Lovebug

“Are you gonna eat that or what?” Emma asked me, sitting next to me on a bench in the park with an ice cream cone in one hand and a pink Razr in the other.

“Not hungry,” I muttered, staring at a chocolate chip slide down the vanilla mountain onto my skin. It was cold, but only for a moment, before the liquid that ran away with it dribbled down the side of my hand.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Emma give me a concerned look. “What’s wrong Syddie?”

“Nothing,” I straightened up, trying to knock myself out of this slump. I should be okay, I told myself.

“Hmm?” she raised her eye brow at me. “Try again.”

“I miss Laura, is all,” I blurted. It wasn’t a lie, it just wasn’t the whole truth. I didn’t want to tell Emma about what had happened with Nick today, I was just in for a beating.

“Aw,” Em sighed. “I think she misses you, too.” She lapped up some ice cream. I realized mine had recently turned into a blobby puddle, so I tossed it in the trashcan next to me.

“Do you wanna do anything tonight? Maybe we could invite Laura so you two can patch things up,” Emma smiled at me.

I nodded. “Yeah, sure, that sounds good,” I smiled to please her and her planning.

“Good,” she stated, and took out her cell phone to arrange plans.

Around eight the three of us met up at Isabella’s, a coffee house downtown, where James was going to be playing. We took our seats, and Laura reluctantly sat next to me. The air between us was uncomfortable, and I knew that was my fault. While the coffee house buzzed with conversation we sat in silence. Before long, I had to break it.

“Laura, I’m sorry,” I blurted. She looked up at me from the patterned table cloth, a bit shocked. “I didn’t mean what I said, I was just angry.”

“It’s fine…” she stared back down at the table cloth. Emma just watched, pretending she wasn’t there. I sighed.

“Hey, guys, how you doing tonight?” we heard from the back of the room, amplified on the P.A system. There, James sat on a stool, guitar in hand, getting ready to woo the audience. The group began to clap hysterically, some making the candles that lit the dim room in its mood flicker.

“Alright, this first song I’d like to dedicate to my amazing girl, Sydney,” he looked out to me and winked. The crowd went “Awwww.”
I saw Laura roll her eyes.
He began to play, and the crowd swayed and swooned.

After a few songs and some awkward silences between my table, James was off to take a break out back. Emma excused herself to talk to one of the boys across the way and I began to get up to find James, when Laura pulled on my arm.

“Can we talk?” she asked over the loud crowd.

“…Yeah, sure,” I said, pulling her up with me. We headed outside into the warm summer night.

“I’ve missed you,” she said as we walked down the sidewalk, subconsciously heading down to the back of the Coffee House.

“I’ve missed you, too,” I hung my head. “This was such a stupid fight.”

“I’ve always hated drama,” she chuckled a little. I laughed as well.

“I guess we’re hypocrites.” I smiled.

We both stared up into the night, stopping by the back of the shop. We began to hear voices from around the corner. Laura and I looked at each other, both igniting to for us to stay quiet to listen.

“Wow, you’re good, man. You have an EP?”

“Nah but he will,” another voice was heard. This sounded like one of James’s friends.

“Yeah thanks to little Sydney and her pop star celebrities, I should be on the charts in no time!” This was James’s voice now.

“I told you it was a good idea to get with her, again!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s great, she doesn’t even realize it.” James chuckled.

My skin began to tingle, automatically I felt ashamed. I looked down, away from Laura. I felt the sense of a “I told you so” vibe coming from her. My blood began to boil, making my fists clench.

“Syd…” Laura whispered, trying to put her hand on me. I moved before she could touch me and stormed around the corner.

James’s smiling face faded as he saw me stomping towards him.

“So, this is how all the great ones make it big. How many people do you have to step on to get there, James? And you decided to use ME of all people? Really?” I yelled, my voice echoing around the square.

“Sydney-no-“

“Don’t you dare lie to me, you bastard. Good luck with your solo career, just stay away from me.” I turned the corner, back to Laura, hiding my sprinkler eyes.

“Sh, it’s okay,” Laura whispered, dragging me back to the front of the building.

We decided to leave for my house. Getting Emma away from the boys in the House was the hardest part, but when she saw my bloodshot eyes, she knew something was up. The three of us headed back to my house in Laura’s car.

- - -
Dear Diary,
I think I’ve made a big mistake. James doesn’t want me, he wants my connections. My…broken connections now. I left Nick for James thinking things were better off. How could I be so stupid? At least I have Laura again…I feel terrible that I didn’t believe her.

Now what am I going to do?