doing?”

“I don’t know. We have hung out a few times, and I see her at work, but I don’t think we have hung out hung out.”

“You still haven’t asked her out?”

“I mean, we went to Jeff’s place not together, but we were both there, and I feel like maybe we connected?”

“Connected?”

“Well, we were doing… stuff… and we talked.” My eyes widened.

“Clay Jensen did you do drugs in Jeff’s basement?”

“Maybe?” I was stunned.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Clay Jensen, having fun. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Ha ha.” He joked.

“I’m kidding! But seriously. Take the risk Clay.”

“I’ll think about it. Can we look at this study guide now?” I sighed and pulled it out of my bag. We both shuddered. This is not going to be a pretty exam.

By the time Clay and I called it an afternoon, it was 12:30. That gave me just enough time to get to the city. We packed our notes and headed outside. “Man, I really need a car.” Clay sighed, unlocking his bike.

“Your parents said no?”

“I have a bike.” He waved towards the bike.

“That you do. I would offer you a ride, but I’m headed into the city for the afternoon.”

“No worries, Addy.” He smiled. We waved goodbye and I watched as he biked down the street. I started my car and texted Monty. Leaving Rosie’s now. Might be a little late. Drive safe.

Sounds good, drive safe Doll.

I stopped at Starbucks when I got to the mall and got an iced coffee to sip while I browse and a coffee for Montgomery. He was waiting outside Barnes & Noble for me. “Hey handsome. Fancy seeing you here.” I winked as I walked up to him.

“Hey gorgeous. What can I say, thought it would be a good way to find a girl. You know what they say about the readers.”

“I have a feeling I do.” I laughed and handed him his coffee. “Something to do with being high strung, overachievers with daddy issues?”

“Somethin’ like that.” Monty took my hand and let me lead him into the bookstore. I decided I would keep my ten-book limit to myself. I knew how many points I had, and I still had birthday money left from last year.

He chuckled as I practically dragged him towards the YA section. I didn’t stop to look at the romance displays or the cookbooks or the journals. I was on a mission. There were books to buy. I sipped my coffee as I browsed. As usual, I made my way up and down the aisles quickly once to see if anything immediately caught my eye. A couple of books did, so I grabbed them to look over after I was done my power walk. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you move that fast.”

“Ass.” I laughed as I read over the synopsizes of the two books. Neither of them was my cup of tea in the end, so I decided to put them back. I could feel Montgomery watching me as I looked at the shelves. “What?” I asked as I pulled a book down and skimmed the back.

“Nothin’. You’re just cute is all.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. And those shorts are very nice.” I blushed and smiled softly.

“Thanks.” I handed him the book.

“Oh, I see. You needed someone to carry the books.”

“Well, who else would I have asked, when I have my strong, athletic boyfriend to follow me around the store?” He only laughed in response. I grabbed a few more books as I sipped at my coffee. Once in a while, I would notice him watching me and turn to smile at him.

There were six books in Monty’s hands before he finished his coffee. “I’m going to throw this out. Try to leave some books for the next person, okay Bookworm?”

“I’ll try. No promises though.” I mused. By the time he came back, I had three more books. I looked up when I heard him laugh. I grinned at him and held out the books. He took them, tucked them under his arm, and stepped towards me. My brow furrowed and he reached to tuck my hair behind my ear, trailing his hand down to cup the back of my neck, and pull me towards him to kiss me. I kissed him back softly. It was nice to be able to kiss in public. I liked our little bubble. It felt like we were the only two people in the world. He pulled away first.

We continued to peruse the store for a while and stole kisses and glances along the way. Monty slid his hand in my back pocket as we walked. I grabbed another couple of books and sighed. “What’s up?”

“I guess that’s enough books for a little while.”

“For a little while? Addison. There’s like,” he paused to count, “sixteen books here.”

“Yeah. And that isn’t even all of what is on my TBR still. And it’s buy one get one half off all books.” I shrugged.

“Jesus. Crazy woman.” He muttered softly and kissed the side of my head. I sighed and turned to head for the till. After discounts, points, and birthday money, my total was twenty-five dollars.

“Now to figure out how to sneak the extra six books into the house.” I muttered as we left.

“The extra what whats?”

“Uh… nothing.” I smiled sheepishly. He shook his head playfully. “Oh, hey. Pretzels. Split one?”

“Nice change of subject. Sure. Pretzel sounds good.” He rubbed my hand as he held it. This is nice.

In late June, just as finals week was hitting its peak, tragedy struck our little group of jocks. The boys were at Bryce’s trying to blow off some steam. I was trying to be nice to him and make an effort for Justin, so I tagged along. The way his family approached and flaunted their money always took me by surprise. I wasn’t oblivious. I knew my family had more money than most. More than I liked to consider or admit. But it was never flashed around the way it was with the Walkers. I came from old money on my dad’s side, like his mom. But unlike him, I wasn’t exposed to it on a daily basis. The concept of a twice a week maid was enough to widen my eyes. The only time my family had a maid come was when Gran was coming to stay with us, or we were hosting Christmas back when all my grandparents lived state-side, so a very deep clean was needed. The fact that they had a chef come in once a week to meal prep for them was… almost incomprehensible. The only time I met a chef was when I found a hair in my food when my family went out one night.

I had been to his house before of course. I was friends with Justin. We shared custody of him most weeks. Even still, I found myself hanging back and watching the boys socialize. Or I was trying to at least. Bryce thrusting a bottle of water in my hand startled me. I jumped slightly. “Thanks.” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it.” He chuckled. He settled himself next to me and leaned back against the counter.

“Hi.”

“Hi. You know that they will talk to you, right? They know you.”

“I know.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you then.” Great. Just what I want.

“Sure Bryce.”

“How are finals treating you?”

“I cried before my honours English final yesterday.”

“I almost forgot about my math final.”

“So, we are basically in the same boat.”

“Basically. You had bio and history today?”

“Yeah.”

“How were they?”

“I think I did fairly okay. Can you imagine what my mum would do if I bombed the history final?” He stared off into space with me and shivered.

“I would say something nice about you at your funeral.”

“Thanks Walker. Killing me does seem like a lot of hassle for that though. Like it seems like it would just inconvenience them. Maybe locked in my room to study until I’m forty?”

“True. I would text you news updates. Keep you updated in all things Bryce and the boys.”

“Prefect. Make isolation at least a little bit bearable.” He was actually kind of nice sometimes. Maybe. If I squinted.

“Yeah. My dad would have freaked if I missed my math final.”

“How could you take over the family business if you fail tenth grade math Bryce?”

“No idea. Not like he doesn’t pay someone to do all that math for him. Speaking of, he wanted me to ask you if your dad is taking on any new clients now that tax season is winding down?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he is, but I can get him to email your dad.” I don’t think he’s going to take your dad on.

“I’ll let him know.”

“Where are you off to this summer?”

“I think we are summering in Fiji?”

“Because California isn’t summer-y enough?”

“Mom thinks the sun feels different. More sunny. I tan better in tropical environments.”

“Sure, you do.”

“What are your family’s plans?”

“We have our annual family trip to Boston at the end of July into the first week of August. Dad pushed his vacation time this year.”

“Doesn’t he own the company?”

“Yeah. But his associate wanted to take vacation in mid-July. She’s taking her kids to Disney World.”

“Again, doesn’t he own the company?”

“Again, yes. Why?”

“Shouldn’t he get first pick?”

“Well, our vacation basically costs us airfare, food, and spending money. Hers and everyone else’s costs a lot more. And requires more planning. So, he lets them have first pick and takes whatever’s left for the most part. Because of that, people are more willing to pick fairly.”

“Interesting.”

“Are you two going to come outside or not?” Justin called from the back yard. Bryce and I looked up and found the house empty. All the boys had moved to the back. We shrugged and joined them. I needed to pass the sniff test so I didn’t dare go in the pool house. Anders and Dylan were in the pool house enjoying Bryce’s stash. It was already nearing eighty degrees in the daytime. We were in for a hot summer. Justin pulled off his shirt, dropped his pants, and jumped in the pool. Shaking my head, I followed Bryce outside.

I sat on the edge of the pool and dipped my feet in the water. Monty was trying to be discreet and swim backwards towards me. He stopped just shy of me and shared a look with Zach. I pretended not to notice. It looked like I was busy watching Justin goof off with Bryce and Garrison. I was watching my boyfriend out of the corner of my eye though. I felt a wave close to my foot. “Montgomery. If you touch my foot, I’m not responsible for what happens to your face.” His hand stopped and his eyes widened. Justin laughed and called from across the pool.

“She isn’t wrong dude. She kicked me in the face when I was trying to bug her one time.”

“I wasn’t going to….” Monty trailed off.

“Sure, you weren’t.” I shook my head and moved to stand up. I pulled my tank top over my head. The shorts I was wearing were fine to go in the water.

Seeing as we had to keep up appearances, I couldn’t very well ask Monty to tighten the tie on my bikini top. That would be too much. The boys would question that. Joking around and talking to each other in a group was okay. Touching was not. “Hey Justin, do you mind?” I gestured to my back, not looking at the pool.

“He’s a little busy.” Bryce said. I could hear splashing behind me.

“Zach?”

“Sure.” He climbed out of the pool and untied the bottom strings. He pulled them tighter in a knot and doubled the bow. “Good?”

“Yeah.” I turned around. “Thanks.” Bryce whistled. Gross.

“Why are you keeping her all to yourself again?” He asked Justin. I flipped him off. Why am I being nice to you again?

“I’m not. It’s Addison. Even if I was, I don’t share Bryce.” He seemed to shut the conversation down. Only I could pick up on the stern undertone in his voice. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, and they were back to goofing off again.

I slipped in the pool and noticing Justin was distracted, I swam over to him and jumped on his back. I may have accidentally splashed Monty in my jumping. I snuck a peek at him and he was rolling his eyes and laughing. “Chicken?” Justin asked. His hands went to my thighs unconsciously.

“No. You dropped me last time. Though it would be entertaining trying to watch the rest of you lift each other.”

“We’re strong.” The boys around me protested. They all made a show of flexing.

“Yes, yes. You’re all strong and hot. With superior athletic abilities. Go you.” I laughed.

“Ha! I told you she thinks I’m hot.” Bryce pointed at Justin.

“It doesn’t count if you’re objectively attractive Walker. I also think the blond guy from the Percy Jackson movie is hot. Because he is objectively attractive.”

“Objectively attractive?”

“You’re lucky you’re rich.” I muttered. Justin choked. “You’re a very pretty man Bryce Walker.”

“Do we get called pretty too Addison?” Monty asked.

“If you don’t call me by my full name again then sure Monty. You are also pretty. Foley, I swear if you drop me, you’re sleeping on the floor tonight.” His hand tightened around my thigh.

The group of us hung out for a while. At some point Scott joined us. Even though we weren’t friends per say, he was still nice to me when I was around. He swam over to my corner of the pool. “I’m supposed to ask you if you think I’m pretty?”

“Scott. If you don’t know you’re pretty, I don’t know what to say to you.”

“Alright then. Why was I supposed to ask?”

“I acknowledged Bryce is objectively attractive and the children felt left out.”

“I see. Why are you hiding in a corner?”

“Hiding from Justin. He’s trying to get me to play chicken. But I don’t feel like getting dropped again.”

“And why does he think you’d get to play with anyone else?”

“I think the attempt would be very entertaining actually.” There was a ringing over by the table.

“Someone’s phone is ringing.” I called. The ringing stopped and started again immediately. Zach looked up. It was his phone.

“It’s probably his mommy calling to tell him he has to come home before it gets dark.” Bryce teased. The boys laughed. I even chuckled a little to myself. Oh, how bad I would feel about that chuckle in a few hours. Zach splashed him. By the time the phone began its second round of ringing again, Zach was out of the pool and grabbing it. He was smiling when he answered it.

“Hey Mom. I’m com-.” It was quiet. “Yeah, I’ll be right home.” He hung up and quickly pulled on his pants, over his wet swim trucks. He threw on his shirt and practically sprinted back in the house. He didn’t say a word to any of us as he left.

“What’s going on with him?” Bryce said. We all stared after him.

A few hours after I got home, I got a text from Bryce. Justin got the same text. Zach’s dad died. Justin and I sat and looked at each other at the table, shocked. We sat there for a solid ten minutes, trying to absorb the information we had been given. I was sure our friends were in the same position. How did you respond to something like that? None of us had ever lost a parent. Sure, I had lost a couple of grandparents. I probably wasn’t the only one. But they’re sort of expected to die. They’re old. They’ve lived. Our parents weren’t old. Not old enough to die yet anyway. I picked my phone back up and texted Zach the only thing I could think to say. He would hear the words a lot in the next few months. I am so sorry. I knew he wouldn’t answer.

Zach wasn’t at school for the rest of the week. Not that he should have been. He had been excused from all of his other exams. Because of course he should have been. I didn’t see him until I was walking home from a date with Monty over the weekend. He was just… walking around town. He didn’t see me at first. When he noticed me standing up the street, he waved a little. I waved back and slowly walked over to him. Even though Zach Dempsey and I weren’t really friends, we were friendly. That’s why it didn’t feel weird when the only thing my brain said to do, was hug him. He didn’t cry. He didn’t say anything. He just hugged me back. We didn’t talk about that random, silent hug on the street again. Not for a long time at least. We simply nodded as we parted ways. He walked one way and I walked the other.

