𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 {𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐍𝐀𝐏}

𝐱𝐢𝐯. 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃
《𝐥𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡》

It was finally lunch and Brielle was feeling tired of school already. She was more excited than anything for it to end. She had approached her teacher about the end of the year assembly and she finally agreed to be a part of it. She was nervous to present a bit of her poem about love, but she didn't want to regret not doing it later in her life. She might as well take the risk if she's leaving the high school and everyone within it.

She closed her locker once grabbing her water bottle and lunch box. She turned and watched Cassidy walk up to her. She smiled and waved.

"Hey, Bri! How was last night?" She asked. Brielle blinked as she started walking with Cassidy down the hallway.

"What are you talking about?" She asked. Cassidy scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, I may or may not have helped Nick with the date idea. So, you can tell me about it." She said. Brielle paused and then chuckled.

"Oh! Yeah...well...I didn't go." She said. Cassidy stopped her in the hall, putting a hand out in front of her. She slowly turned to Brielle and stared as she processed what Brielle told her. Brielle only stared back in confusion. Why did Cassidy care so much?

"You...what?"

"I stood him up. After that rumor, I'm not going on a stupid date with him—" Cassidy held up her hand and scoffed out a laugh.

"Brielle, you are such an idiot!" She said. Brielle blinked in shock at her friend's outburst.

"Excuse me? You're seriously going to defend him right now?" she crossed her arms. Cassidy rolled her eyes.

"You don't understand, Bri. He tried really hard for you. He feels bad about making you upset. Not to mention the fact he didn't even do anything wrong! It was his friend Clay." Cassidy said. Brielle raised a brow.

"You believe that?"

"You believe his friend who you know nothing about over to Nick?" Cassidy fired back. Brielle fell quiet at that. Cassidy was right. She should be believing Nick over his asshole friends. A small sting of regret poked at her heart and she sighed.

"God...I feel bad now..." she said. Cassidy nodded.

"Yeah. Good! He brought flowers, I helped him get ready, and he even got reservations at a nice place. He wanted to make things right." she said. Brielle felt worse as Cassidy continued to list off more and more. She regretted standing him up...

❤︎︎❤︎︎❤︎︎

That regret crushes you to the floor when it finally hits you. That high disappears and you're left with the pain of knowing you hurt someone more than they deserved.

It's worse when you hurt someone who doesn't deserve it. Regret and revenge are the worst factors when it comes to love.

That's because after you feel the revenge and regret, you crave love more than ever. It becomes harder to avoid.

❤︎︎❤︎︎❤︎︎

Nick sat down on the bleachers, stretching as he had a break during his after-school rehearsal. He drank from his water bottle, sweating like crazy. It was hot as hell out and that wasn't helping with how shitty he felt.

That feeling only seemed to worsen as he saw a familiar face stepping onto the field. He sighed and looked away, Clay and Luke sitting beside him.

"Looks like you've got company~" Clay teased. Luke chuckled as Nick rolled his eyes and stood.

"Oh shut up..." he mumbled. He set his water down and walked over to meet Brielle in the middle. The girl was picking at the sleeves of her flannel. He could see that she was struggling to get out a sentence, so he started the conversation for her.

"How can you wear a flannel during the summer heat?" he asked. Brielle was caught off guard by his question, but a small smile tugged on her lips as she looked down at her outfit.

"I'm not sure. The heat just... doesn't bother me, I guess," she responded. Nick nodded and looked away. A silence fell over them as Brielle continued to think over her next words.

"Nick...I am...sorry...about last night." she finally managed out. Nick sighed softly and his eyes met Brielle's.

"I know...I get it," he said, crossing his arms, "but being stood up really sucks."

Brielle felt that guilt build up again. It just sat in her stomach, a glob of nastiness and shame for standing Nick up. She looked down at her shoes.

"Yeah...it was shitty of me. I-I'm sorry, though, and I really wanna make it up to you! Maybe we can...meet somewhere after your practice?" she said. Nick raised a brow.

"Oh? So you can stand me up again?" he asked, a hint of bitterness in his voice. That feeling worsened inside of Brielle.

"I'm sorry, Nick...I'm really sorry," she said. Her voice was genuine and heartfelt. Nick couldn't help but back down a little with his bitterness. He hesitated, thinking over the offer. He sighed softly.

"Alright alright. I'll go somewhere with you." he finally agreed to go. Brielle smiled and relaxed a bit.

"Great! Uhm...here how about this. After your practice, you can meet me at the river that's a few blocks down from the school." She said. Nick shrugged and nodded.

"Sure. Why not." He said. His unenthusiastic response made Brielle cringe, but it was better than nothing. She nodded and stepped back a little.

"Alright...I-I'll see you there!" She said, turning and jogging off. She went back to her car and sat down in the driver's seat, sighing. A part of her was very worried about what was to come.

What if he stood her up in return?

❤︎︎