I was obsessed and refused to give up. Every day I'd call and send a text to Harry that we needed to talk. I apologized in a voicemail and several times by text without leaving too many details. But he never responded again. I had officially blown it with my unofficial boyfriend. Whether on good or bad terms he had to leave to Hawaii, there was nothing I could have done about that. Yet his complete absence and silence led me to believe that I would never hear from him again.

The friend department was chaotic. I wished I could just move somewhere and get a fresh batch of friends and start over, but the mess needed fixing. One way or another something had to get out, so there I was at Pizza Port waiting to have lunch with Izzy and Louis. Neither one knowing of the third party; unsure of the outcome, this was bound to be an interesting reunion.

Louis was the first to show up and that allowed for some mending ends to our unfinished conversation last week. I tried to play it off like it was a misunderstanding from my behalf and things were fine now. But he stated that he was finally over Izzy and never going back. I had thought long and hard about showing him the picture I took of her, still that would make me out to be a jerk. So I had another plan up my sleeve; still jerk-like only more subtle.

"So guess what? I finally got my car, my grandparents brought it."

"Really, that's awesome!" He said as his eyes darted towards the entrance.

Alas, Miss Elizabeth decided to join us; ever so calm and pleasantly surprised by my guest. I watched them like a hawk; their body language, causal glances and awkward silences. I swore the minute I saw something sketchy I would burst out an "Aha!" In spite of the tension in the air, this table was rather dull. I decided to stir things up a bit and reminisce of the good old days.

"Hey you know what I just remembered Izzy, that night I met my friend. You disappeared several times and I caught you clinging on to a different guy. I tell you I couldn't keep up with her Louis, but that's what you get for being quite the hottie. I never have that problem, which is why one of my favorite hobbies is people watching," I rambled.

Neither one found my comment amusing as I did. They probably wondered if I was complimenting or insulting Izzy but by this point I'd hoped to raise some stimulating topics.

"When was that?" Louis asked somewhat serious.

"Oh that was soo long ago. Long before anything had started," Izzy interrupted.

Hmmm, long before what had started Izzy? What did that have to do with anything? I thought I was the only random babbler here. I could tell Izzy was beginning to feel uncomfortable, flashing her fake smiles. It's not like she could tell me to shut up, that would imply that we had a secret to keep from Louis; the secret of her many hookups during their on and off relationship. Yup, she was trying to remain cool for my sake, not wanting to suspect her secret from me.

Poor Louis was caught in the middle of this. As our conversation escalated with juicy facts about the many dates she had been on these past few months; I proudly exploited my friend's talent with the guys. Soon Louishad finally realized of her unfaithful patterns. And while he also kept silent about me already knowing, I couldn't tell if he would thank me or hate me later.

But what could Izzy say? Would she be angry at me for uncovering her flirtatious behavior? Didn't Louis already know the kind of girl he was getting involved with? Would she buy my story if I said that I admired her way with the guys and had to make it the center of conversation? Either way our friendship was on the very brink of extinction and I had little faith of us coming out this peaceably.

"I have to go" Louis excused himself. He was having a hard time holding his feelings in, looking very upset and hurt.

Izzy refused to look me in the eyes and jumped to run after him. A smile of evil satisfaction slithered across my face. Louis knew the truth about Izzy and now I did too. I began to weigh our friendship, was it worth trying to salvage? Had she proven to be a worthy friend aside from dating my crush behind my back? I wasn't sticking around to listen to her side.

I left for my car and saw them arguing in the parking lot. Why did she even care to run after him if they had broken up? Why did she care if he knew she had cheated on him? So many questions yet again, but it wasn't my problem. I'mjust the messenger. Izzy looked at me as I drove off, whether she knew that I was aware of their fling or not, this would be the first day I'd consider her a foe.

---

The phone calls had died down. Neither Louis nor Elizabeth had called me in a while and finally Niall had quit too; probably because he found out. But since they left me alone, I realized I was truly alone. I had my job at the ice cream shop to help distract me; still there were only so many shifts I could pick up. My mom began poking me with the questions about Izzy and why we weren't hanging out much. I told her we were just into different things.

I had found little use for my phone now, other than an alarm clock. Sometimes I just wanted to bash it against the wall or drop it in the toilet. But that would be a waste. I also started a new tradition for my Saturday nights; it was called Lifetime, MTV, and Netflix. These were my new companions while mom still went out with her girlfriends. Many times shed want to stay home with me but I looked forward to this mind-numbing activity.

