"You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from this day on." - Pride and Prejudice

My feet thumped lightly in the hallway. I had a bright smile on my face. Everything was coming together, finally. It was about time something went right in my life. Perhaps the world finally decided to pick up a sewing needle and stitch my life back together. Or maybe I was the one fixing it. Maybe I was the one who created all the holes in the first place.

I opened my locker with a smile, pulling my books out and putting my coat up. When I turned around, people were staring at me.

Maybe they weren't used to seeing me so happy anymore. They were expecting to see that gigantic storm cloud still hanging over my head, weighing me down like it's been doing since sophomore year.

Perhaps that cloud has now ventured towards someone else, and is causing them misery instead.

Perhaps I just learned to dance in the rain.

As soon as my locker door shuts, my eyes find Derek. He's twisted away from me but I grin. The sadist in me wants to sneak up behind him and scare him, make his heart jump from within his chest. The sap in me decides that's not necessary. Why would I want to scare someone who I happened to adore? Instead I'd just annoy him about my project. I wanted to rub in as much as I could about how awesome my project was. We'd been teasing each other about it all weekend but he suddenly just stopped.

I see him leaning against his locker with a thick book in his hand and a frown on his face. He doesn't even see me coming. His fingers are wrestling with the lock while he curses the jammed thing, finally yanking it open with as much strength as he could muster.

Geez, I needed to stop laughing at other people's suffering.

"Hey! How's your project going? I can bet it's not going as good as mine!"

He doesn't even look up. He just shoves his book in his locker and storms off, ignoring me completely.

The smile that once graced my features slides off and is quickly replaced by a frown. What the hell was wrong with him? He must be having a bad day.

Derek was never one to ignore somebody. While Autumn wasn't the confrontational type, the rest of us were. We never shied away from things.

Well, I didn't. Not until sophomore year at least.

The thought plagues my mind until lunch. Some people could get over things easily, but not I. I was one of those people who still got haunted late at night by something stupid I did in the third grade. It shouldn't really be shocking that now I was worrying about grumpy Derek and his hormonal attitude this morning. Haden reaches our table with a smile on his face, fingers pushing his hair back as he jumps up and down like an excited school boy.

"They're selling confetti cake in the lunch line so Autumn's going to annoy the lunch ladies until they give her at least ten slices," he says easily, sliding into the seat next to me and I let out a laugh.

That sounded like something Autumn and I would do in sophomore year, before I completely abandoned them.

"Is everything okay with Derek? He kind of blew me off this morning and made me look like a complete idiot."

Haden frowns too at this, scratching his head in confusion.

"He wasn't in first or second hour today. I didn't even know he was at school."

Suddenly I see he and Autumn make an entrance into the cafeteria. Autumn's balancing a bunch of cake slices on her tray while Derek looks solemn. His jaw clenched when he saw Haden and I and I frowned in confusion, looking over to Haden to see if he caught it.

"You guys are so lucky to have such an annoying friend like me," Autumn sighs, setting the tray in front of us and bowing.

I laugh and shake my head but Derek keeps his face emotionless, just sitting down and it saying a word.

"You're the best. Nothing annoys me more than when schools don't have good food," Haden grins, grabbing two pieces of cake for himself and sliding one to me.

Something in Derek seems to snap then. His eyes dart up and he finally breaks his silence.

"You wanna know what annoys me? Cheaters. People who lie to their friends , cheat on their long time significant other with a girl that doesn't belong to them, liars. I also hate girls who allow their best friends men to hit on them and probably fuck them too. Just letting you all know, since we're all sharing and shit," he snaps, jaw clenching again as soon as he's finished.

We all stare at him in shock. His body is practically shaking with whatever's making him so angry. He green eyes shift down to the floor in front of him as I look at Haden in confusion again.

Autumn's pouty lips are opened in shock while those frazzled cobalt eyes seem to flicker from him to everyone at the table. Haden has his fork up to his mouth, his cake falling off of it while he gapes at the angry man in front of us.

"Dude.. are you okay?" Haden asks, raising his own eyebrow at Derek's erratic behavior which only seems to make Derek even more upset.

"Why don't you ask Angelina if she was okay since you were with her all throughout this weekend, when you told me you were with Autumn."

Autumn's mouth is even more ajar when she turns to face Haden and I, her normally pale cheeks suddenly becoming tinged with a soft pink color. For a moment I could've sworn she was about to cry. She's a sensitive girl, always has been.