July changed a lot of things. Bryce left town with his family a few days after Zach’s dad’s funeral. Seth was back in town too. That meant Justin spent most of the first couple of weeks of July at my house. He was right. My parents were not happy about him doing summer school. As his not-mom my mum had a strict ‘no fun until homework is done and checked’ rule. At first, I spent my time with Monty during school hours. We weren’t really sure what the summer meant for our relationship. Those first few dates, we mostly talked about that.

“Well, I don’t want to not see you.” Monty said, between kisses in the backseat of my car. We had parked at a secluded clearing overlooking the river.

“I don’t want to not see you either. It’s going to be hard though.”

“Don’t talk about hard right now Doll. Please.” I pulled away and looked at him wide-eyed. “You don’t strike me as a public sex kind of girl. And I don’t want to get a public indecency charge.”

“Yeah. I’m not.” I sat up. “Justin being at my place complicates things.”

“Oh, I know.” He ground out as he adjusted his jeans. I could tell my cheeks were flushed.

“We knew we couldn’t see each other every day.”

“But it’s not easy not seeing you.”

“I know it’s not.”

“Why does this have to be so hard?” He sat back.

“I don’t know.” Neither of us were ready nor willing to have the ‘tell other people’ talk. Even though it had been almost a year. And probably needed to happen.

“Seeing each other while school is in, isn’t such a bad thing, is it?”

“No.”

“And I do have other friends. I could say I’m going to the city with Alex or something. Give us some more time?”

“That’s true.”

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I could take you to the bookstore.” He blinked at me. “What?”

“The bookstore?”

“It’s air conditioned.” I shrugged and climbed into his lap. His hands instinctively found their way to my hips.

“You just need someone to carry your books again.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smirked.

There was something different about Justin since he started summer school. I couldn’t put my finger on it. He was… distracted. I noticed he spent more time on his phone after homework than paying attention to what we were doing. Which was fine when it was show re-runs or my mom’s pick for movie night. But when you’re trying to play Ticket to Ride with a guy, it’s much easier when they are paying attention. “Hey. Earth to Justin. Hello?”

“Huh?” He looked up from his phone.

“It’s been your turn for the past five minutes.”

“Shit, sorry.” He looked at his cards and the map. Picking up a red and a pink from the pile, he settled back in his chair. Interesting. I frowned at the board, trying to figure out what he was doing. I came back with nothing. His phone buzzed again. I glanced at it. So did he. Then my phone buzzed. He glanced at it. So, did I. It was like we were waiting to see who would grab their phone first. After a few beats, his hand went to his phone. He smirked a little and put it down. I didn’t check mine.

I came home from a date with Monty a little late on Thursday. It was nearing five when I walked in the door, after I fixed my hair. I dropped my purse and stopped dead in my tracks. Justin had company. Company in the form of Jessica Davis. Who was currently sitting in his lap. On my couch. Making out with him. On my couch. They had their hands up each other’s shirts. On my couch. I cleared my throat. Jessica pulled away and turned towards me. “Oh, hey Addy.” She greeted, like this was normal.

“Hey Addy. You’re… just getting home?” His speech was slowed. Are you shitting me?

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Your parents said I could have a friend over after class.”

“Okay.” I blinked. She was still perched in his lap. I glanced at the clock. “I suggest you fix your shirts because they should be home soon. And I don’t think they want to see, uh, this.” I motioned in their general direction. Jessica laughed and climbed off Justin.

“Oh, don’t be such a priss, Addison.”

“I’m not being a priss. I just wasn’t expecting to come home to people making out on my couch.” She rolled her eyes. “Great to see you too. Hey, Justin. Can I steal you for a sec?” I waved upstairs. “There’s snacks in the cupboard, Jess.”

Justin followed me upstairs, trying not to giggle at, assumingly, the fact that he didn’t get caught by my parents. I shut the door when we got to my room. “What the fuck Justin?”

“What?” He shrugged.

“What do you mean what?”

“What?”

“Making out with a girl on our couch?” He was trying to avoid eye contact. My parents are going to kill him.

“No one was home. It’s not a big deal.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“I don’t know, a couple weeks?” I blinked at him. He was still trying to look away from me. I grabbed his face and made him look at me.

“Are you fucking high right now?”

“No? What? Why would you ask that?” His eyes were bloodshot. He was acting very much like Justin when Justin has been indulging in Bryce’s stash.

“Don’t lie to me Justin Foley. You know my parent’s rules. Do you want them to freak out?”

“Oh, come on Addison. It was a little weed. It’s not that big of a deal.” I sighed heavily.

“You know what, whatever. You obviously don’t care. So, I suggest you tell your girlfriend to leave or figure out a way to sober up before they get home. And if that fails, tell her to leave, and come hide in here until you’re sober enough to face them.” I grabbed a book off my shelf and went back downstairs. I nodded at Jessica, who had made herself some crackers and dip. Sitting at the table, I texted Monty.

Justin and Jessica? Did you know about this? He responded a couple of minutes later.

No? Actually?

Yeah. They were making out on my couch when I got home. And to make things even more awkward and complicated, they’re both high.

I mean, to be fair, weed isn’t really that bad.

Yeah. I know. But that’s not the point. My parents are going to freak. Now is really not the time to be pissing them off.

Oh crap. You guys leave for Boston soon, don’t you?

Next week. And if Justin can’t keep his shit together… I left the unspoken implication hang in cyberspace. Are you really just going to ignore the fact that they were on the couch?

I was hoping to just ignore that fact.

Our make out spots are becoming fewer and further between.

We could just stay in your bed, Doll.

But the couch has the TV. So we can not watch a movie without worrying about my laptop falling.

“Who you texting so much?” Jessica asked, trying to peer at my phone.

“Friend from Boston.” I said, locking my phone.

“Oh, friend from Boston, you say? Is he cute?”

“I guess? His girlfriend probably thinks so.”

“Oh. Not a secret long distance lover then?”

“No. And we grew up together. It would be weird.” I slipped my phone in my pocket and grabbed some cereal. We both looked up when my parents got home. I took that as my cue to go get Justin. I practically kicked him downstairs so he could go entertain his girlfriend with my parents and I could have some time to process how I missed it. Probably the same way he has missed me having a boyfriend for… almost a year.

The day before we left for Boston, Justin and I were running around like mad men. I had plans with Monty and Justin had plans with Jessica tonight, so I didn’t want to be too long packing. Unfortunately, neither of us could find anything we wanted to bring. It was going to be nice so I wanted to bring some dresses. We had a few things planned, but like with our other trips, there would be plenty of time to lounge around the house.

“Have you seen my pink and green dress?”

“The one with the stripes? No. Have you seen my blue shirt?”

“I think mum put it in the wash.”

“Okay.” Justin went down the hall to the bathroom. “Has anyone seen my shampoo?” He called.

“It’s in here.” My dad called from their room. I was busy ripping apart my closet. I groaned in frustration.

“You know, it’s just Boston. We go every year.”

“I know Justin. I just like to be prepared for every eventuality.”

“Yeah. Wait… are you trying to impress Adrian?” Justin laughed. I turned and he was leaning against the doorframe.

“No. Absolutely not. Besides, he has a girlfriend.” A girlfriend I happen to like.

“If you say so.” He smirked. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off as he went back to packing his bag. I gave up on my closet and decided to tackle our toiletries. I wasn’t too concerned with travel sizes because it was all going in my checked luggage.

“Decide what book you’re taking with you Addy?”

“Don’t you mean books, plural? It is a 6-hour flight after all.” He laughed.

“Okay, okay. Books?”

“I’m happy you asked.” I grinned as I pulled out the Barnes & Noble bag from under my bed. His jaw dropped. I shrugged.

“Your parents are going to freak.”

“They know I went book shopping.”

After a very long day of packing, Justin left to go meet Jessica. I texted Monty to let him know I would be leaving in about fifteen minutes. “I’m going to hang out with Alex and Clay for a bit.” I told my parents.

“Just remember we leave early tomorrow for the airport Addison.” My dad said, not looking up from his list. My mom was emptying the fridge.

“I will.”

When I got to the cliffside where we agreed to meet, Monty was waiting for me. I couldn’t help myself. I ran and held onto him like it was the last time I would ever see him. “You’re only leaving for two weeks Addison.” He grunted at the impact.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” He kissed the top of my head. We stood like that for a few more minutes before finally separating. I took his hand and led him up the trail. It was good for both of us to be walking the trails. He was starting summer training with the boys while we were gone, and I was going to be sitting for around 8 hours straight tomorrow. Provided our flight wasn’t delayed, of course. It was just starting to get dark, and I stopped along the way to take in the town’s skyline in the evening dusk. Monty rested his chin on top of my head, and I sighed, leaning back into him. It was so peaceful. I looked up and him and noticed a small bruise forming on his jaw. Not wanting to start a fight right before I left for two weeks, I pretended I hadn’t seen it. I smiled sadly to myself still. I wish he would just talk to me about it.

After a few hours, wandering around and soaking in the last time we would have for a couple of weeks, which feels like an eternity when you’re 16, we knew it was time to say goodbye. When we got to the parking lot, he made me turn around at his Jeep. I furrowed my brow. Before I could ask, he twirled his finger in the air. I clamped my mouth closed and turned. He rummaged around for a minute. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see. Just wait a minute.” I huffed. He chuckled. “Ah.” He muttered. He tapped me on the shoulder. I turned. He held out a small Barnes and Noble bag. I was taken aback. I wasn’t expecting anything. I pointed at the bag and then at me.

“F-for me?”

“It’s not much so don’t start.” He smiled, shyly.

“Okay.” I took the bag.

“I can’t wrap stuff worth shit, so the bag is as good as you’re going to get.” I laughed and shrugged. It was a fair enough explanation. I opened the bag and pulled out a spiralbound notebook. The cover was pink with the titles of all the classics on it. I smiled. “You won’t be here for your birthday, and I know your notebook is getting full so….” Monty trailed off.

“Thank you. This is really sweet.” I flipped it open and gasped. On the first page, he had drawn a book like on the cover, and titled it The Next Classic and written Hawthorne at the bottom where the author’s last name sometimes appears.

“Happy birthday, Addison.”

