Forgetting You, But Not the Time

August eventually rolled into September, placing Billie in a rather sour mood. I didn't have a clue as to why he was acting so bitter all of the sudden, but something told me it had to do with the month. But as the days passed by, I only seemed to be getting happier. The prime example being on September 2nd, a Monday...

I replaced a few of my textbooks for my following classes, stuffing a few books I didn't need back inside my locker and putting the others in my bag. I lifted my hand to close my locker, and once I did, I saw Chase leaning against the lockers beside, grinning from ear to ear. I let out a small yelp of surprise and jumped back. Chase seemed amused, yet proud, at how much he startled me.

"God Chase, don't ever do that again!" I scolded before replacing my glare with a bright smile as he pulled me into a hug. We had gotten rather close ever since Kristen's pool party. I don't think there had been a single day since then that we weren't seen together. Chase, over all, was a really great guy. He made me laugh, smile and even blush every now and then. He surely had a way of embarrassing me when he wanted to, which only made me like him even more afterwards. By that time, we knew each other like the back of our hands, and basically everyone in our grade knew that we were nearly inseparable.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." We pulled apart and began walking to our next class, which we had together. No surprise there. But there was something I noticed about Chase, the way he was walking, the way he glanced around nervously as if afraid someone was watching him, the uncomfortable coughs every time our shoulders brushed up against each other by accident, and his lack of enthusiasm (or Chase-ism, whatever you want to call, because he usually wasn't himself when he was severely short of hyper-ness—good choice of words there, huh? Yeah, I like to think so) was really starting to worry me.

"Chase, are you feeling alright?" That grin of his reappeared and it seemed as though all the nerves from his body had fled. "What are you grinning at?" I asked, both suspicious of his antics and glad that he was acting more like himself.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you something..." he began, his grin expanding slightly.

"Yes...?" I urged. "And that something would be...?"

"Would you like to go out with me?" Upon noticing my stunned expression, he quickly added, "But only if you want to. We can go out and get something to eat, just the two of us, and maybe... er, talk? About... stuff?" Well, that narrows it down. But I still couldn't find myself to speak. What was he saying exactly? "I want to take you out on a date, Spencer. I thought you'd be less shocked by now, considering how much of our time is spent together." Now he was smirking, probably proud of how I reacted to that.

"Well, that sounds—I mean I think—that is to say—" I felt like a babbling idiot. I sighed and forced a smile, looking up into those amazing blue eyes. "I'd love to." And I didn't think it was possible that his smirk could've gotten any larger, but he immediately proved me wrong, because it definitely did.

That night...

He didn't take me to any place expensive, which I was perfectly fine with. After driving around for about an hour trying to decide where to stop, ignoring my multiple comments on how I didn't care if we even went to a Subway, he finally settled on The Waterfront. It was a nice steak and seafood restaurant where the most expensive thing was the "Ultimate Waterfront Combination" at $64.95 with basically every pricey seafood imaginable all thrown into one meal (Me: No joke, it has stuff like crab, lobster and freshwater prawns... all of it is whole, as well! I could never eat that much).

Chase picked Rib Eye steak with some fancy potato skins (Me: Seriously, it comes with melted mozzarella, green onions and a side of ranch dressing) while I chose a Cajun Seafood Pasta with a side of rice. It was a very nice dinner; the both of us talking and laughing here and there, not having a care in the world. We learned more about each other, though there wasn't much else to learn since we were so close in such a short amount of time.

Once we were finished, it all came to a total of $41.85, which I gladly helped pay for against Chase's numerous complaints on how he wanted to pay for it all. I, of course, being the stubborn girl that I was, insisted that I helped pay, and he finally agreed after much "arguing" over the matter.

Afterwards, we walked along the San Pablo Bay, which wasn't much, but it was nice out.

I had just started laughing at a silly thing Chase had said when I felt him slip his hand into mine. I smiled to myself as I felt him squeeze my hand, as if to make sure I was really there. I squeezed back and looked up at Chase, who couldn't stop himself from smiling.

I couldn't even begin to guess how long we were out there just walking, laughing, holding each other's hand and just enjoying each other's company. It was nice, in a way, to be with him. He made me happy in more ways than one—he always knew how to make me laugh, how to make me smile, how to make me feel special in a way, but I liked the feeling it gave me. And I knew he cared about me just as much as I cared about him. Sure, I loved Mike and Carly and Billie and all of them, but without Chase, I probably wouldn't be as happy as I was that night.

We ended up watching the sunset, dipping our feet in the water that wasn't too cold, yet would be very unpleasing to swim in. Chase slid his arm around my waist and gently turned me to face him. I couldn't exactly read his expression, nor his eyes which were usually very easy to read, but I could definitely tell he was nervous.

