The Heaven I Found In Hell

by Ashley Andrews

  Even though I may seem ignorant at times

  …it's just because of this poem I’m trying to come up with more rhymes

  P.S.: Meet me at the soccer field tomorrow…I'll be there for practice.

  P.P.S.: Please answer my question. : -)

  "Answer his question!" I said excitedly, as I tapped my hands on her shoulders. She sat herself on the couch, apparently still in a state of shock, before she reread the poem.

  "What's the question?" Riley asked, looking up at Kendra and me.

  Kendra was giggling madly, and so was I, while Riley was trying desperately to hide the blush appearing on each cheek. I somehow realized she didn't get the whole point of the poem. The first letter of each word was already written in a very thick way using a 0.7 sign pen!

  Couldn't she get it?

  "You're so slow; Riles…read only the first letter of each line."

  D

  a

  n

  c

  e

  W

  i

  t

  h

  M

  e.

  "This could have been written by anyone…" Riley said, looking contemplative before going through the poem for the third time.

  She looked extremely happy by the way her lips curved up when she realized someone was asking her to the dance. I badly wanted to tell her already who gave it, but decided not to since it would ruin the element of surprise. Her eyes remained glued onto the poem, while Kendra and I exchanged mischievous and excited glances. She knew.

  The both of us told her to just give us her guesses, and after a few names, she finally got it right.

  "Could it be Anthony?"

  Kendra and I shrugged her shoulders, before I told her, "I dunno. You'll just have to find out tomorrow."

  * * *

  Chapter 10: His, Her, Their Crazy Hearts

  * * *

  "Are you sure you did these all by yourself?" Cindy asked me with a suspicious glance.

  It was ten minutes before the bell rang for our first period, and I was just in time to catch her walk out of her dorm with her roommate, Kendra, walking beside her. I handed her the piece of paper, complete with the solutions I did last night. From the back pocket of her beige skirt (part of our school uniform), she took out a small square-shaped post-it and compared what was written on it to my answers.

  "Why?" I asked nervously, hoping I did everything right.

  She looked from me to my answer sheet repeatedly, before she answered, "You got them all right…are you sure you didn't cheat?"

  I scratched the back of my head, as the three of us exited the dormitories building. We followed the cobbled pathway, passing other students, small fountains, and decorative plants, before we entered the main building. We headed over to our homerooms which were just beside each other.

  "I asked Nathan for a little help…" I said, probably sounding like I was hiding something.

  Cindy brightened up by the mention of Riley's brother's name, before she started to rant about how Nathan asked her out…and yes…to go with him to the dance. She didn't bother questioning me about the exercises she gave me, since she started babbling about the guy I had somewhat unidentified feelings for. I was listening intently to each word Cindy spoke, while my insides tried to contain the painful feeling that was about to burst if she continued.

  "It was really sweet…you know, the way he asked me…" Cindy said, a blush tinting both her cheeks. She opened the door to her classroom, and left Kendra and I with, "And I'm really happy by the way he ended my night. That make-out session was incredible…and incredible is such an understatement."

  Kendra sent me a discrete look since she knew what I felt for Riley's brother since we had a small conversation about Nathan last night. I acknowledged her glance before turning away; I tried to put on the best smile I could possible make. But it was hard, as my mind went overtime and started to make assumptions…again.

  I had to cough because of what she said. Was she being serious? I thought Nathan and I had an understanding! I thought he wanted to ask her out just so that Cindy wouldn't make any assumptions and so that she'd continue to be my tutor. He didn't tell me he had other reasons…why did he have to keep on lying? A make-out session…? He didn't tell me he was going to stick his damn tongue down her effing throat!

  I seriously wanted to cry or even shout at Nate for playing with my feelings, but good thing I was able to fight back my tears. I left Cindy and Kendra with a small wave of my hand, before I entered my homeroom. This day didn't start out well, and I got the feeling that it was going to end the same way it began. Crappy. I went over to my seat, and slouched down on it, mindlessly eyeing the people that just entered the room. Soon after, I heard the deafening sound of the bell ringing, and the booming voice of our teacher telling us to 'shut up.'

  …

  "Pass your papers in." Mr. Taylor called out to us, as he pounded his fist on his table.

  I slumped back down on my desk, and breathed out a sigh of relief, as I passed my paper over to the front. I'm not being over-confident or anything, but I was sure I wasn't going to fail. Thanks to Cindy, and of course Nathan. I looked over to my side, and saw Nathan with his head bent down, as he scribbled something in his notebook, strands of his hair even touching the desk. He looked hot, and I quickly tried to scrap that thought away. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to know if we were 'okay.' 'Okay' meaning that we were still friends and what happened last night didn't matter. I tried to think of a suitable topic inside my head, and came up with the 'Anthony-Riley' situation. I'm sure we'd both agree that that was an interesting topic, so I decided to go for it, and talk to him.