“Oh.” I smiled. My eyes had started to tear up. This was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given me. I closed the gap between us and kissed him. He pulled me closer to him and I deepened the kiss just a little. Not too much, just enough to make him remember me while I was gone.I had finished the last book on my To Read shelf by mid-May. Hopping off my bed, I went over to my bookshelf. There was only one shelf of space left. The stack to shelve had gotten a tad out of hand. Sighing to myself, I sat down to start reorganizing. I pulled the books from H to Z down to fit the new additions to my collection in. My dad poked his head in when the stack fell over. “Everything okay in here?” I was surrounded by books. Dad tried not to laugh as he took the scene in. Grabbing books, I turned back to the shelf.“Perfect. Totally meant to sit in a sea of books this afternoon.” “Sure. You have fun with that. I have to head into the office for a while. Tell your mother I probably won’t be home for dinner.” “Will do.” I nodded, not turning my attention back to him. Monty texted me shortly after I had finished the M’s. What are you up to today? Organizing my bookshelf. I finished my TBR so now they go in the permanent collection. Only my girlfriend would make a permanent book collection and a separate section for books that aren’t done. Hey! Lots of people do this. Yes honey. What are you up to today? Trying to study for my last History test. It’s very boring. I’m sure it is. If you’re free Saturday, how about a get out of studying free card? Oh? What did you have in mind Doll? I rolled my eyes and grinned. Of course he thought I meant something dirty. Cool your jets Monty. I was going to see if you wanted to go to the bookstore with me?I can make that happen. What time? I think Clay and I are getting lunch to go over our study guide for the Math final. I could do like 1?Sounds good. Do you want me to meet you at the bookstore? Sure. I go to the B&N at the Everglade. It’s a date. I smiled and went back to my books. When it was done, I snapped a picture and sent it to Justin. I finished my TBR! You know what that means?Oh no. More books? More books! Do I have to come with you?No. The parents gave me a limit of 10 books this time. Only 10?I have points saved up. And 10 is a perfectly reasonable amount of new books. For you? Yes. For normal people? No. Oh shhh, or I’ll make you come with me. Okay, okay. It’s reasonable lol. I texted Monty a picture of my bookshelf too. He responded with a laughing emoji. Teachers were beginning to wrap up final units and hand out study guides for finals. Justin was still mad about summer school so he kept up his not giving a shit attitude. I rolled my eyes whenever he sighed or complained about finals. And I stopped offering to help him. If he wanted to do more work in summer school, that was fine by me. It gave me more time to spend with Monty. On Saturday, I met Clay at Rosie’s and we both got milkshakes. I wasn’t very hungry, and I didn’t want burger breath later. “So Clay, how’s Hannah doing?” “I don’t know. We have hung out a few times, and I see her at work, but I don’t think we have hung out hung out.” “You still haven’t asked her out?” “I mean, we went to Jeff’s place not together, but we were both there, and I feel like maybe we connected?” “Connected?” “Well, we were doing… stuff… and we talked.” My eyes widened. “Clay Jensen did you do drugs in Jeff’s basement?” “Maybe?” I was stunned. “Well, I’ll be damned. Clay Jensen, having fun. I never thought I’d see the day.”“Ha ha.” He joked. “I’m kidding! But seriously. Take the risk Clay.” “I’ll think about it. Can we look at this study guide now?” I sighed and pulled it out of my bag. We both shuddered. This is not going to be a pretty exam.By the time Clay and I called it an afternoon, it was 12:30. That gave me just enough time to get to the city. We packed our notes and headed outside. “Man, I really need a car.” Clay sighed, unlocking his bike. “Your parents said no?” “I have a bike.” He waved towards the bike. “That you do. I would offer you a ride, but I’m headed into the city for the afternoon.” “No worries, Addy.” He smiled. We waved goodbye and I watched as he biked down the street. I started my car and texted Monty. Leaving Rosie’s now. Might be a little late. Drive safe. Sounds good, drive safe Doll. I stopped at Starbucks when I got to the mall and got an iced coffee to sip while I browse and a coffee for Montgomery. He was waiting outside Barnes & Noble for me. “Hey handsome. Fancy seeing you here.” I winked as I walked up to him.“Hey gorgeous. What can I say, thought it would be a good way to find a girl. You know what they say about the readers.” “I have a feeling I do.” I laughed and handed him his coffee. “Something to do with being high strung, overachievers with daddy issues?” “Somethin’ like that.” Monty took my hand and let me lead him into the bookstore. I decided I would keep my ten-book limit to myself. I knew how many points I had, and I still had birthday money left from last year. He chuckled as I practically dragged him towards the YA section. I didn’t stop to look at the romance displays or the cookbooks or the journals. I was on a mission. There were books to buy. I sipped my coffee as I browsed. As usual, I made my way up and down the aisles quickly once to see if anything immediately caught my eye. A couple of books did, so I grabbed them to look over after I was done my power walk. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you move that fast.” “Ass.” I laughed as I read over the synopsizes of the two books. Neither of them was my cup of tea in the end, so I decided to put them back. I could feel Montgomery watching me as I looked at the shelves. “What?” I asked as I pulled a book down and skimmed the back. “Nothin’. You’re just cute is all.” “Oh?” “Yeah. And those shorts are very nice.” I blushed and smiled softly. “Thanks.” I handed him the book. “Oh, I see. You needed someone to carry the books.”“Well, who else would I have asked, when I have my strong, athletic boyfriend to follow me around the store?” He only laughed in response. I grabbed a few more books as I sipped at my coffee. Once in a while, I would notice him watching me and turn to smile at him. There were six books in Monty’s hands before he finished his coffee. “I’m going to throw this out. Try to leave some books for the next person, okay Bookworm?” “I’ll try. No promises though.” I mused. By the time he came back, I had three more books. I looked up when I heard him laugh. I grinned at him and held out the books. He took them, tucked them under his arm, and stepped towards me. My brow furrowed and he reached to tuck my hair behind my ear, trailing his hand down to cup the back of my neck, and pull me towards him to kiss me. I kissed him back softly. It was nice to be able to kiss in public. I liked our little bubble. It felt like we were the only two people in the world. He pulled away first. We continued to peruse the store for a while and stole kisses and glances along the way. Monty slid his hand in my back pocket as we walked. I grabbed another couple of books and sighed. “What’s up?” “I guess that’s enough books for a little while.” “For a little while? Addison. There’s like,” he paused to count, “sixteen books here.” “Yeah. And that isn’t even all of what is on my TBR still. And it’s buy one get one half off all books.” I shrugged. “Jesus. Crazy woman.” He muttered softly and kissed the side of my head. I sighed and turned to head for the till. After discounts, points, and birthday money, my total was twenty-five dollars. “Now to figure out how to sneak the extra six books into the house.” I muttered as we left. “The extra what whats?” “Uh… nothing.” I smiled sheepishly. He shook his head playfully. “Oh, hey. Pretzels. Split one?” “Nice change of subject. Sure. Pretzel sounds good.” He rubbed my hand as he held it. This is nice. In late June, just as finals week was hitting its peak, tragedy struck our little group of jocks. The boys were at Bryce’s trying to blow off some steam. I was trying to be nice to him and make an effort for Justin, so I tagged along. The way his family approached and flaunted their money always took me by surprise. I wasn’t oblivious. I knew my family had more money than most. More than I liked to consider or admit. But it was never flashed around the way it was with the Walkers. I came from old money on my dad’s side, like his mom. But unlike him, I wasn’t exposed to it on a daily basis. The concept of a twice a week maid was enough to widen my eyes. The only time my family had a maid come was when Gran was coming to stay with us, or we were hosting Christmas back when all my grandparents lived state-side, so a very deep clean was needed. The fact that they had a chef come in once a week to meal prep for them was… almost incomprehensible. The only time I met a chef was when I found a hair in my food when my family went out one night. I had been to his house before of course. I was friends with Justin. We shared custody of him most weeks. Even still, I found myself hanging back and watching the boys socialize. Or I was trying to at least. Bryce thrusting a bottle of water in my hand startled me. I jumped slightly. “Thanks.” I muttered. “Don’t mention it.” He chuckled. He settled himself next to me and leaned back against the counter. “Hi.” “Hi. You know that they will talk to you, right? They know you.” “I know.” “Okay. I’ll talk to you then.” Great. Just what I want. “Sure Bryce.” “How are finals treating you?” “I cried before my honours English final yesterday.” “I almost forgot about my math final.” “So, we are basically in the same boat.” “Basically. You had bio and history today?” “Yeah.” “How were they?” “I think I did fairly okay. Can you imagine what my mum would do if I bombed the history final?” He stared off into space with me and shivered. “I would say something nice about you at your funeral.” “Thanks Walker. Killing me does seem like a lot of hassle for that though. Like it seems like it would just inconvenience them. Maybe locked in my room to study until I’m forty?” “True. I would text you news updates. Keep you updated in all things Bryce and the boys.” “Prefect. Make isolation at least a little bit bearable.” He was actually kind of nice sometimes. Maybe. If I squinted.“Yeah. My dad would have freaked if I missed my math final.” “How could you take over the family business if you fail tenth grade math Bryce?” “No idea. Not like he doesn’t pay someone to do all that math for him. Speaking of, he wanted me to ask you if your dad is taking on any new clients now that tax season is winding down?” “I don’t know. I don’t think he is, but I can get him to email your dad.” I don’t think he’s going to take your dad on. “I’ll let him know.” “Where are you off to this summer?” “I think we are summering in Fiji?” “Because California isn’t summer-y enough?” “Mom thinks the sun feels different. More sunny. I tan better in tropical environments.” “Sure, you do.”“What are your family’s plans?” “We have our annual family trip to Boston at the end of July into the first week of August. Dad pushed his vacation time this year.” “Doesn’t he own the company?” “Yeah. But his associate wanted to take vacation in mid-July. She’s taking her kids to Disney World.” “Again, doesn’t he own the company?”“Again, yes. Why?” “Shouldn’t he get first pick?” “Well, our vacation basically costs us airfare, food, and spending money. Hers and everyone else’s costs a lot more. And requires more planning. So, he lets them have first pick and takes whatever’s left for the most part. Because of that, people are more willing to pick fairly.” “Interesting.”“Are you two going to come outside or not?” Justin called from the back yard. Bryce and I looked up and found the house empty. All the boys had moved to the back. We shrugged and joined them. I needed to pass the sniff test so I didn’t dare go in the pool house. Anders and Dylan were in the pool house enjoying Bryce’s stash. It was already nearing eighty degrees in the daytime. We were in for a hot summer. Justin pulled off his shirt, dropped his pants, and jumped in the pool. Shaking my head, I followed Bryce outside. I sat on the edge of the pool and dipped my feet in the water. Monty was trying to be discreet and swim backwards towards me. He stopped just shy of me and shared a look with Zach. I pretended not to notice. It looked like I was busy watching Justin goof off with Bryce and Garrison. I was watching my boyfriend out of the corner of my eye though. I felt a wave close to my foot. “Montgomery. If you touch my foot, I’m not responsible for what happens to your face.” His hand stopped and his eyes widened. Justin laughed and called from across the pool. “She isn’t wrong dude. She kicked me in the face when I was trying to bug her one time.” “I wasn’t going to….” Monty trailed off. “Sure, you weren’t.” I shook my head and moved to stand up. I pulled my tank top over my head. The shorts I was wearing were fine to go in the water. Seeing as we had to keep up appearances, I couldn’t very well ask Monty to tighten the tie on my bikini top. That would be too much. The boys would question that. Joking around and talking to each other in a group was okay. Touching was not. “Hey Justin, do you mind?” I gestured to my back, not looking at the pool. “He’s a little busy.” Bryce said. I could hear splashing behind me. “Zach?” “Sure.” He climbed out of the pool and untied the bottom strings. He pulled them tighter in a knot and doubled the bow. “Good?” “Yeah.” I turned around. “Thanks.” Bryce whistled. Gross.“Why are you keeping her all to yourself again?” He asked Justin. I flipped him off. Why am I being nice to you again? “I’m not. It’s Addison. Even if I was, I don’t share Bryce.” He seemed to shut the conversation down. Only I could pick up on the stern undertone in his voice. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, and they were back to goofing off again. I slipped in the pool and noticing Justin was distracted, I swam over to him and jumped on his back. I may have accidentally splashed Monty in my jumping. I snuck a peek at him and he was rolling his eyes and laughing. “Chicken?” Justin asked. His hands went to my thighs unconsciously. “No. You dropped me last time. Though it would be entertaining trying to watch the rest of you lift each other.” “We’re strong.” The boys around me protested. They all made a show of flexing. “Yes, yes. You’re all strong and hot. With superior athletic abilities. Go you.” I laughed. “Ha! I told you she thinks I’m hot.” Bryce pointed at Justin. “It doesn’t count if you’re objectively attractive Walker. I also think the blond guy from the Percy Jackson movie is hot. Because he is objectively attractive.” “Objectively attractive?” “You’re lucky you’re rich.” I muttered. Justin choked. “You’re a very pretty man Bryce Walker.” “Do we get called pretty too Addison?” Monty asked.“If you don’t call me by my full name again then sure Monty. You are also pretty. Foley, I swear if you drop me, you’re sleeping on the floor tonight.” His hand tightened around my thigh. The group of us hung out for a while. At some point Scott joined us. Even though we weren’t friends per say, he was still nice to me when I was around. He swam over to my corner of the pool. “I’m supposed to ask you if you think I’m pretty?” “Scott. If you don’t know you’re pretty, I don’t know what to say to you.” “Alright then. Why was I supposed to ask?” “I acknowledged Bryce is objectively attractive and the children felt left out.” “I see. Why are you hiding in a corner?” “Hiding from Justin. He’s trying to get me to play chicken. But I don’t feel like getting dropped again.” “And why does he think you’d get to play with anyone else?” “I think the attempt would be very entertaining actually.” There was a ringing over by the table. “Someone’s phone is ringing.” I called. The ringing stopped and started again immediately. Zach looked up. It was his phone. “It’s probably his mommy calling to tell him he has to come home before it gets dark.” Bryce teased. The boys laughed. I even chuckled a little to myself. Oh, how bad I would feel about that chuckle in a few hours. Zach splashed him. By the time the phone began its second round of ringing again, Zach was out of the pool and grabbing it. He was smiling when he answered it. “Hey Mom. I’m com-.” It was quiet. “Yeah, I’ll be right home.” He hung up and quickly pulled on his pants, over his wet swim trucks. He threw on his shirt and practically sprinted back in the house. He didn’t say a word to any of us as he left.“What’s going on with him?” Bryce said. We all stared after him. A few hours after I got home, I got a text from Bryce. Justin got the same text. Zach’s dad died. Justin and I sat and looked at each other at the table, shocked. We sat there for a solid ten minutes, trying to absorb the information we had been given. I was sure our friends were in the same position. How did you respond to something like that? None of us had ever lost a parent. Sure, I had lost a couple of grandparents. I probably wasn’t the only one. But they’re sort of expected to die. They’re old. They’ve lived. Our parents weren’t old. Not old enough to die yet anyway. I picked my phone back up and texted Zach the only thing I could think to say. He would hear the words a lot in the next few months. I am so sorry. I knew he wouldn’t answer. Zach wasn’t at school for the rest of the week. Not that he should have been. He had been excused from all of his other exams. Because of course he should have been. I didn’t see him until I was walking home from a date with Monty over the weekend. He was just… walking around town. He didn’t see me at first. When he noticed me standing up the street, he waved a little. I waved back and slowly walked over to him. Even though Zach Dempsey and I weren’t really friends, we were friendly. That’s why it didn’t feel weird when the only thing my brain said to do, was hug him. He didn’t cry. He didn’t say anything. He just hugged me back. We didn’t talk about that random, silent hug on the street again. Not for a long time at least. We simply nodded as we parted ways. He walked one way and I walked the other. July changed a lot of things. Bryce left town with his family a few days after Zach’s dad’s funeral. Seth was back in town too. That meant Justin spent most of the first couple of weeks of July at my house. He was right. My parents were not happy about him doing summer school. As his not-mom my mum had a strict ‘no fun until homework is done and checked’ rule. At first, I spent my time with Monty during school hours. We weren’t really sure what the summer meant for our relationship. Those first few dates, we mostly talked about that. “Well, I don’t want to not see you.” Monty said, between kisses in the backseat of my car. We had parked at a secluded clearing overlooking the river. “I don’t want to not see you either. It’s going to be hard though.” “Don’t talk about hard right now Doll. Please.” I pulled away and looked at him wide-eyed. “You don’t strike me as a public sex kind of girl. And I don’t want to get a public indecency charge.” “Yeah. I’m not.” I sat up. “Justin being at my place complicates things.” “Oh, I know.” He ground out as he adjusted his jeans. I could tell my cheeks were flushed. “We knew we couldn’t see each other every day.” “But it’s not easy not seeing you.” “I know it’s not.” “Why does this have to be so hard?” He sat back. “I don’t know.” Neither of us were ready nor willing to have the ‘tell other people’ talk. Even though it had been almost a year. And probably needed to happen. “Seeing each other while school is in, isn’t such a bad thing, is it?” “No.” “And I do have other friends. I could say I’m going to the city with Alex or something. Give us some more time?” “That’s true.” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I could take you to the bookstore.” He blinked at me. “What?” “The bookstore?” “It’s air conditioned.” I shrugged and climbed into his lap. His hands instinctively found their way to my hips. “You just need someone to carry your books again.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smirked. There was something different about Justin since he started summer school. I couldn’t put my finger on it. He was… distracted. I noticed he spent more time on his phone after homework than paying attention to what we were doing. Which was fine when it was show re-runs or my mom’s pick for movie night. But when you’re trying to play Ticket to Ride with a guy, it’s much easier when they are paying attention. “Hey. Earth to Justin. Hello?”“Huh?” He looked up from his phone. “It’s been your turn for the past five minutes.” “Shit, sorry.” He looked at his cards and the map. Picking up a red and a pink from the pile, he settled back in his chair. Interesting. I frowned at the board, trying to figure out what he was doing. I came back with nothing. His phone buzzed again. I glanced at it. So did he. Then my phone buzzed. He glanced at it. So, did I. It was like we were waiting to see who would grab their phone first. After a few beats, his hand went to his phone. He smirked a little and put it down. I didn’t check mine. I came home from a date with Monty a little late on Thursday. It was nearing five when I walked in the door, after I fixed my hair. I dropped my purse and stopped dead in my tracks. Justin had company. Company in the form of Jessica Davis. Who was currently sitting in his lap. On my couch. Making out with him. On my couch. They had their hands up each other’s shirts. On my couch. I cleared my throat. Jessica pulled away and turned towards me. “Oh, hey Addy.” She greeted, like this was normal. “Hey Addy. You’re… just getting home?” His speech was slowed. Are you shitting me? “Yeah. What’s going on?” “Your parents said I could have a friend over after class.” “Okay.” I blinked. She was still perched in his lap. I glanced at the clock. “I suggest you fix your shirts because they should be home soon. And I don’t think they want to see, uh, this.” I motioned in their general direction. Jessica laughed and climbed off Justin. “Oh, don’t be such a priss, Addison.” “I’m not being a priss. I just wasn’t expecting to come home to people making out on my couch.” She rolled her eyes. “Great to see you too. Hey, Justin. Can I steal you for a sec?” I waved upstairs. “There’s snacks in the cupboard, Jess.” Justin followed me upstairs, trying not to giggle at, assumingly, the fact that he didn’t get caught by my parents. I shut the door when we got to my room. “What the fuck Justin?” “What?” He shrugged. “What do you mean what?” “What?” “Making out with a girl on our couch?” He was trying to avoid eye contact. My parents are going to kill him. “No one was home. It’s not a big deal.” “How long has this been going on?” “I don’t know, a couple weeks?” I blinked at him. He was still trying to look away from me. I grabbed his face and made him look at me. “Are you fucking high right now?” “No? What? Why would you ask that?” His eyes were bloodshot. He was acting very much like Justin when Justin has been indulging in Bryce’s stash. “Don’t lie to me Justin Foley. You know my parent’s rules. Do you want them to freak out?” “Oh, come on Addison. It was a little weed. It’s not that big of a deal.” I sighed heavily. “You know what, whatever. You obviously don’t care. So, I suggest you tell your girlfriend to leave or figure out a way to sober up before they get home. And if that fails, tell her to leave, and come hide in here until you’re sober enough to face them.” I grabbed a book off my shelf and went back downstairs. I nodded at Jessica, who had made herself some crackers and dip. Sitting at the table, I texted Monty. Justin and Jessica? Did you know about this? He responded a couple of minutes later. No? Actually?Yeah. They were making out on my couch when I got home. And to make things even more awkward and complicated, they’re both high. I mean, to be fair, weed isn’t really that bad. Yeah. I know. But that’s not the point. My parents are going to freak. Now is really not the time to be pissing them off. Oh crap. You guys leave for Boston soon, don’t you? Next week. And if Justin can’t keep his shit together… I left the unspoken implication hang in cyberspace. Are you really just going to ignore the fact that they were on the couch?I was hoping to just ignore that fact. Our make out spots are becoming fewer and further between. We could just stay in your bed, Doll. But the couch has the TV. So we can not watch a movie without worrying about my laptop falling. “Who you texting so much?” Jessica asked, trying to peer at my phone. “Friend from Boston.” I said, locking my phone. “Oh, friend from Boston, you say? Is he cute?”“I guess? His girlfriend probably thinks so.” “Oh. Not a secret long distance lover then?”“No. And we grew up together. It would be weird.” I slipped my phone in my pocket and grabbed some cereal. We both looked up when my parents got home. I took that as my cue to go get Justin. I practically kicked him downstairs so he could go entertain his girlfriend with my parents and I could have some time to process how I missed it. Probably the same way he has missed me having a boyfriend for… almost a year. The day before we left for Boston, Justin and I were running around like mad men. I had plans with Monty and Justin had plans with Jessica tonight, so I didn’t want to be too long packing. Unfortunately, neither of us could find anything we wanted to bring. It was going to be nice so I wanted to bring some dresses. We had a few things planned, but like with our other trips, there would be plenty of time to lounge around the house. “Have you seen my pink and green dress?” “The one with the stripes? No. Have you seen my blue shirt?”“I think mum put it in the wash.” “Okay.” Justin went down the hall to the bathroom. “Has anyone seen my shampoo?” He called. “It’s in here.” My dad called from their room. I was busy ripping apart my closet. I groaned in frustration. “You know, it’s just Boston. We go every year.” “I know Justin. I just like to be prepared for every eventuality.” “Yeah. Wait… are you trying to impress Adrian?” Justin laughed. I turned and he was leaning against the doorframe. “No. Absolutely not. Besides, he has a girlfriend.” A girlfriend I happen to like. “If you say so.” He smirked. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off as he went back to packing his bag. I gave up on my closet and decided to tackle our toiletries. I wasn’t too concerned with travel sizes because it was all going in my checked luggage. “Decide what book you’re taking with you Addy?” “Don’t you mean books, plural? It is a 6-hour flight after all.” He laughed. “Okay, okay. Books?” “I’m happy you asked.” I grinned as I pulled out the Barnes & Noble bag from under my bed. His jaw dropped. I shrugged. “Your parents are going to freak.” “They know I went book shopping.” After a very long day of packing, Justin left to go meet Jessica. I texted Monty to let him know I would be leaving in about fifteen minutes. “I’m going to hang out with Alex and Clay for a bit.” I told my parents. “Just remember we leave early tomorrow for the airport Addison.” My dad said, not looking up from his list. My mom was emptying the fridge. “I will.” When I got to the cliffside where we agreed to meet, Monty was waiting for me. I couldn’t help myself. I ran and held onto him like it was the last time I would ever see him. “You’re only leaving for two weeks Addison.” He grunted at the impact. “I’m going to miss you.” “I’ll miss you too.” He kissed the top of my head. We stood like that for a few more minutes before finally separating. I took his hand and led him up the trail. It was good for both of us to be walking the trails. He was starting summer training with the boys while we were gone, and I was going to be sitting for around 8 hours straight tomorrow. Provided our flight wasn’t delayed, of course. It was just starting to get dark, and I stopped along the way to take in the town’s skyline in the evening dusk. Monty rested his chin on top of my head, and I sighed, leaning back into him. It was so peaceful. I looked up and him and noticed a small bruise forming on his jaw. Not wanting to start a fight right before I left for two weeks, I pretended I hadn’t seen it. I smiled sadly to myself still. I wish he would just talk to me about it. After a few hours, wandering around and soaking in the last time we would have for a couple of weeks, which feels like an eternity when you’re 16, we knew it was time to say goodbye. When we got to the parking lot, he made me turn around at his Jeep. I furrowed my brow. Before I could ask, he twirled his finger in the air. I clamped my mouth closed and turned. He rummaged around for a minute. “What are you doing?” “You’ll see. Just wait a minute.” I huffed. He chuckled. “Ah.” He muttered. He tapped me on the shoulder. I turned. He held out a small Barnes and Noble bag. I was taken aback. I wasn’t expecting anything. I pointed at the bag and then at me. “F-for me?” “It’s not much so don’t start.” He smiled, shyly. “Okay.” I took the bag. “I can’t wrap stuff worth shit, so the bag is as good as you’re going to get.” I laughed and shrugged. It was a fair enough explanation. I opened the bag and pulled out a spiralbound notebook. The cover was pink with the titles of all the classics on it. I smiled. “You won’t be here for your birthday, and I know your notebook is getting full so….” Monty trailed off. “Thank you. This is really sweet.” I flipped it open and gasped. On the first page, he had drawn a book like on the cover, and titled it The Next Classic and written Hawthorne at the bottom where the author’s last name sometimes appears. “Happy birthday, Addison.” “Oh.” I smiled. My eyes had started to tear up. This was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given me. I closed the gap between us and kissed him. He pulled me closer to him and I deepened the kiss just a little. Not too much, just enough to make him remember me while I was gone.

