9. Bad Idea

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"What are you doing today?" Zayn walks into the kitchen, going straight to the cabinet to grab a bag of chip.

"Nothing." I say.

"I have no plans." I take a spoon full of cereal into my mouth.

"Same." He takes a chair besides me round the dining table. I stretch my hand to take a chip, but he slaps me away.

"Get yours. Plus you're eating cereals already." I only chuckle in response.

It's a normal Saturday. Zayn's parents are on their business trips as usual. Just us both living in their massive house is something I easily adapted to. Especially since it isn't my first time staying with them.

"Wanna binge watch movies or head out to Trent's Avenue?" Zayn suggest from besides me.

"Neither. Got some homework to work on." He rolls his eyes at me.

"You literally have your nose always buried in your books when we are home. Let's go out and have some fun like normal teenage guys." I chuckle at him.

"I don't know if you know this but I actually have to study, cause my future depends on it. Not all of us are as lucky as you." I finished my cereal before standing up.

"Hurtful but true." Zayn makes his way to the living room and settles on a couch.

"That isn't hurtful Zayn." I point out, but he just waves me off. I walk into the living room as well and sit on the couch that is opposite him.

"I'm thinking of throwing an Halloween party here....at home." Zayn states and I snap my head at him, but he only shows off a weird smile.

"You wanna throw a party?" He nods.

"You, the Zayn Briggs that I know." He laughs but nods still.

"Yeah. It's the last year of high school and I wanna make memories." He starts.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a feeling this year is gonna be very eventful and filled with memories. Our memories." He stares into nothing in particular as he speaks in a way I found creepy.

"Whatever you say fortune-teller." I utter in a mocking manner and he throws a cushion at me.

"Anyway, Halloween is in a month, so there will be no announcement about it until a week or two to the day." He elaborates and I nod.

"Yeah I understand totally. Hopefully, you don't change your mind before the end of today." He laughs this time, cause he knows he's more than capable of doing it.

Zayn drives into the parking lot of our school and I couldn't be more happier that I will finally part ways with him.

He spent the past weekend listing out things we need to start doing, so we won't waste our last year of high school and youthfulness or teenage years as he puts it.

His lectures went on from the house to the road, on our way to school.

"You better not change your mind Cade. We are going out to Trent's avenue after school and no more sappy talks." I chuckle lightly at Zayn as I come down from his car.

"Sure." I concur for the hundredth time, making him smiles like a proud father.

He starts saying something again, but his words were easy to fade from my ears when I spot Freya coming down from a Red Toyota Tundra.

Unlike other days I have seen her arrive to school with Ophelia and Jacob, today she is alone.

She's on her usual outfit of oversized brown hoodie, washed out baggy jeans with rips at the thighs and brown Jordans. Her brown hair is kept in a messy bun.

Surprisingly, she didn't cover her head with her hood today.

She looks bored and uninterested as usual, as she walks into the school with her hands in the pocket of her hoodie and her airpods in her ears.

For the very few days I've spent with her or I've been around her, it's not a new discovery to find out Freya hates stress and she always looks bored or unentertained.

Like even coming to school is too much stress for her.

"Cade." The light tap on my shoulder pulls me into reality. I swipe my head to Zayn who comes to stand at my side, watching students fill the environment of the school's large compound.

"Were you even listening?" Zayn questions, raising a brow at me. Of course, I wasn't listening.

I take his hand off my shoulder instead of replying, moving us to the direction of the academic building entrance.

"Come on let's go. We're late." He laughs lightly, knowing I didn't hear him.

We walk through the hundreds of students, going about their business. My eyes effortlessly start roaming around in search of a brown haired girl.

Although, I didn't wanna make it obvious that I was searching for her visually, so Zayn wouldn't get suspicious as to why I didn't hear him earlier.

"Hey," Zayn calls when we reach our lockers. Sadly, I didn't see Freya in the hallway.

"Yeah?"

"I wanna ask the girls to join us to Trent's." I offload the books in my backpack into my locker.

I thought about it for a second.

The four of us together again?

"Yeah sure." I respond with an unbothered shrug.

Zayn smiles, "I know it'll be fun."

The bell rings and we both head to the class we have together.

"So are we like a friend group now or something?" I ask causally, although it's a serious question.

"Well honestly, I think Ophelia is the only one who can make it official." We both laugh at the fact of his statement.

"But yeah sure, why not?" I give him a thin smile.

There are reasons Zayn.

A lot of reasons why that's a bad idea.

After our morning classes, Zayn and I head to the cafeteria. I didn't have any class with Freya, which means I haven't seen her or spoken to her.

I would be lying if I say I'm okay with that.

Throughout the weekend, after the party on Friday, after our little moment in that room, on the bed, I haven't stopped seeing Freya.

I haven't stopped thinking about her.

