It was around seven in the morning when Shay woke up. She quickly got changed, folded James' clothes and put them neatly on his bed after she had made it. Shay was sure that someone else was home, his mother perhaps so she was quiet when she made her way out of his house.
She was luckily able to make it out unnoticed, but didn't see James anywhere. Not to mention his bike was gone also. Shay figured that he had gone to the oval, and decided to start walking home.
She wondered how far and how long Brad searched for her last night, and if Alex had made an attempt to help him. She could only imagine what would have happened when Alex came back out to find her completely gone and Brad standing there dumbfounded. Alex probably was the one who made him look for her, that theory made the most sense to Shay.
Shay regretted forgetting her phone, she wanted to text James to say thank you again for last night, not to mention, she probably had a million missed calls. Shay soon reached her house and made sure to be quiet when she entered. Alex could be hungover for all she knew.
She quietly opened the door and shut it and started walking to her room before she spotted something sprawled across her couch. Not something, someone.
"He's been here all night." A voice said from behind her, making Shay jump.
"Shit." She whispered and raised her hand to her chest as an attempt to steady her breathing."He has?" Shay asked and turned to look at Brad who was stirring in his sleep.
"Yeah," Alex sighed. "After you left he went out and searched for you for an hour and a bit. Then eventually he came back and refused to leave. He wanted to be here just in case you came home."
Shay felt terrible, for everything. For leaving him here and kissing James, even though it was something she so badly wanted to do in the moment.
"I was going to kick him out, but I thought it was darn cute. That and I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Plus he left and searched for you so I didn't have to." Alex shrugged before continuing. "I'll kick him out now if you want, so you don't have to talk to him?"
"No," Shay said before her mind could catch up. "I mean, ye-" Brad stirred a little bit more before his eyes snapped open and he sat up, looking as is he were trying to remember where he was. He looked around the room before his eyes landed on Shay, and he stood up.
"Shay." He spoke, his voice raw and raspy.
"Um, hi." Shay didn't know what to say, she had been a complete asshole to him last night.
"I tried to look for you-" He rubbed at his eyes.
"I know." She said quietly and Alex took it as her Que to leave. "I'm sorry-"
"Where did you go?" He asked, kind of afraid of the answer.
"Brad, I haven't changed my mind." She said, barley above a whisper. Brad nodded his head slowly as Shay noticed his jaw clench a few times.
"Okay." He said and and raked his fingers through his hair.
"I'm sorry." She said and he sighed.
"It's okay, you don't want me like I want you, I get it."
"For the things I said, last night." She clarified.
"Right." Brad said with no emotion on his face or in his voice whatsoever. "It's fine." It really wasn't, and Shay knew that. "I'll go, for real this time." He walked towards the door and paused to turn around when Shay spoke again.
"I really am sorry." She repeated and Brad turned right back around.
"I really wish I believed you." He said and walked out.
Alex walked back to where Shay was standing, still staring at the door.
"I cleaned the place." Alex declared proudly and motioned around the house. Shay was too distracted to notice how nice their place looked. Shay turned around and gave her best friend a force smile as she heard Brad's engine start.
"You went to pretty boys house, didn't you?" Alex asked once Brad's car engine dispersed down the street.
"Pretty boy?" Shay groaned and started to walk to her room before Alex pulled her back. "What?" Shay yelled, she was irritated with everything and everyone at the moment.
"Yeah, the one with the motorbike, what's his name?" Alex said and started clicking her fingers, trying to remember.
"James." Shay answered and rolled her eyes.
"Why'd you go there, out of all places?"
"Because it was the only place that I could think of." She answered, not entirely lying.
"You could have made Brad leave." Alex said simply. "Unless of course, you wanted an excuse to go see-"
"Just stop." Shay sighed and snapped her head in the direction of the door when the sound of a car engine could be heard making it's way up their driveway. Both her and Alex waited to see who the person was, expecting them to walk right in. Instead, they knocked.
Shay answered, thinking it to be no one she knew. Everyone she was well acquainted with usually walked straight in, uninvited. Like Brad. Which is why she was s surprised to him standing on the other side of the door when she opened it.
"Um, I left my phone-" Was the first thing he said. He then gestured to the lounge room where it lay sitting on the coffee table. Shay stared at his face for a second, and she could of sworn it looked as if he were crying only moments before.
"My phone." He said again, kind of sternly which made it clear that he obviously wasn't crying about her. He probably wasn't even crying at all, it must have just been a trick of the light or something.
Alex waited patiently in the background with her arms crossed as she watched Shay snap out of it and walk to retrieve his phone. She handed it back to him, and he took it quickly, not giving her a second glance.
"Brad-" She started but was cut off.
"Thanks." He snapped and walked back to his car. Shay felt so incredibly guilty at what she had said, she felt like absolute crap. She slowly close the door before walking back to Alex.
"Don't feel bad." Alex said and Shay scoffed.
"Really?' She yelled. "I said so much shit to him last night. He was trying so hard and I kept on saying no. I was the one who left, I was the one who kissed James, and I was the one who made him leave this morning!" Shay said all in one breath.
"You kissed James last night?" The sarcasm and play fullness was completely gone now. Shay sighed and muttered a quiet 'fuck' under her breath before looking back up at her best friend and nodding slowly.
"Fuck." She muttered again and dropped her head.
"Hey," Alex grabbed her and hugged her. "It's okay." She said as nicely as she could. "Was he at least a good kisser?"
"Alex." Shay groaned and pushed her away.
"He doesn't think that you guys are together does he? Because I don't think you're rea-"
"No." Shay quickly shook her head. "I apologized and he understood, we're just friends." The sound of someone knocking on their door for a second time was heard. Both Alex and Shay were confused, and Shay groaned before walking to open it again.
"Seriously? What does he want?" She exasperated and reached for the door. Once she opened it she was surprised to see that it wasn't Brad, nor James. Alex was about to speak, but Shay beat her to it.
"Mum, Dad?"
