Status: FIN (:

Weak, But Not Defeated

for you and your denial

“It’s your move, Maddie.”

“I know, John,” Maddie said, frustrated as she gripped her hair in her hands.

“You’re in check, baby. You better get it together,” John said.

“Shut up!” she said, looking at the chess board. One wrong move would let John win and she couldn’t let that happen. She moved her pawn forward and looked at John as his lips turned into a cruel smile.

He moved his final piece, “Check mate.” Maddie stood up angrily, her competitive nature getting the best of her. “Oh, don’t get mad, baby,” John laughed.

Maddie sat down on John’s couch and he followed her, “I used to beat you at chess all the time when we were younger.”

“I let you win,” John said simply.

“What!?” she shouted, punching John’s arm.

John shrugged as he held his arm, “You were always so happy when you won!”

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest, “Well, all my years of bragging about my chess playing skills have made me look like a tool.”

“No, they’ve just made you look like a nerd,” John told her, feigning his sympathy.

“Why am I even here!?” Maddie asked, “You make fun of me too much.”

“Because you looove me,” John said.

“And because everyone is having a guy’s day and you weren’t invited,” Maddie retorted.

“They’re all renting their tuxes and getting ready for prom tomorrow. Maddie, I’ve been going to prom since eighth grade, I’ve had a suit forever,” John smiled confidently.

She rolled her eyes, “How should I do my hair for prom?” Maddie asked, scrunching her hair in her fingertips.

John pursed his lips, moving Maddie’s hand and letting her brown hair fall. “I think you should curl it, definitely, you look best that way.”

Maddie smiled at him, “Maybe I’ll put it in a bun on the side, so that I don’t get all sweaty when I’m getting down on the dance floor.”

John laughed, “Getting down huh? That will be interesting.”

“I’m really excited. Everyone is going to look so nice,” Maddie said.

“H- Hey Maddie?” John stuttered.

“Yes?” she laughed at his sudden nervousness.

“Will you save me a dance?” he asked.

Maddie smiled at him lightly, “Of course.”

“And not one where you’re getting down. A slow song,” John clarified.

“I suppose,” Maddie laughed. “How will Courtney feel about that?”

He shrugged, “She’s getting better. She knows that you’re my number one, so that’s what matters.”

Maddie smiled at him as her cheeks blushed. “So, everyone is coming to my house tonight, right?”

“Yes,” John grinned, “Speaking of, we need to go shopping!”

“You drive,” Maddie said as they walked to the door.

As John and Maddie sat in his car her cell phone rang.

“Hello?” she spoke.

“Madeline, your father and I have to go to New Mexico early. That means you need to stay with John tonight,” her mother said.

“Why can’t I stay home alone?” Maddie asked.

“Because you have prom tomorrow and I don’t want you to get involved in all that partying. I know John will take care of you,” her mom said sternly.

“But mom,” Maddie whined, “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Let me speak to John,” she said.

Maddie handed the phone to John, “Hello Miss Riggs,” he said sweetly

Maddie couldn’t hear what her mom was saying but the smile never left John’s face. He spoke smoothly and Maddie figured her mom was probably blushing.

“You got it; I’ll keep a close eye on her. You two have fun, don’t worry about a thing. Bye!” he said before hanging up.

He grinned at Maddie and she narrowed her eyes, “I hate you.”

“You’re all mine this weekend, baby!” he said excitedly.

“Fantastic,” Maddie grumbled, a smile tugging at her lips.

John and Maddie bought their items to make lasagna. They spent the rest of the day cooking. They had decided on a dinner party, a black and white theme. John wore black slacks and a white buttoned down shirt with a skinny, black tie. Maddie adorned a simple dress and tall white heels.

“We’re kind of adorable, do you know that?” Maddie said as she leaned over the table, lighting the tall candle stick in the center.

“I agree! When is everyone getting here?” John asked. Before he could answer the doorbell rang and Maddie smiled.

She skipped to the door and opened it, grinning at her friends. Everyone was dressed in similar black and white attire. Jared handed her a bottle of wine he had taken from his parents. Caroline had brought desert.

“Hi, sweetie, you look great,” Garrett said, kissing her cheek.

“You do too,” she said, surveying his black skinny jeans and white, buttoned down shirt.

“Maddie, my darling, you look wonderful,” Eric said, wrapping his arms around her.

She laughed at him, “As do you, Eric. Okay, everyone take a seat, dinner will be ready in about ten minutes,” Maddie said before walking back into the kitchen.

“I love this hosting thing!” she said as she walked next to John.

“Um, Maddie? Does this look like lasagna to you?” he asked.

Maddie stared down at the pan, gasping when she saw the disgusting mass in front of her, “What happened?”

“We did something wrong,” John pouted, “What now?”

