All Falls Down

3 | fools

Oh, our lives don't collide, I'm aware of this

The differences and impulses and your obsession with

The little things you like stick, and I like aerosol

Don't give a fuck, not giving up, I still want it all

3

The last strand of my sanity was stretched too tight. I was going to snap. It was coming. Anytime time now.

I forced myself to take a deep breath and reminded myself that Alice was a friend. A friend.

But damn God the girl could talk.

'Alice,' I said, trying to gain her attention.

She looked at me and something in my expression must have tipped her off because her eyes softened. 'Oh, Cara, I am so sorry,' she said. And before I could tell her that there was nothing to be sorry about, she forced me into a hug. Seeing no way out, I awkwardly patted her back and waited it out.

When she pulled back a deep frown marred her face. 'I knew it would end up like this. I knew he was a jerk. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before. It's all my fault,' she said and glared across the gym where Wade was playing basketball.

I furrowed my eyebrows. 'What are you talking about?' I asked.

She was the seventh person that day to come up to me and tell me how sorry they were that Wade and I had broken up. I was so tired of telling them that no, we were still together that I had stopped after the fourth person, letting them think what they wanted to. At least, it was better than the other stuff some people were saying about me. Deliberately raising their voices when I was passing by or was in the vicinity so I could hear them calling me names.

'About how brutally Wade dumped you. If only I had-'

'Wait, what?' I cut her off, an incredulous expression on my face. 'He dumped me?' This was news to me.

She put her hand over her mouth to muffle her gasp. 'Oh, poor thing. You didn't even know?' she looked horrified.

I didn't know if I should laugh or get annoyed. She shifted closer to me on the bleachers to give me another hug. I raised my hands in front of me before she could squeeze the hell out of me again. 'We are not broken up. We're still together,' I said.

She halted. 'But I saw... I heard...' she trailed off.

'Rumors. They were all rumors. Alice, you of all people should know not to trust what you hear,' I said.

'Oh,' she said.

And then we were both sitting quietly, side-by-side on the mostly empty bleachers, looking at sweaty jocks playing basketball. I could literally feel embarrassment wafting off her in waves, though nothing of the sort showed on her face. She chewed on her lower lip as if in deep thought. I fiddled with the edge of a page of my still opened book.

'Hey, you ready to go?'

We looked up at the voice, both grateful to find something to get out of this awkward silence.

Liam's eyes drifted over to Alice before settling on me.

'Hey, Liam!' Alice jumped up to her feet, her cheerleading skirt twirling around her thighs. She didn't wait for him to answer and turned to look at me. 'So, I'll see you... later,' she smiled brightly at me and hurried down to where other cheerleaders were practicing, her ponytail bouncing behind her.