The Mess I Made

It's hard to believe that things can get even worse than they are right now. I guess my life just decided to add yet another hardship to it. It's not like I didn't have enough on my plate. It's just getting to the point where everything is just so unbearable. The amount of pain that one group of people can go through is insane. No one should have to face all of this. It's not fair.

Before you start to lecture me about how life is unfair let me explain something to you. I don't give a damn about some stupid lecture. I'm going to call it unfair no matter what you say. My friends are good people and they don't deserve all of the hurt that they've been put through. Yes, I'm aware that I am the cause of a lot of it but that doesn't mean that more shit has to just keep happening. Can't we get a break or something? This is getting a bit ridiculous.

If you think your life is bad, I'm sure there's someone out there whose life is much worse. Just keep that in mind.

-x-

It's been hours since any of us had last seen Zach and every minute that he was gone made me even more worried. What if he got in some sort of accident? What if he got lost? What if he got kidnapped? What if he was lying on the ground dead somewhere?

I shook my head to get rid of any negative thoughts.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting rid of any negative thoughts." I continued shaking my head until I was satisfied.

"Weirdo."

"Jerk."

This went back and forth for about five minutes until we ran out of insults.

Michael spoke up, "Got any plans for exposing Steven?"

"Nada. It was your idea genius. Plus you wont let me lay my hands on him so my plan is already out the window."

"Would you rather go to jail for assault?"

"I don't need anything else on my record. I think I'm good."

I'd do anything for my sister, even if that meant going to jail for assault. I at least owe her something. He wouldn't even see it coming. I guess there is an advantage to being just a tad bit on the shorter size. By the time that I am through with him he wont be able to see out of either of his eyes.

I asked, "What are we going to do about him?"

"We'll figure it out. It's been a long time coming. He's going to wish that he never laid a hand on her.'

I continued driving around in a circle until I thought of another place where Zach might be. "Mikey, do you think that Zach could be at Starbucks?"

He shot me a puzzled look and contemplated about it for a minute, "It's worth a shot."

After another ten minutes in the car we pulled up to Starbucks. It looked like any other one but this one was different, at least to Zach and I. This Starbucks had history. It's the place where we use to go to nearly every day after school and talk for hours on end. Starbucks was our special spot, much like the beach being my special spot with Cameron. As for Michael and I, we went wherever we could cause some kind of mischief especially the JC Penney clothing store since that's where Nikki use to work.

I got out of the car and looked around, "I think he's here."

"Do you have a sixth sense or something?"

"No." I frowned looking around until I saw a car that looked much like Zach's, "His cars here."

We walked into the coffee shop and got in line for a drink. We each looked over each other's shoulders to see if we could find any sign of Zach.

"Found him." Luckily for me his back was turned so I pointed at him sitting in a booth in the corner of the room.

The people in front of us quickly paid for their beverages and moved over to the right to pick them up. When I realized it was our turn I reached into my pockets and only pulled out dust.

"Shit." I muttered.

"No worries. I got you baby girl." He pulled out his wallet before the girl at the counter even turned around to get our order, "What do you want to drink?"

"Small peppermint mocha." I started walking to the right side to pick up the drinks but the girl at the counter caught my eye.

"What could I get you today?" She asked in a calm and polite voice but that's not what I noticed about her and it wasn't just me who saw it, Michael did too. Michael's mouth dropped when she turned around, "Do I have something on my face?" She raised her hand to her face and started brushing it off.

"N-no. You're good. Sorry, you just look like someone that's all." More like a clone actually. The girl had long brown hair, brown eyes, and a light tan. She had a bit of a baby face but you wouldn't ever mistaken her for a kid you would give the kid menu to.

I blinked a couple of times just to make sure I was seeing things write, "What he's trying to say is that you look a hell of a lot like my sister Nikki. It's kind of uncanny really."

She blushed slightly not knowing what to say, "So, what can I get you?" She adjusted her name tag awkwardly. On the name tag it read Cassidy.

"Uh-I'll take a small regular coffee and a peppermint mocha." She punched the order into her cash register and read off the cost. Michael opened his wallet and handed her a wrinkled ten dollar bill. After he handed her the money he gently shook his hands to calm himself down. When I noticed that he was much calmer I began to walk away right when Michael turned on his charm.

He smiled showing his dimple when Cassidy came back with the peppermint mocha, "I don't think we've met before. I'm Michael Martinez."

"I-uh-I know." said Cassidy, "I mean, I've heard about your band."

"Oh yeah? Why don't you come to one of our shows sometime? Just write your number on the side of my cup and I'll text you." She quickly scribbled her number down and handed him the coffee. "Thanks baby girl!"

I flinched watching the scene because it was really starting to remind me of something else that happened right in that very spot.

Flashback

The summer was already halfway over by time that any one of my friends had gotten a job. Zach and Cameron were working at Starbucks while Nikki and Ariana were working at JC Penney's. As for Michael and I, we were spending each day torturing them at their jobs. One day we would move around the items in JC Penney and another day we were ordering complex drinks in Starbucks. If they didn't give us what we wanted then we would talk loudly about the poor customer service.

We had nothing better to do while they were working so why not? We never went too far with our little shenanigans. It was all fun and games. No harm intended.

One day we were starting to get a bit bored of the same routine so we just acted as normal as we possibly could and ordered our drinks. Zach and Cameron were a bit skeptical but went along with it.

Once we got out drinks and paid we walked over to an empty table when Zach came rushing over, "Sorry Skye! I gave you the wrong drink." He switched the drinks and ran off.

I shook my head and picked up the cold beverage. When I picked it up I noticed a small message written in black sharpie at the top of my cup. It read, Will you be my girlfriend? Underneath it was three check marks for yes, no, and maybe. When I looked towards the cash register I saw only Cameron standing there. Not even a second later Zach stood up from below the counter and waved.

I tried to bite my lip to keep myself from smiling. I didn't want to give him an answer just yet.

Michael and I sat at our table for about thirty minutes until we finished our drinks. A couple of times I could see Zach glancing over at us while tapping his foot impatiently.

I got up and walked over to the cash register and placed my now empty cup on the counter, "Do you guys have a pen that I could borrow?" Zach practically threw the pen at me and tried to catch a glimpse at which box I was checking, "No peaking." I turned around and marked one of the empty boxes.

I handed over the pen and my empty cup and began walking away.

"Yes!" I turned around and saw Zach awkwardly dancing around the counter.

"You're such a dork." I laughed.

End Flashback

Michael handed me my drink and I swiftly made my way to the back of Starbucks.

"Can you wait here for a second Michael?" I whispered, "I kind of want to talk to him myself. I don't need him getting mad at you too." Michael shrugged and walked back to the counter to talk to Cassidy.

I took a deep breath before heading over to the table and plopped into the seat in front of him.

Zach groaned, "Out of all of the people who could have found me...it just had to be you."