Left on the Sidelines

-Danielle-

A couple more weeks had passed and it was finally the Friday before Christmas break. Maren, Katia, MacKenzie, and I were in our photography class, not really doing anything. Mr. Kennedy took us outside to take pictures of the freshly fallen snow for about 20 minutes, then took us back into the classroom and let us just hang out for the rest of the class period.

"So, what are you guys doing for Christmas?" Maren asked. I shrugged, "We're having the band come over for the day. You guys are invited if you're not doing anything too special." "Isn't you know who gonna be there though?" MacKenzie asked. I chuckled, "Yes. He is part of the band, you know."

"So, do your parents know about him?" Katia asked. I shook my head, "Nope, we broke up before Thanksgiving, so it wasn't really necessary to bring it up then, and I don't think we'll be getting back together any time soon." "I thought you were supposed to be all depressed about this or something," Maren giggled. "I don't really see the point in being depressed about it. I mean, I knew it would happen at some point. I don't find the use of being sad about something I didn't even do," I laughed.

They shrugged and the last bell finally rung. We all jumped up from our seats and raced to our lockers, just as we did almost every day. MacKenzie barely beat me, yelling, "Finally! God, I thought I'd never beat you here." "All that persistence finally paid off," I giggled, ruffling his hair, "What's your prize?" He thought for a moment, "You can't take any of my food at the Christmas dinner." I laughed, "Deal!"

"And don't be a stranger either," I added, "You know you're welcome any time, not just on special occasions." He smirked, "Then I'll be over a little later to teach you how to tune a guitar." I put my hand over my heart, "That really hurt, MacKenzie. Why would you say something like that?" "Because you can't tune a guitar," he laughed. "Ouch," I said sarcastically before laughing along.

"Sometime today would be lovely," Jenna yelled. "I'm right across the hall, Jenna! You don't need to yell," I yelled back. She stuck her tongue out at me and I gladly returned it.

"I should go. My ride's getting sassy again," I giggled, turning back to MacKenzie. "Why don't I just take you home? I need to help you with your guitar tuning anyway," he smiled innocently. I laughed sarcastically at him before looking at Jenna and Katia, "You guys can go. MacKenzie's gonna take me home." "Alright, we'll see you tomorrow," Jenna said as they both walked down the hall.

MacKenzie and I started walking out to the parking lot when he suddenly said, "Oh, I forgot my keys in my locker. I'll meet you at my car." "Way to go, genius," I laughed as he turned around and ran back.

As I was turning a corner, a guy walked out and stopped in front of me. "You're Danielle, right?" he asked. "Yeah," I said slowly, looking at him. "Oh, right. We haven't met. I'm Noah." He stuck out his hand and I took it, shaking it cautiously. "So, um, how do you know me exactly?" "I hear you're single," he winked, ignoring my question and taking a step toward me.

I backed away from him just as I felt an arm wrap around my waist, "She's actually not, Alexander, and I'd appreciate it if you left her alone." "Ah, MacKenzie," Noah said, leaning against a locker, "Avery's not going to like hearing about this." "I don't think Natalie will either. You know, your girlfriend?" MacKenzie said in an annoyed tone. Noah's face dropped into a seemingly angered expression, but he simply walked away without saying anything.

When Noah was out of sight, MacKenzie let go of my waist and we walked outside. "Thanks for that, by the way," I said, "But seriously, how does he know me?" "He keeps tabs on all the girls at this school," MacKenzie answered, "Avery and Natalie do most of the information finding for him and tell him anything new." "So, how did he not know two months ago when it actually happened?" He shrugged, "Beats me. All I know is don't tell anyone anything you wouldn't want the whole school to know, because they will find out." "Gotta love high school," I sighed.

About 20 minutes later, MacKenzie pulled into my driveway and we go out of his car. He opened the back door and pulled out his guitar. "Do you always have that with you or something?" I asked, giving him a look. He laughed at my expression, "Yeah. You never know when you're going to need a guitar, Danielle!" He ruffled my hair again as we walked into the house.

"I'm home," I called out. Adrienne came out of the kitchen and smiled at us, "Hello!" "MacKenzie, this is my aunt, Adrienne. Aunt Adrienne, this is MacKenzie. I met him at school. I forgot you two haven't officially met," I giggled. "Nice to meet you, MacKenzie," Adrienne said happily. "Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Follese," he smiled back. "Please, dear, call me Adrienne. Anything else makes me feel old." He chuckled, "Will do, Adrienne."