"Okay... I'm real shit at saying this... I mean, most guys usually are, well not really but, I—I am and I—oh fuck it..." I laughed at his stuttering which he gladly returned with a playful glare. I nudged him slightly, beckoning him to tell me what was on his mind. "I'm sorry I'm all... stuttering and making a complete fool of myself..." he paused for a moment to run his fingers through his hair. "Okay, I'm just going to come out and say it..." I nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. "The thing is... I really like you... and I know we haven't known each other for a real long time, but in the time it took for me to get to know you... I really like your personality and I just really like being around you. And... well... I was wondering if, y'know, you'd... um..." He sighed, frustrated. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

I smiled to myself, allowing what he had admitted to sink in before nodding slowly. "Yeah, I'd love to be your girlfriend."

And he sealed it with a gentle kiss on the lips, right in front of the sunset.

A few weeks passed after that, September soon rolling into October. Ever since then, Chase and I had been inseparable. He really was the sweetest thing... and for our one month anniversary, he bought me a box of chocolates with Halloween decorations on them, only guessing it seemed fitting since it was October. He also gave me a daisy that he had picked from the bushes in his front yard (I gushed over them every time I went to visit him, daisy being my favorite flower) and I gladly thanked him with a kiss, which he was quick to return.

Basically, the whole school knew about Chase and I as a couple. Many of the girls thought we were the cutest couple and continuing cooing over us, while others were jealous that he had actually chosen me over them. None of them were mean about it though, which I was more than thankful for.

Carly squealed extremely loud in my ear and squeezed the oxygen right out of my system after hearing about the evening Chase asked me out. Mike was very happy for us, as well as all of Chase's friends. Billie, on the other hand, didn't really seem to react to the whole "Chase and I dating" thing. Actually, he seemed to avoid me at all costs, which really upset me.

I missed talking to Billie, since he was after all my first friend once I moved to Rodeo. Him and Kristen were kind of hitting a rough patch in their relationship, which for some reason made me extremely happy. I didn't know why... if Billie was happy with her, then I should've been happy for him.

But since Billie didn't really care that I was seeing Chase, why should I care that he was seeing Kristen? Besides, I never really liked her anyways.

Ignoring the fact that Billie was giving me the cold shoulder, everything was fine. Actually, everything was perfect. Mike and Carly were getting along real well, Chase and I were getting along real well... things were just great.

Well, that is until October 28th rolled around, which just-so-happened to be the present day.

Carly and I were in the girls bathroom between classes. We ended up meeting in there so Carly could tell me about something Mike had done for her, which resulted in large quantities of squealing and clapping to herself. I looked in the mirror, like I always did when there was a mirror around because that's what they were for, and brushed my fingers through my hair. I actually managed to dye it a darker red since the red I had in it before faded slightly, slowly turning back into its original strawberry blonde. The yellow tips were now gone and, over all, my hair was all the same color for once.

Carly had added a few purple highlights in her hair, just so it looked more vibrant. Not that the pure black didn't look vibrant before or anything, but she wanted something a little more... extreme, if you will.

"The purple is fading..." Carly squinted at her reflection as she twirled a strand of purple hair around her left index finger, continuing to examine herself in the rather dirty mirror. I laughed quietly.

"Yeah, it tends to do that when you use the kind that washes out after 12 shampoos..." Carly took only a few seconds to back away and glare at me before returning to stare back at herself, clearly frustrated at her hair. I laughed again. "It's okay, you can always buy some more... or you could use a different color since the Halloween party's coming up soon. Maybe you could change it to a bright green instead?" I smirked. "Or, put more of that neon purple again along with the green. I think it'd look great."

"Yeah, no. Maybe a different color, but not both... I do like the sound of that green, though." Of course she did, it was her favorite color. "And not because it's my favorite color—" she said, pointing an accusing finger at me. Wow, it's like she's fucking psychic or something. "Actually, my favorite color has been changed to orange." I didn't even want to know why she changed it. First it was blue, then she switched it to purple (hence the reason she got the streaks to begin with), and while she had those in, she decided to change it to green because Tre (who constantly visited us, mainly me) re-dyed his hair to a more vibrant green once the previous green started fading out, leaving Carly in awe at its greatness.

"Right." I muttered. I heard the door open and I instinctively turned my head to see who it was, but they quickly ran into a stall and slammed the door with a violent sob before I could even catch a glimpse of them. Carly pushed herself away from the sink that she had been leaning over to get a closer look in the mirror and glanced at me, raising an eyebrow and nodding her head in the direction of the slammed stall door. I shrugged.

We both walked over to the stall and knocked softly on the door.

"Hey, you okay in there?" Carly asked gently as to not upset the girl even more. There was a sniff before a harsh reply,

"Yes, I'm fine." The girl snapped. Apparently she wasn't fine. But wait, that voice... why was that voice so familiar? I knew that voice!

"Kristen?" I hesitantly asked, taking a closer step to the door. "What's the matter?" I obviously didn't like the girl, but I wasn't going to be rude towards her when she was upset.

