Status: Keep or Kill?
Oblivion
CHAPTER TWO
“Ivy, get out of bed. Now.”
Ivy groaned, covering her face with her arms as Pat barged into her bedroom.
“Pat, I don’t want to,” she said sleepily.
“I know you’re not sick, so don’t even bother trying to convince me.”
There was a long silence while Ivy kept her eyes closed and Pat stood staring down at her. He crossed his arms, sitting down on the side of the bed, shaking Ivy’s shoulder a little bit.
“Come on, tell me what happened,” he said quietly, biting his lip.
Ivy groaned into her pillow, hiding her face from him so he couldn’t see her expression.
“Leo,” she said, which was all he needed to understand.
Pat’s hands unknowingly tightened into fists and he looked out the window.
“Ivy, what did he do?”
She could hear the anger boiling just under the surface of his words. Ivy suddenly sat up, wrapping her arms around Pat’s neck in a tight hug. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, still upset that Leo was the cause of his friend’s distress.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she whispered into his ear. “We’re over. What’s done is done, and I just want to forget about it.”
Pat nodded his head stiffly, still unsure.
“Pat, I’ll be fine. I promise,” Ivy said, pulling away from him, a small smile on her face.
Pat returned her smile, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back next to her. He looked around at the walls where posters of their favorite bands were plastered randomly, and then to Ivy’s desk, which was covered with pictures, some framed and others not. Most of them were of Ivy and himself, though some of them included a few other friends from school. He smiled at one in particular. It was of Ivy and him freshman year. Ivy was on crutches after breaking her leg at the skate park. It was the one and only time they went there. Pat had carried her all the way home, and then went with her to the emergency room.
It was funny to Pat, how little had changed. They were seniors, practically in the clear, and still best friends. They still had light saber wars, still ordered the same meals when they went to the tiny diner downtown, and Garrett still found ways to get them to watch zombie movies with him even though they swore they would never watch one again. Ivy was still oblivious to Pat’s true feelings, and Pat was still far from telling her.
“You owe me, you know,” Pat said to her, smiling.
Ivy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
“What? Why?”
“I was forced to go to school alone! I got stuck with a crappy gym partner and ate lunch alone.”
Ivy laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Pat cried, acting distressed. “I’m serious. Completely serious.”
“You had Garrett at lunch though. So that part was a lie, Pat.”
“Garrett doesn’t count and you know it.”
Ivy sighed and rested her head on Pat’s shoulder, closing her eyes.
“Well I’m sorry for sending you into a frenzy.”
Pat rested his head on top of hers, closing his eyes like she had.
“I guess it’s okay,” he said through a yawn.
He tugged on the blankets.
“Ivy,” he whined. “Please don’t hog the blankets.”
“Sorry,” she whispered, already half asleep.
When she woke up, Pat was gone and her room was dark. Ivy sat up, stretching her arms into the air and looking around. She wondered why Pat hadn’t woken her up when he left. Looking at the clock, she realized it was only 7:30.
“Why does it have to get so dark this early,” she wondered out loud.
She quickly grabbed her phone from the nightstand and called Pat. It only had to ring twice before he picked up. She could hear laughing in the background. She mentally smacked herself. He was probably in the middle of band practice.
“Hey Ivy, everything okay?” she heard his voice through the phone.
“Uh, yeah. Everything’s great. Sorry, I forgot you had practice tonight.”
She bit her lip, a nervous habit of hers, and began to rearrange the objects around her room. She was never one to sit still for very long.
“It’s cool,” Pat said happily. “You can come over and watch if you want. We’re almost done and then we might go out for pizza.”
Ivy sighed. She hadn’t eaten anything at all that day. She had been sleeping and moping, and she could finally see how pathetic she must look. She rubbed her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror with distaste.
“Yeah, just let me get dressed. I’ll be over in a few.”
She quickly tossed her phone to the side and picked out an outfit, getting dressed and then applying a small amount of makeup. In all honesty, Ivy Cole was never one to make a fuss out of anything. She was more reserved than most girls her age and everything about her was effortless. She rushed down the stairs, shouting a quick goodbye to her parents as she ran out the door and walked across the lawn to Pat’s house. She didn’t even bother knocking, but instead walked straight through their unlocked door.
