Back To You | Ricky Garcia

Chapter Three

Charlene's POV

"Our sleepover's are literally the best!" I said, excitedly. Today was Friday, which means it's Sleepover Day. We chose Fridays because first, we don't have to finish our homework today, because we have a whole 48 other hours to do that. Second, Ricky has football practice on Friday's, so there is absolutely no chance of me and him seeing each other. Ever since we were 13, Francesca and I had these weekly sleepovers. After school, we head straight to one of our houses, and we make ice cream sundaes and order pizza. I'm pretty sure we eat more than pigs, but we don't have shame. Then we paint our nails, have dance-offs, and watch chick flicks, which turn us into emotional wrecks. Sometimes, we even prank call people, but we all know those end badly. 

"I know, it's gonna be great!" she chimed, taking out her keys to the house. The door swung open, and we ran up the stairs, and into her bedroom. It had pink walls and white furniture, similar to my room. If you couldn't tell already, we were typical girly girls. There were posters of different musicians and pictures of us and our friends hung up on the walls. I spot a picture of Ricky, Jon, Evan, Francesca, and I from 5th grade, and a small smile crept on my face.

The good ole' days. 

I put down my bag on the floor, and turned to Francesca.

"So what are we going to do first?" I asked. 

"Lets order the pizza so it gets here quick. I'm literally starving right now!" she yelled. Typical Francesca.

She twisted the knob to the door, and walked down the stairs. I exited the bedroom as well, and closed the door shut. I was about to walk down the stairs, but I suddenly got pushed to the wall by a strong figure. 

Oh hell no.

"Hey babe." a voice whispered in my ear. I turned my head to see Ricky, with a smirk bigger than his entire face. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" I growled at him. 

"Well, last time I checked, this was my house, and I live here." he said rolling his eyes. "What are you doing here?" his eyebrow shot up.

"Fridays are our annual sleepover days. You wouldn't know because at this time, you're usually having a wild make out session with one of the cakey faced cheerleaders on the field." I rolled my eyes at Ricky. He sickens me. The fact that I used to be in love with him sickens me even more.

"Oh, I see, you're jealous. Ha, you would think that 7 years of having this would be enough to satisfy you. I guess you just can't get enough of me." he chuckled. I shot him a glare. If looks could kill, he would already be in his death bed.

"Ha ha, very funny. Now what exactly are you doing here?" I raised my eyebrow. 

"The boys are going to be staying the night here, so I took a day off practice so we could hang. I hope we don't get in the way of your girl time. " He smirked. He knew this was going to bother me. But I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of getting on my nerves this time.

Breathe, Charlene, Breathe. Act as if he's just another person. Act as if nothing ever went wrong. Act like your normal, positive self. Don't let him get you. 

"Oh! That's great! Well, if you can excuse me, I have a pizza to order. Have a nice day!" I gave him the fakest-cheesiest-biggest grin I could pull off, and bolted downstairs. 

I ran through the living room, and into the kitchen where I saw Jon, Evan, and Francesca huddled up next to the island, looking at a pizza menu. They were all laughing at something that Jon said. Evan was on the verge of falling on the ground and Francesca was turning as red as a tomato, and had tears in her eyes. I couldn't help but smile when I saw them all laughing together, it reminded me of when we were all best friends. I pretended to clear my throat, and they all turned to me, still laughing. 

"Hey Charlene!" Evan and Jon said in unison, showing off their million-dollar grins. I ran up to them, and gave them both a small hug. Jon rested his chin on my head, since he is 6 foot 1, and even though I wouldn't consider myself the shortest person, I was a midget compared to him. Evan tickled me in his hug, just like he used to, which made me fall on the floor laughing and rubbing my arm. They all laughed in amusement, and helped me up. 

"I miss you guys." I said quietly, barely audible. I smiled to myself, not knowing if they heard it or not.

When Ricky, Francesca, and I were in 1st Grade, Ricky brought over the new boy in class over to our table. His hair was brown, and stuck up into a Mohawk. He was really shy at first, and didn't know anyone in class, since he just moved from Indiana to New York. We found he was really smart, funny, and crazy.  His name was Jonathan Klaasen, and he became one of our best friends. All four of us were inseparable. 

Then, in 2nd Grade, we were at the playground, and we saw a small, light brown haired boy getting picked on by Candy Sanders, the "coolest" girl in the grade with her posse on the bench. I really don't know how you could be "cool" in 2nd Grade, by if anyone was cool, it was Candy. Jon went up to him and helped him out. The group of girls walked away in their glittery outfits from Justice, and left him alone for the rest of the year. The boy was eternally grateful, and he soon became one of our best friends as well. His name was Evan Winters. The five of us spent every second together. Evan and Jon were neighbors, and lived across the street, 1 block away from my house. Ricky and Francesca lived 2 blocks away from my house on the same sidewalk, so we were all connected. All our parents were close friends, and we hung out almost everyday. 

As we got older, we discovered small interests in each other. Ricky and I ended up dating (ugh, it's a long story), and let's just say Jon and Francesca had a "thing" for each other, and it was Ricky and I's job to tease them about it. Evan was just there, teasing all four of us, and making kissy noises whenever he could. 

Ever since our group split into two in 7th Grade, I barely talked to Jon and Evan, since they were always with Ricky. I avoided Ricky at all costs, which meant I never got to talk to them without Ricky annoying the heck out of me. I never had anything against them, it's just that they supported Ricky after the big breakup, and our friendship kind of just broke off. It's okay, I know they have a whole "Bro-Code" thing going on. Its the same for me and Francesca. 

 "We miss you too." Evan said. Jon had a sad smile on his face. 

"Hey, I hope you guys know that I could never ever hate you. I'll always think you guys are great, I can't say the same for Ricky though. I just don't think him and I could be close like we we're before." I said genuinely, staring at both of them. They both nodded, and smiled.

"We could never hate you either. We understand what happened, and just because Ricky and you don't have, erm, the friendliest type of relationship, doesn't mean we feel the same way as him." Jon said, giving a small smile.

"So, we're all okay?" I asked hopefully.

"We're better than ever." 

Just like old times, I thought to myself.

Just like old times.