n0thiingxpers0nal

I made sure my hair was pin-straight, and then perfected my eyeliner and mascara. I put on my favorite pair of jeans and a polo from American Eagle. I checked the time and saw that it was 5:30. I went to my closet and picked up a pair of flip-flops.

The doorbell rang. I ran down the hallway, down the stairs, then walked casually over to the door. Zack was standing there. I opened the door and greeted him.

“Hey,” I said, hoping earlier would be forgotten.
“Hey. Ready?” he said, holding his arm out to me.
“Yeah,” I linked my arm in his and shut the door behind me. “Where are we meeting everyone?”
“Alex’s,” Zack said.

After we got to Alex’s, we piled into a van and drove to a restaurant somewhere in Baltimore where we had a nice view of the harbor. We ate and talked. I found out that Rian had a girlfriend named Kara, and he assured me that we’d probably be good friends.

After dinner, we walked down to the docks where Rian showed the attendant his license. He nodded and let us past so we could go find the boat. We got on this large motorboat and the guys all took what I assumed were their usual seats around the boat. I looked around and saw only one seat left: between Alex and Zack.

Well, this should be interesting… I thought as I went and took the seat between them. They both put their arms around my shoulders, acting as though we’d been friends for years, not hours.

“Is there any left?” Jack asked Rian. Rian lifted up a secret compartment in the boat’s floor and pulled out five beers, handing one to each of the guys, then holding one out to me.
“Uhm, no, thank you.”

The guys all laughed, twisting the tops off and downing their drinks.

“Come on, what’s wrong?” Rian smiled.
“I don’t… drink,” I said.
“We’ll change that,” Jack assured me, and the other guys laughed.
“If you drink it, I’ll forgive you for calling my band shit and insulting Maryland,” Alex bribed.

I bit back a smile as I shook my head slowly from side to side, holding my hand out to take the beer from Rian. They all focused their attention on me as I twisted the cap off.

“So this is your first beer?” Jack’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Drink! Drink! Drink!” Rian chanted.

I brought the bottle up to my lips, but lowered it slightly when I noticed they were all still staring at me.

“What?” Zack asked, taking a swig from his bottle.
“You’re all looking at me!” I whined.
“Yeah… and?”

I rolled my eyes and took a casual sip from the bottle. They erupted into cheers, causing the surrounding people to glance over at us.

“Welcome to our club,” Zack said, hugging me a little tighter to him, then letting go.
“Thanks?” I laughed.
“And I forgive you,” Alex whispered in my ear, causing me to jump.

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and quickly pulled it out, knowing the only person it could be. I glanced down at the caller ID and a huge grin broke across my face.

“Uh, excuse me, guys,” I said off-handedly, climbing out of the boat and walking back down the dock, flipping my phone open. “Hello?”
“Rachel,” I heard the smile in John’s voice.
“Johnny,” I smiled, knowing I was the only person who could get away with calling him that. “I miss you insanely,” I whined.
“I miss you, too- babe,” he added the last part cautiously.
“I need to see you,” I said quietly, slowly lowering myself onto a bench.
“I know,” he sighed. “I need to see you, too.”
“Are we going against everything we said?” I asked him, knowing the answer.
“Yeah,” he said, giving a short laugh.
“I just didn’t think it would be this hard,” I said, my voice still quiet, afraid it would break.

Just then, Alex came walking over and sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“You okay?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“Who’s that?” John asked, his voice going from loving to angry in all of two seconds.
“Nobody,” I quickly assured him.
“It doesn’t sound like nobody-“ and the line went dead.

I turned to face Alex, my eyes blazing.

“Why?” I demanded.
“What?” he was shocked, almost scared, even.
“Why did you interrupt my conversation?”
“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, getting to his feet as I did.

I turned and stomped down the rest of the dock, heading home. I heard footsteps chasing after me and then I felt a hand grip my arm.

“What did I do?” Alex demanded.
“Now my boyfriend thinks I’m cheating on him!” That wasn’t the perfect truth, but it was the easiest explanation for right now.
“Boyfriend?” Alex’s hand fell limply to his side and just stared sadly and hurt after me as I walked away from him, not looking back.
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Sorry it's been so long, guys.
But I really appreciate all of the comments and buzzing on the first two chapters.
So I kinda know where I'm taking this story now.
I definitely have an idea, it just might take a few chapters to get there.
Bleh.
But it's gonna be good- I promise. :]