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"I LOVE YOU."
Freddie's words shook my very core, knowing that this was the moment I decided whether to put my heart on the line or not. I could barely process his little speech, especially with Cook's eyes glaring at Freddie and me, as if eagerly waiting to hear what was said next. Freddie held my head in his hands still, watching my eyes flicker between the different features of his face, my mind racing. He leaned in closer, his lips brushing against mine as he whispered against them. "Aurora. I know it's a lot. Trust me. But I know you feel it. You know it's us. Me and you. And I know you're scared. I know you're worried. But I promise you, I'm not going anywhere. Got it?" He said, almost shaking me in his grip, and I nodded slowly, eyes welling up, tears threatening to escape. "Freds, I-" He connected our lips in a deep and passionate kiss, my heart racing as the heat began to rise, feeling breathless as we come up for air, just as Cook made his way to the pair of us. As we pulled apart, my eyes found Cook's; a look of disappointment brushing across his face, although he quickly recovered with a smirk,
"If you love her, prove it. Enter the race." He said, pointing over to the starting line as he laughed to himself. "She wants me to be happy, and well, I'll be happy with her. I care for her, and I know she cares for me, probably more than you or anyone else in this god damn world. I mean, you came here for Effy, didn't you?" Freddie didn't dare speak, almost as if Cook was spewing the truth, which scared me, deep in my gut. "I was worried about her. I spent days worrying, thinking she would hate me, that I'd lost her, and even still she showed up for me..." He trailed off, and I could see his forehead wrinkle as he got more and more frustrated, his thoughts threatening to burst out of his head. And then, it all spilt out.
"You! You know what? No! You can't just profess your love and expect all the lies and bullshit to go away. That's not how the world works, you're forcing her to forgive you, trying to disguise your bullshit with a cute romantic ending. But I won't let you." Cook spat out, pointing accusingly at Freddie, who rolled his eyes, clearly getting more and more heated as Cook yelled, his last sentence leaving Freddie with steam coming out of his ears."You won't let me? Who are you to 'not let me'? I-" Cook cut him off, barely giving Freddie a chance to defend himself. It was a full-on attack, with me standing silently in between them, no clue what we were doing. "Do not sit here and try and tell me the first day that you wanted Rory because we both know that's a lie. You wanted Effy. He did, it's true. And I regret so much to this day that I didn't make my move on Rory sooner, because you swooped in so fast, I never had a chance to show her how I felt. Until now." He then turns to me, holding my face in his hands, whispering now, as if the words didn't dare to leave his lips, as if these words were only for my ears to hear. His forehead rested against mine, and I could feel his eyes staring at me with something I'd never felt from Cook before. "James, I..." I breathed out his name but he put a finger to my lips; clearly, it wasn't my turn to talk yet. "I have felt something between us since the first day we met. And I know you've felt it too. It's different, but it doesn't mean it wouldn't be amazing. You're my girl. Even if this doesn't go my way, you will always be my girl. I don't give a fuck what anyone says. Let me show you. I'm your James Cook if you'd have me. We'd be fucking incredible." I didn't know what to say. How did I end up here? From that first moment on the green when I met the three musketeers, I knew they'd be trouble, I just didn't realise they'd be trouble for me. And not like this.
"Listen. Just stick to Effy. Aurora is mine. She has my heart, and no matter what, I think it'll always be Aurora and me. Why all this hassle? You like Effy, and Effy likes-" "Effy likes who?" Freddie was cut off by Elizabeth Stonem herself, waltzing over like the star of the show, the sight of her making my heart race, my anxiety taking over. JJ stood beside her, smirking as if he had planned this as if adding her to the mix wouldn't be the stupidest decision ever. "Fuck." I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes, trying to squash the flashing memories, little glimpses of her bashing me over the head popping up, growing more and more as the distance between us turn to mere steps. "So, are you guys racing or what?" She asked, her arms folded as she stared at the scene in front of her, those damn blue eyes glancing between the three of us. "Freddie, you came." She pulled him in for a hug and my heart sank, watching the way he engulfed her in his arms, sniffing her hair by instinct. He liked her. I knew it, but now I guess it's all out in the open.
"I'm sick of this," I spoke up, the four of them snapping their heads round to face me as I spoke. "Why can't this be simple? Freddie, everything was good. Everything. But then, the Katie thing happened. Then my sister got so jealous she became a rock-wielding maniac. And since then I've had my reservations; about us, about all of this! And just when I let it all go, and come back to you, she calls, and you come. And you lied to me. Hid all these texts and professions of love from me. It's so simple. How can we be in this situation? I told you; no warned you, that my sister would come for you, that she'd try and seduce you, and you promised you didn't care. But when she told you she liked you, I knew you cared more than you should. That's when I knew..." I said, trailing off as I spotted Effy looking down at her shoes, spotting an expression on her face that I didn't recognise. Fear? Embarrassment? Disappointment in herself? It wasn't something I'd ever seen before; honestly, I had doubted she could even feel those emotions, it seemed she was arrogant for so long, I figured somewhere in her brain her wires were crossed, but maybe not.
"Let's just say this isn't the college experience I had planned for myself," I mumbled, causing a small laugh from James, which resulted in a glare being sent our way from Mr Freddie McClair himself. "Aurora, can we talk?" Effy asked, and I wished the ground would swallow me whole. I closed my eyes and almost prayed to God that I could escape, but JJ happily lead the two boys away, leaving just myself and Effy, the pair of us a safe distance apart. A joke formed in my mind, something about being thankful for the lack of rocks around, but I held my tongue, not quite sure if I was ready to be bantering with my murderous sister. "Listen, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Jealousy was what came over her, that much was clear. And the fact that she couldn't get what she wanted, well, that pushed her over the edge, especially when I was finally happy and I had someone for myself. "I can't believe I hurt you, really I can't. I guess I always hurt those I love." She said, her eyes following Freddie as they continued walking in the distance. "You can't be serious?" I questioned, not believing the words leaving her mouth. She continued to hurt me, continued to do whatever it took to get what she wanted; Freddie. She text him, called him, begged for his love and confessed her feelings, knowing what that would do. She didn't care, or if she did, she had a damn funny way of showing it. "I know it'll take time to forgive me for that, but I promise I will never hurt you again?" I scoffed at her words, knowing that she would hurt me to get Freddie in a heartbeat. She already was. "I can't trust you, look at the mess you cause. All this drama could have been avoided, but 99% of it leads back to you somehow. I just don't need this shit anymore." I said, running a hand through my hair, feeling stressed as fuck. I felt uncomfortable; there was nothing I wanted more than to run back to the boys, but my feet were glued to the concrete, not daring to take a step in Effy's presence. "Well, I'm not the only one causing drama. Why do you think Cook is leaning more to you now?" Effy said, clearly jealous of the attention, but it was her fault. "Nothing to do with me, you lost Cook all on your own. You know, by calling Freddie." She looked at me surprised as if she half expected me to rip her hair out, but honestly, I'd given up. A part of me wished that we could rewrite the year because without half the drama I was sure Freddie and I would have been happy together, but in the present, I wasn't too sure anymore, and three words from Effy's mouth made that fear and confusion all the more real.
"I love him," She said, and I shook my head in dismay.