Maddie sighed as she leaned against the counter, folding her arms over her chest, “This sucks.”

“What if we order pizza?” John asked.

“That’s so cheap though!” Maddie protested.

John stood in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders, “No, it’ll be fine. I’ll save the day!”

John ran out of the back door of the house. Maddie paced around the kitchen until he returned. He came back within fifteen minutes with a stack of pizza boxes, “Start cutting,” he said.

Maddie followed John’s lead as he cut the slices of pizza into small pieces. They placed them on the plates, at least making the presentation look nice.

John smiled at Maddie as they stared at the table, pleased with their last ditch effort to save the night. John put his arm over Maddie’s shoulder and she smiled at him, “Dinner is served,” she yelled to her friends.
________________________________________________

“Maddie, I think I roofied John.”

“What!?” she shouted, much louder than Eric’s whisper.

He pulled her into the corner of the room, “I didn’t mean to!”

Maddie looked over at John as he lay sloppily on the couch, “What the hell!?” she screamed, walking to John.

All of the friends stopped their conversations. “What happened?” Pat asked.

“Eric roofied John!” Maddie said, lifting John’s head so she could sit on the couch and let it rest in her lap.

“Woah, what?” Kennedy asked with a laugh.

“It’s not funny!” Maddie said, running a hand through John’s hair as his eyelids drew heavy.

John looked at Maddie, “Eric did this to me?” he asked.

“I meant to do it to Maddie!” Eric blurted out.

“What!?” Maddie asked, horrified.

“I put like, half a pill in your wine, it was supposed to be funny!” he said.

Everyone in the room was silent for a few seconds before they burst into loud laughter. She frowned at them before she looked back to John.

“It won’t hurt him,” Garrett said, “Half a pill will barely affect him at all. He’ll just pass out for a while.”

“How do you know so much about roofies?” Maddie asked.

Garrett shrugged, “I… read.”

“Eric, I hate you,” Maddie said.

“It’s not like anyone was going to rape you, Maddie. It was just going to be entertaining!” Eric said.

“That would have been kind of funny,” John agreed.

Maddie’s jaw dropped as she shook her head, “Remind me to never talk to any of you again.”

“Well the pizza you guys bought was great, if that helps,” Pat said.

Maddie pouted, “Worst night ever.”

“It would have been more fun if you would have drunken from the correct glass,” Eric grumbled.

“Eric, are you insane? I’m not trying to be condescending, it’s a real question,” Maddie asked.

“Crazy for you, baby,” Eric winked and Maddie pretended to gag.

John sat up and pointed in Eric’s direction, “Don’t talk about my baby like that.”

“John, lay down,” Maddie directed. Caroline handed him a bottle of water that he drank quickly.

“No,” he said tiredly, “You’re my girl.”

Maddie laughed nervously, “Come on, lover boy, let’s get you home.”

Kennedy and Garrett led John to Maddie’s car, letting him sprawl across the back seat. “Will you guys lock up? I don’t think I’ll have a chance to come back.”

“You’re staying the night at John’s?” Garrett asked.

“Yeah, my mom is making me. And now with Eric’s act of insanity I think I’ll need to keep an eye on him,” Maddie said.

“You don’t really need to stay there, do you?” Garrett asked, a hint of jealousy dripping off his words.

Kennedy looked at them uncomfortably, “Well, I’m going to go. I’ll lock up for you, Madds.”

She smiled her thanks and looked back to Garrett, “Nothing is going to happen.”

“I just think it’s inappropriate for you to spend the night at another guy’s house,” Garrett said.

“Garrett, you’re being ridiculous. You have no reason not to trust me, it’s not like I have a history,” she said.

He rolled his eyes, “I don’t trust John.”

Maddie looked at him incredulous, “He’s going to be passed out all night, Garrett.”

“Whatever, I’ll call you later,” Garrett said, turning to walk away.

She caught his arm, “Don’t leave angry.”

“I’m not angry, just annoyed,” he said honestly.

“With me?” Maddie asked.

“Yep,” he said curtly. “Listen, I don’t want to talk about it right now. Prom is tomorrow and we’ll have a great time, I just think we need to talk about some things.”

“Garrett-”

“I’ll text you,” he said, slowly sauntering away from her.

Maddie dragged her feet as she walked to the driver’s side. She climbed in, starting the car, putting the radio low as not to disturb John.

“I don’t feel well,” he murmured from the back seat.

“I know,” Maddie said sympathetically, “We’ll be home soon.”

“Home?” John asked.

“Your home,” Maddie corrected.

“It could be ours,” John said simply.

“Go to sleep, John,” Maddie said. Normally she would find it funny but Garrett’s words were on replay in her mind.

I just think we need to talk about some things.

What did that even mean? Usually Maddie would just be annoyed, but right now she was actually upset. Garrett did have a right to be angry. It was inappropriate for her to stay at John’s, but she wasn’t upset being forced to stay there, and that made her feel worse.

