Dedication goes out to BTRLover130 as a huge thanks for the character, Brody Reed!

Highest rank on the hot list over the last few weeks - #442 in Chick Lit

A sneak peek will be up on the site this Wednesday! If you guys could continue to vote and comment, that would be great!

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© 2017 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

The Buddies Rule

Chapter 26

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I always had a way of making my opinions known. Anyone who knew me well enough caught onto that quick enough. It wasn't a bad quality by any means, but it sometimes got me into some trouble.

Though the only trouble it's gotten me into lately, was with my three best friends.

Chase had let things lie after I'd gotten off the phone with Lewis the night before, but I certainly hadn't. I was still racking my brain to try and figure out how Rebecca leaving the country would help things between Chase and I. If anything, it strangely made everything more complicated. With Rebecca leaving, I was left to wonder if Chase still had feelings for her.

I wouldn't ever be able to pin him down on that.

It was almost nine in the morning on a Saturday, the exact time when Lewis had told me to meet him at this remote coffee place. I still didn't know why exactly he'd had me meet him so far off campus. Lewis almost never strayed too far from home, so meeting him here, was quite a stretch.

This new fangled coffee place looked like any other small town coffee shop. There was a counter along the right wall with a large display case, showing off the many baked goods they had to offer. The walls were a dark coffee brown, and the floor was a sleek, light brown tile. There were small, brown rounded tables scattered across the room, and there were two chairs paired to each table.

The second the door closed behind me, I caught sight of Lewis hiding in the far left corner, sitting at some random table. His face lit up, the kid waving me over as he did. I rolled my eyes and walked over, stopping just in front of the table.

"Took you long enough," Lewis scoffed dramatically. "I've had about fifteen expressos."

"That can't be good," my face wrinkled up in worry. "I don't trust you with strong coffee."

"I don't even trust me with strong coffee."

I took a deep breath as I sat down, hanging my purse over the back of the chair. Lewis looked elated to say the least, and I knew it was more than just the coffee. I hadn't seen him this happy since the night of the play.

"What's got you so chipper?" I teased, resting my elbows on the edge of the small table. Lewis' face twisted in disgust.

"Chipper?" Lewis mocked. "What are we? An old married couple?"

"Definitely not," I laughed, holding back my own disgust at the idea. "But you've got that weird happy face going, and I don't know how to describe it."

Lewis gave me a creepy grin, "it's because I'm excited, Bree."

"And you've called me all the way out here to tell me why?"

"Hey," Lewis pointed at me. "This place has great coffee. One of my friends told me about it."

I frowned, "so Chase or Alan?"

"No!" He whined. "I have other friends! Like Alex, who told me about it. We meet up here sometimes."

"Aww," I smiled. "You're crush from the donors' ball? We were really worried you wouldn't find anyone."

"Speak for yourself," Lewis huffed out an aggravated breath before falling back in his chair. He crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at me when he did. "How are things with the best friend and the mistress, by the way?"

I sighed, letting my mind fall back to the night before. I had indeed promised Lewis the details on how my night had gone before he'd decided to call me.

But I still didn't feel like talking about it.

"Rebecca showed up last night." I started, playing with a stray packet of sugar that had been lying on the table. "Chase said she only came over to tell him that she's taking a year abroad in Australia. She wanted to say goodbye."

"You don't believe it?" Lewis asked, picking up on my tone.

I shook my head, "no. But I can't just come out and ask if they had another moment."

"Sure you can," Lewis said. "Yeah, maybe Chase will get all huffy and pissy, but it'll be worth it."

"No, I don't think it will." I sighed, trying to get it through his head. Lewis was stubborn, when he got a plan, he stuck to it. "We're both so invested in us that we've only gotten more and more jealous about anyone else that comes into either of our lives. I don't think it's worth it to keep accusing him of making out with Rebecca when the two of us aren't even together."

Lewis gave me an understanding smile before reaching down into his backpack. He set a paper on the table, sliding it my way there after.

"Seems like the perfect time to show you the rest of this letter, then," Lewis said. He stayed quiet as I reached out and unfolded the letter, watching me closely wen I started to read.

At this time, Mr. Doolan, we are prepared to offer you a full ride scholarship to University of California: Los Angeles, more specifically, our film school. With your vast success in our Berkeley school of film, we know that you'll flourish in the creative hub of Los Angeles. We hope that you'll accept our offer for the following semester.

I could feel my chest tensing up with those words.

Lewis had been offered a transfer, not only to a new film class here at UC Berkeley, but to another UC school entirely, miles upon miles away from here. There was no way that Lewis could pass up a chance to move to Los Angeles, especially with how serious he was about film.

He had to take this, and it was killing me with every passing second.

"Lewis," I trailed off, unable to find the words.

"I know," he nodded. "I don't even know how to feel about it."

