The Story of Us

by Rebecca Harner

  We finally pulled up to the school. I wanted to keep a low profile, but I knew word traveled fast around there.

  As soon as I got out of the car, kids started surrounding me and asking me questions. “Nash, what happened?” “Nash, I love you.” I managed to push past everyone. What the hell was going on?

  I headed straight to the school’s office. Luckily no one was in there.

  “Hello, Mr. Grier, I’ll get you set up in one second,” the secretary told me. I took the seat farthest away from the window so no one would see me.

  “Okay. So here is your schedule and a map, considering you need to know where your classes are. We have talked to your teachers and since you’ve already passed and completed all your work so far, you will not be required to retake your classes. We do encourage you to review the previous topics to hopefully refresh your memory a little bit.”

  I walked out the door and heads turned in my direction. I ignored the whispers and the looks everyone was giving me. Being famous on Vine must’ve attracted all the ladies. My Vines bring all the ladies to the yard . . . What the hell, Nash? Bad joke, you should be ashamed.

  I finally found my locker and saw a familiar face next to it. “Hey!” I said to her with a smile.

  “Hey,” she said shortly before slamming her locker shut and walking down the hall. Did I do something?

  Violet

  I saw Nash walking in my direction. I turned around quickly before he noticed me. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me.

  “Hey,” I heard him say. He had a huge smile on his face.

  “Hey.” I slammed my locker shut, which turned even more heads, and walked down the hallway. I blocked out everyone around me. It was just me and the clicking of my combat boots on the ground and nothing else. Be strong, Violet, you can do this.

  I managed to make it to first period without having to talk to anybody. I sat next to Annabelle, who was really my only friend at this point. I didn’t say anything to her, just gave her a fake smile.

  She gave me a snotty smile in return and turned her head toward Angelina. Someone was in a mood today.

  The rest of the morning was terrible. Everyone wanted to talk to me and girls wanted to know if Nash was available. I rolled my eyes and pushed past them. He wasn’t Nash Grier the Viner anymore, he was just Nash Grier the human.

  I saw Hayden in the cafeteria and I quickened my pace to reach him and his friends. Once he saw me, he pulled out a seat for me. All of his friends’ eyes were on me.

  “So, how’s it going?” he asked.

  “Perfect!” I said sarcastically. Everyone laughed and I gave them dirty looks. “Girls are already asking me if Nash is free to date. It makes me sick.”

  “You don’t have to act tough around us; we understand, Violet,” one of his friends said. I gave him a slight smile and looked down.

  “Well, if you are available, do you wanna hook up Friday night?” another one said. The whole table went silent.

  “What the fuck, Nathan! One, she is my fucking sister. Two, she still loves Nash, so get over yourself,” Hayden yelled at him.

  The whole room went silent. “Thanks, Hayden.” I sneered at him before pushing out my chair. Of course we were the table farthest away from the door, so I could see everyone looking at me.

  “She still loves him. Wow, she needs to seriously get over him and not be a clingy ex-girlfriend,” I heard people whisper. I stopped walking and turned around. I saw Hayden staring at me only a few feet away.

  “I’m sorry. But it’s the truth, you still love him,” he said. I looked around and everyone was silent and staring at us. Hayden started walking up to me but I pushed him away. He looked at me in shock.

  “Just leave me alone! I’m trying to be strong. I’m trying to move on, Hayden.” I felt the tears start to sting my eyes. My vision was becoming blurry.

  I turned away from him and started walking toward the door. I stopped with my hand on the bar. I couldn’t push it. I felt myself going weak. I closed my eyes and leaned my head forward. I didn’t care if everyone was staring at me. I couldn’t take it. I still loved him and it was killing me inside.

  I felt the door open and I started falling forward. I luckily caught myself before falling on top of whoever was in front of me.

  “Violet, are you okay?” I would always know whom that voice belonged to.

  “I’m fine.” I wiped away my tears and walked right past him. That would shut people up.

  Nash

  I never used to eat lunch in the cafeteria, but maybe the other Nash did. After much contemplation I finally forced myself to push open the doors.

  I was startled at who was standing right there, and she almost fell on top of me. “Violet, are you okay?” I asked her. I could tell she had been crying.

  She wiped her eyes and mumbled that she was fine before pushing past me. Why was she trying to ignore me? I looked in the cafeteria and everyone was staring at me. What just happened?!

  There was a very tall and strong-looking guy walking toward me, with an angry look on his face. He stopped when he was right in front of me. He looked familiar.

  He pushed past me as well and ran down the hallway where Violet went.

  Everyone started motioning me to sit near them, but there was one girl in particular who stood out to me. Annabelle.

  Nash

  “Hey, Nash!” She welcomed me to her table and had a huge smile on her face.

  I smiled back and said hi to everyone else at the table. I looked back over at Annabelle and she was staring at me. I felt her hand touch my thigh and my heart start to beat faster. She began talking to her friends and looked quite pleased with herself.

  I secretly had a crush on Annabelle for a very long time. I didn’t even know if she knew that I existed. She never used to talk to me and I never had enough courage to talk to her.

