Chapter 124 Would you be my girlfriend

Chapter 124 Would you be my girlfriend
ALICIA'S POINT OF VIEW

I stared at my phone for a few seconds, unable to stop the smile that had found its way onto my face.

Another message from Seth.....I opened it.

Goodnight. Don't do anything stupid. I'm watching youI burst out laughing.

“Seriously?”I shook my head and dropped the phone beside me on the bed.

He was so cute.Sometimes, I wondered if Seth even realized how much he had changed my days since I came to Westbridge.

We had become really close this week.He was always checking up on me at school, asking if I was okay, helping me whenever I needed something, and making sure I wasn't keeping everything bottled up.

We talked a lot,Sometimes through text,Mosttimes at school and on the some days we even went bike riding, we talked about almost everything.

Well......Almost everything.There were still things I hadn't told him.....Things I wasn't ready to talk about.

Seth had tried getting me to open up more than once, and I appreciated that he never forced me.He simply told me that whenever I was ready, he would listen.

That meant a lot to me but I still couldn't bring myself to tell him everything.What if he judged me?What if he looked at me differently afterward?I didn't know.

Maybe one day, when I was ready, I would tell him.For now, I was happy just having someone who cared enough to ask.

Seth was genuinely sweet,He was sincere.And lately, I had started wondering if what I felt for him was becoming something more than friendship.

I liked him a lot......Maybe too much.

I picked up my phone again, expecting another silly message from him.Instead, I saw a new notification.

My smile disappeared almost immediately.

Wish me luck. I'm about to go bike riding with Zoe, and I'm thinking of asking her out tonightI stared at the screen and immediately my heart sank.

“He's asking her out?”I frowned deeply.

For some reason, seeing those words hurt more than I expected.Of course I knew Seth liked Zoe....He had told me more than once.

He had talked about how cute she was and how much he liked her.And whenever he mentioned her, I noticed the little things.

The smile,the way his eyes changed.....The excitement in his voice.I had noticed all of it.

Still, part of me had secretly hoped......Maybe he would eventually notice me.Maybe all these conversations meant something more to him too.

I swallowed and looked at the message again.....Zoe.The girl who was always at the front of the class.

I hated that a small part of me was angry at her.It wasn't her fault....She hadn't done anything to me but somehow, whenever I looked at her lately, I felt something I couldn't explain.......Jealousy.

She was the lucky girl Seth liked and I wished it were me.I wished I were the one he smiled at like that.I wished I were the person he was excited to see.

I sighed and dropped my phone onto the bed.....Maybe I was being foolish.Seth had never promised me anything.He had never told me he liked me that way......He had simply been kind to me but somewhere along the way, I had started falling for him.

And I wasn't ready to give up just because he liked someone else.I picked up my phone again and typed a reply.

Good luckI stared at the words for a moment before sending them.

Then another message from Seth appeared.

Seth: Goodnight. Sleep tight.I smiled faintly.

“Goodnight, Seth.”I placed the phone beside me and leaned back against my pillow.I wasn't going to hate Zoe.I wasn't going to blame her but I wasn't going to sit quietly either.

If Seth really was going to ask her out, then I needed to figure out what I wanted and I knew exactly what I wanted.

Him.......I smiled faintly at my phone.

“I'll fight for this love.”I didn't know what I was going to do yet. I only knew that I wasn't ready to give up on Seth.

For the first time in a while, my thoughts were somewhere other than home.I placed my phone beside me and settled against the pillow.

I stared at the ceiling, listening to the faint hum of the fan above me. Outside, the evening seemed peaceful. For a moment, everything felt normal but then I heard something.

A soft sound from somewhere beyond my bedroom.....I lifted my head and listened again but othing.....I slowly relaxed again.

Probably nothing.I reached for my phone, but before I could pick it up, I heard another sound.

A faint creak....This time, I sat completely still.My eyes moved toward the bedroom door.

The hallway outside was dark.....I listened carefully.

My fingers tightened around the edge of the duvet.

“It's probably just the house,” I whispered.I tried to convince myself then came another creak.....Closer and immediately my stomach tightened.

I suddenly knew that sound.....Footsteps,Slow footsteps.My heart began pounding.

They were coming down the hallway.I immediately put my phone down and lay back on the bed.

The footsteps continued.One then another......Then another.I pulled the duvet over myself and squeezed my eyes shut.

The footsteps stopped right outside my door......My entire body went still.

Please don't come in.

Please don't come in.

Please don't come in.

I barely dared to breathe.....The door handle didn't move.

For several long seconds, nothing happened.

