Twinkling in the Dark | ✔︎

Chapter 22

"So, Rory," Olivia started, pulling a water out of our mini fridge and taking a seat next to Sabrina and I on the floor, "any idea where Xander's been at lunch for the past week?"

"We got into a fight," I said with a shrug and tightened my messy bun of brown hair. The next thing I knew, water was drenched all over me.

Olivia dragged the back of her hands over her mouth to wipe off the water that she just spit at me in shock. "What?"

It was Friday night, and I convinced Olivia to stay back from her weekly parties to join me and Sabrina for a girls night. We were set up in mine and Olivia's room, sprawled out across our carpeted floor, just catching each other up on the latest gossip around our school. And I usually wasn't one to be interested in gossip, but when I was in the same room as those two crazed gossip-vultures, I was a completely different person. I was a crazed gossip-vulture around them.

"Y-You dumped Xander?" asked a wide-eyed Sabrina.

It had been a complete week since Xander and I's fight. And although all our friends knew something was up with him and I, they didn't dare question it. Until now.

He hadn't shown up to our lunch table ever since, and I had no idea of where else he could be on our school campus. I've spotted him a few times in the classes we shared but other than that I haven't seen much of him. He wasn't even at track practices. And I'll be honest, it was a little disheartening. But the ball was in his court, and it seems as if he wouldn't be shooting his shot anytime soon.

"No! We were never together! I just told him that we couldn't keep up our little game of stolen kisses. It needed to end, and I'm just waiting for him to completely trust me and make it official"

"You like him, and he likes you, though."

I shook my head slightly and looked down at my fidgeting fingers, my hair covering my reddening cheeks. "It's not that easy."

"Well," Olivia said with a smile, "once you two make up, the sex will be h-"

"Anyways," Sabrina piped up, obviously over it with Olivia's usual ways, "anything going on with you, Liv?" She wriggled her eyebrows teasingly.

The blonde snapped her head up with raised eyebrows. "No? Just the usual humping and dumping," she said, trying to act casual. "Why'd you think that?"

I eyed her skeptically. "Why're you being so defensive?"

"I'm not!"

"Didn't you go out on a date a few nights ago? Who was it?"

"Nobody!"

Sabrina and I burst into fits of laughter at our best friend's inability to lie.

"You better tell us soon, Liv, or else!"

***

To say this track meet was awkward would be an understatement.

"You did so well!" Olivia said as she hopped on me to give me a bear hug but quickly retracted as she noticed my gross sweat. "Ew," she mumbled.

"We only got first place, again," I said sarcastically. Truth was, our next meet would be for regionals, and it wasn't bad, but we always made it to regionals. We usually never made it to states after regionals. Last time we made it to state was my freshman year, when everybody was the most enthusiastic about running.

But if we won regionals, we'd move onto the state championship. We'd be the first team in three years to make it to state from our school.

"Always so humble," she laughed.