19Over a month later, and I am BACK! Sorry for the long delay guys. More about that below. Life has been incredibly crazy though. So here's the "long awaited" chapter four. I hope you enjoy. Please review. Here begins the somewhat longer chapters, hopefully! Enjoy! See you at the bottom.
I heard you're doing OK
But I want you to know
I'm addict
I'm addicted to you
I'm trying to forget that
I'm addicted to you
But I want it and I need it
I'm addicted to you
-Simple Plan, Addicted
A week and one day later, a Tuesday, Reese was at her locker when Natalia came rushing towards her. She separated her curly pony tail and pulled it tighter, looking for bumps in her mirror. When she was satisfied her hair looked alright, she faced her friend. She hated Tuesdays and Thursdays when they were forced to wear the school uniforms. The boys' outfits: slack, white button downs, ties, and blazers were fine. The girls' pleated mid-thigh length skirts, white Oxford shirts, striped ties, and dark blazers made the entire female students look like preppy brats, though. Considering most of them were preppy brats, they didn't care about the uniform itself. They just hated looking like everyone else.
"Hey girl, are you ready fur lunch?" Natalia asked, toying with her red hair in a perfect braid down her back. Reese always had been jealous of her best friend's vibrant hair color.
Reese tapped her black heel on the floor, checking to make sure she had everything, before shutting her locker. "Yeah, let's go. Today's chicken Caesar salad day," she said, turning to head to the large cafeteria.
"So guess what I heard?" Natalia asked as they made their way into the cafeteria.
Reese was careful to avoid Cayden's glance at all costs. "What'd you hear, Nat?" she questioned, heading for the salad bar line. Natalia Fleming was constantly coming up to her with boat loads of new gossip. Unlike three-quarters of the female population at Mason Carter Academy, though, she only shared her finds with Reese.
"Brooklyn Marie is tutoring MCA's 'it' boy," Natalia lowered her voice, shooting a quick look in Cayden and what Reese assumed to be, Brooklyn's, direction.
"Seriously?" Reese held back a snort. Brooklyn was known more for her look, black hair and equally long legs rather than her brain. "How'd she manage that? Even Matthews knows she's completely incapable of using her brain. She's a total airhead."
"No idea," Natalia responded as she paid for her soda and salad. "Weird, isn't it? Equally weird is the Stef and Cayden story that's going around."
Reese rolled her eyes, following her friend to their table. She nodded at their friends before facing Natalia who sat next to her. "Nat, Stef and Cayden have been going out since our freshmen year. Stef was a sophomore, remember?" she said as she unscrewed her iced tea to take a sip. She didn't enjoy the memories that came from freshmen year.
"Rumor is, Steffie broke up with Cayden before she left for college last month," Natalia talked over her friend. "It's no wonder why Cayden is seriously flirting back with all of his admirers all of a sudden. It also explains his staring at you."
Reese's head shot up as she glanced towards his table where he sat with Bryce, Brooklyn, and a group of people. Her eyes connected with his when she realized Nat was right. He was staring at her with a small grin on his face. She scowled, looking back down at her barely eaten salad.
"What are you staring at, Cayden?" Brooklyn pouted from across the cafeteria.
Bryce glanced up as Cayden averted his gaze. "Nothing. Look, Brook, you're great, but I found a new tutor," he said distractedly.
Brooklyn frowned. "You're kidding me, right?" she exclaimed. "We only started yesterday!"
He just took a sip of his drink, unresponsive to Brooklyn's cries. She stood, grabbing her bag. "Whatever, Cayden," she pouted as she walked away, hoping he would call her back. He didn't.
"Yo, man, Brook's not the only one who realized you were staring at Reese Andrews," Bryce whispered so only he could hear.
"Yeah, I know—what?" Cayden snapped out of his daze, glaring at his best friend.
"So, you like Reese?" Bryce asked. "She is hot."
Cayden rolled his eyes, risking another glance in her direction. "For maybe a month I've noticed her," he admitted. "She's definitely gorgeous."
"Wasn't she supposed to be your tutor, dude?"
"She quit. I pissed her off, as usual. I'm totally messing everything up," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Ever since the thing with Stef, you've been single, man, and staring at Reese over there," Bryce pointed out. "I'm thinking you're regretting what happened."
"Shut up," Cayden shot back. "I just need a tutor is all."
"Yeah, okay," Bryce said sarcastically. "You should seriously find one soon, though. And I'm willing to be all of my money it will be her."
