"Don't take me for granted, I ain't afraid to walk away."
• • •
The finger covering my ear fell to my side as I stared at the wall in front of me without anything to say, I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water trying to form words, but I couldn't.
"I know you're still there, I can hear the music," he started with a sigh, "you don't have to say it back, I just wanted you to know."
Looking back at where Isabella sat, I found Jayden looking my way with a questioning look. As I stared back at his blue eyes I seemed to finally find the right words as I spoke up,
"I missed you too."
"Well then, that's great," I could sense the smile coming from the black haired boy on the other side of the phone as he spoke,
"I also wanted to check up on you and see how everything's going."
Pulling my eyes away from the blue eyes across the bar, I looked around the place.
"Everything's going good, I'm good," I replied, "how are you, how's Massachusetts treating you?"
"I've been great, and Massachusetts is actually pretty nice," he claimed, "I'm actually back in town, that's another reason why I called."
"Really?!" I exclaimed, "That's great news, you visiting the family?"
"Yeah, you already know I'm Momma's boy," he told me, that has been what my teasing was about for the past four years. It may have been our little inside joke too.
"Of course how could I forget," I grinned rolling my eyes.
"And how's Carrie doing?" I asked him.
"Mom's been content ever since I got home, saying she missed her baby and that I should probably choose another college that is much closer to home," he explained, "you already know the whole ordeal."
"I mean I understand where she's coming from, but she also has to see it this way, you've worked so hard to get into Harvard it would have been a waste if you let the opportunity get past you."
"Yeah," he replied, "Well, I guess I'll let you go so you can enjoy the rest of the night."
"Good night," I told him smiling at the phone.
"Get home safe," he demanded with a stern voice, I could picture him raising one of his dark eyebrows as he said it.
"Aye aye, Captain."
Hearing a chuckle, soon after the line went dead.
Heading back to the ginger still sitting at the counter as she animatedly talked to her friends, I watched as they laughed at something she said, all except Jayden who seemed to be caught in his thoughts or so it looks like it.
"Ah, and she's back!" Isabella said cheerily, wriggling her eyebrows she passed me a smug smile,
"everything fine with lover boy? Or should I say with your 'old friend'?" Adding a 'subtle' wink my way, I laughed at her tactics.
"He is an old friend," I corrected her, "and yes everything's fine."
"Wanna tell me more?" By now she was leaning on the counter, an elbow propped up to sustain her head in the palm of her hand.
"Don't be so nosey Isabella," Emma reprimanded the girl in front of me, who was looking expectantly.
Then the red head turned to me with a sweet smile, rolling my eyes at her playfully with a small smirk, I shook my head,
"Unbelievable."
I barely met this girl and she now wanted to know about this, maybe she's much more like Isabella than I would've thought. Which says a lot since Isabella loves gossip.
"What?" Both girls gave me innocent looks as they fluttered their eyelashes at me, with a pout forming on their lips.
Looking over at the guys, they seemed to have a conversation amongst themselves, all except Travis.
I even despised his name.
"Girls stop overwhelming Blair over here with questions," he spoke to them as he motioned towards me.
I still don't like him.
"But babe!" Isabella whined, now turning her pout towards her boyfriend, before she could speak any more words, Travis pecked her on the lips shutting her up immediately.
It seemed like she was in La, La, Land, right after that quick peck. She truly liked the boy, and seeing as she did I couldn't mess up her relationship so I would keep everything to myself... for now.
Emma seeing as she wasn't going to get anything out of me, she shrugged before changing the subject, "I've been dying to ask, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but are you wearing a contact?"
Her eyes moved from eye to eye, as if trying to decipher whether they were my real eye color or I was one of those people who liked to wear only one contact.
Laughing at the sudden change of subject, she seemed to have relaxed as if the question would offend me some sort of way which it didn't,
"I actually have heterochromia," I explained.
"Does that mean you do wear a contact or you don't?" She questioned, still confused as to what the answer was.
Chuckling I said, "It's my real eye color, well colors."
Leaning in closer to my face, she examined both eyes, "They are very pretty, I like the way the brown and light blue one look compared to each other."
"Thanks."
From there on, we started talking as if we've known each other for years now. She was currently telling me about how she visited her mom during the summer as a surprise, but it turned out horribly as she had thought an intruder had entered the house and was ready to swing at Emma with a bat, she also added in that her mom used to play softball so that would've hurt.