I thought consistently studying, skating or playing video games with Zayn will distract me or help me not think of her, but it was all irrelevant.

I thought about calling her, but that's when I realised I don't have her phone number.

The noise from grumpy and over active teenagers fill my ears, pulling me out of my head once again as we walk into the cafeteria.

Knowing Freya and Ophelia now sit at our table, we walk there and it didn't take long for them to notice us. Ophelia waves excitedly at us and Zayn responds by waving back.

My heartbeat pace was normal and steady until my eyes connected with a peer of hazel eyes. A little smile forms on her lips as she looks at us, walking to them.

Outwardly, I look calm and collected. But inwardly, my heart is racing like I just ran a fucking marathon race.

"Hey," Freya says softly. A bagel is sitting in front of her on the table.

"Hey." I smile back at her.

Be fucking calm heart!

She chuckles while staring at me, like she can sense my inner struggle, before she looks away from me.

"I'm so hungry." Ophelia announces, resting her hand and head on Zayn's shoulder.

"With those vegetables you're eating, why won't you be hungry?" Freya mocks her, before taking a bite out of her bagel.

An empty container sits on the table, which I can tell was filled with salad that belongs to Ophelia.

Ophelia pouts and Zayn was quick to rub her head softly, like the way you'll do to a baby or a cat.

Sometimes I wonder how two of them spent all their lives without speaking to each other or being friends and in less than a month, they are bonding so well.

"I ordered Pizza," I voice out, looking at my phone.

"They'll be here soon." Ophelia brightens us immediately and claps with excitement.

"No wonder you guys didn't take food from the lunch ladies." Freya points out, noticing the absence of our food.

"Cade and I are going to Trent's Avenue after school. Would you guys like to come al..."

"Hell yeah!" Ophelia cuts in before Zayn could complete his sentence.

"Did you honestly think we would turn you down?" We all laugh.

"I would love to go guys but I can't." Freya was visibly taken aback by the sharp look we all gave her.

"And why is that?" Ophelia questions.

"I have to sleep." She announces with passion.

I couldn't help but crack into a laugh. For a second there, I was actually thinking she has a good reason to not go with us.

"A better reason would've been more convincing mi amor." Ophelia blows Freya a kiss, knowing Freya has no choice.

A ding comes from my phone, indicating a message from the pizza guy.

"Pizza is here." I inform them.

"Let's go eat at the library." Ophelia says casually, standing up.

"Why the library?" I ask, standing up as well as the rest of us.

"Peace and quiet enough for me to make noise." It makes sense.

"Plus no one is there now and Mr Nelson loves me." Poor old librarian.

"Only God knows how much trouble you've caused that man." Freya inputs, like she read my mind.

We all exit the cafeteria. I get the pizza on our way to the library and we settle there.

Mr Nelson was about to tell us to keep it down until he saw Ophelia. He knows it's not gonna happen.

The school's library is at least twice the size bigger than my last school's own back home. Ophelia was right, the place is more comfortable and enjoyable when no one is in it, instead of being shushed everytime a word exits someone's mouth.

"So we'll meet there at five?" Ophelia confirms the time once again and we all nod.

"Hope you won't bail on us Freya?" Zayn ask and she smiles.

I sit on the wooden chair that's facing directly at the one Freya is sitting on, so I would get to stare at her for my satisfaction.

But like always, she looks anywhere but me.

I wish we can go back to Friday night, where it was just us and she was actually comfortable being around me or speaking to me at least.

"I'm suppose to have a date with sleep." Freya voices out, causing us to laugh.

"But now I can't. If I bail, it's to get back at you guys for ruining my plans." She adds.

"I told you this year isn't gonna be like the rest Freya." Ophelia says, while I watch them with a half eaten pizza in my hand.

"You'll be standing up sleep on all those dates a lot." They made sleep sound like an actual person.

"To be clear, it's sleep we're still talking about right?" Zayn ask before I could, making the girls laugh.

"Come to think of it." We turn our attention to Zayn.

"Both of you are somewhat alike." He gestures his forefinger between Freya and I.

Freya finally brings her eyes to meet mine and my heart skips a beat again.

The fact that she can do that without her knowing she does what she does to me makes me feel so....

Is there a word to describe it?

"How are we alike?" She looks back at Zayn, clearly refusing to hold eye contact with me.

I couldn't help but feel bad. She seems to look at everyone comfortably, but can't even hold a decent amount of seconds staring at me.

"You're both introverts and uninteresting." I let a laugh escape my lips.

If only they know.

"Yeah I hate to agree, but it's true guys. Although Cade doesn't give off anti-social vibes like Freya but if Zayn says you are, then you are." Ophelia supports him like she's known me my whole life.

My life here in Raywood is far different from the one I had back at home in Scottvile.

A life I never want to return to.

- Thanks guys for 3k.

ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴs


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