Listen to Your Heart

Rachel had come outside to look for me not long after I had run out. She spotted me and walked over to me quickly.

"I'm so sorry, Brooke," she said.

"You knew he was going to be here didn't you?" I asked her.

"Yeah, but I thought you had assumed he would be," she said.

"I guess in the back of my mind I did," I said. "I just wasn't ready for this yet. It's too much to take in right now."

"Do you want me to take you home?" she asked.

It sounded tempting, but I knew I couldn't. I was going to have to face him sometime and I had already made an appearance. I didn't want to be rude and just leave.

"No, I'll stay," I said. "Just give me a moment."

She nodded her head and stood beside of me against the wall. We stayed silent for a while until I finally had to ask the question that was lingering in my mind.

"Was that his girlfriend?" I asked.

"Yeah, but they haven't been together long," she said. "Her name is Heather. Personally, I don't like her. I haven't liked any of his girlfriends, but I guess that's because I just keep picturing you two together. I have always thought you and him would be the perfect couple. You both were always so in sync with each other."

"I guess he didn't think the same way," I said as I sighed.

"Let's just go back inside and try to have fun," she said as she stepped in front of me. "The rest of the guys are here and they're cool. Their girlfriends are, too."

"Alright," I said as I stood up straight.

We walked back inside the restaurant together and to the table were everyone was sitting. I tried not to glance at John. I was afraid I would have to run back outside again.

"Everything alright," Sarah asked as we sat back down.

"Yeah, Brooke just needed some fresh air," Rachel said.

"We ordered you both some drinks," Garrett said to us.

"Thank you," I said to him as I picked up my menu and scanned over it.

"So, Brooke, how did New York treat you?" Kristen asked.

"Very well," I said as I smiled. "It was a wonderful place. It's so lively."

"I bet," she said. "Are you going to go back?"

"I don't know yet," I said.

The waiter came to our table soon after I said that to bring our drinks and take our orders. We thanked him as he took our menus and walked away.

"Do you have a boyfriend back there?" Whitney asked.

"No, I don't," I said. "I dated some nice guys, but they just weren't for me."

I looked over at John after I said that. He was looking down at his glass like it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen.

"How do you and John know each other?" Heather asked me.

"We were best friends," I said to her. "Had been since we were kids until I left for college."

"Funny," she said in an amusing way. "He's never mentioned you."

I felt my blood begin to boil. I knew what she was trying to pull. Rachel was mumbling mean things about Heather under her breath. I even seen John look up from his drink to look at her.

"Really?" I asked. "How long have you two been dating?"

"Almost two weeks," she said as if it were a long time.

"Wow," I said, acting amazed. "I guess you would know everything about John then. Two weeks must be a lifetime for you."

I heard the girls and the guys, except for John, giggling softly at my comment. Heather looked at them with a glare and the guys tried covering it up with coughs while the girls continued to giggle freely.

"Anyways," Garrett said as he tried to change the conversation. "John, Brooke said she has listened to our music."

John looked over at me and I looked back at him.

"Really? What did she think?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" he asked him.

John just looked at him and then went back to staring at his drink. Well, I should have known he would act that way. I guess I couldn't blame him.

"I'm going over to the bar," he said as he stood up.

"Want me to come with you, babe?" Heather asked him.

"No, I'll be fine," he said and walked away.

I watched his as he walked to the bar. I didn't like the fact that he was ignoring me. I understood he was angry with me, but it still wasn't fair.

"Go talk to him," Rachel whispered beside of me.

"He doesn't want to talk to me," I whispered back to her.

"Get your ass out of that fuckin' chair and go talk to him," she whispered harshly to me.

We glared at each other, but I finally sighed and got up from my chair. I walked to the bar where John was standing. I took a deep breath and stood beside him.

"Hi," I said, awkwardly.

"Hi," he said back, not looking at me.

"I take it you're mad at me," I said.

"I have the right to be don't I?" he asked still not looking at me.

"Yes, you do," I said, "but what did you expect, John? We would go back to being best friends after I confessed that to you? It's not that simple."

"Why not?" he asked as he finally looked at me. "We were best friends, Brooke. Best friends don't turn their backs on each other."

"That may be so, John, but I couldn't be around you after that," I said. "How do you think I felt? Did you ever think about my feelings?"

He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. I could tell it was hard for him, too.

"I did think about your feelings and I knew being away from me would be best for you, but it still hurt me," he said.

"I'm sorry for hurting you," I said. "It was never my intention to do that."

"I'm sorry, too," he said.

We stayed silent for a while. I didn't know what else to say to him.

"Do you think we could ever be friends again?" he asked.

I thought about it for a moment. It would be nice being friends with him again. It would be hard, but I wanted him back in my life.

"I think we could work on it," I said.

"I can handle that," he said as he smiled. "Nice hair by the way."

"Are you being sarcastic with me?" I asked.

"No, it really is nice, blondie," he said as he ruffled my hair a bit.

I smiled at him. It felt like old times again.