I Deposited Money, He Withdrew My Heart

Chapter 12

There's nothing Amy and I can do the day after X Factor - all of the boys are beyond busy.

'Crazy hectic! When I get a chance, I'll call you. And we'll catch up this weekend :) x'

That's the only thing I get from Julian while I'm at school on Wednesday. I hear nothing from Will, and Amy hears nothing from Trent. And her being her - she won't message him. Stubborn mole.

I can't ignore Julian, but my reply isn't anything flash.

'That's ok. Have fun and I'll talk to you whenever'

To be honest, I hope he stays busy for a while, because I still have no idea what to do or say. I really need to talk to Will.

'I know you're busy. But we need to talk'

I close my eyes as I hit the send button and watch as the short message goes through to Will. I get a reply sooner than I expect.

'I know... I'm free in half an hour. I know you have school, but if you wanna talk I can come pick you up'

I lean over and show Amy the message.

"Do it," she says in an instant. "Sort this out."

"What about class?" I ask worriedly.

Amy laughs. "Dude, it's just English. I'll let you know if you miss anything exciting."

My heart is racing as I sneak out of the school. I've never skipped class before - ever. I'm a model student. If I get caught, my parents will bury me alive and dance on my grave. I'm not exaggerating. Well, I am, but not the point.

I see Will leaning up against his car, his face buried in his phone. He's probably tweeting or posting on Instagram. He always is. I walk over hesitantly, and he obviously doesn't hear me approach.

"Hey," I say, and Will jumps. "Sorry."

"Hey, sorry, lost in my own head," Will says with a frown. He pockets his phone, opens the passenger door for me and then goes and jumps into the driver's seat. "Where do you want to go?" He starts the engine.

I shrug. "I don't mind. Somewhere quiet."

Will obliges and we end up parked in some sort of national park/conservation area. I've never been here before, and it's a little creepy. I get out of the car, because the tension in there is stifling. I lean against a tree stump, and Will gets out and leans against his car again. Neither one of us seems too keen to talk first.

"Jocelyn, I'm really sorry," Will says finally, looking at the ground as his feet scuff the dirt.

"I don't need you to apologise Will. I just need us to talk about what happened," I say tiredly.

Will shrugs. "I don't know what I can say. I was upset about everything - Ellise, X Factor, upset at myself. And you were saying those things about me, and it felt like you were the only person who saw anything good in me."

I can't help but laugh a little at that. "Will, everyone sees good in you. You're like the nicest person ever."

Will laughs. "No. Maybe around you. But just no, I'm not." He sighs. "I'm not lying. I mean, I know we've only known each other a few months, and not really that well at all. But right now it feels like you're one of the only real friends I have left."

"I had the biggest crush on you when we met," I admit before I can stop myself.

Will laughs. "I know. You're an open book, Joc."

I blush. I always thought I did a good job of hiding it.

"I think that's why I kissed you. To see what it was like," Will says, looking lost in thought. "I just wanted to try it."

"That's why I didn't stop you," I confess, playing with my hair. "Even though I should have." We both stay silent for a moment before I ask, "So what was it like? For you?"

Will shrugs and shakes his head. "I don't know. I thought it was a fantastic idea, and then I thought it was amazing, but my emotions were all over the place. What about you?"

I laugh. "Kinda the same I guess."

"Maybe," Will starts, looking confused and torn up. "Maybe I should kiss you again?"

My heart races at just the thought. Julian. But I know that I won't be 100 percent happy with Julian if I think about what could have been with Will. It's a selfish thought, but it's the truth. "Ok."

Will closes the distance between us with two long strides and collides his lips with my own. We stay like that for a moment and when we pull apart, I look up into his brown eyes.

"So," I muse, "Friends?" I stick my hand out in front of me.

Will laughs. "Definitely!" He pulls me in for a side hug.

I'm glad he agrees. I felt absolutely nothing. I guess the other night felt exciting because it was unexpected and foreign. But I get that excitement every time I kiss Julian.

"That kinda felt like I was kissing my brother," I say, scrunching my face up. "A hot brother, but a brother none the less."

"Dude, you're so weird. Why would you say your brother is hot?" Will laughs.

"Oi, just because we decided to be friends doesn't mean you can call me dude!" I screech, pushing Will as we go to get in the car.

"Sorry Joc!" Will teases. When we get in the car he turns serious. "What are you going to tell Julian?"

"The truth," I reply instantly. "He'll understand." Then I add, "I hope."

Will nods. "I'm sure he will. He really likes you."

Suddenly I remember. "What's Trent doing?"

Will shrugs. "I dunno. Why?"

"Because I really need to talk to him." I smile, hoping that I'll be able to sort out Trent and Amy's mess as well as my own.

Trent's staying with Will's family, and turns out he's just chilling at Will's house right now, so Will takes me there. Will's house is huge. Ridiculously huge. He shows me inside and then leads me to Trent who is passed out watching TV in Will's room.

"Hey!" Trent says with a surprised face. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?"

I laugh and then give Will a look. He leaves. How obedient!

"I came to talk to you," I say, sitting beside Trent as he pulls himself up. "About Amy."

I see Trent's jaw strain at her name. "Oh yeah? What about her?" He doesn't sound excited, or annoyed, or anything really. Just vacant.

"Just," I start, but I don't even know what to say. "Look, you know she's stubborn." He rolls his eyes at that, of course he does. "So you need to sit her down and force her to talk to you. Force her to really open up."

"She never wants to talk about anything," Trent replies, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Please, just try." I'm practically begging now.

Trent looks at me for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, ok."

"Thanks." I give him a huge smile and then bound out of the room to find Will.

Well, there's two conversations down. Only one to go. Julian.