(1) Talk Me Down: An All Time Low Fanfiction Romance

Chapter 23: Practice (Rian's POV)

        My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, unsure of why Kara's mood had drastically changed. Her light brown hair had fallen in her face as she got out of the car, her voice barely above a whisper as she said she'd see me tomorrow. Was it something I said? Was she going to run off and tell Veronica that I wanted to be her friend?

        I still wasn't sure what made me so interested in her. Maybe it's because she isn't the same way around her friends. Veronica is her own kind of evil; I've known that from personal experience. She's manipulative, bossy, and wicked. I'm sure none of her friends really know why they are supposed to hate me and then guys. She would never ruin her reputation by telling them.

        I pulled around her driveway slowly, the large U-shape allowing me easy access to escape without being seen. I knew that Veronica lvied around here somewhere, her house the size of a castle or something like that. At least, that's what I've been told by my friends who crash her party. I guess that group of six girls lived within ten minutes of each other. It must be a complete nightmare.

        Well, five sixths of a nightmare anyway. Kara seemed like she was hiding behind her friends' personalities, or at least Veronica's, Sophia's, and Ava's. They are magnets for drama, and I'm sure STD's at this point. I have classes with at least five guys that have slept with them. They constantly have new boyfriends and I'm not sure how they keep track of the ones that they are still dating. It's insane how disgusting they are.

        I chuckled to myself about the disease thoughts, rolling my eyes as I turned out of Kara's driveway and finding my way back towards the end of the street. I was driving at a steady twenty miles per hour, sure not to piss off the neighbors.

        I fiddled with the radio, turning it up slightly. I didn't know what kind of music Kara liked, but I didn't bother changing through the stations.

        I continued to barely focus on the road, and I noticed a familiar cocky, asshole in a varsity jacket. You could tell that it was Nolan from a mile-away with his stupid har flipped up on the side like he's some model. I could almost see the smirk on his mouth when he looked down at the face of a blonde that I knew Jack had hooked up with before. He was leaning against the side of his car, and she was draped all over him like a fucking curtain. Her name was something familiar -- Lola? Lauren? No, it was Lindsey.

        His face inched closer to hers until their mouths were touching, his fingers tough over her body. I felt a pang in my chest, realizing exactly what made Kara so upset. She saw her ex-boyfriend of three days making out with some chick that he was only using to have sex.

        My jaw set, and my fingers tightened around the steering wheel as I continued further, willing me to not glance in his direction. How the hell could Nolan do something like that? He knows where Kara lives, if he was decent he would have taken it inside. He didn't need to flaunt her right under Kara's nose.

        I couldn't help but feel guilty that Kara and Nolan broke up. She wouldn't be upset right now if I didn't have to get the job at the shop. She would be with him, doing whatever the hell she did with him before she met me. She would have been alright, and I wouldn't have ruined everything -- oh hell, what am I kidding? It's not my fault Nolan's a prick. Just because she is getting to see it this way sucks, but I couldn't have done anything to stop him from being an asshole.

        I do know that it's not my fault for wanting to be friends with her. I don't know why I even offered, I knew how compicated I was making things by doing it. Veronica will eventually find out, and either kill Kara or ruin her reputation at the school forever. We had almost two years left of school, and that's a long time to be hated by people. Especially with all of the vicious rumors I hear Veronica spread about others. It would tear a quiet, innocent girl like Kara apart.