Then........the footsteps slowly began moving away.I waited until I could no longer hear them only then did I open my eyes.

I pulled the duvet down slightly and stared toward the door, my breathing still unsteady.

“Oh my God…”I swallowed.

“Thank God he didn't come in here tonight.”I closed my eyes again as a tear slipped down.......this time, there was no way I could think about Seth.

SETH'S POINT OF VIEW

“Whooooooooo!”Zoe's excited scream made me laugh as I rode faster.

The wind rushed past us, and I could hear her laughing behind me. Her arms were wrapped securely around my middle, and I couldn't stop the ridiculous butterflies that had been fluttering in my stomach since the moment we'd started riding.

I tried to focus on the road,I really did but with Zoe this close to me, that wasn't exactly easy.I smiled to myself......I'd missed this.

I'd missed riding around with her, laughing about random things, and just enjoying each other's company without worrying about school or assignments or everything else happening around us.

The past few days had been different, though.I hadn't spent as much time with Zoe as I normally would have.

Most of my attention had been on Alicia.

Ever since everything that happened before she came to Westbridge, I'd been worried about her. I didn't want to leave her alone with whatever she was dealing with, especially when she still refused to tell me exactly what was going on.
I'd tried talking to her a lot.Sometimes she'd open up a little, then suddenly shut down again.

Whenever I asked what had been bothering her, she'd simply say,

“I'll tell you when I'm ready.”So I'd stopped pushing.

I figured that if I kept showing her that she could trust me, maybe one day she'd tell me.

I'd even opened up about some things in my own life, hoping she'd realize she wasn't alone and somehow, we'd become pretty close.

We chatted almost every day,We talked alot at school.....Sometimes we'd go riding.She'd even started smiling more whenever she saw me.......I chuckled at the thought.

I never expected that we'd become friends this quickly but despite everything, there was one person I hadn't stopped thinking about........Zoe.

I glanced at the road ahead and smiled.Today was supposed to be about her.I'd brought her somewhere special.......Somewhere I knew she'd love.

And, more importantly, I had something to tell her.Something I'd been trying to find the courage to say for a while.

I was nervous....Really nervous but I had to do it.My feelings for Zoe had gotten completely out of control.I liked her a lot.

Maybe more than I should.......She was one of the few people who knew things about me that I rarely told anyone. She knew about my family, my home, and the things I usually kept buried.

She also had this way of comforting me whenever I needed someone.Somehow, I liked that about her.....I wanted her around.

And if she agreed to be with me.......Well, I'd probably be the happiest guy alive.

“Are we there yet?” Zoe shouted from behind me.I laughed.

“Almost!”She laughed again.

A few minutes later, I finally slowed down and brought the bike to a stop.Zoe climbed off and immediately looked around.

Her eyes widened.

“Oh my God!”I smiled.

“I knew you'd like it.”She stepped forward, staring at the view.

The spot overlooked the city from a quiet hilltop, with the evening sky stretching across the horizon and the lights below beginning to flicker on one by one.

“I love this view so much.”She turned around.

“Did you see that?”I chuckled.

“Yeah. I've been here before.”She turned back toward the view, looking completely fascinated.I simply stood there watching her.

She looked beautiful......Especially when she got excited about something.I smiled.

She had no idea what she did to me.Zoe suddenly turned around and caught me staring.

“What?”

“Nothing.”She narrowed her eyes.

“You're staring.”

“I wasn't.”

“You were.”I laughed.

“Okay, maybe I was.”She shook her head and turned away again.......I walked closer.

A strand of her hair had fallen across her face, so I gently moved it away from her eyes.She immediately looked at me.

“Um... thank you.”I smiled.

“You're beautiful.”Her cheeks seemed to warm.

“Thank you.”She looked away quickly.

I chuckled.She really is shy.

We eventually sat down, looking out over the city.For a few moments, neither of us said anything then Zoe sighed.

“I missed this.”I glanced at her.

“What?”

“This.”She gestured toward the bikes.

“Riding around with you.”I smiled.

“I missed it too.”She looked at me.

“I actually thought you had ditched me.”

“What?”She laughed awkwardly.

“I don't know. You've just been spending so much time with the new girl.”I raised an eyebrow.

“Were you jealous?”She scoffed.

“Jealous? Seriously?”I laughed.

“I'm just asking.”

“I'm telling you as a friend that I missed you. That's all."She paused.

“I just felt kind of left out.”My smile softened.

“I'm sorry.”She looked at me.

“I really am.”I took a breath.

“I've been spending so much time with Alicia because I'm worried about her.”Zoe listened quietly.