  "Hey, Anthony's telling Riley today." I said to my seatmate, as I tried to put my best smile, but I really couldn't. It came out fake.

  What happened between us last night replayed over and over again inside my head, and to make matters worse, Cindy had to narrate to Kendra and me her incredible make-out session with Nathan. The make-out session I personally longed to have.

  The brown-haired boy beside me tilted his head to my direction, and sent me a small acknowledging smile. "I know."

  Okay…

  "And Cindy also told me you really asked her out." I said, trying to sound casual. I just hoped I pulled it off.

  I felt my insides contract by the possibility of Cindy and Nathan becoming a couple. I'm sure the whole school would totally love it if they got together, becoming the 'It' couple of Ridgeway, but I certainly disliked the idea of having someone I like admire somebody else; Someone who had almost everything going for her. I swear...Cindy needs to learn how to share. I blinked, bringing me back to my classroom, before I refocused my attention back to my seat mate.

  "Why wouldn't I?" He asked, a small grin spreading across his face.

  Before I could answer his question, Mr. Taylor spoke to the whole class, and told us that we could do whatever we wanted with the remaining fifteen minutes. With that said, I turned my head back to Nate, and wanted to know what was really going on. He was acting different...cocky...but not with the usual arrogant air I was used to. He sounded and acted like he wasn't joking, as if he wanted to prove something to me.

  "And you kissed her." I said in a tone made up of disbelief and slight sadness.

  "It was just a simple peck." He returned, and I felt my heart go at it again.

  He was lying...but why did he have to do that? Even though he thought I didn't know a single thing about what happened between Cindy and him, he should've told me the truth. He was my best friend, and with this happening I was beginning to lose my trust in him, but the worst part was that I wasn't losing my crush on the captain of the soccer team, not at all even. My heart would still beat faster by the sound of his voice, and I was definitely, positively, absolutely sure that what he felt towards me was incomparable to what I felt for him. I was just one of his friends.

  "She said you guys made-out." I said, trying to maintain a calm voice.<
br />
  He stiffened at what I said, before he looked away, opposite my direction. He gazed out the window, but still carried on with our conversation. I crossed my arms, and rested them on the desk, as I put my head over my clasped hands.

  "Fine, we made out…what's the big deal?" He said in a smug tone. I didn't like the way he said things, and I also disapproved of the idea of him lying to me. A simple peck? I had no idea that tongue- tango-ing was synonymous to a peck!

  I shook my head, but of course he didn't see that. He still wasn't looking at me. I exhaled deeply, before I turned my head and faced my seatmate to the right. I just didn't feel like talking to him at the moment. Especially when I got the feeling that he wasn't enjoying our conversation.

  The class ended with Nathan and me ignoring each other, and honestly, I never imagined this incident could happen between us. We were so close, and just because of stupid Cindy all we had had to go down the drain. And I realized something else. I wasn't even thinking about what my quiz grade would end up being. All I thought about was the way Nate and I were treating each other, like absolute poop.

  I stood up from my seat, and exited the classroom with anger and disappointment filling my body. With my books in my hand, and my small bag hanging from my shoulder, I hastily made my way to my next class, not wanting to see anymore of Nathan for the rest of the day, but of course…lunch was lunch…and the group you hung out with, was the group you ate lunch with, so here I was in the cafeteria, seated at my usual table with the rest of my people, with Nathan beside me.

  I took a sip from my bottled water, before I bit into my tuna sandwich. I chewed the bread, tuna, and mayonnaise inside my mouth with etiquette, before I opened my mouth to speak.

  "So Riley…are you nervous?"

  She looked up from her plate of spaghetti, and sent me an indecisive smile. She knew what I was talking about. A couple of us started to whistle as we laughed, while Anthony, trying not to look so obvious, just teased Riley, making the soccer captain of the women's team blush.

  "For all I know…it could be some perverted freshman…" She said, pulling out a disgusted face because of what she said.

  In the middle of our conversation, which was centered on Riley, Cindy had the nerve to start flirting with Nathan, and sadly on my part, the stupid ass was actually returning her playful winks by giving her a one-arm hug. That was supposed to be mine! I shouted inside my head like a little kid.

  Riley and Kendra, who had an idea about my feelings towards Nathan since we had a talk last night about it after we chatted about Riley's admirer, decided to stay quiet, and just send Cindy small friendly smiles. Realizing that hoping for the impossible was definitely impossible, I decided to continue on with the earlier conversation.

  "Do you think a perverted freshman would make such a sweet poem?" I asked Riley, adding a smirk on my face.

  Kendra agreed with me by teasing her soccer mate some more. Riley shook her head, the blush still on her face, before she changed the subject of our chat. Not realizing what she had gotten me into, she started asking each and every one of us about whom our partners to the dance would be. And the stupid lovebirds (a.k.a. the perfect ass and the nerdy slut) had to begin by telling the whole group about what they were planning on being.