"Well, MacKenzie says I need help learning how to tune guitars, so we'll be upstairs," I told her as I stuck my tongue out at him. Adrienne nodded, "Are you staying for dinner, MacKenzie?" "I wouldn't want you to cook more than you have to," he replied. She laughed lightly, "I've got three guys and Danielle to feed, one more person is nothing." "You have a daughter and yourself, too, you know," I exclaimed. "Yeah, but we don't eat nearly as much as you and the boys do," she said, making MacKenzie chuckle. "I'm sorry! I didn't know it was a crime to enjoy food! Yes, he's staying for dinner. Let's go," I said quickly, grabbing MacKenzie's hand and rushing upstairs.

"I should warn you that Ian and Nash will be here as well," she called after us. "As long as I don't have to sit near Nash, I'm all good," I called back, pulling MacKenzie into my room and starting with the guitar lessons.

-Jamie-

Ryan, Nash, Ian, and I were all sitting in the studio we had in our basement when we heard Danielle shout, "As long as I don't have to sit near Nash, I'm all good!"

I looked at Nash and saw the hurt expression on his face, but he quickly brushed it off. "So," he said, "Are you guys in or what?" "Nash, I don't know about this," Ian said. "Yeah," Ryan agreed, "Even if she does forgive you, the chances of her agreeing to be your girlfriend again aren't that good. You accused her of cheating on you." He sighed, "I've said I'm sorry so many times! Why won't you forgive me?" "It's not us you need to be apologizing to. It's the girl that cried in my lap for 10 minutes the day you broke her heart and the girl that has cried herself to sleep every night since," I said angrily, standing up and leaving the room.

I walked upstairs from the basement and saw MacKenzie and Danielle in the living room. MacKenzie was sitting on the couch and Danielle was laying upside down, playing a guitar. Danielle looked at me and smiled, "Jamiebear!" "Does she always do this?" MacKenzie asked. I chuckled and nodded, "More than the normal person should."

Danielle rolled her eyes and was about to comment before we heard Nash coming up the stairs, "Jamie, can we just ta-" He froze when he saw Danielle and they looked at each other for a moment before he said, "Hi, Danielle." "Nash," she mumbled. She stood up and grabbed MacKenzie's hand, pulling him toward the front door, looked at me, said, "Come get us when dinner's ready," and walked out of the house.

I shrugged and Nash asked, "How do you know where she'll be?" "She always goes to the old treehouse when she needs to be alone or talk or whatever," I replied. "Oh," he said, "I'll be right back." "Don't even think about it, Nash. If she finds you eavesdropping, she's not gonna like it," I warned. He shook his head, "She already hates me. I've got nothing left to lose." He walked out and I sighed, mumbling, "Whatever."

-Nash-

I quietly walked over to the old treehouse in Jamie and Ryan's backyard and saw Danielle and MacKenzie sitting with their legs hanging over the side as I hid behind a nearby tree, far enough away so that I could leave without them knowing, but close enough that I could hear what they were saying.

"Promise this stays between you and me?" Danielle asked. MacKenzie nodded and she sighed, "Truthfully, I don't think I can really be mad at him because I'd be a liar if I said I wouldn't have thought the same thing if it were him and another girl." "So, why don't you forgive him and start dating him again?" he asked. "Because I know how it feels to be cheated on and I don't want to make somebody hurt like that and knowing I caused it. I could never do that, especially to him. If he's accused me once, I know he's always going to think about it when I'm not with him. I can't be with someone who doesn't trust me," she replied.

"You know what I think?" MacKenzie said. She looked at him and he continued, "I think you're in love with him, but you're too scared to fall for someone again. I think you want to be with him more than you've ever wanted anything, but you're afraid it will end up like what happened with Jordan." She laughed nervously, "I am not in love with him. We were only together for three months. I can't be in love with him." MacKenzie chuckled, "You're lying. I see the way you look at him. I see the hurt on your face when they skip playing Why Don't You Love Me at their shows or even mention the song. Maybe you can't admit to yourself that you are, but everyone else can see it."

As I smiled to myself, I heard someone walking up behind me. "You might want to get back inside before I tell them dinner's ready," Jamie said quietly. "Thanks, man," I replied, rushing back into the house as Jamie went to go get Danielle and MacKenzie for dinner.