"Let me know where to go and I'll get you there. Tell the truth and I'll show you how to dare. Flash lights held tight we can own this town," Kiss Me Kiss Me -5SOS 

-

Nico Forrest

“Thanks for coming back,” said Zoey, tapping her finger on the arm rest.

I chose not to answer, partly because she got pissed when I didn’t answer and partly because I was still aggravated at her. She made assumptions about me, yet she had no idea who I was. She did the one thing I hated the most; judging.

Yes, I understood that it was a big mistake to bring her with me, but it happened in the spur of the moment. She was loud, particularly annoying and infuriating.

Keeping my eyes on the road ahead, I put my favorite disc in and played it. Zoey twitched, but thankfully didn’t say anything. She looked like the kind of girl who hated these kinds of songs, but I couldn’t possibly care less.

“I’ll be your light, your match, your burning sun. I’ll be the bright, in black that’s making you run.”

“I love this song,” she said quietly.

I took this as a sign to turn up the music. The music was building up to the chorus. I secretly hoped Zoey wouldn’t actually do what I thought she’d do.

“I got my mind made up and I can't let go. I'm killing every second 'til it saves my soul,” sang Zoey, bobbing her head exaggeratingly, which made her ponytail move around. She strummed an invisible guitar in the air.

She deflated my hopes.

“Don’t sing, please. You sound like a walrus,” I begged.

She stopped singing…then started humming loudly.

“Hunter, I thought I said—”

“Sorry.”

Slowing down at a stop sign, I turned and looked at her in shock. She actually apologized, twice today. This was very unlike her.

“I’m a nice person, I apologize when I know I’m being too much,” she said. Her long bangs were messy because of the head-dancing.

Thinking back to her insults, I replied:“You’re nice?”

“I try to be,” she said. “I really am sorry though, about what I said. I’m not usually so bitchy, I hate people who are like that.”

“Then why were you being a bitch?”

She shrugged and looked away. All Time Low’s Therapy was playing in the background, which suited her physical position.

“Is it because of the loser you like?”

“I-I actually don’t know,” she said, staring at the windshield absently. She turned her gaze to me. “I think so.”

“You’re that upset over him?”

She ignored me. “We should move. A car could come soon.”

“We’re in the outskirts of Silvercrest, no one ever passes by here except on weekdays.” I said, rolling my eyes.

“How do you know no one ever comes through here?” Her eyes were a honey color, the sun’s hue on them made them strike out from the rest of her face.

“Don’t change the subject,” I argued. “You’re really that hurt over a jerk like him?”

“I don’t want to talk about—”

“I know, believe me. But he’s not worth it.”

She crossed her arms and laughed. “Are you being compassionate?”

Her laugh was a nice-sounding kind of laugh. I barely heard her laugh, except when she laughed at me or when Lucy or her other friends were with her. Joel & James were the jokers, whenever they popped up, she’d cry of laughter at their jokes.

“I’m not made of rock, you know,” I pressed my foot on the gas pedal and we started moving again.

“Uh—” She stopped. “I was going to say something mean, but I won’t.”

I snorted. “Like what? No, I actually think your heart is rock, moron? You have horrible comebacks.”

“I do not!” She protested. “You just don’t appreciate my comebacks.”

“The world doesn’t appreciate your comebacks. In fact, they’re so lame they should be collected and put in a book called the world’s worst comebacks.”

She let out a small laugh. “My already hurt feelings are even more hurt now.”

“God, Hunter!” I shook my head at her, passing by the Silver park. “You’re supposed to answer something mean! Not give up to me!”

She snickered, “Well what was I supposed to say?”

“I don’t know!” I exclaimed, passing by my house.

“Where do you think your dad is?” She asked quietly.

I sighed. “Either at the house or looking for me.”

“Why is him being at the house a possibility?”

My eyes flickered to hers, which were slightly concerned. “Let’s just say that this isn’t the first time I do something like this.”

“Threaten to go to another continent?”

I chuckled. “No, run away.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why would you run away?”

Stopping the car in front of her house, I turned to her. Should I have told her? How did I know she wouldn’t use it against me one day? Or even judge me? Did I even want to tell her?

I told her anyway. The first five words were enough to change her whole demeanor.

“My mum died of cancer,” I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again. “I used to run away because seeing her at the hospital all plugged up to the damn machines made me angry. When she passed away,I didn’t want to face my dad, because I didn’t want his sadness to come to me too. It did anyway, so I’d stay out of the house. I didn’t think I’d be able to handle him.”

Her shoulders fell, her eyes widened and she gasped. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said. “Now get out of my car and into your house. Your mom is probably worried sick about you.”

“No, I really am. I’m sorry you lost her and I’m so incredibly sorry for being a judgmental bitch to you. I should have been more considerate.”

“I don’t want you to feel sorry for me,” I said, feeling discontent form. When anyone heard about this, they always had the same expression on.

“Okay. Sorry for being sorry.”

