21 Questions {Awsten Knight}

S E V E N

Finally, the house was empty and I could roam about it as I pleased. I was getting ready for my date with Maxx, who I had been communicating with for a few days. He seemed nice enough and I needed to stop mourning over the loss of Awsten, since we had never even been together. I was putting the final touches on my face as someone knocked on the door. I got up and went to answer it, expecting it to be a package since Maxx had said he wouldn't be over for another 15 minutes.

I opened it hurriedly, hoping it was my order of new bedsheets that I had ordered two weeks before. Don't ask me why I get so excited over new sheets. They're a great thing.

"Hey, um-" the blue haired boy started to say something, but I interrupted him.

"Hope isn't here. Sorry." I said rudely and tried to slam the door closed, only for it to be stopped by his foot accompanied by a pained groan.

"I'm--not here for Hope...could you maybe lighten the pressure on my foot a bit? I feel like you might break it," he mumbled painfully. I sighed and let the door go, stepping back. Awsten pushed the door open, stepping inside. "What are you here for then? I told you you should go, so why are you back?" I spat, my arms crossed and my eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm here to, um, wait did you ask if I was here for Hope? Why would I be here for Hope? I don't even know her that well?"

"Obviously you do, since you brought her to your 'special store'" I answered, slightly realizing it sounded stupid.

"I- but- what?" Awsten stammered, looking dumbfounded. "You told me you didn't bring people there unless you've known them a while and then you invited her there. What am I supposed to do with that?" I exclaimed angrily, trying to fight back the urge to burst into tears and slam the door on his stupid foot again.

He stood there stuttering, staring at me like a fish with its mouth open. "Wh-wha? How-"

"Yeah, I thought so. You're full of shit," I growled, turning quickly as there was another knock on the door.

I opened the door to find Maxx there, wearing tan hoodie and dark jeans. I smiled sweetly at him, even though I wanted to burst into tears.

"Awsten, my date is here, would you be so kind as to exit my home?" I said with a rude tone, watching his face fall which felt like a knife to the chest.

"Oh, yeah, okay..bye Charlotte.." he said sadly as he walked out of my house.

I felt like shit.

There I was, being a little bitch and going on a date with another boy while the boy I really wanted was walking out of my door.

But Maxx was there and he wanted to be with me. "I'm sorry about that. Uh, I'm ready when you are," I told Maxx after Awsten left and shut the door behind him. "Yeah! I was thinking we could go to this new bookstore I found that has a cafe in it," he suggested, opening the door for me. I smiled at him and nodded, walking out of the apartment.

Why did I feel so bad? Awsten had Hope, anyway.

We left and found ourselves in a small café in the middle of a cute little book store. I looked at the intricate design on the top of my untouched latte and listened to Maxx ramble about a new book he was reading. I smiled softly at him even though I wasn't listening.

"So, did you ever check out that book?" he wondered, drawing my attention back to the conversation. "Yes! Yeah. I really like it. I'm almost done with it. I really like the macabre touch he put in it," I replied, finally taking a sip of my drink. "Good, I'm glad. I thought you might like it."

I smiled again and set down my cup, placing my hands in my lap as we both stayed silent for a few moments. "So, I don't want to prod into your personal business but that guy earlier--"

"Oh, don't worry about it. He's just a dick. Nothing important," I said, brushing off his concerns. And that was what I wanted to believe. But the truth was that I really liked everything about Awsten and it hurt that I wasn't with him. I was with Maxx and sure, he was nice, but he was no blue haired idiot that built paper towel castles.

The rest of the date was pretty much the same - talking about books and stuff like that. I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of bored and just wanted to go home and sleep. He was kind of boring and annoying, and I hated the fact that he never once made any jokes or humorous remarks. But then Maxx was walking me back to my apartment and stopped me outside of the entrance.

"So, when can I see you again?" He wondered, taking off his hat to reveal his platinum blond hair. "Uh, soon. Thank you for tonight. It was nice," I said, even though I didn't quite mean it.

And then his lips were on mine and I flinched, taken aback by his forwardness. "I'll text you."

"Okay. Bye," I told him, opening my apartment door and heading inside, closing it behind me before locking it. I finally felt like I could breathe once I was alone, but not for very long.

"You have no fucking respect for my feelings. Way to blame things on me when I never did anything wrong," Hope muttered from across the living room. I glanced up to see her standing in the middle of the room, her arms crossed as she put all her weight on one side of her hip.

"What?" I asked, perplexed. I had no energy for her shit.

"Awsten told me everything you said. Thanks for talking behind my back by the way," she snarled, walking over to me. Her hair was down and she was wearing one of my old white long sleeved shirts. How ironic.

"Why do you even care? Obviously Awsten's attention means much more to you than my feelings so why would you even care what I think?" I countered, raising my eyebrows. I was sooooooo done. The way she stood seemed to challenge me and I braced myself for whatever she was going to say next. She really knew how to pour salt in people's wounds.

"Just because he decided to pay attention to me instead of you doesn't mean I ignored your feelings. You know what? Why don't you just get the fuck out and be a whore somewhere else?" She spat, her face turning slightly red, her eyes full of hate. Those words felt like a fist to the stomach and I resisted the urge to burst into tears.

"Wow. Wow, Hope."

"You know it's true. Right after Awsten gave up on you, you went after Maxx. Bit of a rebound, don't you think?" she continued. There was no way she was backing down now. "What happened to you?"

She snorted and I took a step forward, only to feel her palm on my shoulder. "Let me fucking go," I exclaimed, shoving her off to storm to my room, my body shaking. I opened the door and slammed it behind me, looking around. What was I supposed to do? My best friend was kicking me out of an apartment that I mostly payed for, all because of Awsten. God. What a shit feeling.

I sniffed before taking out a duffel bag from my closet, filling it with clothes and toiletries, going as fast as I could. I brought my computer and chargers, along with some books and a pillow. I quickly hooked the bag over my shoulder and left my room, slamming the door behind me.

"I hope you're happy. Fuck you, Hope."

And then I left and I was crying in my car in the parking lot, my head buried in my hands as I tried to think of what the hell I was supposed to go. I had nowhere.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Awsten's number, biting my lip as it rang.

"Charlotte?"

"Awsten--I--I don't have anywhere to go. Hope kicked me out and-and- called me a w-whore and I don't know what to do," I sobbed, my face a blubbering mess as I heard him sigh on the other end of the call.

"Hang in there, I'm coming to get you."