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beamergirll11 · 11 months ago

Text

I’m Not Yours

Synopsis:

You and Monty have been hooking up secretly but he is still in denial about his sexuality. A party at Bryce’s you find yourself in the arms of another man. Your openly gay and your family is very influential so no one really cares but Monty sure does.

Pairing: Toxic? M Reader x Monty

Warnings: violence, beat downs, Monty being Monty

A/N: Bryce is in the fanfic not trying to glorify him

You had been out of the closet for the past two years. At first you did have some trouble but when your rich and your daddy owns parts of Crestmont people tend to bow. It was a late Saturday night at Bryce’s and of course he was throwing a party. Everyone was drinking and pretty rowdy, Despite some of the people’s disdain for Bryce they showed up because of free booze and drugs.

That night something different happened, You usually found yourself prowling on dating sites or hitting up Monty when you had that itch that needed to be scratched. However tonight you had met a handsome young man blond hair the works. He was charming and in a mere hour he had his tongue down your throat.

No one gave you shit because of who you were, Bryce on several occasions even managed to find a few guys for you to play with. You were single and ready to mingle nothing serious because you hadn’t found the right guy and hell you were young.

Your face was practically being devoured by this guy whose name you didn’t even know. However he smelt like sandalwood and he tasted like cigarettes for some reason this was intoxicating to you. When he finally let you go the look in his eyes told you what was next and you would have happily gave in if it wasn’t for Monty…

Over the guy’s shoulder you saw Monty staring at you menacingly. At that moment you knew there was no way tonight was going to go the way you wanted it to. The guy began to pull you towards Bryce’s house, Obviously ready to take you to pound town. You couldn’t help but smile knowing you were going to get what you wanted what you craved.

However your hands were forced apart by Monty and suddenly he was between you both. Once your eyes met his you sighed and with only your expressions you begged him not be an…asshole for once. This didn’t work and what made it worse was the guy thought he could take Monty on. Once the guy placed his hand on Monty’s shoulder that was it, Monty had him on the ground beating him.

Blood flew each hit purposely meeting his face, You went towards him but as Bryce rushed over he managed to tackle him with the others. As they held Monty down the guy got up on all fours spitting out teeth mixed with bright red blood. In that moment you bent over trying to comfort him but he shoved you away.

When Monty saw this he seemed to get some fucking boost like a video game character because now he was back on feet trying to get to him. You rolled your eyes irritated and made your way to some others trying to distant yourself from the situation.

After the party ended Bryce was handing out 100s to the guy you had almost been dicked down by if it wasn’t for Monty. You watched from afar with frustration as you took a drink from your rum bottle. Tonight you would most likely either needed to be driven home or you would take Bryce’s sofa or guesthouse.

As you began to take another drink you groaned as you saw Monty approach you. You began to walk away but he stopped you his voice almost pleading, “No wait…”

You wanted to walk away but for some reason Monty always got to you.

“What? Monty haven’t you done enough?”

“I don’t know why I did what I did…” he said apologetically.

“What am I to you?” You demanded to know as your brows furrowed.

“It’s complicated Y/N.”

“No it’s not…Monty you’re a fucking coward…either be who you are or leave me alone.” You snarled.

“You…you don’t mean that.” He said shaking head.

“Yes I do…I’m not yours Monty.” You said watching him as he glared at the ground.

“I know who I am…I accept myself and I don’t give a fuck who doesn’t.” You said your voice slightly cracking.

Damn you hated how he could make you emotional, Monty looked up at you sympathetically and regardless of his actions you knew he cared maybe even more than just cared.

“Don’t cry…” was all Monty could muster.

“Monty we can’t see each other anymore.” You said watching his eyes widen and his shoulders go slack.

“Don’t do this…” He pleaded.

“Then right here right now tell everyone who you are.”

“…I can’t.” He said avoiding eye contact as if he was ashamed. You sighed completely over the situation, You had feelings for Monty. However he wasn’t brave enough to be himself, Terrified of the judgement harassment he would get. His dad would most likely disown him, everyone knew his dad was a piece of shit.

“Monty…I can fuck or be with whoever I want.” You said despite feeling guilt.

Monty seemed angry but in despair at the same time, His temper threatened to make him have another outburst but somehow he held it down. With a glare he turned heel shoving past Bryce and the others. They all looked at each other confused except Bryce who knew who Monty really was.