I cracked a smile. “When Canadians start apologizing, they can’t stop, can they?”

“Well,” she smiled too, “no, Forrest, we can’t.”

Her hair was a dark brown, her ponytail was so long in fell to the middle of her back. It was obvious that she’d just showered a few hours ago, because it was overly wavy.

“Please, get out now, Hunter,” I said.

She grinned. “Can I call you Nico, now? Since you know, we went on a life-changing road trip together and we had the classic fight then we made up and are cool now.”

“Hunter, I said, please get out. I need to go do an imitation of a Canadian and apologize too many times to my father.”

She huffed and opened the door. “Fine, Forrest. Be that way. Good luck.”

Zoey ran to her front step and took out a key from her back pocket. After opening the door, she turned to me again.

“Come here,” she said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like a dog to you?”

“Your dad’s here.”

In a few seconds, I had gotten out of the car and was rushing to her front door. My dad was in fact standing, back against her living room wall, face in his hands. Zoey’s mom’s hand was on his shoulder, she was saying something that I didn’t catch.

“Zoey?” said a voice from behind us.

We both turned to face a figure that I couldn’t help but grimace at. He was an inch shorter than me, but still taller than Zoey, because she was as tall as an elf. He reminded me of the douche bag in every American movie.

“Are you okay? You told me you needed my help then hung up,” he said, looking at no one other than her.

“I’m great,” she answered, clenching her fists. “Where’s Xandra?”

“You don’t look great,” he said, turning to me for the first time. “Did you hurt her?”

“And you care because?” I leaned on the door frame. “You had no trouble breaking her heart on Friday.”

“What?” he said, at the same time as Zoey hitting my stomach harshly. She gave me a menacing look, or attempted to.

“Nothing!” said Zoey, overly cheerful. “I—”

“Zoey! Are you okay? Because Oliver told me what happened and I got worried,” said a blonde girl that I didn’t recognize, but she was probably Douche’s girl.

Zoey gave her the deadliest glare I’d ever seen her give, one worse than the ones she gave me, and that was a lot to say.

“What are you doing here?” asked Zoey, void of any emotion.

“Making sure you’re okay, your phone call sounded weird. What’s with you, Z?” Oliver intervened. “Are you and Xandra okay?”

“We’ve never been better,” told Zoey. “Can you guys leave, please? Nico and I have to talk to our parents.”

She called me Nico.

“Alexandra Marie, what do you think you’re doing here?” Zoey’s mom seethed, a fire in her eyes.

Xandra, obviously thrown off by her ex-best friend’s mom’s behavior, stuttered. “I-I came to see Zoey. She called Oliver and—”

“Please, leave my house. I don’t ever want to see you here.”

 I grinned.

“I-I’m sorry for whatever it is I did, Mrs. Hunter,” said Xandra, walking to Oliver’s car.

Mrs. Hunter turned to Oliver. “You too, I don’t want you here.”

His eyebrows disappeared in his horrible, badly groomed hair. “But, Amanda, I—”

“It’s Mrs. Hunter to you. Leave.”

He did. I had to restrain myself from offering her a fist bump because wow, that was amazing. I saw where Zoey’s fieriness came from. Zoey just had to learn a few good comebacks and all would be great for her.

Zoey turned to her mom and hugged her tightly. Dad appeared beside them, looking at me with wide eyes. His eyes were red; he had been crying.

“We should talk,” I said, feeling my heart break at the sight of him like this.

He nodded.

“Amanda?” He said. “Thank you for everything.” He kissed her cheek.

Mrs. Hunter blushed and smiled. “You’re welcome to come here anytime, James. And Nico?”

“Yes ma’am?”

“If you run away again, you will have to face my wrath for breaking your father’s heart.”

Oh?

“I’m cool with that,” I said. I looked at Zoey’s teary eyed self. “See ya tomorrow, Hunter.”

She smiled again. “Don’t be late.”

“I won’t,” I said, fully knowing that I lied straight to her face.

Walking to the car, I threw the keys to my dad, who caught them with ease. He started to drive and I looked down to my feet. The tension in the car was suffocating.

“I’m sorry,” I blurt out.

“Did you just apologize?”

I scratched the back of my head. “You heard me.”

God, Zoey was rubbing of on me.

Instead of getting into a long speech about how stupid I was to actually threaten to go back to England, he just looked at me.

“Do you promise to stay here?”

Thinking back to Zoey’s hazel eyes and how they shined when she smiled or how they darkened when she got mad, I said: “I promise.”

“Where in the world did you go?”

“The airport.”

“With Zoey? Nico, what the hell were you thinking? And taking that poor girl with you?”

I let out a laugh. “Dad, without Zoey, I don’t think I would have come back.”

-

HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!

I am aware that this chapter is really short, but there are going to be two updates per week (Wednesday and Saturday) and I’ll make up for it on Saturday, cool?

I read the comments and a lot were mad at Zoey for not having good comebacks, but then again Nico agrees with you all;)

OLIVER TO THE SIDE