I was feeling tipsy after all the drinking as I giggled from time to time, sometimes even randomly. Emma herself seemed to be wasted as she held onto the counter for support.
"Come on baby, I think it's time to leave," Eliot told his girlfriend, as he helped her off the stool she was sitting on, helping her get on her feet.
"But Lio! I haven't even finished my drink!" She exasperated, pointing over at the glass of tequila sitting at the bar.
Reaching out for it she almost fell face first, but Eliot was fast enough to get a hold of her, pulling her away from the alcoholic drink.
"I think that's enough," the boy reassured his girlfriend.
Emma's face brightened, "Really!" Boy she was real shit faced, wait til she wakes up in the morning with a huge headache.
"Yeah, so how about you say bye to everyone and we go home," he told her with a smile on his face as he looked down at his girlfriend in amusement and awe.
"Bye everyone!" Emma yelled over the loud music in which nobody heard her except me. Isabella and Travis were long gone, probably left to our dorm room. Ew.
That ginger better not go on my side of the room or I'm going to make her life a living hell. I swear if her boyfriend so much as touches something I will just have to cut off his hand.
A shiver of disgust went down my spine just by thinking of it. Blair, remember to buy cleaning supplies, it's going to be a long day tomorrow.
"Bye!" I screamed back, getting a sloppy wave from her, and a blowed kiss my way. I laughed as I saw how her eyes were somewhat closing, but she tried to keep them open.
Eliot waved my way, as I waved back with a giggle. Oh, I was definitely drunk.
"Come on let's go," looking at the source of the voice, I stared at the ocean looking eyes as they roamed around my face.
"Your friends?"
"They're in their own little world right now," Jayden replied, looking back at the three boys that sat at the far back talking to some girls who seemed to be more interested in their lips than anything.
"Where?" I asked him, bringing his attention back to me.
"Well I thought we could maybe go to a diner, after all I'm sure you will very much appreciate food right now to help with your tipsy-ness," at the choice of word I giggled, "plus, I'm sure you can't exactly go to your room, that roommate of yours is probably there."
Shrugging a shoulder I said, "Sounds good." Hopping off the stool, I lost my balance almost leading me to planting on the floor if it wasn't for Jayden holding both of my forearms to steady me.
Smiling at him, I took my arms away from his hold while flattening my skirt down as it had ridden up while sitting,
"Let's go!"
Walking out to the door with a little help from Jayden, we made it to his car. Even my drunk self could see just how fine this car was.
"Well hello beautiful," running my hand delicately over the red paint of the car in front of me, I looked it over.
"You like cars?" Jayden questioned, seeming to be stunned by the declaration.
Without opening my mouth to speak being too invested in the car to care, I hummed in response getting a chuckle from the brown haired boy besides me.
I just couldn't take my eyes off of the car, it was a gorgeous Camaro ZL1 painted in an all shiny red that could be seen under the light of the lamps above us, two black stripes ran down the hood of the car, thickly painted onto it. The rims of the wheels were black with a red line going around the edge of it.
Over all, I was in love with the masterpiece in front of me.
"I see someone is coming to their senses," Jayden teased.
"When did you get this fine ass car?" I asked him flabbergasted, turning my attention to him from the car which was hard to do, I felt like it was going to disappear into thin air.
Laughing he responded, "At the start of college actually."
"And you didn't think to tell me!" I yelled at him, "you were hiding this beauty from me for three years!"
"Actually it's been like two and a half."
"Who cares! You are evil you know that!" Changing my mood in three point two seconds, I smiled brightly at him,
"Can I drive?"
"Drive? Are you serious, you're not in the right state of mind so no, you can't drive my baby," he replied which got me to sulk the whole way to the supposed diner.
I mean it was my fault, I went a little overboard with the number of drinks.
Getting to the diner, I didn't have time to take in the building in front of me as Jayden pulled me inside and to a specific booth all the way to the back of the diner.
I was currently sitting on one side of the booth facing the door to the diner as Jayden sat on the other side. A window sat besides us letting us see the outside which wasn't much to see, just an empty parking lot with a couple of cars scattered around, the street lights looming over the cars being the only thing keeping the place illuminated.
Looking over to the clock it read, 2:30 am. And even at such an hour there were a couple of customers.
Two people out of the others who were in here as well had caught my attention. It was an old couple, it warmed my heart just seeing the way the man stared at his wife in such adoration.