Bryce simply shot you a look and then changed the subject for everyone. As Monty left Bryce got everyone inside to check out the arcade room being built. As you walked inside you turned slightly seeing Monty in the distance by his car giving you one last glance. You shook off the feelings as you turned back heading inside before hearing him speed off…

#13 reasons why angst #13 reasons why #13 reasons why imagine #13 reasons why fanfiction #13 reasons why Monty #montgomery de la cruz #bryce Walker #13 reasons why gay #my writing #fanfiction

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themuselesswriter · 2 years ago

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Between Then and Now - Chapter Six: Prison Awaits - Freedom Awaits

Characters: Winston Williams, Monty De La Cruz, Estela De La Cruz, Mr De La Cruz, Original Characters

Summary: Social Services pays the De La Cruz siblings a visit at the hospital to try and understand what happened.

Word count: 1000+

Warnings: Child Abuse, Death, Mental Illness, Physical Abuse

A/N: this is an old chapter but since I’m reviving everything I thought about publishing it here as well

Credits: technopath - polarr filter by demiesgod, photos from Pinterest

————————————Teaser——————————-

“Dad look!” the boy said as he ran into the front yard of their house, pretending that he was a plane, his father watched him smiling, and so did his mother who was holding a baby Estella while his older sister Isabella who was enjoying the sun rays, it was summer vacation, Monty’s favourite time of the year.

“If you go faster you’ll be a football star mijo!” his father praised, football was Monty’s favourite sport, mainly because his father loved it, he was also a football player back in school, Monty always enjoyed watching the games with his father, they’d talk for hours about it, Monty picked up his speed, showing off in front of his father, he felt like the happiest kid, that’s before he tripped on a rock and fell face down.

—-

“Montgomery De La Cruz?” a man in a suit had asked, the other looked at him suspiciously, he glanced at Winston then back at the man, and he nodded “I’m Mikael Smith from Social Services” the man introduced himself “may I sit with you for a moment?” Monty nodded again, fuck, social services, it means the nurses called the incident in, it means he’ll be separated from his sister, he can’t seem to get a break today.

The man looked at Winston and raised an eyebrow at him as he took out a file and a pen “I’m not a fag, he’s just my... he’s been through a lot” he explained, the man looked at him when he used the word fag “I’m pretty sure that no one uses this word anymore, and even if you were, then it’s okay, nothing is wrong with it, otherwise I would’ve dumped my husband in years” he attempted to lighten up the mood but it only made Monty tense more, it was too noticeable.

#museless fanfic #13rw fanfiction #13rw #13 reasons why #montgomery de la cruz #monty de la cruz #wonty #winston williams #estella de la cruz #estela de la cruz #mr de la cruz #rico de la cruz #ao3 fanfic

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sophiewritesworld · 4 years ago

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Don’t mess with her boyfriend | Montgomery de la Cruz

Requested by anon (a while ago) : You & your blog are both amazing I have so much love❤️ could u pretty pls do a Monty x reader, her ex comes back to Liberty and approaches her trying to get back together totally ignoring Monty’s presence, obviously Monty gets annoyed and tells him to get lost, her ex starts dissing Monty.. let’s just say she’s a feisty one and nobody messes with her baby EVER, so she starts defending him and maybe even throws in a slap lol but that’s your call to make.. xx

Word count : 1.1k words.

As you walked inside the crowded hall of Liberty, you felt some students weirdly stare at you but you just ignored it and walked over to your locker to get your books out for the day. You had a lot to do this week including convincing your parents to let you go to Jessica’s party on Friday. You were so deep in your thoughts until somebody pulled you out of them. “Hey babygirl” You smiled and leaned back until your back gently collided with your boyfriend’s chest as he wrapped his arms around your waist. “I missed you.” He whispered to your ear before kissing your cheek. You turned around, grabbing the front of his shirt to steady yourself and kissed him, soft and slow.

“De la Cruz, (Y/L/N), lay it off!” Kevin Porter shouted from across the hall, dragging the attention of most students around on you. Nothing unusual.

“I missed you too.” You whispered against his lips before moving away to close your locker. By the time you turned around, your eyes landed on somebody who shouldn’t have been in Liberty. “You have to be kidding me…”

“And that’s what I wanted to tell you.” Montgomery sighed.

Your mood went from extremely happy, even though nobody is extremely happy on a Monday morning, to extremely angry within the matter of seconds. Standing a few feet away from you, with the rest of the jocks, was your ex boyfriend, the person you hated the most on earth, Noah.

Jessica introduced you to Noah at a party over the summer before sophomore year. It didn’t take long before you started dating. You spent the whole summer together. And you did that terrible mistake of trusting him and giving yourself to him. You were in love. Or so you thought. By the end of summer, Noah moved across the country with his parents. A decision he knew about for months but never told you about. You got the news on the first day of school when Zach and Justin asked you about how you were going to manage a long distance relationship. It didn’t hit you right away. It hit you when you saw a new guy on the field with Noah’s number. It hit you when you texted him and he simply told you that he didn’t think it was that big of a deal to tell you. It hit you when everybody at school was talking about you. You went through the first half of sophomore year secluding yourself in the Library, studying and keeping yourself from seeing anybody. You were ashamed of how naive you were to trust Noah like that.

One day, while you were busy finishing your Spanish paper, Montgomery pulled the chair next to yours and loudly crashed on it. “Shhhhh!” Someone angrily looked at him.

“The fuck you want nerd?”

He was about to stand up and fight that innocent soul for hushing him that way when you grabbed him hand to stop him. “Don’t.” And he didn’t. He just glared at the young boy and looked at you. You didn’t even stop what you were doing. “What are you doing here? I’ve never seen set a foot in here before.”

“Wanted the test the ambiance.”

You chuckled shaking your head. “What do you think about it so far?”

“Sucks.”

“And how about you tell me the real reason why you’re here?”

“I got an essay to finish.”

“Liar.”

“I am worried about you.” Your head shot up in surprise. His signature smirk was replaced by a rather concernes expression. “You never leave this place unless you go home or to class.” At least in the school library nobody judged you, too busy studying.

“I wanna pass. Is there a problem with this?”

“You’re a straight A student, you don’t need to put efforts to get the highest grades.”

“Maybe I do now.”

“Liar.”

“Get out if you have so much to tell each other. People are trying to study here.” Another student loudly whispered to you.

And you got out. You didn’t need people to notice you there. Montgomery followed you until you suddenly stopped and turned around to face him. “I am fine Monty.”

“Are you gonna keep lying to my face like that all day?”

“People keep talking about me, Monty. I hear them.” You sighed. “All the time and trust me, they’re not gonna drop the hottest tea in town so easily.”

“Let’s give them another one.”

“What?” The bell started ringing right at that moment and students were rushing out of class, filling the once empty hall you were standing in. At that exact moment, when some of them spotted you probably for the first time in days -or weeks-, Montgomery did something unexpected. He quickly closed the distance between you and pressed his lips to yours in a gentle and slow kiss. It took you one second to realize Montgomery was kissing you and another second to realize you were kissing him back. That was it. That was right. And that was nearly two years ago.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” You asked your boyfriend without looking away from Noah’s tall figure that could be spotted from miles away. Your blood was boiling inside of you.

Before Montgomery could say anything to try and calm you down, Noah saw you and walked over to you. “Hey baby, missed me?” His hand went to touch your cheek but you stepped back avoiding it. “Come on, I know you did.”

“How about you leave my girlfriend alone Carter?” Montgomery came to stand between the two of you.

“You replaced me with this poor latinx (Y/N/N)? You know you can do better.” He was completely ignoring Montgomery’s words and pushed him to the side to get closer to you. “We can start over beautiful.”

“Fuck off, Carter.” A crowd was slowly forming aroun the three of you and the boys came right away to hold Montgomery back. But he wasn’t the one who needed to be held back.

Noah looked at Montgomery who was trying to free himself from Jeff’s hold and chuckled. ’“Look at this attack dog, he can’t do anything but get into fights. What kind of future do you think he can give you?”

No one had the time to make a move that your knee collided with his crotch and as he bent down in pain, your forehead violently collided with his nose, making him fall in pain, blood flooding out of his nose. “Wanna say that again asshole?”

Next thing you knew, you were sitting in front of the honor board under the very disappointed gaze of Mr Porter. You didn’t speak, holding the icepack the school nurse gave you against your forehead on which a bump and a bruise were forming while Noah was sitting on the chair next to yours, blood still dripping out of his nose and on his white t-shirt. It didn’t take long for the honor board to come to the conclusion that you were the one to be blamed for everything and got you suspended for two days.

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x-howfardoesthedarkgo-x · 7 years ago

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Back to You {Montgomery de la Cruz}

‘You could break my heart in two

But when it heals, it beats for you

I know it’s forward, but it’s true’

A terrifying scream cut through Liberty High’s corridor’s silence, like a knife’s blade, hurting the little blonde’s eardrums. Stopping in place, at first she wanted to ignore it, but finally she moved toward the men’s bathroom, from which the noise was coming, not expecting what she was going to see there. Taking a breath, she stood in the doorway, watching the brutal scene that was taking place in front of her eyes. The school freak and the object of jokes, Tyler Down, sat huddled against the wall of one of the booths, shaking, with slashed forehead and his pants pulled down. Two boys stood next to him, looking down at him with contempt and disgust in their eyes. This deplorable and unpleasant picture didn’t catch her attention for too long, and after a moment the blonde’s gaze went to the tall boy, throwing a mop into the corner of the room. Seeing the blood on the shaft and Tyler’s pulled off pants, she immediately understood what had happened just before she got here. She wanted to help the battered boy, but feeling dizzy with her legs refusing to obey, she began to reflexively retreat to the exit. At the same moment Montgomery looked up and their eyes met. He was furious, and the dangerous flash in his pupils strengthened the fear growing in the girl, making her wanting to be as far away from here as possible. The man standing in front of her didn’t resemble the charming and pugnacious boy she had known so far. Knowing she couldn’t take it anymore, she turned and fled from the toilet, which further aggravated de la Cruz’s anger. Instinctively clenching fists, he decided to run after the girl, catching up with her in the halfway of the corridor.

- You’re not going anywhere. - he growled, grabbing her wrist and pulling her toward him. He felt the blonde shaking with excess emotions and probably fear, but at that moment he didn’t care. He couldn’t let her go until he was sure she wouldn’t tell anyone what she saw.

- Let me go! - she struggled, making his fingers tighten even more on her wrist, causing pain. She knew who he was. She was aware that her ex had no control over aggression and treated people like nothing. But she has never been scared of him so far. She thought he couldn’t hurt her, but looking into his eyes, she was losing that confidence more and more with every second.

- You haven’t seen anything, do you understand? - he drawled through his teeth, staring at her sharply, ready to catch every lie.

- I’ve seen too much. - she hissed, staring hard into his hazel eyes, which could see through her. – You’ll rot in jail, Cruz.

She was aware that she was walking on thin ice. In the end, the man, who was standing in front of her, treated Tyler so brutally, hit Clay with car without hesitation, and threatened her and the rest of the people involved in the Hannah’s suicide. God knows what he was ready to do to keep her quiet.

She struggled once again, yet meeting resistance. Montgomery stared at her for a moment, and then, still clutching her wrist, he moved toward the janitor’s closet down the hall. She tried to free herself, but it didn’t help. The aggressive attitude of the boy, with which she had never before had to deal with in such a high level, put her in anxiety and fear of a more determined attempt to release herself.

After a while, the freckled boy opened the door, pulling Jennifer inside and slamming it behind them. He didn’t want to hurt her, but at the same time he couldn’t control himself. Without thinking, he pushed her against the wall. Maybe a little too hard, concluding by the expression on her face. He knew that when the emotions will finally subside, he will be furious, but this time at himself. For the fact that he treated her like that and didn’t think that he could hurt her. And according to him, she seemed so fragile and delicate. He could easily break her into thousands of pieces, like a porcelain figurine.

- Forget what you saw, Jennifer. - he looked at her, stepping closer, and the fact that she shook her head in response, didn’t surprise him at all. Why did she have to be so sickly good? If only this one time she could pass indifferently to the harm of others. But on the other hand, this kindness, care, gentleness and crystal heart drew him so much to her and intrigued him. -Tyler won’t say anything anyway, because he’s too afraid. And if he won’t say anything, why should you? It’s between me and that fucking faggot. It’s none of your business.

- Do you think why he is afraid? - she snarled, glaring at him. - How could you do this to him?

-How? And what, you didn’t see?- he leaned forward, resting his hand against the wall, right by her head. - I took a mop and put it in his ass, until he cried. He should be grateful. This is probably the most sex-like experience that will ever happen to him in his life.

Without thinking, she slapped him in the face with her hand. She wanted him to suffer. That it would hurt him as much as her, when she found out that her boyfriend, instead of supporting her, sent her letters with threats, because that was what Bryce expected from him. At the same time, she also knew that when she will finally get out of here, she will not go to the principal’s office to tell what Montgomery had done to Tyler. Instead, she will return home, trying to live as if nothing happened. She was sure that she will not say a word. She wanted to hate him, and he was giving her more and more new reasons to do so with every single day. However, they all lost their importance every time she saw him on the opposite side of the corridor, standing by his locker, with his characteristic smile, in one of those favorite flannel shirts he always wore and with which he covered her naked shoulders, whenever he came in the evening, knocking on the window, and then staying for the night. All these meant that Montgomery de la Cruz was still an inseparable part of her life and an addiction that devastated her from the inside.