It feels like my lungs have been punctured and I can't even breathe. I look back at Haden to find him already looking back at me with the same panic.

"You two were together? Haden, you told me you were hanging with Derek," Autumn's voice is full of hurt as her eyes still dart between the two of us before finally landing on me.

Shame and dread feels my entire being and I can't even seem to find my voice to defend myself. Haden can't find his either apparently from the look on his paling face.

"Is this why you didn't want to make me your girlfriend officially? It all makes sense now, oh God."

Tears start to fill her eyes as Haden shakes his head rapidly.

Autumn presses her quivering lips together and presses her hand to her mouth while Haden closes his eyes shut, muttering curse words over and over.

"Seems like they've both been lying to us," Derek murmurs, stabbing his meat loaf with his fork impatiently. His glaring eyes coming back up to meet mine.

He ticks his jaw, giving me a grin. He was pleased with himself for this when he had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"Autumn-" I start.

"I don't think she has anything to say to you. You should leave our table."

Now it's my eyebrows furrowing and anger starting to spread through me. Geez, I guess my storm cloud was back. At least the brief moment of sun I had felt nice.

"I've had enough of you, Derek. This was my fucking table to begin with! I never asked either one of you to come here and invade my fucking space. I never asked any of you to start talking to me again, I never even asked you to glance at me. You did that all on your own. I don't know why you insist on being so evil to me, making up lies about me when you don't even know the fucking truth yourself." The temper in me rises and only continues to climb as I clench my fist.

"You know, people were right with what they said about you. You are some fucking crazy drug addict!"

The confetti cake that was once in front of me now goes directly into Derek's face as angry tears start to trickle down my face.

Sprinkles and frosting stick to his skin while tears and anger stick to mine.

Haden's standing up and looking at Derek in absolute horror while Autumn looks shocked too. We have somehow managed to draw the attention of the entire lunch room.

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Haden snaps, looking at Derek in shock as he wipes the confetti cake from his body.

"Oh, look at you defending your little mistress," Derek says, standing to his own feet.

Haden and Derek are now feet apart and it looks like they're minutes away from fighting. I've had enough. Enough of the lies, enough of the secrets, enough of everything.

If this was what secrets caused me, I was better off just telling the truth.

"You fucking idiot!" I scream," I have ce-"

"I was planning on asking Autumn out and to homecoming," Haden interrupts calmly, silencing me with one look.

"Angelina had been helping me and I don't know what you think you saw, but we were at the store to get supplies for that and anxiety medicine to help me actually do it," Haden lies easily and saves me from destroying myself but I can't even bare to shoot him a thankful look.

I'm too busy wiping the angry tears around my face and shaking with the absolute fury I feel. Derek's jaw falls slack before he looks between the two of us.

Autumn looks crestfallen as she stands there with her arms open. Her mouth falls open and close like she wants to say something to Haden and I but doesn't know what to say.

"B-but I, the hug," Derek stutters, his cheeks and face turning a red color.

My eyes roll. Oh, yeah. In what world does a hug automatically mean people are sleeping around? Get a grip.

"She was simply assuring me it was going to be okay because I was scared shitless. Guess there's no reason to be scared now because it's all ruined thanks to you," Haden finished, taking a few steps away from Derek's body that's becoming more and more deflated.

Although we were there to pick up my medicine since he was helping me, we were truly planning a cute way for Haden to ask Autumn out. What he said wasn't entirely a lie.

Haden brushes past Autumn when she tries to speak to him and say something to him. The metal doors slam loudly behind him after he storms off with Autumn chasing after him.

I stand there rooted to the ground, my silent tears still falling since I've stopped wiping them a minute ago.

"Angel, I-"

"Go fuck yourself," I spit before storming out myself.

Good to know how he really felt about me this whole time. Boy was I played. Played straight like a fool. But as they always say, people's true feeling always come out.

The truth in general always comes out.

HEY GUYS! So it was my birthday on Tuesday so if I wasn't as active on wattpad, that's why. I was celebrating. Here are some looks.

Anyways, have a good one you all. Thanks for all the birthday love.

This chapter got crazy af but idk about you, but I adore crazy over here.

In a way, Derek is such a douche of a character but he's still my baby. Character development doesn't happen over night.

Thanks for reading, voting, and commenting! I love you all.

Xoxo,

Aarika.

Ps: have I mentioned that I love you?