“Really, you could just move in. I’d give you my room,” John said.

“Where would you sleep?” Maddie asked.

John sighed, “Hm, this poses a problem.”

Maddie parked her car in front of John’s apartment. She opened the back door and pulled John up by his arms. She helped him stand as he rested all of the weight he could onto Maddie. His arm was over her shoulder and she had both of her arms wrapped around his waist.

They struggled up the stairs and when they reached the door Maddie reached into John’s back pocket, taking the keys out.

He smiled at her, “Getting a little frisky there, baby.”

She rolled her eyes as she unlocked the door. She led John to the couch, letting go of him and letting him collapse.

Maddie leaned down, closer to John’s face, “John, take a nap, okay? I’ll be here when you wake up.”

John nodded his head, looking at her like he was completely dumbfounded, “I love you.”

“You too,” Maddie said, patting John’s stomach before standing up.

Within a minute John was snoring lightly. Maddie kicked off her heels and put her hands on her hips. She didn’t want to think about Garrett.

So she cleaned.

She dusted the entire living room, she organized his records in alphabetical order, she even vacuumed because John was in such a deep sleep.

After about two hours she moved to John’s room. It was a mess, mostly just clothes covering the floor. Maddie began picking them up and putting he articles in his dirty clothes hamper.

When she picked up a pair of jeans she found an envelope in the back pocket. She took it out and smiled when she saw her name.

Madeline,

Tomorrow is prom! I’m excited to see your dress, I’ll bet that it’s beautiful.

It should really be me that you’re taking. But I guess if I had to pick any other guy for you to go with it would be Garrett. He loves you, a lot.

Maddie, do you love him too? Wow… that was really forward, but I need to know. It seems impossible for you to fall in love after you got so screwed over. But honestly, it scares me that you may love him. It means that I really did ruin everything when I agreed to keep Kenny’s secret.

I am just on a roll, aren’t I? This is probably going to be really embarrassing, but I’m over it. I love you, Maddie. But you love someone else.

You are my best friend, Maddie. In every sense of the word, you are the best friend I’ve ever had. Of course I fell in love with you along the way.

Thank you for being so wonderful to me, and for keeping faith in me when I didn’t deserve it.

I’m too little, too late; I know. I’m sure I’ll fall out of love with you eventually.

That’s what you did, right?

-John

Maddie sat down on John’s bed, her knees weak. Her eyes filled with tears and she wasn’t sure why. She was overwhelmed with every emotion possible.

She lay on John’s bed, closing her eyes. So many thoughts were running through her head and she soon became tired. Before she was even aware she had fallen asleep.

*

“You weren’t supposed to read that.”

Maddie opened her eyes slowly to face John in the doorway. The letter was still in her hands. “Sorry,” she said quietly, folding it back up.

“I wrote it, and then I realized it was extremely embarrassing, and I wasn’t going to give it to you,” John said.

Maddie ignored his statement, stretching out, “You seem to be feeling better.”

“Yeah, what happened?” he asked.

“You don’t remember?” Maddie laughed.

“Nope, I just feel hung over. But I didn’t drink much did I?” he asked.

Maddie contemplated telling him and finally decided, “Eric drugged you.”

“I’m going to ignore that statement because I feel so crappy,” John said as he lay down next to her.

“So… interesting letter,” Maddie said, lying on her side to face John.

“That’s all you have to say? Interesting?” John asked.

Maddie stared into his eyes, “I think Garrett wants to break up with me.”

“What?” John asked, alarmed.

“He doesn’t like that I’m spending the night here. I think he’s jealous of the time we spend together,” she told him.

“I would be jealous too,” John said quietly.

“I don’t want to lose him,” Maddie said.

“I don’t want you to be sad,” John spoke, “But I can’t say I’ll be upset if it happens.”

“John…” Maddie said, a frown on her lips.

“I’m just trying to be honest,” he said. Maddie stayed silent as she watched John’s hand slowly move to hers. He started lightly rubbing circles over the top. “Maddie, I wrote that letter, and… well, I mean every word I wrote.”

She met his eyes as she gripped his hand loosely, “Don’t say anything, John.”

He brought her hand to his lips, kissing it sweetly. His eyes showed uncertainty and his shaky words proved it, “It’s your move, Maddie. It’s always your move.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Maddie
Soo... it's really discouraging when only six people comment out of 177 subscribers. Thank you to everyone who did comment last chapter, I love you sooo much!
I hate people that do this but now i totally undersatnd...I probably won't update until I get a reasonable amount of comments. But I'll just let you know that next chapter is the final twist in the plot of the story. So every chapter following it will be big.
I love hearing what you guys think, so let me knoww<3
Love you guys, I just need some feedback.