-You are a monster. - she said quietly, staring at him with her eyes filled with tears. - You’ll be burn in hell for everything you’ve done, Montgomery.

- They already have a place for me for a long time. - he laughed quietly and mockingly, wiping a drop of blood from his split lip. - You just don’t understand anything, Jenny. - looking up, he met her golden irises. - Of course you don’t understand. After all, you live in your perfect world, have a loving father, brothers and friends who care for you selflessly. A beautiful, feisty, intelligent and confident blonde with the beauty of a little angel and a good heart. I’m not surprised that people love you so much. Unlike you, I have nothing. My parents don’t love me, my father beats the shit out of me whenever he wants, Tyler destroyed the pitch, and they canceled the season, I lost the scholarship and the chance for a good collage. He ruined everything that I've been working so hard for. My best friend doesn’t want to know me, although I’ve been protecting him all the time and doing what he told me to do, and you … dumped me and left me. I have nowhere else to go. I have no home. This team was my ‘home’ and now I lost it too.

-And that is supposed to be an excuse for what you did to him? - she said with obvious disgust in her voice. - Are you going to ruin life of all who gets in your way because you are angry and aggrieved? Your friendship with Bryce from the beginning was doomed to failure. If you think you've ever meant something to him, you’re even dumber than I thought. That son of a bitch would sell you at the first opportunity if he could save his ass thanks to that. Just like the rest of your damn team. You are not a family and you don’t care about each other. Indeed, it’s great to belong to a group, to walk the corridors as if you were gods, but all this 'brotherly bond’ is one big lie. - she crossed her arms over her chest, not paying attention to whether her words will magnify his anger and what consequences she will suffer for that. -Tell me then, why did you come to me every time your father beat you up and told you to leave? You have so many buddies who would certainly welcome you with open arms. Why instead of going to them, you appeared under my window with a black eye and bruises all over your body, asking me to sleep over at my house and promising that this situation won’t happen again? And I always let you stay, not expecting anything in return, because unlike your 'friends’, I really cared about you.

- Since you care about me so much, why did you told me to get the fuck out of your life with such ease? - raising his voice, he punched the wall, right next to her head, making her shake with fear and surprise.

-Who said it was easy for me ?! I didn’t want to break up with you.

He stared at the girl, watching her for a long moment in silence and trying to make sure her words weren’t a lie. Rage and bitterness still burned him from the inside, which was visible in his eyes, but this time there were no more dangerous and disturbing sparks in them. He needed her. As much as a drug addict, ready to do anything to get heroin from somewhere. Only with her he felt wanted. For the first time, someone honestly cared about him. And even though he denied it, he liked to feel loved. At home, he was treated like nothing, and at school everyone thought of him as a mean, cruel idiot, and it didn’t surprise him, he deserved such a reputation. Meanwhile, she didn’t care about those pinned labels and finally agreed to give him a chance. She gave him everything he needed, even though he didn’t realize it. And he eventually lost her, putting the safety of a fake friend over her good.

Now she was here and he had her all for himself again. He could do what he wanted with her, because in the end he was stronger, and nobody would hear anything from this place anyway. He could also explain and ask her to forgive him and take him back. He knew that she would probably agree to do it, but Montgomery de la Cruz never apologized and he wasn’t planning to make an exception even this time.

For a moment he was still staring at her golden irises, which he adored so much, and then, without thinking much, he touched her lips with his cut lip. And nothing happened. She didn’t hit him in the face. She didn’t push him away. Only her eyebrows rose like wings of a bird who doesn’t know whether to stay or fly away. At one point she closed her eyelids, returning the kiss, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as if she was everything he needed. He was still angry and torn, and excess feelings burned him from within. However, she was like ice, which brought him a pleasant coolness and relief, and the fear that if he held her for too long in his arms, the girl would melt, like one of those intricately carved figures and disappear forever. Suddenly, she put her hands on his ribs, covered with bruises after the last row with his father, causing a wave of pain. Montgomery, however, only bit his lip, ready to bear everything, if only thanks to this he would be able to have her with him longer.

Moving her hands down, Jennifer slid them under the boy’s T-shirt, feeling fresh wounds and scratches under her fingertips.

-Monty … - she said quietly, moving slightly away for a moment, but he grabbed her chin, pulling her closer and kissing her lips again.

- Don’t stop. - he whispered between kisses and the girl nodded. She knew that what she was doing was wrong, and her mind constantly reminded her of everything Montgomery has done. She should push him away, find Tyler and take him to Bolan to tell what happened to him. End the reign of unpunished jocks from Liberty High once and for all. However, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t just walk away. Her life would be much easier if she fell in love with a good and decent boy like Clay Jensen, Alex Standall or Zach Dempsey. But it didn’t draw her to them. She never felt anything more to them except friendly sympathy. It was different for Montgomery. From the very beginning, everyone had warned her of this relationship, and when they began to date, her friends assured her that she would be crying because of him. And she cried more than once. Their relationship was an unpredictable range of ups and downs, filled with quarrels, arguments, but also tenderness and love. She never knew if the day would end up with her slapping him in the face, and Monty coming out, slamming the door, or would they lay late in bed, hugging each other, talking about everything and nothing. She loved him. His every advantage and disadvantage. Because he was also hurt as much as she and her friends. Only in contrast to them, he fled into aggression and fights, not sadness, depression and suicidal thoughts. Jennifer wanted to help him so much. Give what no one has given him so far, no matter how much it cost her.

After a moment, she slid his flannel shirt off his shoulders, throwing it away somewhere on the floor, and encouraged by this, he slipped his hands under her blouse, impatiently sliding his fingertips over her ribs and lace of her bra. He loved to touch her, feel her soft and delicate skin under his fingertips, and now that they were together again, he wanted more and more with every moment. Breaking away from her lips, he brushed his lips against her cheek and then the earlobe to finally kiss the blonde’s neck, biting her skin and leaving a mark. He knew how much she liked it, although when they started dating, she woke up each and every morning in order to cover the hickeys in visible places with the foundation. He watched her efforts with a slight smile on his lips, listening to complaints, and then leaving even more marks on her body indicating that she belonged to him. At one point she took off his T-shirt, staring at the bruises for a moment, but remembering his earlier words, she tilted her head slightly, closing her eyelids and giving him easier access to her neck. Without waiting too long, the boy stripped off her blouse, throwing it on the rest of their clothes and smiled at the sight of the white lace bra, she was wearing.

- I love it when you put it on. - he murmured, touching her collarbone with his lips and sliding down onto her chest.

- Yeah, I know. - she said quietly, taking a breath and biting her lip. Her hands wandered all over his body, and her fingertips examined every inch of his skin. He was so fucking handsome and perfect. She wasn’t surprised that when he walked down the hall, most of the girls couldn’t take their eyes off him. He moved like a god and she still couldn’t believe that she made him weak.

Suddenly, Montgomery undid her bra, taking it off, and then impatiently, he moved his fingers down her spine, pulling the zipper of her skirt, which after a while he slid down together with her lace panties. Gripping the blonde’s buttcheeks with his hands, he lifted her up so that she would wrap her legs around his hips and lean her back against the wall, smashing his lips onto hers . Knowing he couldn’t stand it any longer, he unbuckled the belt and unbuttoned his jeans, sliding them slightly together with the boxers, and connected their bodies. Jennifer’s eyes glazed with pain caused by sudden contact, and she dug her nails into his arms, leaving red crescent marks on his skin. Taking another breath, she closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip, hiding her face in his neck. Montgomery noticed her reaction, but he didn’t stop because he knew that the pain the girl felt would pass and be replaced by pleasure. Pressing her hips against his, he clenched his fingers on them, leaving bruises on the girl’s skin, which she would probably have to explain later to the curious cheerleaders, when they would dress up together in the locker room. But he didn’t care about it. What counted was the fact that they were here. Right now. Together. At that moment his whole world was only her. Her breath, which he felt on his neck, her closed eyelids, tears on his eyelashes, because of which her mascara smudged slightly, but even though, she was still beautiful. Her nails, digging into his skin, fingertips, sliding across his body, her voice that quietly spoke his name from time to time and her golden hair, through which he loved to run his fingers.

At one point, Jennifer tilted her head slightly, resting her forehead against his and looking him in the eye. In his hazel irises, which sometimes made her forget what world she was in. If there is light at the end of the tunnel, it’s just the sun in his eyes. The pain finally passed, and its place was taken by pleasure. She was used to the fact that he wasn’t gentle and it didn’t bother her. In the end, if she expected a typical tenderness and gentleness, she would date Alex or Zach. She liked the fact that Monty knew what he wanted, and his touch made her forget about everything that was happening around her. In this way he made her become his property and she knew that she shouldn’t accept such a thing, but at the same time she couldn’t refuse him. Montgomery de la Cruz became an inseparable part of her, just as she became an inseparable part of him. It was only together that they were a whole. He could break her heart, and when she finally managed to pick up the pieces and put them together, she would come back to him again. She thought about him when she was in the arms of someone else. A freckled dark-haired boy with hazel eyes will always have his place in her heart and no matter what, she knew that she will come back to him anyway.

‘I wanna hold you when I’m not supposed to

When I’m lying close to someone else

You’re stuck in my head and I can’t get you out of it

If I could do it all again

I know I’d go back to you’

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nctloveclub · 7 years ago

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angry || montgomery de la cruz

request: a montgomery de la cruz imagine where you get mad at him bc he beat up alex and ends in fluff??? thanks! & Can you write a Montgomery imagine where your head cheerleader? :)

warnings: violence/fighting

a/n: i decided to incorporate these two requests, and im really trying to clean out my inbox ! i hope you guys like this :-) also i know nothing about cheerleaders ? so that isn’t really much to the imagine.

masterlist + request

You stood on the field, watching over the practice. Being the head cheerleader was exhausting, well mostly physically. It’s game season, so you worked extra hard to create routines and scheduled more practices, particularly in the morning. So here you were now, on the field practicing routines. You watched as the cheerleaders did the routine, everyone moving in sync.

That is before you heard many people yelling. You turned around and spotted a large crowd by the crosswalk. You quickly left the field and made your way towards the growing crowd. You arrived only see people cheering and recording. “What the hell?” You mumble to yourself as you push through the people. Your eyes widened at the sight of your boyfriend Monty beating up Alex Standall.

“Monty! Get off of him!” You rush towards him, desperately trying to grab at him. “Get the fuck off me!” You hear Alex yell. You see Mr. Porter quickly walk towards the scene, rushing to get Montgomery off of Alex. Mr. Porter pulls Montgomery, helping Alex stand. “What the hell is going on?”

“He started it.” Monty spoke, pointing at Alex. “Yeah? So what are you doing?” Mr. Porter asks. Monty smirks before he answers, “Finishing it?” Mr. Porter gathers Monty and Alex and takes them away. “Show is over. Go to class!” You sigh in annoyance, following Mr. Porter along with Montgomery and Alex. You see them go into the main office and you stop, deciding to just go to class.

When first period ended, you saw the two boys along with Mr. Porter go into the library, you deducting that the school honor board will be deciding on punishments. You decided to stay outside the library, waiting for Montgomery to come out. After about 5 to 10 minutes, Monty comes out, shortly after Alex. “So, what was your punishment?” You asked once Monty stood next to you.

“Suspended for 3 days, starting tomorrow.” Monty replies, not looking at you. “Why the hell did you do that Monty?” You ask in a ruder tone. “Why are you so pissed y/n? It was Standall’s fucking fault.” Monty scoffed. “Still, you fought someone, and he’s my friend. And he’s a pretty good one, unlike you, my boyfriend.” You fought back. Montgomery felt a tinge of hurt at your words, “y/n wait.” He spoke but you brushed it off, heading off to class.

The last bell of the day rang out and you gathered your things then left, ignoring Monty calling after you. “Y/n, wait. I’m sorry.” He called out and you slowed your pace. You waited for Monty to catch up before the two of you walked to his car and left to go to his house. You sat on Monty’s bed, cross-legged and facing him as he looked for bandages. He came back into the room, sitting across from you and handing you the bandages.

“I’m sorry y/n, for beating up Standall.” Monty spoke as you took his hands in yours. You smiled before you brought your lips to his knuckles, kissing the bruises that were forming. “I forgive you, but I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” You smirk, wrapping the bandages around his knuckles.

Once you finished, Monty pulled you into his lap, pressing a kiss to your lips. “You’re too good for me y/n y/l/n.” He spoke, his hands cupping your cheeks. “Oh Montgomery De La Cruz, how did you function without me?” You smirk, closing the gap between your lips.

personally i really like this but i feel like there are some errors. I hope you guys liked this ! my requests are open but please read my rules :-)

#my writing*#montgomery de la cruz #montgomery de la cruz imagine #montgomery de la cruz imagines #montgomery de la cruz smut #montgomery de la cruz x reader #reader x montgomery de la cruz #13 reasons why imagine #13 reasons why imagines #13 reasons why #montgomery de la cruz fanfic #montgomery de la cruz fanfiction #13 reasons why smut #13 reasons why fanfic #13 reasons why fanfiction

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lilxberry · 3 years ago

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I need you - Montgomery ‘Monty’ De La Cruz*

Requested By: @anabelleoriley

Hey it’s me again sorry I’ve been m.i.a recently I only saw this now. I was thinking along the lines of Monty & (female reader) maintaining a friendship that’s been going on since they were little, part of their unofficial agreement was that they’d never cross that line you know that thin between friends and Fwb … until they did cross one night in a tent during a camping the school was having, Things were super awkward the next day especially when he’d avoid her at every chance he got she felt really stupid and embarrassed thinking that she wasn’t good enough so she did what she always did which was flirt with guys just to boost her self-esteem a little (also she’s a natural flirt always has been) Monty got jealous/pissed so he confronted her… long story short they kissed & made up but also became official. I’d like the tent part to be smutty but the rest is in your hands sorry for the LOONG description i have a problem limiting my explanations lol 🙈.