Both had their hands over the table, and I noticed how the man was rubbing circles on her hand as the women looked out the window, it seemed like she was unfazed by the act, but in reality I could tell she was getting butterflies just by seeing the tint of red creeping onto her wrinkled cheeks.
"Hello, I'm Cassandra, but you can call me Cassy, I will be your waitress for the night. What can I get y'all?" The girl who stood in front of the table seemed to be chirpy for such hours, I mean it was her job, but most people just don't try.
She looked to be a teenager, probably in her sophomore or junior year of high school, but how would I know, I could be assuming wrong.
She was beautiful to say the least even with her blonde hair tied up into a messy bun, her brown eyes carried such joy as she stared at both Jayden and I.
"Can we please get two cheeseburgers with fries and two milkshakes," Jayden told her politely, to which she seemed to beam at.
"Sure thing," she told him, writing it down onto her notepad in hand, "what flavors?"
Looking between the two of us she pointed her pen with an eyebrow raised, "Strawberry and a cookies and cream one please."
I myself raised an impressed eyebrow at Jayden as he knew exactly what milkshake flavor I got. Cookies and cream, I thought he had forgotten after all that was years ago, when I was what? Ten. That was the only time we ever went somewhere to sit and eat together, well with my parents and Elijah present.
"Very well," Cassandra smiled at the both of us, pocketing her pen back into the front pocket of her apron.
Walking over and around the counter, she went to the window which showed somewhat of the kitchen probably to tell our order to the chef.
The guy who sat on the other side of the table was quiet as he stared out the window, and I let the silence invade us as I myself looked out the glass.
Admiring how beautiful the moon is, I smiled to myself.
Feeling a burning gaze at the side of my face, I looked with the corner of my eye to the owner of the piercing gaze.
And just as I did, I found the blue eyes I liked to see everyday in my teenage years, staring at my side profile.
Fully turning my head to let the guy know I was aware of the staring he immediately whipped his head back to the window, acting as if seconds before he wasn't looking at me.
Smirking at the sight of his tanned skin showing a color I was surprised on seeing especially coming from him, "Did I just catch you staring at me?"
Jayden turned his head so fast with eyes wide as if he had been caught in a wild fire, regaining his composure he gave a perplexed expression, the red coloring his cheeks never once leaving,
"What? No, never," shaking his head he then shrugged, "I was just trying to figure out if it was your real or fake eyelash that was falling."
My hand shot up quickly, not before grabbing my phone to use as a mirror, looking back at my reflection on the black screen, I frowned.
"I'm not wearing fake eyelashes."
Suddenly Jayden bursted into laughter, hunching over the table while holding onto the pit of his stomach,
"You. Should. Have. Seen. Your. Face," he said in between laughs, not being able to stop. He even started re-enacting my 'reaction'.
"Ha. Ha. Very funny," I deadpanned, scowling his way which only got him to laugh even more.
As he was about to reply, Cassandra came waltzing in, on the right time as I was about to climb over the table to choke the idiot in front of me
Setting the trays of food on either side of the table, she then said, "There y'all go."
Backing up to look at us with her smile, I couldn't help but smile back as her smile was contagious, "Hope you enjoy your meal."
"Thank you."
As soon as she left Jayden started cackling again, not even the delicious food in front of us seemed to do the magic to shut him up.
"I hate you, you know," I told him, crossing my arms over my chest as I slumped on my seat.
Finally calming himself from his laughter, he gave me a grin while wiping away his imaginary tears which I rolled my eyes to,
"Yeah, well there's a thin like between love and hate," blue eyes passed me a playful wink as he slurped his strawberry milkshake.
Rolling my eyes, I myself took a sip of my milkshake internally dying of the goodness of the drink.
Remembering what he had just said I scoffed at his choice of words, "In your dreams."
Thinking he was going to reply with a smartass reply, I expected nothing less as I was getting ready to hit him back with something worse. Except, nothing came out of him.
I stared at him with my eyebrows scrunched up together in question as I watched him sitting still, across from me with his eyes closed and his arms crossed against his chest.
"Who's staring who now?" He asked cockily, but his face remained calm.
Rolling my eyes I asked, "What are you doing?" You could hear the unsureness in my voice.
Opening one eye, he peeked over at me, "So you love me in my dreams?"
Nodding my head, he closed his eye as if the reply was good enough of an answer.
"Then don't wake me up."