Caught Up In You

November 1st, 2011
Tuesday Morning
Location: Dorm Room
7:00 AM

I woke up with a killer headache so bad I couldn’t move. I started to squirm around and finally managed to get out of my bed. My stomach instantly dropped to the ground, and I let out a yelp of pain. Walking out of my room, I heard the stumbles of Tristan opening the fridge and Logan making breakfast. I could smell the bacon simmering and the pancakes becoming crisp.

“Hey Drew,” Tristan began to say. Then he moved towards me. “Whoa, you don’t look so good,” he said. I grumbled.

“I am so light headed right now,” I replied.

“Your eyes are bloodshot. How much did you drink last night man?” Logan asked, flipping a pancake on the grill. I tripped over my feet and ended up on the couch.

“Five or six cups,” I began to say before groaning in pain.

A couple minutes later, Pacey slammed his door and walked to the living room.

“Drew, you look like hell. What happened?” He asked, pretending he didn’t know.

“He’s hung over,” Tristan said, pouring a glass of orange juice.

Pacey chuckled and sat on the edge of the couch, suffocating my feet.

“Shut up,” I moaned into a pillow.

“Turn over Drew,” Pacey requested. I slowly and painfully managed to rotate onto my back.

“What?” I said callously. Pacey looked me up and down and finally saw my eyes.

“You are not going to class today,” he said sternly.

“I’ve got to go! We have that huge test and I…” Pacey put his hand over my mouth before I could continue.

“I’ll head to the office and tell them you can’t come today,” Logan said.

“Do you want some company? I can stay here with you,” Tristan offered.

“No, it’s fine. But thanks,” I replied.

After about ten minutes, Tristan and Logan had left.

“You sure you don’t need me to stay with you? We could play video games,” Pacey said, trying to sound tempting.

“Thanks, but it’s okay. Playing video games would just make my head hurt more. Besides, we have the same classes, and I need you to get all my homework for me,” I said.

Pacey nodded and grabbed his bag.

“If you need anything, just call me. I put my number on your phone. I think I’m number four on speed dial,” he said, winking and heading out the door.

I rolled my eyes and lay back down on the couch, shivering. I took in the warm essence of our dorm. The smell of breakfast and freshly cleaned dishes overcrowded my senses. I stayed on the couch for a couple of hours and then decided I was well enough to reheat the pancakes and make some hot chocolate. I was never huge into coffee.

It was too bitter for me.

I opened the refrigerator and scanned throughout the food, finally finding a bag of pancakes. I took out two, put them on a plate and pressed the microwave for 30 seconds.
I looked through a couple of cabinets until I found a can of hot chocolate mix. I poured two scoops into a cup and turned the hot water on until it overflowed and almost burned me.

When the microwave had beeped, I took the plate out and covered the pancakes in a deluge of peanut butter and syrup. I sat at the kitchen table and looked outside, watching the students walk across the courtyard.

But out of all of the people at our school, I could only think of one. He never left my mind. And no matter how hard I tried, the reminiscences of him and I still remained. I wanted to tell my heart it was wrong and foolish, but I had this feeling it was like we were meant to be together.

It was, of course, Pacey.

November 1st, 2011
Tuesday Afternoon
Location: Dorm Room
4:00 PM

“Hey Drew, how are you feeling?” Pacey asked when he walked into our dorm.

“Extremely bored,” I said, watching repeats of my favorite drama.

“What are you watching?” Pacey asked, wrinkling his eyebrows together and jumping onto the couch, crushing my leg.

“Ow!” I said in pain as I quickly changed the channel.

“Oh, here’s your homework. You have until Thursday to finish it. We don’t have much, just math,” he said.

“Thank you,” I replied, grabbing the papers he held out to me.

“Yeah. And it’s a bit last minute, but the administration has allowed for guests to come and visit us tomorrow,” he said.

“Ugh. My mom can’t come,” I groaned. “Oh well. I guess I’ll just send her an email. Who have you asked to come and see you?” I asked Pacey.