Warnings: There’s some serious amount of swearing in this lmao. SMUT. Bryce (ugh). Jealousy. Zach being ooc? (Idk, it kinda warrants a warning simply because this ain’t our usual sweet Zacharcy, yanno?). I think that’s it but please let me know.

Words: 2,599

Pairings: Montgomery ‘Monty’ De La Cruz x reader (female reader)

(A/N: The ending is kinda abrupt but I always feel like when I get to the end of a fic, the writing goes down hill lmao.)

(A/N 2: Italics are flashbacks to the camping trip.)

________________

God, why did you do that?

Why did you both do that?

It was so, so stupid.

Everything was perfectly fine, then you both went and fucked it all up.

Fucking friendship.

Fucking camping trip.

Fucking Monty.

Of course, he’d fucking ignore you. Why wouldn’t he? Were you that fucking stupid?

_______________

“C’mon, Y/N/N,” Monty started, his arm slung over your shoulder as you sit beside one another on the bus ride to the camping ground. “Once everyone’s sleeping, Bryce’ll be climbing in some girls tent.”

You sigh and with a roll of your eyes, you look towards your friend of who knows how long with a deadpan expression. “Not the point, Monts.”

He raised an eyebrow up and smirked cockily. “Oh yeah? And what is the point, exactly?”

“The point is, I don’t want to deal with your annoying ass in a confined tent, moving and kicking and snoring.”

Monty tuts and leans back into his seat, never removing his arm and in fact bringing you in closer to him. “So, you’re just gonne let me sleep all on my own in a tent when I could get murdered at any moment? It’s safer in pairs.”

“Then bring it up with your tent buddy that’s gonna abandon you for some pussy that’s most probably not even worth it.”

He snorted and eyed you playfully. “And who’s pussy do you deem ‘worth it’? Yours?” he teases.

“Obviously,” you remark with a roll of your eyes. “But I wouldn’t touch Bryce with a 10 foot pole while wearing a hazmat suit.”

“I HEARD THAT!” The oh-so familiar voice of Bryce calls from two seats behind, making both you and Monty laugh loudly.

_______________

Needless to say, you gave in to Monty and his constant fucking nagging, because “he’s just so persuasive”.

Now you’re beating yourself up for listening to fucking Monty and going along with his fucking stupid fucking plan.

Now you’re stuck between a constant want of smacking the shit out of him and having him close and right by your side again.

_______________

“I hope you’re fucking happy, asshole,” you retort as you climb in through the tent flap to join Monty in his tent now that everyone’s asleep and Bryce is tapping some ass that’s probably to desperate to actually realise that it’s BRYCE they’ve agreed to sleep with.

“Not so loud, babe. You tryna give us up?”

“God, I hate it when you call me that.” You mimicked dry heaving to really accentuate how disgusting you thought the word was. “It reminds me of all your sad attempts at losing your virginity.”

“Woah. I’m wounded, BABE.”

You snort and make your way to lay beside Monty, back against whatever cushioned the ground, eyes staring at the tent’s ceiling with boredom. You felt your side get nudged and you turn your head to face the brunette laying beside you, a crooked grin on his face.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me.”

“Oh god.” You groan and close your eyes, turning your head away from him before looking at him incredulously. “Really?”

“Oh c’mon. That was funny.”

“Shut up. Can’t we just like, I dunno, go sleep or something?”

He pushes your shoulder in a playful manner. “Pssh. You wanna sleep? When you have like the hottest fucking guy right next to you? In a tent? Where no one can see?” Monty raises himself to lay on his side, his head propped up by his hand. “So you’re really gonna deny this opportune moment to fuck?”

You make a sound, a mixture between a groan and a whine, all whilst bringing your arm up to cover your face. “C’mon, Monts. We even talked about this before. We set ground rules when we got old enough. We weren’t gonna cross that line.”

“Why are you so scared, huh? It’s not like it’s gonna change anything. We’re still gonna be best friends, we’re still gonna care about each other and never leave each other’s sides. The only thing different is that we’ve just relieved some stress, baby.”

You remove your arm from over your face, chancing a quick peek at Monty. “That’s not the point.”

“Plus, I doubt I’d even sleep with you if I was bored out of my skull,” you playfully added to lighten the mood. Yet, it did nothing to ease the tension that somehow formed between the two of you.

Monty crawled his way to hover over you, moving to settle between your legs which had parted in an almost natural reaction. His face was level with yours, his arms either side of your head, holding himself up above you. “Well,” he started, a smirk forming on his face. He leans closer as he whispers. “You certainly look very bored, Miss Y/L/N.”

You release a slow breath as you look up at him, and you felt your resolve crumble almost instantly.

“Why do I let you talk me into everything?”

_______________

The avoidance of you Monty has been so determined to follow through with has annoyed you to no end; acting as if it had never happened, as if you were never apart of his life.

You were beyond fucking pissed.

The entirety of the camping trip after that night had been hell. Monty avoiding you at all costs. The rest of the trip allowed you to wallow in self pity and to consume yourself in self-deprecating, self-esteem lowering thoughts.

But now it’s a new week, a new weekend to be exact, a party at the Walker residence.

A new level of confidence installed within you.

God, who needs Mongomery De La fucking Cruz?

With a smirk, you see Zach stood at the kitchen island beside Justin, both with red solo cups in their hands filled with beer, both smiling and laughing and certainly having a good time. If it weren’t for the fact that they had broken up recently, you would easily see Jessica right by Justins’ side with her own drink, more of a vodka concoction in her cup.

Swaying your hips, you close in on the two, eyes set on Zach, your cup in your own hand although empty. Zach spots you just before you reach the duo and smiles at you, Justin following his friends’ eyes, his own gaze landing on you.

“Hey, Y/N/N,” he greets, all while you and Zach continue to look each other up and down.

“Hey Foley.” You spare him a quick glance only for your eyes to fall on to Zach once more quickly, the corner of your mouth quirking upwards. “Zach.”

“Looking good, Y/N/N,” Zach comments, his smirk hidden behind the rim of his cup that he follows with a sip.

“Not too bad yourself, Dempsey,” your smirk mirroring his own.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“Sure.” You pass him your cup and move to lean against the kitchen counter beside him as turns to refill your cup, handing it to you slowly, allowing his fingers to brush against yours.

“Thanks.” You take a sip yet neither of your eyes leaves each other, and even when Justin cleared his throat and excused himself with a chuckle, you both continued the eye contact.

Zachs’ eyes leave yours for a moment to glance where warm bodies danced around and with each other before looking back down at you. “Wanna dance?”

You take another sip before taking a hold of his hand and pulling him towards the living room, walking backwards, your bottom lip caught between your teeth.

You twirled in his hold once you reached the masses of sweating, drunk, dancing people and spun yourself into him, your back against his front, the two of you already swaying and moving against each other, your hips rotating against his.

You hook one arm around the back of his neck whilst you bring your cup back up to your lips, taking a generous sip of whatever alcohol Zach had poured you.

You feel his hot breath again your neck and the shell of your ear and his murmured, husked words sends a pleasant tingle shooting through you.

“You really look good, baby.”

_______________

“You look so good, baby,” Monty breathed, his hips rocking into yours at a sensual pace, his cock dragging deliciously against your tight walls.

Your chest heaves against his as breathy moans escape you, your nails raking down his back, drawing red marks against his tanned skin, the muscles beneath your fingertips flexing with each thrust.

He ravages your neck with his mouth, biting and sucking deep marks on to your flesh, a loud pornographic moan that’s muffled by his hand coming from you in response to his hot touch.

“You look so pretty on my cock, fuck.” His pace fastens, your tits bouncing at the increase of speed.

Monty wraps his arms around you securely before flipping you both, his dick still deep inside you. “Ride me, princess.”

You do as your told, swivelling and rocking your hips, rotating them, bouncing up and down on his length, anything to chase your orgasm while bringing him closer to his own, palms planted against his chest, nails slightly biting at his flesh.

“Monty, fuck-“ A thin layer of sweat coats both your bodies, the inside of the tent now feeling stuffy and warm and just reeks of the stench of sex. You never understood how something, or someone could smell like sex, but now it all suddenly makes sense to you.

You feel a familiar tightening in your abdomen, twisting and turning and tightening and then- it snaps. Your body pauses its movements and quivers and Monty decided to fuck you through it while chasing his own.

He flips you both back over and fucks into you with a desperate want, a need. He brings one hand down to toy with your clit at his thrusts are fast and sloppy, uncoordinated. His mouth is on yours, muffling your sweet orgasmic moans, his tongue invading past your lips and swirling around your own.

A few more pumps and thrusts and he’s there with you, in a euphoric state as his climax comes round. His hips still, occasionally jerking as he releases into the condom wrapped around his dick.

Monty’s sweaty body collapses on top of yours and you both lay there in a sweaty, panting heap in the centre of the two-man tent, clothes, haphazardly thrown at all sides of the space.

_______________

His jaw is clenched and the girl under his arm sat beside him on his friends’ couch is completely forgotten; she was boring anyways.

His eyes are solely on you and Dempsey, watching you move against him as if you have any right. But you do.

Montgomery De La Cruz had no fucking claim on you.

And he knows that. Very much so.

The girl tries to regain his attention but it’s a lost cause, simply shrugging her off and removing his arm from around her shoulders, leaning forward in his seat, his forearms resting on his jean clad knees, tonguing his bottom lip in anger and jealousy.

He watches tensely as you turn in Zach’s’ hold and raise yourself up on to your tiptoes to whisper into his ear before sauntering away and out of sight and like fuck would Montgomery not go after you.

He’s quick to move out of his seat, standing and following you out of the room and towards the kitchen, to which he enters and finds you pouring yourself another drink. Monty rolls his shoulder before walking up and standing right behind you, leaning over slightly, and speaking into your ear with an indifferent tone.

“We need to talk.”

He waits for you to lower the bottle before grasping your wrist and pulling out of the kitchen and in the direction to the stairs to find somewhere private.

As pissed as you are, you put no effort in to fight him.

Once up the stairs and satisfied with the empty room he stumbled upon, he pushes you inside and makes sure to close and lock the door before spinning to face you, who took it upon yourself to sit on the bed in the centre of the room.

“What the fuck was that?” he exclaimed, throwing his arm behind him and gesturing to the door.

You continue to act nonchalant, staying silent, gazing into the liquid inside your cup, swirling it around in your hand.

“Hello?” He sounds annoyed and you scoffed. Of course, he has the audacity to be annoyed at you ignoring him.

“So now you want to talk? I thought it was okay to ignore each other like what you’ve been doing to me since that fucking camping trip,” you spat, still refusing to make eye contact with him. “Why did you ignore me? Huh? Better be a good fucking reason.”

“Get a fucking grip, Y/N. grow up.” He scoffed angrily and ran his hand down the length of his face before looking at you. “Answer my fucking question. The fuck was that? What the fuck were you doing with Dempsey?”

“Why are you so fucking concerned, Monty?” You stood in anger. “Go back to cosying up with that blonde, yeah?”

“Oh fuck off, she means nothing.”

“Why doesn’t that shock me?” You laugh but there was no humour behind it. “Are you going to give me an actual fucking explanation why you’ve avoided me or not? Because I think I deserve a fucking answer.”

You begin to pace. “Do you know how that shit made me feel? Do you even have the slightest fucking idea how much that hurt?” Your voice began to break, your eyes were building up with tears, but you refused to give up now. “You hurt me, Monty. You really fucking hurt me. You said nothing would change, that we’d still right by each other’s side yet you left, you fucking left, and it hurt.”

A few tears had escaped by now, slowly rolling down your cheeks. You suck in a shaky breath and you finally look him in the eye. “So please, just give me a fucking explanation.”

Moments passed by and nothing came from Monty, not a single word. It was a response you didn’t like one bit. “Fine.” You cleared your throat and made your way to walk past him.

Just as you brush past his side, you feel his large hand on your wrist, pulling and turning you to face him and before you knew it, his lips were on your in needy kiss.

Monty removed his lips from yours and exhaled shakily as he moved to rest his forehead against yours. “I thought I fucked it, that I fucked it all up like always,” he whispered. “That’s why avoided you. I couldn’t fucking lose you like that. I never wanted to hurt you like that, I fucking swear.”

“And you didn’t think avoiding me would fuck it, either? Jesus, Monty. You’re a fucking idiot sometimes, y’know that?”

He chuckled and a small smile broke out on to your own face, too. “I really wanna try this with you. fuck, I wanna try this with you so bad but I understand if I’ve fucked any chance.”

“I wanna try this with you, too,” you whispered softly, eyes closing and hands finding his own. “But we need to do this slowly. I really don’t want to be hurt again, Monts.”

He nodded his head, his nose brushing against your own at the movement. “We’ll go at whatever damn speed you want Y/N/N.” his voice entirely sincere, not an ounce of falsity in it. “I just, I need you.”

