The Teenage Guide To Popularity [COMPLETE]

Chapter 40: Don't You Forget About Me

Carter Vance was no longer bored.

There was no definitive cure for boredom anyway. Not really. There was only taking chances. Of diving into all the chaos and all the crazed expectations and hoping that the monsters won't be able to catch you. Of surviving it and coming out a better person. But was she really a better person now? Asking Kiran to stay behind when his family needed him? Not even putting up a fight for Leigh's friendship? Several months ago the idea of not seeing either of them was absolutely ridiculous. Now it seemed like the only way to move forward.

"You shouldn't do that. Not for me, I want you to stay, more than anything, you should stay, but..." but what? I'm an unstable idiot? Don't listen to me, do whatever you want? What? Damn it, why can't I make up my mind? Okay, time to grow a little Carter, "... but when you get back, we'll start again. It's not a big deal-"

"Stop with this passive crap and your constant mind-changing. Just... be honest, for once."

"Right, because you're so open and honest all the time."

There was a strain on his face that Carter had never seen before. A curious, subtle strain, and she couldn't tell if he was about to yell at her or kiss her. He stepped closer to her, "That day in your kitchen, when you were going on about that guy, that wasn't the first time I've wanted to beat the shit out of some guy you liked."

"Really?"

"Yes. And I'm not going to let you walk away. I'm not going to screw this up again."

It would be much easier to walk away if Carter wasn't scared of him never coming back. But the more she stared at him, the more she took in everything he meant to her, she realized she couldn't be selfish anymore. "I don't want you to stay because you're sorry for something. I shouldn't have asked you to stay. It's not like six or eight or however many months will keep us from being friends."

"I can't just be-"

"My friend? Yeah, I get that, but... I feel like I'm always messing things up for you, and I don't want to do that anymore."

"You're not messing anything up, Carter. If anything, you're making things better. So that's it, I'm not staying in New York."

Ten minutes ago she had been set on winning him back, on being the understanding, relatively normal girlfriend she should be. Ten minutes ago she wasn't being fair or honest. "Okay, don't stay there. But you and I - we need to figure some things out, like if we can possibly stay at one point and stop changing our minds every other second. So while you're there, be there. Don't call me, don't text me. Don't even check my socials. I'll do the same. Then if we still want to be together when you get back, we will be. I swear to you. No more games. No more drama."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Don't you know that saying? If you care about someone let them go, or something? If you'll be back for next semester, that's only two weeks anyway. I really hope it'll give us both time to breathe, to calm down. Come on Kiran, is this really what you want? We got along way better when we were only friends, didn't we?" It was going on like a tennis match. Or a basketball game. She thought back to that night when he had asked her to be his girlfriend, to when she had called their relationship awkward. Maybe they should've put a stop to it then. Ended the game, instead of running in circles.

He took her hands in his, making her heart-rate speed up and prompting her to bite her lower lip. He then pulled her even closer, "Okay. We'll do that. Two weeks, and we'll see what happens. For the record, I like fighting with you. I'd rather have you and not get along than be with anyone else, happy or whatever."