Chereads / The Scars She Left Behind / Chapter 13 - Thirteen

Chapter 13 - Thirteen

"Bry! The water will be freezing, it's barely even eight-thirty!" Summer whines, trying to pull away from me.

"Oh c'mon, you'll hardly notice that once you get used to it, babe." I smile back as I practically drag her behind me.

It didn't take much convincing from me to get her into that bikini, getting into the water was a whole other story...

"So." She mumbles back and I smirk. She didn't have much of an argument besides the temperature and time.

We were nearing the water and within a foot of the shoreline, Summer fought with all her might against me.

"I'm not letting you go." I tug her close to me. Her hands land on my chest and I take this as my opportunity to get her in finally. She closes her eyes when I start leaning in but my goal was not a kiss. I duck down quickly to grab her legs and throw her lightly over my back.

"Bryson! That was not fair! Put me down!" She screams, kicking and hitting my back. I just smirk knowing that I'm going to get my way. As soon as I get knee-deep, her squirming stops.

"Bry, please don't." She begs. pouting. I move her into my arms with her help, her feet are the only part touching the water while I'm waist-deep.

"Don't what?" I smile down at her. Before she could answer, I threw her into the water. Her shriek was very loud it could be heard through the water.

She resurfaced with her hair a mess. She glared at me while moving it out of her eyes making me laugh even more.

My laughter was soon cut to an end when I felt my legs give from under me, making me go down back first into the freezing water myself. I push myself back up to the surface to Summer laughing at me.

"Not so funny now, huh?" She says between giggles

---

Natalie smiles at me when she walks out. She was dressed in a nice top with a skirt and converse. I'm glad she wore reasonable shoes for tonight without even noticing.

"So, what's the plan?" Natalie says once she is situated in her seat.

"It's a secret." I reply putting my car into drive.

"Well, how long before we get to this secret place?"

"An hour." I smirk.

"What?" She turns to look at me, "That's a long way for a date."

"Trust me on this." Is all I reply before getting on the highway.

"Of course." She huffs as she sits back and looks out at the passing cars.

The only thing that could be heard was the music and the soft hum of passing cars. Natalie was quiet in thought, most likely debating where we were going. She'd only take her phone out to reply to a text but then she'd be right back to look outside.

The drive was as boring as I had expected but it would be worth it to see her reaction when she finally realizes where I was taking her. It would only be a few more minutes now.

"No! Are you serious right now!?" She sits up, face up to her window as we near the stadium.

"Very." I say as I try to find a parking spot in this maze. Cars and people were scattered all around and it was damn near impossible to maneuver around it all.

Natalie was out almost as soon as I shut the car off and went to grab me from my side. I laughed at her eagerness and locked the car.

"Oh god! How much did this cost you?" She looks at me mortified but then quickly looks away, "Never mind, I don't want to know."

She shakes her head and grabs my hand taking me by surprise as she strings me along faster to get inside. It felt foreign to be holding someone's hand again.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She chanted at me bouncing up and down once we got past and made our way to our spot. I had gotten relatively good spots I think. It wasn't front row because they sold out so fast but it was a couple of rows back, sill ground level with the stage.

"Calm down." I laugh, taking her shoulders to steady her, "You're welcome, this is nothing."

"How can I be calm at a time like this!? We're going to see 5 Seconds of Summer live on stage!" She practically shouted before dragging me to our row fast.

She couldn't stay still as she stared at the stage before us waiting for them to walk out. I was curious about what they were like, I hadn't listened to them even though I knew I was going to be seeing them live. I guess I liked having this small surprise for myself.

Suddenly screaming was heard all around and I winced slightly as I took in everything around me. The majority of people here were girls and very few guys could be spotted around making me very aware of myself. I was surrounded by girls.

Four guys were getting situated on stage. I didn't bother learning their names, I heard many different ones being shouted out around me.

The one with blonde hair takes the mic and sets everyone off more than before. Natalie looks as though she'd witnessed god himself before her. But it seemed every girl here looked just that way.

The whole scene made me wonder if this is how performing for Corrupt Youth is going to be. We had only experienced parties but it was nothing close to this, and it made the butterflies reappear for our future as a band and just a tad bit of excitement.

The first song starts making everyone scream momentarily but then get quiet and sing along.

The set was thirteen songs and we were on the last one. I didn't mind their music and actually thought it was good. Though I'd never say anything to the boys as they're probably poking fun at me for listening to such a 'girly' band. but then again, we were just like these guys.

Natalie suddenly turns to me with the brightest smile I've seen her adorn. I smile back at her know that I did well with planning this date.

I couldn't help the butterflies again in my stomach as she takes a step closer to me looking nervous but confident at the same time.

"This is the best thing anyone has done for me." She says close to my ear so I could hear her over the music. Her hand was hooked around my neck and I suddenly got warmer at the contact.

"I'm glad you like it." I reply to her as she stares up at me with a blush.

Before I could notice she brings her mouth up to mine and I'm taking aback from the sudden contact of her lips brushed up against mine. I forgot everything going on around us for a split second, but I pulled away from one the realization hit.

"I'm sorry." I say as I pull away from her. I needed to get away before I do something I don't want to do. I make a beeline to the nearest exit to get outside.

The ringing in my ears grows louder and the pain in my chest intensifies the farther I get. I lean against the wall beside the doors and slap my hands over my face, rubbing my eyes. Three years later and this makes me feel terrible. She's gone, why can't I move past it. The shouting in my head calling me a cheater wasn't assisting one bit.

"Bryson!" Natalie runs out looking around. Her shoulders relax when she notices me behind her. She walks up to me but maintains a safe distance. I hope she didn't think I'd leave her here. "I'm so sorry that I did that, I was just caught up in the moment and wasn't thinking. I-"

"It's not your fault." I say as I finally meet her eyes. She was on the verge of tears probably thinking that this was her entire doing. That was far from the truth. The problem wasn't that she kissed me — it was that I kissed back.