"You should talk to him," Hannah said.

"No, she shouldn't," Abby said. I looked between both of them in confusion.

"If she talks to him she can tell him what really happened because now we've figured it out. Maybe he'll believe her, Abby," Hannah explained.

"Maybe he won't. She should wait till we prove it and let him come to you so that later he can't say you were bothering him," Abby said.

"He would never say she's bothering him. He still cares about her, there's no way he wouldn't be there for her if she needed it."

"She needs her boyfriend and right now, she doesn't have one."

Thanks. That's a lovely reminder.

I stared off into space, contemplating what to do.

"I think you should give him a day or two and then talk to him. He was your friend first," Hannah shrugged.

"The choice is hers. Let's just leave it up to her," Abby nodded, "What do you want, Alex? You do just that," she said.

"I want to go talk to him right now," I mumbled.

"Then do it," Hannah shrugged.

"Maybe not that," Abby said.

"Do it," Hannah repeated.

"Don't do it."

I looked between the two, slowly throwing the covers off.

"Okay, you're doing it. That's fine. Let's go," Abby shrugged while standing up.

"I'm going myself. You guys are going home." I pulled on my flip flops and a jacket I had lying around.

Abby opened her mouth to argue but Hannah grabbed her arm. "Okay," she nodded, "Good luck."

I re-tied my hair and splashed some water on my face before grabbing my phone and keys and heading out after Hannah and Abby. I walked slowly. Really slowly.

I wanted to see him. I wanted to explain. I wanted to make him believe me. But at the same time, I was dreading it. I finally made it to his house and stood at the door, contemplating whether I should ring the doorbell and do this or just turn around and leave.

Forget it. Call me a wuss.

I turned around to leave while biting my nails, the jacket running past my arms. Before I could step off the porch, the front door opened behind me. "Bye, yeah, see you later."

I closed my eyes and bit my bottom.

I could just make a run for it.

"Alex?"

I winced before slowly turning around. Connor and Zach were heading out and Carter looked... messed up. Connor stared at me in confusion but Zach looked at me knowingly with a small smile on his face. "Connor, we should go," Zach said before leaving with him.

"Hi," I breathed.

"Hi," he replied.

It would be easier if he just slammed that door in my face.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm doing here. I'll just go," I said, turning around to leave. He didn't stop me like I wanted him to. But I didn't hear him close the door either.

Do what you came to do, Alex.

I spun back around and walked up to him, "Can I come in? I need to talk to you."

He hesitated before sighing in defeat and stepping aside, holding the door open. I walked in and stood there as he shut the door and turned to face me. "Why are you here?" he asked. He wasn't being rude, his voice was soft, he was genuinely confused.

"Carter, I did not cheat on you," I stated. He leaned against the door and took a deep breath, staring at me emotionlessly. "Carter, I swear I did not cheat on you. It was the drink." He opened his mouth to argue but I beat him to it. "I know you made the drink yourself. But I promise you, it was the drink." I didn't want to tell him that we'd figured it out. Because if I did, then that would be the only reason he'd be forgiving me. Not because he genuinely believed me. I understand that he needs proof, that's fine. But I want him to believe me first.

I wanted him to trust me.

"Carter, do you believe me?" He didn't answer. "Just tell me yes or no and I'll be out of here. Please," I begged.

"I-I don't know," he stammered, letting out a distressed sigh.

"I'm begging you."

He looked up at me before running his hands over his face, "What you're saying just doesn't make sense, Alex. It's not like someone drugged you."

I didn't react to his words. "So, you don't believe me?" He huffed. "Fine. But what if I can prove it to you?" His eyes snapped up to mine and he looked at me, utterly confused. "What if I can prove to you that it was the drink, and it was someone else."

"How are you going to prove the past?" he questioned.

"Just answer my question. What if I prove it to you? Will you believe me then?"

This is just so he knows I would never lie.

The fact that he thought I would do something like that and then lie about pinched. It hurt. Bad.

"Yeah, I would believe you."

I sighed in somewhat relief. Now he would know that I'm not a liar. Or a cheater. "Fine. I'll prove it to you. Until then, goodbye," I sighed before walking over. He wouldn't step aside. "What?" I asked.

"I wish I could ask you to stay right now," he mumbled, "But I can't." He stepped aside and opened the door for me and I walked out and back home without looking back once.

Whether I get Carter back at the end or not, I don't know, but at least he'll know I didn't lie. And we lose each other, it isn't all my fault. In fact, I feel like I'm the only one here trying to hold our loose ends together while he saws off the strings.

I just hope I can prove it in time. Because I'm still in love with him.

◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆

I woke up on Monday feeling a little better than I had been over the weekend, but still pretty shit. I sighed while walking into the cafe, halting immediately. Hudson was sitting at my table, Carter wasn't here.

"My usual but to go," I said.

"Where's your loverboy today?" Katy smirked.

I opened my mouth to tell her we broke up but someone spoke before I could. "Right here." I looked up and saw him walking towards me from the entrance. He put an arm around my waist.

"I'll get your drinks to the table," she smiled.

He pulled me away before I could protest and took me to his table, sitting with me. I stared in confusion. "Why did you do that?" I asked. He pointed to the entrance where Hudson stormed out of. We sat in awkward silence. He was sketching, I was staring like I always do.

I snapped out of it, getting startled when Katy put our cups down. "Why so glum, chums? No PDA today?" she chuckled.

I gave her a small smile which she returned before going back to the counter. "Thanks for the help," I said while standing up, grabbing my cup.

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down, his eyes not looking up to meet mine. "He'll catch you on the way."

I huffed and leaned back, looking around and outside while slowly drinking my tea. I watched as he sketched a broken clock. I spun around and sure enough, the clock for the cafe was broken.

We left once we realized if we stayed any longer we'd be late. As soon as we stepped foot into the school, both of us split up, him going straight to class, me going to my locker. I got my books and then headed for English, noticing that he had switched his seat and now once again sat in front of me.

I sighed while sitting down, Abby and Hannah passing me pity looks which surprisingly, I appreciated.

"All right, those essays. I'm returning them now. I want you to sit with your partners and get to doing those corrections together. Discuss them and think of what you could have done differently. Discuss where you went wrong."

Is Mr. Blaze still talking about the essays? Because it sounds vaguely familiar.

I put my head down on the table while students moved around, sitting with their partners. I looked up when the chair beside me screeched. He threw his bag on the table and sat down.

I resisted an eye roll and let out a frustrated sigh. He was being immature. Not only does he have no proof that I cheated, but he's also acting like a child just because we aren't talking.

"You don't have to throw a hissy fit. I can just do them on my own," I mumbled while grabbing a pen as Mr. Blaze went around handing out everyone's papers.

"Good, cause you're gonna have to."

Mr. Blaze set my paper down in front of me and I got to work on my own while Carter did the same.

"Mr. Reed, Ms. Lockhart. Together, please. This is a partner assignment and this discussion is being graded too. Do it together." I liked Mr. Blaze up until then.

We both sighed in defeat and got to work.

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