“Are you a burglar?” Kennedy shouted from the living room.
Ivy laughed as she walked into the room where the members of The Maine were lying around on the floor.
“No, but it wouldn’t be very hard with the door always open,” she said in response to Kennedy’s comment.
She gave a pointed look to Pat and Tim before sitting down next to John on the couch, snuggling into the soft leather.
“We thought you’d never show up,” John said, smirking at her.
There was a chorus of mumbled agreements and Ivy rolled her eyes.
“Really,” Jared said. “We’re starving and you take forever to get ready.”
Pat scoffed.
“Now you know how I feel every morning when she’s getting ready for school!”
“Whatever,” she said, smiling.
“Well let’s go then!” Tim shouted, already half way out the door.
Everyone stood up and ran after him, pushing each other to beat the rest to the van. Ivy and John were the last to get up, taking their time unlike the rest.
“Pat told us,” he said quietly, looking down at the ground. “About Leo, I mean.”
Ivy bit her lip, slowly raising her eyes to meet his. John stared back at her, slowly leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. He pulled back and ran a hand through his hair, making it even messier than before.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, looking away. “I just… had to do that.”
Ivy stood in shock before finally realizing what had just happened. She was surprised to find that she wasn’t an emotional wreck. In fact, she wasn’t even upset about what John had done. Her stomach flipped as she reached out and took his hand. She knew she shouldn’t, but all she wanted was something, or someone, to take her mind off of things. She wanted someone she could have fun with, and not the kind of fun Pat was interested in. Pat could be… overly protective.
“Don’t be,” she whispered, leading him outside.
As Pat saw their linked hands, his heart dropped. He knew that look in John’s eyes. John wasn’t a player like the rumors said. In fact, he was completely genuine when it came to relationships, and Pat knew that. But none of John’s girlfriends ever lasted. A relationship between Ivy and John would never last, and another heartbreak was exactly what Ivy didn’t need.
Ivy groaned, covering her face with her arms as Pat barged into her bedroom.
“Pat, I don’t want to,” she said sleepily.
“I know you’re not sick, so don’t even bother trying to convince me.”
There was a long silence while Ivy kept her eyes closed and Pat stood staring down at her. He crossed his arms, sitting down on the side of the bed, shaking Ivy’s shoulder a little bit.
“Come on, tell me what happened,” he said quietly, biting his lip.
Ivy groaned into her pillow, hiding her face from him so he couldn’t see her expression.
“Leo,” she said, which was all he needed to understand.
Pat’s hands unknowingly tightened into fists and he looked out the window.
“Ivy, what did he do?”
She could hear the anger boiling just under the surface of his words. Ivy suddenly sat up, wrapping her arms around Pat’s neck in a tight hug. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her waist, still upset that Leo was the cause of his friend’s distress.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she whispered into his ear. “We’re over. What’s done is done, and I just want to forget about it.”
Pat nodded his head stiffly, still unsure.
“Pat, I’ll be fine. I promise,” Ivy said, pulling away from him, a small smile on her face.
Pat returned her smile, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back next to her. He looked around at the walls where posters of their favorite bands were plastered randomly, and then to Ivy’s desk, which was covered with pictures, some framed and others not. Most of them were of Ivy and himself, though some of them included a few other friends from school. He smiled at one in particular. It was of Ivy and him freshman year. Ivy was on crutches after breaking her leg at the skate park. It was the one and only time they went there. Pat had carried her all the way home, and then went with her to the emergency room.
It was funny to Pat, how little had changed. They were seniors, practically in the clear, and still best friends. They still had light saber wars, still ordered the same meals when they went to the tiny diner downtown, and Garrett still found ways to get them to watch zombie movies with him even though they swore they would never watch one again. Ivy was still oblivious to Pat’s true feelings, and Pat was still far from telling her.
“You owe me, you know,” Pat said to her, smiling.
Ivy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
“What? Why?”
