Secrets Don't Make Friends

William watched October as she walked up her driveway a few houses down. Even though he barely knew the girl, the tears that stained her face sent a pang of sympathy through him. He wanted to hold her, console her, do anything to get rid of the tears and put a smile on her face. But William noticed that when she turned around, she was less than thrilled to see him. Her beautiful green eyes were tight with suspicion and her voice was guarded as she spoke.

He was confused as to why October wasn't as warm to him as he would have liked. He could see the hesitance in her eyes and hear it in her voice, but it confused him. Normally girls would be willing to talk to him, openly—and shamelessly—flirt with him in the first few minutes of meeting him. But he wouldn't go so far to call himself arrogant; he was far from it. Although the attention he was given was flattering, it was forced and fake. But the treatment from October was something completely different. And there was more to it than just her disinterest that tweaked something in William's mind.

The guard in her eyes and the defense in her voice intrigued William more than it should. He wanted to go behind the scenes, away from the spot light, and discover the real October Lanley. He wanted to dig under the surface and expose her for everything she was. From the suspicion that circled her eyes, William could easily tell that she didn't trust him. Why, he did not know, but he was going to find a way to break through and get his foot in the door.

Turning away from October's house, William pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked to the corner of the street, sitting down on the curb. He scrolled through the numbers on his phone and found the name he was looking for, pressing Send.

October flicked the curtain shut as William finally turned away from her house and walked down the street. Why he stood in front of her house staring at it for the past five minutes she didn't know, but it truly creeped her out and that just made her uneasiness for William grow even more. But upon walking into the kitchen, October saw a note taped to the fridge that forced William out of her mind. Sighing, she ripped it off and read the note.

October - I was called on an emergency meeting today. Unfortunately I won't be home for dinner tonight. There is leftover Alfredo in the fridge or my card is in the top drawer for pizza. I'm sorry to leave you like this - Mom.

October rolled her eyes and threw the piece of paper in the bin and stalked up stairs to work on her homework. The only place—other than the cemetery—that seemed to give her any sort of comfort or refuge was her room. Her own sacred, personal space that she allowed no one (not even her mother) in. The only person she ever allowed in was now six-feet under and in a box, she though bitterly slamming the door shut.

Sitting in the far corner of her room was her cell phone, a tiny plastic device that she rarely used except for the occasional call for pizza or incoming call for the wrong number. So naturally October was surprised to see the screen blinking at her and vibrating along the bedside table. Eyeing the phone carefully, October crossed her room and picked up the phone, reading an unknown number.

She debated on whether she should answer it or not. If it was a wrong number, they would instantly hear her voice message and not call back. But what if it was her mom calling from the office? She highly doubted that, seeing as her mom would call the house and not her cell. Defeated, she reached for the phone but as soon as she flipped it open the vibrations stopped and One Missed Call flashed back at her.

Grinning inwardly, October put the phone back in it's regular spot and began working on her Trig homework when the vibration of her phone echoed once again. Her eyebrows came together in a tight V as she stood up, picking up the phone. The same number flashed along the screen. Biting her lip, October took a chance and flipped open her phone, bringing it to her ear.

"Uh, hello?" she said lamely.

"October?" a vaguely familiar voice asked.

"Um, yes... who is this?"

"Oh... William Beckett," the voice hesitated.

The moment he spoke his name, an odd chill ran down her spine. Stiffening instantly, October spoke rigidly into the receiver.

"How did you get my number?" Her anger was more than just at William for calling her. Someone had given her number—willingingly and without her permission—to the last person she would have ever wanted to have it.

"Ah, well... the person I got the number from wished to remain anonymous, if that is okay."

"Yes, well I would say that it isn't okay. Good-bye, William." And before he could even have a chance to breathe, October pressed End and shut off the phone, shoving it in the drawer of her nightstand.

Anger and extreme frustration rippled through her veins as she sat down at her desk. Anger that someone had actually given out her number to a stranger, and that stranger being someone she barely even knew. And frustration because William didn't seem to want to leave her alone. This was his third time today attempting to talk to her even when she clearly didn't want to talk to him.

She sighed and pulled her Trig book from her bag and began working on that nights homework. Getting lost in the midst of degrees, triangles and arcs, October didn't even notice that someone was knocking on her front door until the impatient sound of her doorbell rang through the house. Pushing herself away from her desk, October memorized her last problem before walking down the stairs to see a familiar head of dark brown hair smiling at her from the side window. Opening the front door, she greeted her unexpected visitor.

"Ah, hi Mike... can I help you with something?"

Mike Carden stood awkwardly on her stoop, rocking back and forth on his heels. October shot him an amused smile but suspicion immediately flashed through her mind. By instinct, October poked her head further out the door and took a long look around her front yard but didn't see anything unusual.

"Hey, Tober. I'm sorry for the sudden drop-in, but my band and I are throwing a little party at Underground on Saturday and we haven't talked in a while, so I figured you could come and we could catch up and... yeah," he sputtered out, giving her an unsure smile.

October and Mike never really had a close friendship, so him inviting her his party made her a little nervous and—once again—slightly suspicious. The only reason she knew Mike was because of Audrina and her social skills. But October knew that if Audrina were here, she would jump on the chance and force October to socalize and bring her out of her shell. So, October accepted asking the time.

Mike smiled at her. "The party is at Underground Park on Clark Street and it starts at eight."

Closing the door behind her, October sighed and closed her eyes. Being one to never go to parties alone, she had no idea what she just got herself into. October worried on her bottom lip and walked back to her room completely ignoring the rest of her Trig homework. Right now, she was too worried about the reasoning behind Mike's invite.

Surely he wouldn't have just invited her on impulse; he had thrown several parties over the last year and not once had he invited her. There was something else behind the invite, the worry that flashed in front of his eyes when October opened the door, the awkward tone to his voice as he recited the invitation. Then something in the back of her mind flicked on and she realized at that moment why Mike looked so awkward, why he seemed worried.

He wasn't inviting her because he wanted to. He wasn't inviting her because he wanted to catch up. Something told her that it was Mike that had given William her number and that after she rejected William's call, he had asked Mike to invite her to the party. At this realization, October groaned into her pillow, realizing just how much she was going to put herself through by going to the party.