"Just leave me alone." She murmured, sniffing once again. I sighed.

"We don't want to make fun of you or anything... we'd like to help." I offered, leaning up against the stall. "Come on out, we can have a girl chat." I paused, wincing and shutting my eyes tightly. "God, that sounded stupid." Carly smacked my forehead and I glared at her. Kristen laughed weakly from inside the stall and I smiled to myself, glad that I had at least made her laugh. "Please come out? We can help... if you want us to?"

There was a moment of silence before she fiddled with the lock on the stall and slowly opened it up, revealing her tear-stained cheeks and her running eyeliner. I sighed. I hated seeing people this way, no matter who they were. She sniffed again, another tear rolling down her cheek and the first thing I thought to do was to pull her into a hug. She gladly accepted it and sobbed into my shoulder. I rubbed her back soothingly, ignoring Carly's raised eyebrows as to why I was acting civil to this girl.

A few minutes later, Kristen pulled away, blushing slightly and dabbing her eyes with a piece of toilet paper.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry all over you like that." I shook my head.

"Don't worry about it." I walked over to the sinks and jumped up on one. "So what's up?" I asked her. She glanced at Carly out of the corner of her eye before walking closer to me as if afraid that Carly would jump her at any second.

"It's..." she hesitated, sniffing once again, but this time very hard and I thought it must've hurt. "It's—it's just... B-Billie..." I froze. Billie? Billie did this to her?

"What'd Billie do?" Carly asked, coming up beside Kristen who jumped at the sound of her voice. She dabbed her eyes again before explaining.

"I... I saw h-him... with—with a-another g-gir-girl..." Kristen hiccupped between words, shaking violently, and suddenly started bursting into tears again and I quickly jumped off the sink to comfort her. Billie? With another girl? Why would he do this? Just because I didn't like Kristen did not mean that she deserved to be treated this way.

"What did you see him doing, Kristen?" I asked her, rubbing her back to comfort her while Carly constantly stroked her shoulder, trying her best to sooth the girl who was now in hysterics.

"H-He h-had her pr-pressed u-up against the w-wall... k-kissing her! Fucking kissing her!" Kristen let out another loud sob and covered her face with her hands and tissue. I sighed. I knew Billie would end up doing something like this... doing something to jeopardize his relationship with Kristen. Sometimes Billie was nothing more than an idiot.

"Don't worry, it's okay, shh, you're alright.... calm down..." We didn't really know what to do to make her feel better. I mean, I knew how it felt to get your heart broken by some boy you had fallen head over heels with, but what was I supposed to say to her? Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be her? If it had been anybody else, I would've probably known how to react... but not with her. Not when I was once jealous of her.

"I'm... sorry, Kristen..." I muttered. She really didn't deserve such trouble, especially from a guy like Billie. But I half expected her to see something like this coming. I mean, Billie was just... Billie. He thought about nothing other than sex and didn't stop until he had gotten enough before moving on to the next girl. Kristen should've known something like this was going to happen. Even I saw it coming, not that I had been thinking or hoping for it or anything...

"No, I-I should be the one a-apologizing to you... I haven't been the n-nicest person to you since you first g-got here and I'm really, really sorry... it's just—it's just... Billie is like a drug," What a wonderful analogy. "I know it seems weird, hearing it from me, but... he's like a drug... once you take a big dose of it, it changes you... and when I was with Billie... I-I don't know.... I just changed. Definitely not for the better. I just wanted to say I'm sorry... to both of you... I'm sorry you had to deal with me and my impossible attitude." Carly and I laughed at that and Kristen cracked a grin.

"Well, thank you for apologizing, that really means a lot us." I told her. "But don't make a big deal over Billie, because he's just like a drug: only using you." I smiled warmly at her and she managed to return it.

"Thanks, both of you... I suppose you're right... I shouldn't make a big deal over it... but I-I really liked him, you know?" Oh yeah, I definitely knew... "And... it just hurt... a lot... seeing him... w-with another girl..." Carly pulled her into a hug this time, which she gladly accepted.

"Anytime." Said Carly, smiling. "Actually, you're welcome to hang out with us if you'd like, now that we've got our apologies out of the way..." Kristen smiled, a true smile. And she really was very pretty when she wasn't acting like a bitch. She looked over at me, as if to see if I was okay with it, and I nodded with a smile.

"I think that sounds like a great idea."

Kristen thanked us, very appreciative for how nice we were being to her, and from then on she spent every free time that day she had with us. We now called her "Kris" and managed to talk her into dressing differently. She laughed and of course agreed, not really liking her choice of clothing much either. Instead, she moved down to jeans, t-shirts and regular shoes like some of my old chucks or one of her pairs of shoes she had that weren't too... dressy.

And as the day went by, I couldn't stop thinking about what Kristen had said... "he's like a drug... once you take a big dose of it, it changes you...".

Well, shit.