  “Nash!” She nudged me.

  “Huh?” I must have been zoning out because everyone was staring at me.

  “What do you want to do Friday night?” she asked me.

  “Umm . . . do you want to go to the movies, with me?” I slowly asked her.

  I saw a big smile form again on her face. She reached down and grabbed my hand to hold it. “I would love to, Nash.” She then leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. I felt a blush creep up on my cheeks and I looked down quickly to hide it.

  Hayden

  I felt bad for Violet, I really did. I knew how strong she was trying to be. She had to be strong, not only for herself but for her fans and Nash’s. She was practically taking care of them for him.

  I saw her stop at the door and I knew her heart was breaking inside. All of a sudden the door swung open, and speak of the devil, it was the little blue-eyed boy himself. She pushed past him, which surprised a lot of people, while he just stood there in shock.

  I started walking up to him and I could sense the fear in his eyes. Man, he was really acting like a lost puppy. I pushed past him and bolted down the hallway after Violet.

  After turning down another hallway, I saw her sitting on a bench with her hand over her mouth. She was staring at something on her phone. I sat next to her, and when she saw me she tried to put it away but I grabbed it from her.

  It was a text message from a girl named Angelina. It had a picture of Annabelle’s hand on Nash’s thigh while she kissed him on the cheek. Underneath, Angelina had written, “Look who asked Annabelle out on a date Friday night. :)”

  Violet had sad eyes and was just staring off into space. She bolted up when the bell rang. “Do you want to go home?” I asked her.

  She shook her head. “I don’t want people to think I’m a baby or a coward, Hayden.” She grabbed her bag and headed down the hallway to her next class.

  A couple of seconds later, I lost her in the crowd of kids coming down the hallway. I started
heading down the hallway when I heard a loud shriek of annoying laughter. Turning my head, I saw where it was coming from.

  “What the hell is your problem?” I asked Annabelle as I walked up to her.

  “Do I know you, handsome?” She was trying to act all flirty with me and grabbed my hand. I pulled it away from her.

  “You were a terrible friend to Violet.” I sneered at her.

  “I don’t care about her. I let go of Nash once, and I’ve regretted it to this day. This is my only chance to get him back. But . . .” She started moving her hand down my chest, until I swatted it away. “You seem rough. Why don’t you call me sometime.” She winked at me.

  “Like I ever would go for a whore like you. Just stop hurting my sister, got it?” I told her. She look like the wind had been knocked out of her. Her friends huffed and grabbed Annabelle’s hand as they pulled her away.

  I gave her a satisfied smile before walking to my locker. I was pretty pleased with myself. From what I’d already heard about her, it was about time someone said it to her face.

  Annabelle

  He was her brother! Oh my gosh. I flirted with him and they were related! I can’t believe I ever pretended to be friends with her. Well, I only did it to get Nash back, and it looked like I just did.

  Violet

  I managed to slip into my seat seconds before the bell rang. That was close.

  “Hello, Mr. Grier. Your seat is directly behind Ms. Burns,” I heard the teacher announce. I looked up and saw Nash walking toward me. He gave me a small smile before sitting down.

  “Look . . .” I said, while turning around to face him. “I’m sorry for being rude to you earlier. People have really been getting on my nerves.”

  He looked up at me with his soft eyes. Oh, how I missed those blue eyes. I missed him so much.

  “It’s okay. I can’t imagine how much stuff is going through that head of yours.” We both laughed a little bit. “Do you want to just start over?” he asked.

  “I would love to. Hello, my name is Violet.” I smiled and held out my hand to him. He shook it and seemed glad. I felt that bolt of sparks when we touched. Hadn’t felt them in a long time.

  “It’s very nice to meet you, Violet. My name is Nash Grier.” We both started laughing again until the teacher gave us the look. We all knew what that look was.

  After an hour and a half of complete torture, the bell finally rang. I stood up and quickly gathered my things. I noticed Nash pulling out his map to find his next class.

  I grabbed the map from him. “We have next period together, too,” I told him. He flashed me a smile and let me lead him down the hallway.

  It was nice being able to talk to him again, but it sure hurt. It hurt so much.

  He was going to sit next to me, but one of Ryder’s friends scooted over and took his seat. Ever since Ryder was switched to another class, these kids have been pestering me. Nash used to stand up for me, but now I was an open target.

  “Hey, Violet,” one of them said to me, all flirty. I didn’t even bother to try to remember their names. He winked at me and blew me a kiss. I pretended to catch it but instead showed them who was number one with my middle finger.

  He and his buddies started to chuckle. He scooted closer to me and whispered in my ear, “You’re mine now. No more Nash to protect you this time.”

  I pushed him away while looking over his head at Nash. He was right. Nash wasn’t going to protect me. I turned back and noticed he had a smirk on his face. Perfect, just perfect.

  Violet

  I could not get out of school fast enough. I was so ready to go home and just sit around for the rest of the day.

  I didn’t talk to Nash for the rest of the school day, which actually didn’t bother me too much. I felt better when he wasn’t around because then I didn’t think about him too much. My heart hurt so much when he was around, but I had to be strong.