_______________

I didn’t know what I was doing with this

Like usual lmao

Just, I hope you enjoy it

If you want to be added to a taglist lemme know

As always, constructive criticism and requests are welcomed and greatly appreciated :D

_______________

13 Reasons Why taglist:

(If I’ve forgotten you, please let me know. Otherwise, the taglist for this show is empty like I remember it to be.)

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misguidedswagger · 3 years ago

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are people still writing for 13rw??

should i … should i go back to that?

i kinda REALLLLLYYYY fuckin want to.

#x reader #13rw #13rw fanfiction #13rw x reader #13 reasons why #montgomery de la cruz #alex standall #zach dempsey #clay jensen #tony padilla #plz tell me #i wanna write for these babies again #justin foley

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bessonschev · 3 years ago

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Hanging out with Scott Reed includes

not always being alone (probably Monty, Bryce, and maybe Zach around)

doing something dumb like drinking or smoking

making out (Monty and Bryce definitely hype up the pda)

cuddling

him telling you he loves you

talking about sports (aka baseball and football)

watching something of your choice on the tv

if ur alone there maybe some sexy time

forcing him to break up with you (he doesn’t want to) so you can listen to Red (Taylor’s Version) so you can feel the pain

laughing at him because you made him learn a tiktok dance and he didn’t get it like 20 times

him giving you his varsity jacket

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purestxblood · 3 years ago

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Hello wonderfuls, ♡ thank you so much for taking the time to check out my master list & read my works. Comments, likes, & reblogs are always appreciate as I love to hear your thoughts.

Like every talented writer, I do not give permission for any of my works to be translated, rewritten, copied and posted on platforms other than my own accounts here on Tumblr & Wattpad unless stated otherwise.

Feel free to join my 𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 to stay up to date & be notified for your favorite character one-shots.

▬▬▬ 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐌 ! ─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘳 ! ; 𝘥𝘤 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶 ! ; 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 ! ; 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘭 ! ; 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘴 ! ;

▬▬▬ 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 ! ─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦 ! ; 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘺'𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘺 ! ; 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 ! ; 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘤 ! ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 ! ; 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 ! ; 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 ! ;

▬▬▬ 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂 ! ─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 ! ;

▬▬▬ 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐏𝐀𝐃 ! ─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘢𝘥 ! ; 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘢𝘥 !

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13-reasons-ideas · 3 years ago

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Once A Serpent? Part 4

A/N: New chapter! It’s a little short but I feel like this is the most logical spot to end it based on what’s coming next. I have decided how I want to show you guys Kennedy and Sweets’ relationship. There might be chapters that end up being only flashbacks, depending on the content but for now, it should just be flashbacks sprinkled in sometimes. Sorry if the spacing is weird. I don't know why it looks funny on my end. As always, much love and feedback is appreciated. -Em

I didn’t hear from Nathan, post breakup, until the next Saturday. I had just gotten home from my first shift at Monet’s. My phone vibrated on the counter. I thought it was my boss, Daphne, or someone from work. I silently hoped it was Monty. I refused to admit that I might possibly have a crush. My breakup was still fresh. When I saw that it was none of those people, but rather Sweet Pea’s name on the screen, I almost spit out my granola bar. What the hell? Why is he texting me now? What does he want? What could he possibly have to say to me? I sighed and decided to leave it unread for a while. He wasn’t worth dropping my snack and homework over. Not anymore. That didn’t stop me from glancing over at my phone every few minutes though.

My curiosity got the better of me and I pushed my math notes aside. I wasn’t going to solve this question anytime soon. Maybe I’ll text Scott and see if he knows the answer. I unlocked my phone and tapped the messages icon. Instead of texting Scott like I should have, I opened Sweet Pea’s text. How’s California? I rolled my eyes. What was I supposed to say to that?

It’s sunny. I locked my phone and stupidly, tried to go back to my math homework. After several minutes of still getting nowhere with it, I gave up and texted Scott.

Hey. Did you figure out question eight? I’m about rip my hair out trying to do it.

Figure it out? No. Get the answer? Yes.

What?

Melissa said it’s 38. Zach agreed.

You know it says ‘show your work’ right?

Well shit.

Yup. I don’t think you can say ‘my girlfriend said it’s this.’ and get points.

I’m busy right now, but we can call later and figure it out?

Sure. Tell Melissa I said hi.

I will when I see her tonight.

You’re not together? I thought you were spending the day together.

Her parents needed her to do stuff for her grandma today so we moved things.

Ah. Sweet Pea texted me a few more times while I finished my work.

You good?

Yeah. My ex is just… I don’t know.

Boy troubles?

You could say that. My phone started ringing. It was Scott.

“Scott.”

“Kennedy.” I could hear voices in the background. “You’re on speaker.”

“You’re calling me because?”

“Boy troubles.”

“Tell him to fuck himself.” Bryce called.

“That would require answering his texts. Are we sure the answer is 38? I don’t think it’s 38.”

“It is.” Zach said.

“What’s he saying? Dude. My mom will murder all of us if you fuck up her couch.” There was a chorus of laughter in the background. I assumed they were being idiots at Scott’s place.

“I don’t want to look.”

“Do it!” the guys called. I groaned.

“What’s the situation there?” Monty asked. Fishing for a story or is he curious?

“K so he hasn’t spoken to me since the breakup. And when I went to return his stuff, I overheard him saying some not so great things.”

“Any more to go on?”

“Secrets Monty.”

“You wouldn’t kill me. You like me somewhere deep down.”

“Sure she does. Real deep.”

“Fuck you Walker.”

“Anyway. He texted me when I got home asking how California is. I told him it’s sunny and haven’t looked at my phone since.”

“Fuck him. Read the texts and call me back.”

“Fine. In the meantime, can you get Zach to explain how the hell this is 38?” I hung up and opened Sweet Pea’s messages.

Sunny?

That’s it? Not exciting? Again, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Jones misses you.

Fangs wants you to answer his text. Which I assume you never got if you didn’t answer. Because it’s Fangs.

I sighed and answered him. Yes. Just sunny. It’s small and school just started. The only cool thing that has happened is homecoming. We lost. Tell him I didn’t get the text. Short, sweet, and to the point. Maybe now he will leave me alone.

I texted Scott. No point in calling. He basically was just asking if I got a text from my friend or not.

That’s weird.

I know.

I abandoned my phone for the rest of the day. I didn’t want to think about Nathan and his out of the blue text. If I kept my phone on me, I would just read it over and obsess over it. That wasn’t healthy. We broke up. We were over. We both had to accept that. Random texts weren’t okay. After all, I was the experiment. “Took him two years to figure that out?” I spat. My parents were gone for the night, so the house was empty. My question was met with silence. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get his text out of my head.

I needed a distraction. I tried cleaning the kitchen. Scrubbing at the already clean counters. Mopping the floor. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. Once that was done, I went upstairs and did my laundry. Folded my shirts and hung my pants. How’s California? I huffed and emptied out my closet. I didn’t like how it was organized when we moved in. The pretty little rich girl. I ripped a sweater off its hanger. Experiment. I threw a pair of jeans across the room. Was never going to work out anyway. Both better off. I screamed and pulled at my hair. I hadn’t let myself really feel the emotions of our breakup. It all happened so fast that I never really got a chance to take a breath and accept it. And so, I did what any sane person would do. I sat on my floor and sobbed. I let myself feel the cold loneliness that I wrapped in too warm sweaters during the day and thick, heavy blankets at night. For the first time in a month, I freely let my mind run wild with memories. Once, they were cherished. Now though… now they felt tainted. Like everything we did, like all of our promises from the last two years meant nothing.

FLASHBACK

I was curled up on Nathan’s bed, flipping through an old comic book. He was in the kitchen. I could hear cupboard doors opening and closing. The scrape of metal on glass filled the trailer. I winced. “Sorry.” He called. I didn’t respond. He came back into his room with a pb & j on a plate for us to share. Not exactly the healthiest breakfast. My mom would flip if she saw me eating this at nine a.m.

“Thank you.” I mumbled as I sat up. He joined me on the bed silently and kissed my temple. We ate our sandwich quietly, while we shared the comic I was flipping through. He, of course, knew it by heart. But he still reacted like it was the first time he was reading it when a twist happened. I smiled to myself because I knew he was only doing it for my benefit.

As we laid together lazily, wasting a dreary Saturday morning, he played with my hair. “This is it, right?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“This is what they mean in all those old movies and books we read for English, about that person? The person who is it for you? This is what they are talking about?”

“I think so.” I nodded.

“So, this is forever?” He sounded hopeful.

“Yes. This is it.” I had long since abandoned any fear of leaving. I had allowed myself to become comfortable. I was content. And madly and completely in love with Nathan.

“I promise this is forever.”

“Forever.” I sat up and kissed him deeply.

END FLASHBACK

I remained on the floor as more memories ran through my mind. Eventually, I heard my phone ringing somewhere in the background. I ignored it. Sometime later, my parents came home. I had stopped crying but was still on my floor. My parents called my name. I groaned in response. “Kennedy?” my mom asked as she came in my door.

“What?” My voice was gravely and sounded hollow.

“Oh, honey.” She came and sat with me. Her hand ran through my hair, untangling it. My dad came up the stairs.

“Girls?”

“In here.”

“Oh my.” Dad stayed in the doorway.

“I hate him. I hate him Mom.”

“I’ll get the ice cream.” Dad said before retreating back downstairs. Mom pulled me into her lap. Together, we stood and slowly made our way downstairs.

Dad had ice cream on the counter with three spoons. I took a chair over to the counter and sat down, pulling the tub towards me. We are an eat it out of the tub kind of family. “Don’t hog all the brownie bits.”

“I make no promises Pops.”

“What happened honey?”

“Nate texted me.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing of consequence. Just… nothing.” I sighed.

“I’m sorry pumpkin. I always thought I should have kicked his ass.”

I laughed. “Dad!”

“What? It’s my right as your father to kick ass.”

“Dad!”

By Monday I was in a better mood. I was back to thinking that Nathan didn’t matter anymore. Scott was waiting for me at my locker with his math homework. “This is how it is 38 apparently.” He handed the papers to me.

“Morning Scott.” I looked over the work. It was all Greek to me. “Uh… huh. Right. Sure.”

“Oh good, you agree.” I pulled my textbook out of my bag and pulled out the loose sheet from this weekend. Handing it to Scott, I shoved another book in to replace it. My sweater was balled up in my locker and I slammed it shut. We started on our way to class as I scribbled the work off Scott’s paper to mine. Bryce and the guys caught up with us near the cafeteria.

“What did you get up to this weekend?” Bryce asked. He snaked his arm around my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and brushed him off.

“Not much. Reorganized my closet. Watched movies with the parents. You?”

“I had a date.” He shrugged. The boys groaned and made some stupid comments.

“Fantastic. Was she nice?”

“Nice enough.” He smirked. “How’s the ex?”

“He sucks. And has gone radio silent again, thankfully. I had ice cream. I feel better.” Melissa walked over to us and hugged me tightly. I stiffened. I wasn’t good with unprovoked touching.

“Men suck.”

“Hey!” Scott protested.

“Not you hon. I’m sorry Kennedy.”

“Don’t be. It was bound to happen sometime. Also yes.” I shrugged. The bell rang and I waved bye to my friends.

Justin and I got to work Tuesday afternoon at the same time. I watched as he pulled his sweater over his head in one motion. I could feel my neck flush. Not because I was attracted to him or anything. It’s just one of those things that is attractive anytime a guy does it. It was my third shift, so I was still learning the basics. The register was easy enough to do. You selected the drink, any customizations, and any extra items, and then took the money. Fairly simple. For the most part. I had already had some ‘I only like the idea of coffee’ orders. One girl asked for eight pumps of syrup in her medium latte. The espresso bar was a work in progress. The buttons were finicky lately, or so I had been told by Daphne on my first day.

I was finishing an espresso order for a ‘Prestilla’ when I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I tried to ignore the feeling, but it wouldn’t go away. I was used to the feeling of being watched. But I wasn’t as new in town anymore. People were starting to ignore me. I shook my head slightly. When I looked up, Montgomery was watching me from the doorway. I smiled at him softly. He nodded in my direction. I pretended not to pay attention when he came to order. “Monty.”

“Justin.” I wasn’t dumb. I knew they weren’t friends. Even though I knew that I was taken aback by Justin’s slightly hostile tone. We were at work.

“What can I get for you?” I choked back a snort at his customer service voice.

“Pour over with cream.”

“Anything else?”

“What’s in the lemon raspberry muffin?”

“Is… Are you-?” Justin muttered but stopped himself. “Lemon. And raspberries. And whatever else goes in a muffin.” I hummed, trying not to laugh.

“One of those.”

“That’ll be five ten.” I turned to grind the coffee for the pour over, groaning slightly.

“How’re you?” I turned around and tilted my head. I couldn’t hear Monty very well over the coffee grinder. He held up a hand for me to wait. Once the coffee was ground, I was able to hear again. “I asked how you are.”

“Oh, I’m good. You know, working. You?”

“Good. Work okay?”

“It goes.” I was never good at small talk.

“Fair enough. Are you working Friday night?”

“I don’t think so? Why, what’s up?”

“Bryce’s parents are out of town so he’s having some people over after the game. Did you want to come?”

“Sure. I think Melissa and I are going to the game together. Are you planning on winning this week?”

“We always plan to win.” Justin piped up. “Here’s your lemon raspberry muffin, that has lemons and raspberries.”

“Thanks.” I handed Monty his coffee and he smiled at me. “See you tomorrow, Kennedy.”

“See you, Monty.”

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