Now You See Me

Chapter 8

By the time the bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch, I was dead tired and hungry. I got out of class and noticed Jamie waiting for me next to the door. I was still a little mad at him about earlier today but I let it slide for now.

"Alisha, Hey." He looked up at me expectantly. "Hey Jamie," I knew he wanted to talk and clear things up so I said "Wanna talk on the way to the cafeteria? Mckenzie and the guys are already on their way there."

He looked a little relieved and followed suit. I have to be honest, it was a pretty awkward walk to the cafeteria, and it almost NEVER got awkward between Jamie and me.

"So..." I started, "About this morning, Jamie it doesn't matter to me why you've been seeing Ashley," He gave a sigh of relief " but what does matter to me is why you kept it hidden from me for this long. We agreed in 2nd grade not to hide anything from each other and we never have. What's so different about this time?"

He scratched the back of his neck and diverted his eyes. He spoke up after he took a long breath, "I really didn't want to hide it from you at all, but the thing is I know you and that also means I know you don't like Ashley."

He did have a point.

"Ok, yes I don't like Ashley but that doesn't mean if you liked her then I would hate you." I hesitated for a minute.

" Jamie?"

"Yeah Birdie?"

"I know you're gonna be a little mad at me when I say this, but are you sure Ashley really does like you and isn't just using you for something?"

His head whipped in my direction so fast I thought he was going to break his neck and I'm pretty sure the pain settled in quickly because he let out a yelp of pain, "OUCH, that really hurts." He was rubbing his neck while I was laughing at him.

"At least I lightened up the mood, huh?" I smiled as I nodded.

"Look Birdie, I did think about Ashley for a while but she proved herself to me. After my parent's divorce last year I was completely broken, you know that better than anyone."

I did. Tyler's parent were high school sweethearts and they had been going strong for 23 happy years until last year when they decided to get a divorce, saying the spark had disappeared. I could distinctly remember being a little 8-year-old, coming to Jamie's house and meeting his parents. They were always smiling, or laughing, or teasing each other, and it was always so romantic.

When they split Jamie was completely crushed. His older brother, Mckenzie and I tried to be there for him, to support him and get him through a hard time, but he tried to ignore us as much as possible. That was one of the scariest times of my life.

"Well," Jamie continued, "I was sitting on the bleachers a couple weeks after the divorce when Ashley came over and just sat next to me for a full 5 minutes before saying 'People lie to you when they say it'll get easier. It just gets tolerable, nothing more and nothing less.' Birdie how can I begin to explain to you what that meant to me at the time."

My heart shrank at the thought of Ashley comforting Jamie, something I failed to do when he needed it most.

"And you guys started hanging out after that?" I asked, knowing of the typical situation.

"Yeah," he replied, "It seems pretty typical and all, but the effect it leaves on you is ... magical, I guess. That's probably the only word that can describe it." His eyes looked as if they were deep in thought, somewhere far away from this moment.

He snapped back into consciousness and a sad look overtook his eyes. " What I feel though, she doesn't know yet." This caught me off guard.

"So, you mean you haven't told her how you feel yet?" I was shocked, to say the least. By they way Jamie described their connection I thought that they had become a couple already.

"No, not yet. It's just...she hasn't even expressed a little bit of interest in me, like, at all."

My heart sank there and then. I mean, with something so special going on between two people, who WOULDN'T want to make a move and take it further?

"Oh my gosh Jamie, JUST MAKE A MOVE ALREADY!!!!" I'm pretty sure my outburst was something he wasn't expecting because he had an amused side smile on his face.

"Oh I for sure will, my little Birdie, but all good things take time."

We laughed and chatted until we got to the Cafeteria. We sat at on Stephen's table with him, Mckenzie, Stephen, Cosmo, and a couple more of their friends.

Mckenzie looked relieved when she saw us, but mad too. "Where have you two been this whole time? You made me look like an outsider for so long that even Cosmo looked like he pitied me!"

"Sorry Kenzie, Jamie and I had a 'talk' on the way here," I replied, using air quotes when I said 'talk'. She did give me a questioning look with her eyebrows but in return I gave her a look that said 'I'll explain everything later'

Boy, that was going to be a long talk

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Author's Note:

Hey guys! If you liked that chapter be sure to smash that vote button!

I'm posting this short chapter because I have my exams these days but I also thought about how I haven't updated in so long. Wish me luck for my finals!! (I NEED IT)

I'm thinking of just writing whatever in my author's notes from now on, and not that whole prom-questionnaire I always do. Thoughts? Let me know down below!

Guys, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me reach my goal of 1,000 reads for this book. You all have done so much for me already but pleeeeeeaaaasssseee share this book if you like it, to help me reach my dream!!!!

Yours Truly - M