  I could see Ryder’s friends looking at me almost the entire class period. When that bell rang, I bolted out of the room before half the kids even stood up.

  “Hey,” my brother said when I hopped in the car. I ignored him and fastened my seat belt. “Let’s go,” I told him without even looking at him.

  “No, we need to talk.” He pulled the keys out of the ignition and undid his seat belt. “I’m sorry for what happened at lunch. I just got really mad at Nathan because he and the rest of the assholes at the school want to hook up with you already. I hear them talking about you in class and I just want to reach over and strangle them.” He clenched his fists and pounded them into the steering wheel.

  “It’s okay,” I told him. “You were right anyway. I’m still madly in love with Nash and I just lost him to Annabelle.”

  “I know. I just thought if maybe the guys at our school knew that you still love him, they would stop talking about you. Do you know how it is, hearing guys talk about you right next to me?” He shook his head and chuckled.

  “You don’t have to worry about them, Hayden.” I reached over and gave him a hug. “Now let’s go home and eat!”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” He put the key back in the ignition and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. We listened to the radio, like always, on the way home but it was still silent. Neither of us sang along or belted out the lyrics at the top of our lungs.

  “Do you think about that night?” I asked him as I turned down the radio.

  “Every time I drive you anywhere,” he said quietly.

  I looked down. “It’s amazing how much can happen in a split second.”

  “Tell me about it.” We pulled into our driveway and parked behind our mom’s car. “I wonder when Dad is coming home,” Hayden said as we stepped out of the car.

  “Wasn’t Mom supposed to pick him up from the airport today?” I asked him. He just looked at me and shrugged.

  “Mommy!” I yelled when I opened the door. Nothing, just silence. I looked over at Hayden, who looked just as confused as I was.

  “Mom, we’re home,” Hayden yelled. Still nothing. A pause, then bang! We both heard a loud crash like a piece of glass had fallen and shattered onto the floor.

  “Mom!” I yelled as I bolted up the steps. I found her sitting up against the wall curled in a ball. She was sobbing uncontrollably. I ran up to her and held her in my arms. “It’s okay. We are right here,” I told her.

  I looked up at Hayden, who was bent over looking at something on the ground. He slowly picked up a broken picture. It was my parents’ wedding picture.

  “It’s over. Your dad and I are done. He went back to that woman in Maryland this weekend. I should’ve known better than to trust him so soon.” I held her tight while she cried into my shoulder.

  She cried in my arms for another five minutes before she pulled herself together. She managed to stand up and ripped the picture out of my brother’s hands. She slammed it into the trash can.

  “He is coming home tomorrow. I already got the divorce papers and he is going to sign them. Then we are leaving this weekend and I’m not coming back.”

  “What!?” Hayden and I yelled.

  “We are going to move back home. Nobody moved into our house so we still have it,” she told us.

  “What about our life here?” I asked her. What about Nash?

  “You two aren’t eighteen yet, so I can choose where you two live. I don’t want any complaining either.” She turned around and slammed the bathroom door.

  I turned to Hayden, whose jaw had dropped to the floor. “What about Nash?” I asked him, already in tears.

  “It’s okay. Maybe this is what you need.” He grabbed me and petted my head.

  “I can’t believe all this.” I pulled away and walked into my room, slamming my door shut. I grabbed my phone and loaded up Twitter.

  @LovelyViolet:

  Pennsylvania, we shall
meet again.

  I posted. Instantly I got hundreds of retweets, favorites, and comments. God, now people were going to think that I was running away from my problems.

  I fell onto my bed and put the pillow over my face as I screamed. I. Hate. My. Life.

  Violet

  I’d had to deal with this feeling many times before. Walking down your school’s hallway, knowing that it was probably the last time you would ever see these people. I didn’t have many friends anyway, so I wasn’t depressed about them. I was depressed about Nash.

  I hadn’t told him that I was leaving the next day, and the rest of his family didn’t know either. I wasn’t ready to leave him, though. Even though he was living a completely different life without me, I was still hopelessly in love with him. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to experience this love for anyone except him, the boy with the blue eyes.

  I dropped off the rest of my papers and books at the school’s office. The secretary was extremely nice to me, probably because I was acting really depressed.

  “I hope you have a fantastic time at your old school. Come visit us sometime,” she told me through her smile. I waved good-bye to her and headed out the door.

  Nobody had been talking to me, they weren’t even whispering about me when I walked down the halls. It was nice knowing that I wasn’t the center of attention anymore. The guys still stared at me, though.

  I hopped into Hayden’s car while he said good-bye to a couple of his friends. They bent down and waved good-bye to me as Hayden climbed in.

  “Ready?” he asked. I nodded and watched the school fade away into the rearview mirror.

  Nash

  I was more than excited to go out with Annabelle. We had been flirting with each other all week and I decided I was finally going to ask her out. I really liked her. She seemed kind of snotty to other people, but she was really sweet and nice to me.

  When school ended I dashed down the hall to my locker. I saw Violet leaving hers and she looked really sad. I wondered what was wrong with her. Oh, well. I had more important things to think about.