Chapter 2- Aftermath

*Andrew's POV*

The drumming of my fingertips against the steering wheel was interrupted by the sound of glass shattering from inside Shailene's house. I found myself at her doorstep at no time.I thoughtlessly opened the door, it wasn't locked.

'Sharon just get out of my house now!' Her dad was pissed.

I wondered if she told him about us but after a moment I figured it may be something personal.

But Sharon?

Shay took one last look at her father and he didn't even notice me standing in the doorway. Shay pushed past me to get out the house and sat on the front steps, head on her knees. I stepped out and sat next to her, our legs in contact.

I draped my left arm around her, while running the other through her hair. We remained like that for a few minutes until she raised her head up slowly.

'Wait, you weren't crying?' I asked the obvious.

'Do you want me to?' She replied blandly as she forced a smile to play it all off lightly. That's Shay, innocent and 'carefree'.

'Are you okay though? We can chill in your room today instead and you can talk to me about what just happened...if you want.' She stared at me with with her eyes scrunched and a hint of a smile as if I was implying---

I attempted to redeem myself quickly. 'I didn't mean...I meant we should just talk...not do touchy things.' She giggled and I was still awaiting an answer. 'Nooo, you had a surprise, it's bothering me, I want to see it asap, let's go. We'll talk later.'

The silence in the car screamed as we drove along. Shay seemed too still, lost in her own world, fingers intertwined on her lap. I decided to kill the silence as I remembered that I still hadn't wished her, so I pulled over the wide one way street. Her curious eyes met mine.

'Sooo...Happy Birthday! Nineteen years of existence, that's pretty old.' There we go, I got that breathtaking smile of hers while she shook her head.

'You're still a lot older than I am, hushh.' Her light brown eyes studied mine for a while and I think she realized what was going through my mind. 'It's okay, he just asked me to stay home to drink Vodka and play cards.'

I fought the urge to laugh at how ridiculous that was. 'You could have stayed to entertain the old man.'

'Oh, I could still go back and do just that you know,' she said with a playful tone. 'Come on, keep driving, your impatience is rubbing off on me.'

'Okay, last thing,' I pressed. 'Sharon. Is that your home name or something? Sharon Haynsworth, suits you though. Is it?' Her glow was suddenly disappearing and her expression was unreadable.

'That's my mother.' Her shallow voice was recognisable.

She had told me about her mother while we had an emotional session right before we got together, seven months ago. When she told me who it was, I instantly realized that I shouldn't have said what I did. 'Oh..I'm sorry babe I-'

She looked out the window, through the glass, avoiding eye contact.

'Andrew, just stop talking, please.' I heard her voice croak, just a bit.

Damn it. Why didn't I just start driving when she told me to? Why did her dad call her Sharon?

She had no idea where we were going, but her cute best friend, Melanie Haynes and I had planned her this huge picnic party. Her head still turned towards the window, admiring her surroundings as always. She loved nature and everything handmade. She thought that material things don't leave much of a heartfelt gesture as simple gifts do, so we decided on the picnic, with a few of her friends.

I pulled into the last parking space left on the lot. Shay still had a lost look on her face and I got out and over to her side of the car and opened her door. She gracefully stepped out. I stared at her. Her long, smooth legs first, then that deep purple dress that clung to her skin which complimented her fair skin so perfectly. Did I mention the curls that hung just a an inch below her shoulders? She looked different, more beautiful than usual.

She looked me in the eye for a brief moment, then looked into the trees, avoiding it again. That was it. I grabbed her arm and pulled her away slightly for the door to close. Then, I stepped up until she was leaned against it.

'Shay...' She didn't look at me. 'I'm sorry for saying that.' She was looking at me now. 'And if you choose to stay right here and stare at me, I can go along with it as long as you wish. I know I'm a nice sight.' Her eyes lit up and she laughed bringing her head closer to mine.

'I'm not mad at you, I was just thinking.'

'About me?' She was still smiling, blushing a bit. Now, our foreheads were touching.

Just as it was about to happen, a scream came out of nowhere, getting closer and closer. Melanie ran past us with her hair and body pushing against the wind, followed by Shay's friends who also became mine as well;

Veronica, the sarcasm queen, her blonde hair tied back revealing her earlobe adorned in different earrings. If our group of friends ever got stranded on an island, she could always sell her earrings to a pirate and we'll get his boat.

Jamie the 'make-up artist', well, so she claimed. Even though we can clearly see that she hasn't earned the title 'artist' just yet.

Christoph, the gay one, I liked to call him. Even though every time I do, Shay gets a bit annoyed for the moment.

Veronica though. She was the bully of the entire group. While Shay was our problem analyst, She would just take everything to a new violent level. You could say she was the bodyguard. 'Guys it's coming!!'

That was the cue. It was the plan. We had to make this memorable for Shay. So admist the hollering, I shouted 'run' and she took off her heels in a flash and followed her 'scared' friends. I was left there, shaking my head, I raced, meeting up with them. When I reached our stopping point, I could see her cheeks raise from the side I could see her face. That smile.

Feeling accomplished, I wrapped my arms around her from behind as we breathed heavily, unsynced, staring and admiring the huge pink blanket with balloons tied, boxing off the area where we could see the cake and baskets and snacks.

But something hit me. I had seen a face on the other side of the park between the balloons. I stared, he stared back. I saw the uninvited person, whom I knew but never thought I would see for the rest of existance.

Reviews

[Jacob Clifford]

I really like the personalities you're giving your characters. And not just when you literally describe them; I mean the subtle clues you give to the characters' natures, through dialogue and body language.

One critique I'll make: throughout the this chapter and earlier ones, some of the sentences were unnecessarily wordy. It's hard to avoid because of how the human brain works. Easier said than done, but keeping things concise in generally better.

[TheBubbleManiac]

The ending. Wow just wow. It makes it such a mystery. This really wants you to keep reading after that ending. So many questions are running through my head.