That afternoon, Cayden sat in his car after practice. He tried to run his fingers through his still-damp hair from his shower. He couldn't remember what time Reese had dance Tuesdays: five, six, or seven o'clock. He sat outside of the dance studio he knew she went to. It was four forty-five and she still wasn't there. So it wasn't a five o'clock day—go figure. He took out a book for English to read.
He awoke to a loud tapping noise. Reese Andrews stared in, a frustrated look on her face. He threw his unread book aside and quickly got out of the car, shutting the door behind him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked him. "Are you stalking me now?"
"Why would I be stalking you? I was waiting for you to show. What time is it, anyway?" he mumbled, still half asleep.
"Five forty," she said, pulling her jacket tighter. She paused, taking in his disoriented state. "How long have you been here?"
"An hour," he said, embarrassed.
Reese laughed slightly. "Couldn't remember what time I was here on Tuesdays, could you?" she asked. She wasn't surprised. "What are you doing here, though?"
"I had to talk to you," Cayden said slowly.
"Why are you suddenly so obsessed with talking to me? Besides, I've got class so now's probably not a good time," she said quickly. "Besides, I'm still angry with you."
"Seriously, though, Reese's Pieces," Cayden pleaded.
"Two minutes starting now," Reese sighed, crossing her arms across her jacket. She silently cursed herself for giving in.
"I want you to tutor me again," Cayden stated simply.
Reese blinked. "You're kidding, right? Last time didn't work out too well," she reminded him. "Besides, MCA's rumor mill is saying you've got another tutor already. She was just another quick replacement, right?"
Cayden winced. "Yeah, sorry, that was my fault. I need a tutor, though. I told Brooklyn I found someone else," he said. "Come on, Terri .I'll pay you. I'll be on time. I'll be good. I'll do anything. I promise."
She couldn't believe he was begging her. "Don't' make promises you can't keep," Reese rushed on before he could interrupt. "Seriously, Cayden, I don't trust you and your empty promises."
Cayden wanted to open his mouth to protest but he knew better. He nodded his head instead.
Reese sighed, staring in the distance slightly. "Fine, I'm giving you one more chance. If you mess this up, don't even bother coming near me again," she broke down.
"Thanks, awesome!" Cayden exclaimed, smiling and looking like a little boy on Christmas day.
"Same schedule as before. I need to get inside," she motioned to the door.
"Thanks, Reese, I owe you one," Cayden winked as he got into his expensive car.
Reese just nodded and went inside to warm up for dance practice. All throughout the class, she could barely concentrate. Her mind was on how gorgeous Cayden Matthews was when he was pleading and begging for something.
A/N: Hey, so yeah.. Over a month late, here's chapter four. Hopefully you guys enjoyed? Things are going to be getting interesting soon! I have to work on writing some more. I haven't written in weeks, and finally sat down to write chapter eleven of A Different Side last night. So tonight is Fearless's night. Hopefully I can get at least one solid chapter down. I'm going to try to update every other weekend. Everything depends on my school work. I've been so busy with school, work, and life. But mostly the first two. I saw the Carter Twins last Sunday, which was the BEST night of my life. Anyways. The chapters WILL start getting longer after this. This one starts the "length brigade." I think... Double checking.. Yeah, but chapter seven and eight are going to be the longest so far.
Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you all are still reading.
Review Replies Reviewers are LOVED! (If I don't get everyone, I'm incredibly sorry!)
CoralKay Sorry for the delay. Thanks for reviewing! If you're still reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Reese is definitely an interesting character. I like her, myself.
Alien-Reid Hahaha, thank you SO much! So, so, so much! You didn't miss anything. All will be explained in due time. I'm happy you were able to pick up on the subtle hints. But here's chapter four, and if you're still reading, I hope you enjoy.
LaMeO1 Like I said, everything will be explained. Hehe. Cayden can be rude, yes. But I still love him. Thanks for reviewing, and for reading!
Hahaha, you'll see! I promise! I love hockey, and those aren't stupid questions. I'll definitely be using them in the future. Thank you, and I hope you're still reading. If you are, enjoy the subtle hints in this chapter, too. Hehe.
So, I hope that is everyone. Thanks all for reviewing. It means the world to me. Please, review if you can. I would love you so much. A Different Side will be updated either tomorrow or next weekend, not sure yet. Also, continue to ask questions about the characters. You'll see why soon.
Disclaimer I do not own Simple Plan's lyrics. (The song doesn't really go with the chapter too well. I was going to use Obsessed by Mariah Carey, but I changed my mind last minute.