“I was forced to go to school alone! I got stuck with a crappy gym partner and ate lunch alone.”
Ivy laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Pat cried, acting distressed. “I’m serious. Completely serious.”
“You had Garrett at lunch though. So that part was a lie, Pat.”
“Garrett doesn’t count and you know it.”
Ivy sighed and rested her head on Pat’s shoulder, closing her eyes.
“Well I’m sorry for sending you into a frenzy.”
Pat rested his head on top of hers, closing his eyes like she had.
“I guess it’s okay,” he said through a yawn.
He tugged on the blankets.
“Ivy,” he whined. “Please don’t hog the blankets.”
“Sorry,” she whispered, already half asleep.
* * * * *
When she woke up, Pat was gone and her room was dark. Ivy sat up, stretching her arms into the air and looking around. She wondered why Pat hadn’t woken her up when he left. Looking at the clock, she realized it was only 7:30.
“Why does it have to get so dark this early,” she wondered out loud.
She quickly grabbed her phone from the nightstand and called Pat. It only had to ring twice before he picked up. She could hear laughing in the background. She mentally smacked herself. He was probably in the middle of band practice.
“Hey Ivy, everything okay?” she heard his voice through the phone.
“Uh, yeah. Everything’s great. Sorry, I forgot you had practice tonight.”
She bit her lip, a nervous habit of hers, and began to rearrange the objects around her room. She was never one to sit still for very long.
“It’s cool,” Pat said happily. “You can come over and watch if you want. We’re almost done and then we might go out for pizza.”
Ivy sighed. She hadn’t eaten anything at all that day. She had been sleeping and moping, and she could finally see how pathetic she must look. She rubbed her eyes, looking at herself in the mirror with distaste.
“Yeah, just let me get dressed. I’ll be over in a few.”
She quickly tossed her phone to the side and picked out an outfit, getting dressed and then applying a small amount of makeup. In all honesty, Ivy Cole was never one to make a fuss out of anything. She was more reserved than most girls her age and everything about her was effortless. She rushed down the stairs, shouting a quick goodbye to her parents as she ran out the door and walked across the lawn to Pat’s house. She didn’t even bother knocking, but instead walked straight through their unlocked door.
“Are you a burglar?” Kennedy shouted from the living room.
Ivy laughed as she walked into the room where the members of The Maine were lying around on the floor.
“No, but it wouldn’t be very hard with the door always open,” she said in response to Kennedy’s comment.
She gave a pointed look to Pat and Tim before sitting down next to John on the couch, snuggling into the soft leather.
“We thought you’d never show up,” John said, smirking at her.
There was a chorus of mumbled agreements and Ivy rolled her eyes.
“Really,” Jared said. “We’re starving and you take forever to get ready.”
Pat scoffed.
“Now you know how I feel every morning when she’s getting ready for school!”
“Whatever,” she said, smiling.
“Well let’s go then!” Tim shouted, already half way out the door.
Everyone stood up and ran after him, pushing each other to beat the rest to the van. Ivy and John were the last to get up, taking their time unlike the rest.
“Pat told us,” he said quietly, looking down at the ground. “About Leo, I mean.”
Ivy bit her lip, slowly raising her eyes to meet his. John stared back at her, slowly leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. He pulled back and ran a hand through his hair, making it even messier than before.
“I’m sorry,” he said softly, looking away. “I just… had to do that.”
Ivy stood in shock before finally realizing what had just happened. She was surprised to find that she wasn’t an emotional wreck. In fact, she wasn’t even upset about what John had done. Her stomach flipped as she reached out and took his hand. She knew she shouldn’t, but all she wanted was something, or someone, to take her mind off of things. She wanted someone she could have fun with, and not the kind of fun Pat was interested in. Pat could be… overly protective.
“Don’t be,” she whispered, leading him outside.
As Pat saw their linked hands, his heart dropped. He knew that look in John’s eyes. John wasn’t a player like the rumors said. In fact, he was completely genuine when it came to relationships, and Pat knew that. But none of John’s girlfriends ever lasted. A relationship between Ivy and John would never last, and another heartbreak was exactly what Ivy didn’t need.