“You know about what happened before she came here......She had ummm.... tried to kill herself. I just don't want her to feel like she's alone. She's dealing with something, and she isn't ready to tell me what it is.”Zoe nodded slowly.

“So you've been looking out for her?”

“Yeah.”I smiled faintly.

“I've tried talking to her, but she keeps telling me she'll tell me when she's ready. So I'm just trying to be there for her until then.”Zoe's expression suddenly brightened.

“Wow.”

“What?”

“You really are a gentleman.....Thank you”I laughed.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“I don't know.”She shrugged.

“I'm just glad you're looking out for someone who needs a friend.”I smiled.

“I wasn't expecting that.”She laughed.

“Get used to it.”We continued talking for a while, moving from Alicia to school and then to our families.Eventually, Zoe asked,

“How has your mom been?”I smiled.

“She’s actually been great.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”I shook my head, still finding the whole thing strange.

“She stopped drinking. Completely. She's been different lately. We actually get along now.”Zoe smiled.

“That's good.”

“It is.”I looked down at my hands.

“She's even been cooking again.”Zoe laughed.

“Your mom cooks?”

“Apparently.”I smiled.

“According to the maid, she hasn't touched alcohol. Not once.”I paused.

“To be honest, it feels like something I've wished for my entire life is finally happening.”Zoe's smile softened.

“But?”I looked at her.

“But it feels strange.”

“Why?”

“She spent so long treating me like I was a problem she couldn't stand. Now suddenly she's acting like she loves me.”I sighed.

“Part of me wants to enjoy it. Another part of me keeps wondering if there's something behind it.”Zoe nodded.

“I think you should be happy, but you should also give yourself time to get used to it. Things don't suddenly become normal just because someone's behavior changes.”I smiled.

“That's what I thought too.”She looked at me.

“And she's still your mom.”I nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe this really is the change you've been praying for.”I chuckled.

“I'm an atheist, remember?”Her mouth dropped open.

“Are you serious?"I laughed.

“What?”

“I'm a believer, okay?”I smiled.

“Okay, okay.”She pointed at me.

“Don't laugh.”

“I'm not.”

“Yes, you are.”I raised my hands.

“Fine. Maybe you're right.”She smiled.

“My dad believed in God too. A lot. We used to go to church and talk about things like that.”I looked toward the horizon.

“Maybe I just stopped believing somewhere along the way.”Zoe didn't argue with me.

She simply smiled......We sat quietly for another few moments then her phone suddenly buzzed......She picked it up and laughed.

“Maya?”

“Yeah.”She shook her head.

“What did she say?”

“She said something ridiculous.”I smiled.

“What about?”Zoe looked at me.

“She sais hope I'm not ignoring her again because I'm chatting with Vanessa.”I frowned slightly.

“Speaking of Vanessa...”Zoe raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I've noticed you two have gotten pretty close.”

“We have.”I hesitated.

“Just be careful with her.”Zoe's expression changed.

“You too?”

“What do you mean?”

“Maya has already told me not to trust her,Andy too.......”I sighed.

“I'm not telling you that you can't be friends with her.”I looked at Zoe seriously.

“I'm just saying you should watch out.”

“She's been really sweet to me.”

“I know.”

“And she helped me when I needed her.”

“I know that too.”I paused.

“But people can act.”Zoe went quiet.

“I'm not saying Vanessa is definitely bad. I'm saying you don't know her well enough yet.”I shook my head.

“Friendship takes time. Trust takes time too.”Zoe looked down at her phone.

“Okay.”

“I'm serious, Zoe.”

“I know.”She smiled.

“Thank you for looking out for me.”I smiled back.

“Always.”She suddenly looked at the time.Her eyes widened.

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

“It's late already...... we've been riding all over town.”She quickly stood up.

“Come on, Seth. I think we should go home.”I stood too.

“Already?”

“Yes.”She picked up her bag.

“Your house is still far from here. Mine isn't really that far, but I'm worried about you.”I smiled.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”She rolled her eyes.

“Seriously? You're going to thank me for that?”She shook her head.

“Come on. Let's go.”She started walking toward the bikes.

I stood there for a moment.My heart was pounding.This was it.....If I left now, I'd probably regret it.

“Zoe.”She stopped and turned aroun
d.

“Huh?”I swallowed.

“I don't think I'm going to sleep tonight if I don't tell you this.”Her eyebrows pulled together.

“Tell me what?”I took a slow breath.

“At first, I thought we were just going to be friends.”She stared at me.

“But somewhere along the way, I realized I was actually catching feelings for you.”I looked directly at her.

“I love you Zoe....... please would you be my girlfriend?”