“This doesn’t mean we’re getting back together, Addie,” I warn.
“So? I still want to know all about your romantic night.”
“Same!” Carly bounces on my bed. “Don’t leave out any detail.”
With a playful roll of my eyes, I do as they say. And for the first time in my life, my heart doesn’t feel like it’s once again shattering into a million pieces. It feels good for a change.
Chapter Eighteen
Kylen
I’ve got a smile on my face as I enter the dining hall on Friday morning. My eyes automatically search for my new friend, Raven, and I spot her sitting at her table with her friends. She looks completely different from how she looked the past week or two. Gone is that wariness in her eyes, she’s no longer glancing around the place to make sure to avoid me, and her smile is the most illuminating I’ve ever seen.
I’m so glad we were able to talk about what happened and move on. I can’t wait to get to know her again.
As if she feels me watching her, her head lifts, her eyes meeting mine. We stare at each other, and for a second, I worry she’ll tear her gaze away. Or that I’ll realize that everything that happened yesterday was a dream and we didn’t agree to be friends.
But her eyes and body language tell me otherwise. Her shoulders aren’t stiff, eyes aren’t cautious. The wall she built between us has been demolished.
Lifting my hand, I wave at her. A bright smile forms on her face and she waves back. It’s as if she was also worried our conversation yesterday was a dream.
My stomach growls. I’ve been so caught up with Raven that I forgot to grab some food. Jasper and Leo have already gotten their breakfast and are at our table, while Beck is by the pancakes, trying to figure out which one he’s in the mood for.
I walk over to him. “You’re early for once,” I say. “It’s kind of shocking.”
“My stomach woke me up.”
“Tell me about it. I’m so hungry I can eat a lion.”
He tsks. “Poor lion.” He continues to go back and forth between the different kinds of pancakes.
“Hey, did I thank you for yesterday?” I ask him. “You know, for helping me with Raven and everything.”
“Nah. You only thanked me, like, three times and that’s not enough. You’ve got to at least make it to ten, then I’ll appreciate it.” His eyes get serious. “I’m really sorry about everything. I know I’ve apologized a million times, but you have no idea how much I regret what I did.”
I pat his shoulder. “Let’s not talk about the past. It’s all good.”
He puffs up his cheeks, then releases the air. “Okay, Beck. Stop beating yourself up over it. You’ve got a great friend who’s forgiven you. Why can’t you forgive yourself?”
I pat his shoulder again. “You might want to take your own advice and stop being so hard on yourself.”
He nods slowly. “I’ll try. Thanks, bro.” He scans the pancakes again before finally choosing blueberry. We stack our plates with different varieties of food before joining Jasper and Leo.
Beck and I tell them everything that happened yesterday and that Raven was the writer of the song. They’re surprised but glad to learn the info because they’re happy to know that the summer meant everything to her, just as it meant everything to me.
We also tell them Raven doesn’t want us to use her song as of now, and they understand. We’ll go back to covering songs, and that’s okay. Maybe we’ll try writing our own stuff one day, but for now, we’re fine with singing covers.
The bell rings and we go to our classes. Nothing really special happens throughout the morning. I smile and wave to Raven again during lunch, which she returns, and then it’s time for history class.
Raven is already in the classroom, looking over her notes. The desk beside her is empty, just as it always is. There were somany times I wished I could sit next to her and talk. Well, now I don’t need to wish anymore.
“Hey.” I plop down in the seat. “It’s okay that I sit here, right?”
She lifts her eyes from her notebook. “Hi! Of course it’s okay.” She smiles. “How are you?”
“I’m good. A little hungry.”
“We just had lunch.”
