Chasing Blue

18. I Want My Best Friend

While I'm walking towards the canteen for lunch and deciding in my head whether to sit with the guys or not, a hand swiftly drags me away.

"Harris!" I shout his name.

"We're going to talk," he says.

I'm not sure why we couldn't have talked where we were—  till he takes me to the ball court and I see the whole gang standing by the seats near the field entrance.

Harris takes me to them and lets go of my hand.

"Why am I here?" I ask to no one in particular.

"Michael," says George calling for his friend's attention.

Blue doesn't respond and keeps looking at the field.

"Michael!" calls Asher. It's the first time I've heard him raise his voice, that too with Blue.

Blue fidgets a bit and then faces me.

I've to admit. Seeing him looking straight at me like this, instead of avoiding me, feels good. I really hope this intervention works out.

"I'm sorry," he says without any feeling of sorry, which only fans my anger.

I cross my hands, lean on one leg and ask him, "sorry for what?"

He rolls his palms into fists and says, "everything. I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

His face gradually becomes sincere. "I'm sorry for getting angry at you. I'm sorry for being rude to you when we first met. I'm sorry for letting Ashley hurt you. I'm sorry, Dayna."

His heartfelt apology melts my temper. I open my mouth to say I forgive him when he sternly says, "but I'm not sorry about the confession."

I pause my pardon and look at Harris and say, "what is this? Aren't we here to make up and go back to how things were before?"

I thought Harris will reprimand Blue but instead, he looks at me a little apologetically.

"Dayna, come on. He said sorry for hurting you."

"He also said he's not sorry about the confession. What does that mean?"

Blue says, "it means I'm not sorry for liking you."

I throw a glare at Blue before turning to Harris and say, "Harris!"

"Dayna, please. You're over reacting," says Asher.

"I'm not over reacting. You guys are not taking this seriously. We're not small kids to play pretend lovers and married couples, and then forget about it once the play ends. We don't go around saying 'I like you' to friends. I want Blue and I to be friends like how we were before. He doesn't look like he wants the same."

"I don't. I also don't want to play pretend lovers. I want us to be real ones," Blue says calmly.

I press my lips together in anger, turn around and leave the court. Harris comes running beside me.

"Dayna, come on. He only said he liked you. If you don't like him, you don't like him. No one is forcing you to like him."

I stop and face him. "It's not that. H-He behaves like he hasn't accepted my rejection. He talks like he still likes me."

Harris looks away guiltily.

"Oh, so you guys knew. And you want me to date him, don't you?"

"No. That's not what we were trying to do. I told you none of us will force you. But we can't ask him to stop liking you, either. That's not fair."

"Not fair? Then is it fair for you to ask me to get along with him like nothing happened, knowing he still likes me?"

"Don't you want to get along with him?"

"I do, as a friend!"

"It won't be much difference if you date him, too. I mean, you guys can hang out like you usually do. He won't ask anything else from you."

"I can't believe this! So you're taking his side, after all."

"It's not like that, Dayna."

"No. It's exactly like that! You guys are thick as thieves. I thought I was your friend, too, and maybe I am, but I can clearly see who means the most you! "

"Dayna, stop it. I'm your friend, too—"

I stop him. "Don't. Ask him to accept the rejection, or better yet to pretend none of this happened, then we'll talk."

I walk away feeling alone and betrayed. After the school is over I reach home and wait till 8, when I'm sure James will be in his home, too.

I feel so lonely ever since the guys took Blue's side. I want my best friend, too.

I call James and tell him everything.

⤙–⤚

It's about time you meet James ;)