On a particular Saturday, I had been looking forward to a romantic comedy release on Netflix and prepared myself with snacks and pajamas by 7 o'clock. What a nerd I know! Don't write me off as a loser just yet, I had gone out once or twice with my coworkers so it's not like I was isolating myself from the world. At least till school began.

I had almost forgotten what my text alert sounded like, it took a few reminder beeps till I saw I had a message awaiting. It was my mother asking if I wanted her to bring me something to eat, to which I politely declined and told her I didn't want her back till after midnight. I continued watching the movie followed by two more in the romance (slit my wrists) genre.

Making a break for the kitchen to get a glass of milk, I heard a faint beep again. I thought about silencing my phone to not read another annoying text from my mother but it was from an unknown number.

Can you talk now?

I replied a simple yes not knowing who it was, though I secretly hoped for that one person. This game of Guess Who was doing a number on my blood pressure, or so it felt like. My heart began to race while my hands grew hotter. If it was Harry, we'd be talking at any moment and while I had so much to say, I feared I would choke up. I worried how he would sound since I'd never seen him angry.

The phone rang. I saw the rare area code, it had to be him. My hands were shaking as I cleared my throat before pressing the answer button.

"Hello," I spoke like a terrified mouse.

"Hi," his voice sent me a shiver.

"Hi."

"I got a new phone. My other one had an accident, but I did get your messages," he said indifferent.

"Yes well, I wanted to personally apologize for being the biggest idiot imaginable."

"Hmm." There was momentary silence. I guess that meant I wasn't forgiven.

"I had assumed some things and they turned out not to be true," I continued.

"What things?"

"About someone else," I gulped.

"Yeah about that…where did you get that from?"

"I kind of saw you…with another girl," Iadmitted, sounding like a jealous fool.

"Right, so instead of asking me about it you thought it was smarter to just ignore me and not give me a chance explain or anything."

"I found out she was your cousin though. I bumped into her not too long ago."

"Well I'm glad you feel better about it. You know, we were never really together. So I don't see why you acted so immaturely about the whole situation. Or why I even cared so much... We had a fun time and you were set on getting with some other guy. So what, it didn't work out? Is that why you've been calling me? Aren't you busy with that other asshole?"

His harsh tone told me there was something more that I couldn't see. Why was he so angry about seeing me with Niall? He just said we were never together. Was he that jealous or something?

"If we were never together than why are you so jealous that I was with Niall? And by the way I was never WITH him or being kept busy by him either."

"I don't care. I can't stand him," he exhaled in frustration. "I hate the guy and seeing you with him. . .let's just say I don't see you the same way anymore."

I tried to keep my voice balanced and smooth; I was so glad we weren't talking in person. So glad that he couldn't see my eyes water and lose hope.

"Can I ask why you hate him so much?"

"He fucking-" Harry grunted and stopped himself as he struggled to control his breathing on the other end. "It took everything I had not to beat the shit out of him that day. I only knew him by name, and I would have done it . . . until I saw you there with him."

I wish I never knew Niall and that the kiss had never happened. But I didn't owe that truth to Harry, besides I was afraid he would surely hang up on me and never talk to me again. Now what? He saw me tainted just like I saw Louis. I lost my chance with him, I let him slip away and now he was repulsed by me.

"Do you hate me?" I asked in a pathetic attempt to gain his pity.

"I don't hate you," he paused. "I just don't see you the same way."

"Because you simply saw me standing there with him? Nothing happened!" I pleaded.

"It didn't look that way to me but I gotta go now, Brynn. Take care of yourself."

"Wait, when are you coming back?"

"I'm not sure. I could take an extension program but I'm still considering it. I have no reason to rush back to Cali anymore." That hit me like a slap in the face, by a man's hand.

Needless to say that conversation ended with a bitter taste in my mouth. I realized 3 things: 1. Niall was indeed a prick-jerk and so much worse. 2. Assuming, truly does make an ass out of you. 3. I wasn't over Harry, but I wasn't going to get him back either.

Notes

Ouch!

Have you gals ever been in that situation? Misunderstandings and heartbreaks.

I want to give another massive thank you to all you awesome readers for your votes and rad comments. I'm glad you're so engaged and enjoying this story. Not only did you get my ratings up (thank goodness) but your feedback has inspired me to do daily updates.

Also, I've added a picture of Lilah in the characters section but left her description in blank to not ruin it for others. As far as any other characters along the story, I'll be posting a picture in the notes section of that chapter. If you like the idea than let me know. :)

Till tomorrow, muah!