"So this was what you had to talk with your parents about." I summed up, looking to him for confirmation. "What did they say?"

"They're all for it," Lewis merely shrugged. "Chase's dad even offered to buy me an apartment near the new campus."

It was all happening so fast. I had barely found out about this, and Derrick Davids was already offering to fund Lewis' new life in LA? Usually he would have been completely against the idea. Derrick loved all of us more than anything, and he hated the idea that one day, we'd all go off to try and find ourselves.

He must have had a change of heart after reading this letter. Seeing it on paper was something entirely different.

"Say something, Bree," Lewis prodded. "It's not like you to be this quiet."

"No it's not," I agreed, letting my sight fall back to the packet of sugar. "But when you're leaving me behind, it kind of is."

"But I don't have to." Lewis said. He reached out, taking the letter back from me in an attempt to grab my attention. "There is a third option here, one you may not have considered-"

"Spit it out, Lewis."

"Move to LA with me," he finally said. "I really don't things between you and our two best buddies are going to work out. That's probably the only reason you'd stay here, anyways. Other than your dad, but you've barely talked to him lately."

Sadly, Lewis was right about that last part.

I sat back in thought, letting his offer sink in. There was no way in hell I was ever leaving Berkeley, or at least, that's how I had always looked at things. Anytime I had pictured my life and what it would look like, I had seen myself here. This place was the only connection to my mother that I had, not to mention that I'd grown up here.

Or that Chase, Alan and my dad were here.

"I don't know," I mumbled warily. "It's a nice idea, Lewis, but I don't know if I can actually leave this place."

"Because of them?" Lewis assumed, shaking his head at me. "Can't you even think of one reason to leave?"

That was when it hit me. My internship offered me a spot in their LA office.

"One that I hate to even consider," I huffed, running a hand through my hair in aggravation. I felt antsy, and I hated feeling antsy. "I got an internship at a publishing company yesterday."

"What?" Lewis laughed, holding up his hand for a high five. "I mean, my news is cooler, but still."

"Shut up," I hissed. "But one of the strings attached was deciding which location I wanted to work at. It was either Berkeley, or Los Angeles."

"Then come with!" Lewis cheered with a wide grin. "We can get an apartment together, and we can finally start over; leave all of this stupid buddies rule business behind."

"I can't just leave, Lewis. My whole life is here."

"Yeah?" Lewis shook his head. "So is mine. If I'm taking a chance, so can you."

I fell back in my own chair, mulling over his offer for the twentieth time since he'd brought it up. I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe I should go, just leave all of this in the past like he said. But at the same time, I couldn't bare the thought of losing Chase simply because things weren't working out in a romantic sense between the two of us.

That was what the buddies rule was meant to prevent, and yet, here we were.

"Can I get you two anything?" The waiter asked as he made his way over to us. Lewis smiled happily up at the boy.

"Another ex-"

"Cancel that order," I interrupted. "He's had way too much coffee."

The man chuckled at my response, "agreed."

Just as he was about to walk away, he turned to look back at me. I frowned up at him, narrowing my eyes in on him as I did. He looked vaguely familiar.

"Do I know you?" I said without thinking.

He quickly nodded, "I think we have English three together. But I know for a fact that we both got that internship," he teased. "I saw your name on the list of Berkeley students."

"You too?" I smiled. "Are you one of the transfers?"

"Moving to LA for the next semester," he revealed. "I'm Brody, by the way."

"Bree," I said, holding out my hand for him to shake.

"Well this is just adorable." Lewis cut in, resting his chin in his hands as he watched us. "Now you've got another reason to move."

"You're transferring, too?" He asked.

"I don't know," I pursed my lips together awkwardly.

He shrugged, pushing the pad of paper into his apron pocket as he did so. "Well, if you change your mind, you'll know someone who's new to LA." Brody gave me a small way before walking back over to the counter.

I sat still, switching my focus back to an even more excited Lewis. Now I knew for sure it couldn't be the coffee that had him this hyped.

"Can't you just-"

"I'll think about it," I said, allowing myself to take a deep breath. "I don't know if I even have anything to consider, but I'll think about it, Lewis."

"Good," he said. "But add this to your list of pro's and con's: you don't want me to be out in LA all by myself. I could get into some serious trouble without you around."

I rolled my eyes at him. Leave it to Lewis to make himself the number one reason to go. There was no way he'd made it on his own out there.

"You're right," I laughed as I shook my head. "We wouldn't want you getting into any trouble in a big city like that."

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There we go, Lewis' big secret is revealed! How does everyone feel about Lewis moving?? And do you think Bree should go with him?

Thank you all for reading!

The next update will be on April 9th!

Remember to vote and comment when you get a chance!!

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PS: Once this story is completed, I'll be moving one of my other ongoing stories into a regular updating spot - which would you guys like to see first?

1. Tides

Or

2. I Liked You Better On YouTube

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