  "I told Nathan I wanted us to go as 'Romeo and Juliet'." Cindy squealed with excitement, which made me put on a gagging face.

  I crossed my arms over my breasts, and mentally cursed the two for making me so jealous. I looked at Nathan, and immediately wished I hadn't. He looked so damn hot.

  "It's very cliché, but I'll just do it…" Nathan answered very nonchalantly, as his arm wasn't on the blonde's shoulders anymore, but instead, it was around the waist, and my tutor, finding this as the perfect opportunity to display some public signs of affection, leaned her head on Nathan's solid chest. I was seriously getting sick...and jealous.

  "Do you guys already have costumes?" I asked the both of them, while I eyed Nathan who was looking down at his plate. He looked like he was in deep thought, and I hoped he was thinking about how much of an ass he was being.

  "Not yet…but we're planning to go shopping tomorrow. Right, dear?" Cindy asked.

  I felt myself stiffen by the mention of the word 'dear' coming out form Cindy's mouth. Was she taking my place as Nathan's tease-fest partner? Possibly…Nathan simply nodded at Cindy's question, before he decided to brighten up and talk to the guys, but apparently Riley cut his conversation with Anthony and Blake short by calling her knight's name.

  "Hey Anthony!" Riley said in a booming voice, immediately catching Anthony's attention effortlessly.

  The ebony-haired man turned his head to look at Riley, before he gave her a, "What?"

  "Are you trying to go all-Shakespeare on me now?" My best friend asked, sounding a little ignorant of Anthony's nervousness that was enveloping the whole of him.

  Riley waited for Anthony's response, as she looked at him intently. Blake and Cindy who had no idea what Riley was asking Anthony started questioning the two lovebirds-to-be. Maintaining her gaze on the guy that was crazy in love with her, Riley ignored the two nosy people, and continued the interrogation.

  "Did you write the poem?" Riley asked, before she took a bite from her sandwich.

  I kicked her from under the table and sent her a questioning look. She returned my glare with one of her own, and I soon figured out what she was trying to do. She was trying to act intimidating, and it was definitely working. The guy was practically dancing in his seat like he had ants in his pants.

  "What poem?" Anthony returned, pretending to act dumb.

  I turned my head to the side, and hoped to catch Nathan's attention by elbowing him. Slightly taken aback, he jumped in his chair, before he turned to and cocked an eyebrow up at me.

  "Why'd you do that?" He said in a soft whisper, his voice sounding clueless.

  I looked at him with a hard glare, before I turned my head to Anthony's direction. I was trying to show him how edgy his best friend acted.

  "Help him." I then mouthed out.

  "You know what I'm talking about…" Riley said in a matter-of-factly tone.

  Nathan (finally) decided to be a good friend.

  "What are you actually talking about?" The older one of the twin, by a couple of minutes, asked his sister, though he knew everything.

  "This." She said, placing the piece of paper on the table.

  I had to laugh. I didn't expect Riley to really bring the poem, and no offense, the way she was 'acting' was just hilarious. Trying to look threatening, though she pulled it off, wasn't really needed in this situation.

  "What if I didn't write the poem?" Anthony asked looking apathetic, like he always does most of the time.

  It took Riley a few seconds to figure out her one-word answer, and I didn't really think that that kind of answer needed too much thinking. It was just a simple, "Okay..."

  "But what if he did?" Nathan asked immediately, right after Riley talked since he knew that his friend wasn't going to ask what he asked. Anthony, sometimes and no offense could be just a pushover.

  Riley answered quickly.

  "If he did…then I'll be looking forward to the dance." She answered with a small playful smile that I'm sure made Anthony's heart flip and flop a dozen times.

  I had to turn to Nathan, and good thing he was looking back at me with the same Cheshire-cat-like smile I was wearing, and I immediately felt that the annoyance we had towards each other was absolute gone. I rolled my eyes and laughed to myself for such shallowness we had.

  "How did you know it was me?" Anthony asked surprised.

  "So it's you?"

  Before Anthony even got the chance to open his mouth to answer, the bell rang. Very bad timing. I thought. The lot of us stood up immediately, grabbed our bags, and headed our separate ways to our different classes. I left the cafeteria thinking about what was going to happen later. I couldn't wait any longer.

  …

  "You're watchi
ng soccer practice?" Riley asked Cindy and me, while she played with her soccer ball.

  Right after school ended, I found myself being pulled by the wrist and into a bathroom with Cindy being my kidnapper. She immediately asked me for some gossip, specifically about the whole Anthony-liking-Riley thing. I told her that Anthony wrote a poem for Riley, but skipped the part where Nathan and I both helped the guy get the girl of his dreams. I couldn't handle any more drama. What was happening was more than enough already, and I didn't need a catfight with Cindy to make my high school days more memorable.

  "Anything wrong?" I asked Riley, putting on a small innocent smile.