T H R E E

ARABELLA. 

"So what happened last night?" Dex asks as we stride down the hallway and I say, "What happened?"

He gives me a side-eye. "The party?"

"Oh, right. The party. " I mumble, and he tilts his head to my side, "Are you okay? You've been acting weird since I picked you up. "

"I'm alright. I didn't stay long at the party though. " I tell him, and just as he opens his mouth to speak again; Peter appears in front of us with a sad expression on his face as he calls my name, "Arabella. "

I sigh. "What do you want, Peter?"

"Why didn't you respond to any of my texts? And you can't tell me you missed them, Bella. I know you didn't. " He says and I raise my shoulder, "I didn't want to. "

"You didn't want to respond to my texts?" He repeats and I hum. "Does that come as a surprise to you?"

"Are you still mad at me?" He asks and I let out a small laugh. "Why'd I be? Did you do something for me to be mad?"

"Babe. " He drawls and I look away from him. "Can you move? I don't want to be late for class. "

"Ara—" he steps closer, and tries to grab my wrist, and Dex moves in front of me as I step back. "She clearly doesn't want to talk to you, dude. Maybe later. "

Peter looks over his shoulder at me, before he nods and turns to walk away. I watch as his frame disappears out of sight before I step in front of Dex and continue my walk. 

"Do you want to talk about that?" He asks when he catches up with me and I say, "A girl kissed him, and he was going to kiss back if he didn't see me. "

"What?" He exclaims and grabs my arm, stopping my movement. "You're serious?"

"Do I joke about something like that, Dex?"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner? I would have reconstructed that face for him, I swear. " He growls and I shake my head, "No, you won't do that. "

"Yes, I will. Why the fuck would he do something like that?" He argues and I say, "Don't do anything stupid, Dex. He's still my boyfriend, and I just need him to realize what he did wrong. Plus, she went to him first. "

Dex narrows his eyes at me. "Are you being serious?"

"What?"

"You know, sometimes, you truly confuse me, Ara. Are you furious at the boy or not?"

"Of course, I am. " I say. "But he didn't initiate it, so it wasn't entirely his fault. "

"But he was going to go along with it until he saw you?" He points out and when I don't give an answer quick enough, he sighs and says, "I know you like him, babe, but I don't think you should overlook that fact. That means if you weren't there, he'd have kissed the girl and you honestly shouldn't put up with that. "

With a squeeze of my shoulder, he says, "I'll see you in the next class. "

I lift my head. "Where are you going?"

When he gives me a knowing smile, I groan, "Seriously? You're leaving to stalk her again?"

"I just want to see her before class. Don't miss me too much, pumpkin. "

"Fuck off. " I tell him, and he laughs, pressing two fingers to his lips, then to my cheek. 

"You know I hate maths. " I tell him when he starts to pull away and he laughs again, "Oh, baby. You're in your senior year. You'll have to find a way to love maths if you want to graduate. "

"Just leave. " I tell him with a wave, not letting him say another word before I turn away and head in the direction of my first class. 

~

I click decline to another one of Peter's calls as I stop in front of the house. 

"Fuck. " I cuss under my breath when I realize the gate is locked. Raising my phone, I put a call to Ashley and she picks on the second ring. 

"Hey, Arabella. Is everything okay?" Her voice is loud and I have to pull back the phone a bit before I press it back to my ear with my second hand closing the other. "Where are you and why's it so loud?"

"We have that dinner party today. Did you forget?" She says from the other end, the noises getting lesser till her voice becomes clear and there are only the tiny sounds of voices. 

"That's today? I thought it's meant to be tomorrow?" I respond and she chuckles, "It's today, baby. What's wrong? Do you need anything?"

"Yeah. I'm home, and I'm locked outside. "

"What about your key?" She asks and I shake my head. "I didn't bring it with me. "

"Oh, shit. That's trouble, and I don't think it'd be— oh wait, can you stay with Dex till we get back? We'll try to quicken things up for you. " She suggests and I hum, "Alright. You guys have fun. "

"Take care, sweetheart. " And the line disconnects. 

With a sigh, I scroll down my contacts and click on Dex. As I glue the phone to my ear, there's the sound of drizzle, and I furrow my eyes and lift my head to the sky to see darkness has settled over the clouds. 

"You've got to be kidding me. " No longer than the words leave my mouth, a drop falls then another and another, till it starts to pour and I move back against the gate with a hiss. 

"Great. It couldn't get any worse. " I mumble as Dex's line rings continuously before it declines and I lower my phone. Looking down at my legs, the edge of my shoes is covered with dirt, and I sigh, holding a hand over my head as I try Dex's number again. When it drops just like the first time, I turn to the gate and the thought to climb over it crosses my mind but that thought is quick to flush down the drain when the terrible outcomes that could turn out to be my fate register along with it.

Turning away from the gate, I look ahead of me to the house that's only steps away with lights reflecting through the window, and I shake my head. 

"No, Arabella. You'll not go there. You don't even know him that way. " I caution myself as I look away from Alexander's house. 

When the splatters of the rain start to get worse, reaching up to my socks, nearly at the end of my skirt with my hair sticking to the side of my face; I mumble a curse before I run towards the direction I never wanted to. 

I stand in front of the door and blink a few times before I make contact with my knuckles against the door. When I don't receive a response, I repeat the action and I'm about to make the fifth attempt when the door suddenly opens, revealing Alexander with a small towel in his hair and water trickling down his naked chest. 

I gulp as I let my eyes roam down the skin to the towel that hangs low on his hips and I shamelessly glare at the spot, forgetting for a second what I'm here for. 

"What do you want?" His voice brings me out of my thoughts and I lift my head to his face, redness coating my cheeks at the fact that he just watched me watch him. 

"Um, hi—" I start with a nervous smile, only to be distracted by the hand holding the towel over his head, showcasing his biceps. God, why does he looks so good doing that? And what the fuck are you doing, Arabella?

I shake my head twice to gather my thoughts and with a clear of my throat, I start again, "Hi. My family isn't home, I'm locked outside and it's pouring. Do you think I can stay here for a while?" When he doesn't say a word, I'm quick to add "I promise not to disturb you. " 

He remains mute as his eyes roam down my wet body, and I'm suddenly conscious of the black bra peeping through my wet shirt. I close my hands over my chest and when Alexander meets my eyes again, I give him an awkward chuckle. 

He looks behind me to the rain before he takes a step to the side, and I take several deep breaths before I move my leg, allowing myself to step feet into his house.