Third Love's The Charm [PUBLISHED]

Chapter Four: Just Friends

"Thanks for the ride you guys," I said to Leon and Pat. Sasha and Mia's houses were closer to the burger joint that we went to so they got down before I did.

"No problem," Pat smiled, before nudging his best friend. I turned to Leon expectantly, my hands practically gripping the sides of the their seats.

Leon rolled his eyes, but spoke nonetheless, "You're welcome."

For now, I knew that was all I was going to get from him. Although I was hoping for quite more, I was already pleased that he at least talked to me.

I opened the door and stepped out, waving them goodbye as the car drove away. From my peripheral vision, I saw it. The curtain in Zoey's room moved and instead of rushing into my house, I waited for her. I stood there as the door of her home opened and she came running out, her blonde hair up in a bun that was threatening to fall.

"Hey Zo," I opted to greet her first. If I was able to act normally with Pat then surely, I could pretend like nothing happened with her. I think she was honestly thinking that I would put up more of a fight but when I didn't, she momentarily paused while I continued on, "Sorry I wasn't able to come over for dinner, a few people from my class decided to eat out."

She blinked a few times, those blue eyes portraying wonder and confusion. Probably because how I was seemingly avoiding, which wasn't wrong, she thought that I would start a disagreement with her. Then, out of nowhere, tears started to well up in those eyes and she lunged forward to hug, "I thought you were upset with me."

I was.

"I'm not," I shushed, rubbing comforting circles on her back, "Sorry, today was just a little stressful."

I felt her nod, but still not letting me go.

Perfect Zoey. Golden hair, golden heart.

It was difficult not to be insecure when standing next to her. As children, both boys and girls preferred to play with her. She, being the good friend that she was, often made me tag-along and made me feel included. As we started to grow up, we took different directions in life.

Her parents enrolled her in a private all-girls school while I opted to attend public schooling.

Let me just say, that helped my self-esteem so much. It gave everybody less material to compare us with. With that our friendship became even tighter, I told her everything and that went both ways.

So why? Why was she in the car with him?

"You still have that cornbread?" I managed to question, trying to lighten up the mood.

She pulled back, her eyes swollen and nose all red. She nodded and wiped away the remaining tears, "Yeah, we saved them for you and mom bought a lot so why don't you bring home some."

It really was hard to be angry with her.

Mom wasn't back yet when I came home with a tupperware full of cornbread. I left it on the kitchen counter and headed upstairs into my room. When I was getting comfier clothes to change into, I blinked at the whistle sitting on my bedside table where I left it there after getting out of the shower.

My phone wasn't with me when I fell asleep, thus it reverted back to its state in the past. The clothes I was wearing were those that I already owned prior to the first day of the school year so it was understandable why they still existed in this timeline.

But that whistle – it was the only thing that I have right now that wasn't.

I was wearing it, it was on my body, which was the reason why I managed to keep it. Now I'm curious if Leon from this time has his.