“Well, I sent a message to my parents, my brothers, and my ex girlfriend, but my family told me they couldn’t come,” he said.

I simply nodded. But on the inside, I was dying.

November 2nd, 2011
Wednesday Afternoon
Location: The Court Yard
3:00 PM

Dear Mother,
I’m sorry I haven’t responded to your emails in a while. I’ve been really busy. I haven’t forgotten you though. I miss you so much, it’s unbearable. How are you, dad and Ethan? I hate to say it, but I actually miss seeing Ethan in the mornings. He may be an annoying brother, but I still love him. Just don’t tell him that please.

By the way, I just wanted to let you know school is going great. I’ve met a couple of people, and I’ve got to say, I think I’m falling for a guy. His name is Pacey. We have a really good friendship. He’s very protective, and almost like an older brother. I think Ethan would approve of him.

I am getting a bunch of homework, but I’m trying my best to stay on top of it. I can’t wait to see you guys in a couple of weeks. I can smell the feast already! Tell Dad I love him.

See you soon!
Love your favorite,
Drew.

I shut my laptop and stood up, inhaling the cool air around me. Picnic tables were set up everywhere, and people were standing around, waiting to see their friends and families. I decided to sit at an empty table because no one was coming to visit me. Just like always, I was the outsider. The one that no one cared to be around. I rested my head on my palms and closed my eyes, trying to imagine what it would be like to see my mom.

“Drew,” I heard a familiar voice whisper.

“What?” I grumbled.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” the same voice said. I opened my eyes and looked to my right, seeing Pacey and a girl, who was about my age. “Drew, this is Addirah,” he said.

The girl smiled, but it wasn’t real. I could tell she wasn’t happy to be where she was. Addirah held out her hand for me to shake.

“Pleasure,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Would this be your ex?” I asked.

Pacey looked at me and then at the ground.

“We’re…. uh, we’re dating, again,” he said.

“Oh, that’s great to hear,” I said, obviously not meaning that. “Can you excuse me?” I replied, realizing I didn’t have the strength to be near them, and promptly rushing out of their view.

I heard Pacey tell his girlfriend that he had to leave. A few seconds later, I heard his harsh footsteps stomping against the pavement. I don’t know what it was, but he wasn’t catching up to me. I ran and ran until I was inside the elevator of the male academy. The doors wouldn’t shut quickly enough, however, and Pacey rushed in right before they closed.

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Pacey asked, having no idea whatsoever that I liked him.

“It’s not a big deal,” I said as quietly as I could, avoiding eye contact.

“Apparently it is. You ran away Drew! What’s with you?” He said, raising his voice.

“Fine, you really want to know what’s going on?” I asked.

Pacey hesitantly nodded, waiting for what I had to say.

“For the last couple of nights, I thought we had this…this connection. I thought that, for some stupid reason, maybe you could have an interest in me. I thought you liked me. But I now know that I was wrong. I’m sorry for running away. It just, it hurt, okay?” I exclaimed, humiliated by what I told him.

Pacey stopped the elevator and looked at me, his eyes penetrating through me.

“That’s what this is about?” I looked down in shame.

“Why couldn’t you just tell me you didn’t like me?” I asked, trying to hold back the tears that were inevitably about to come.

“Drew, don’t even say that. I do like you. You should know that. It’s just…”

I interrupted him before he could continue.

“I get it. It’s Addirah. I thought you were over her,” I whispered.

“I was over her. But then she came back and so many memories of us together came into my mind. I just can’t let her go,” he replied.

I restarted the elevator and waited for it to open.

“Fine, then you’re going to have to get used to letting me go,” I said sternly, walking out and closing the elevator so he couldn’t chase after me again.

I waited until I was sure no one could see me when I let the tears fall. I couldn’t stop crying. In the past few months, Pacey had become everything to me. Walking away from him was the hardest thing I ever had to do.