The Truth about Heather (gxg)

22 💕

Heather ended up following me into the house and I realised she no longer had Drew's sweatshirt.

"I didn't need it," she explained, "I wasn't cold anymore."

"No?" I asked her.

"No. I was worried about you, though," she told me, as she moved a hand through her beautiful blonde curls.

In the to me that I had spent over-imagining what was going to happen between Drew and I, I hadn't imagined that something like this would happen that would render my plans to tell him how I felt entirely useless.

"Zoe?" Heather asked me, "It seems as though you're away with the fairies again," she told me.

"I'm fine," I said.

"You know that I care about you and you don't have to hide anything from me, right?" she asked.

"Okay," I said, as I took a deep breath.

"Okay?" she asked me.

"I like Drew," I whispered.

As I said that, Drew walked back indoors and stopped in his tracks.

"I don't feel well, I think I should go home," I said and turned on my heel before quickly walking in the other direction.

Drew followed after me and grabbed my wrist in his hand.

"Zoe, please don't just leave," Drew said.

"I...I know that you like her and I didn't want to ruin everything but-" I cut off.

Drew's eyes flickered with concern and I hated the fact that I had been the cause of all of this. I knew that I needed to stop criticising myself, though. At least I had now told him the truth, even if it had been accidental.

"We will be back in a second, guys," Drew said confidently, as he began to walk upstairs and I followed him until we got to his room.

Once we were stood there, Drew turned back to me with an expression of curiosity upon his face.

"How long have you felt like this?" he asked me.

"A while," I said.

"Define a while," he replied.

I sighed.

"Several months," I replied.

Drew's face was expressive of his bewilderment. I couldn't believe that he hadn't caught on to any of this sooner. I had thought that my feelings for him had been obvious but maybe Drew was as oblivious as I could be at times.

"I...Zoe, you're my best friend. You should have been able to trust me," he said.

"I do trust you. I didn't know how you would react, though. I kept over-thinking it," I told him.

"Well, that doesn't surprise me," he said.

I tucked some hair behind my ear a little anxiously.

"I know you like Heather, Drew. It's okay," I said.

"Actually, it's not that simple," he told me.

I felt my eyebrows crease together slightly.

"Why not? We can still be friends no matter what happens, right?" I asked him.

"Right. That's not the point rhat i was trying to make here, though," he told me.

I felt one of my eyebrows raise, in my inquisitiveness.

"Its not that simple because she doesn't like me back. Of course, I didn't get it when she told me. I mean, have you seen me?" Drew asked.

I released a gentle laugh at that question. I had to admire his confidence even if it did come across as being a little arrogant at times.

"That being said, it's okay," Drew said.

I nodded in agreement, as I fixed him with a sympathetic expression.

"I'll get through it...and Zoe?" he asked.

"Yeah?" I replied, feeling my breath catch a little.

"I'm going to be heading off to university soon  enough and you might be too. We both deserve an opportunity to see what the world has out there for us. I will always be your friend but I think we both need the courage to not be afraid to pursue new things. I just don't want us to become comfortable with what we have and settle, you know?" he asked me.

I nodded in understanding, even if what he was saying did slightly hurt. Perhaps Drew was right. Perhaps the two of us both simply needed a chance to move on past this and find new people and new experiences. I was only eighteen and as much as I liked Drew, that didn't mean that he had to be the one. I could imagine hundreds of different opportunities in the future. Now, I had to simply be brave enough to pursue them.

"I know, Drew," I replied.

"Good. Now, don't be so sad. I'm never going to not be your best friend, Zoe. I will always be here for you," he told me.

"Likewise, Drew," I said.

Drew stepped forward then and brought me into a hug. Although my heart hurt, I felt as though I had gained some sort of closure. I felt as though I didn't have to keep worrying about all of this anymore because it was out in the open, now.

"I hope you don't mind the fact that I'm probably going to like you for a while," I told him, as we took a step back from the hug. I looked into his green eyes and found a warmth there. That was enough to tell me that Drew and I were still on good terms even with what I had said to him.

"I don't mind. You can't help the way that you feel," he told me, with a kind smile that reassured me that no matter what happened, the two of us would always be alright.

"Thank you," I said.

"Now, should the two of us make our way downstairs to let the others know we didn't end up crying or killing one another?" Drew asked, with a soft laugh.

"Sure," I said, as I smiled back at him.

The two of us made our way back downstairs and Heather looked between the two of us with some concern.

"Let's throw this movie on!" Drew said, as he made his way into the living room to start up the latest Marvel movie.

Heather moved over to stand beside me.

"I should have known that you liked him. I am so sorry, Zoe," she told me.

"Don't be. Drew and I discussed it and the two of us know that we will always be friends. The same goes for you and I," I reassured her.

Heather's expression seemed to become one of relief, then. The two of us soon made our way into the living room to watch the movie with the two guys.

I knew that I would be alright. I simply had to adapt to the new situation. Drew and I would be best friends and while a part of me wished for more, I knew that I was content with that. As long as Drew was a part of my life, everything would be alright.

Besides, I had Heather now, too. I had many people  that I could trust to be my friends and perhaps for a little while at least, friendship was all I truly needed.