Chasing Charming ✔️

23 - Good Luck

October was usually my favourite month of the year. I loved fall colours and fall activities. Even though I had never lived somewhere cold, the idea of drinking apple cider and going on a hayride while the leaves changed around me seemed like a little taste of heaven. But this October looked like it would contain none of that as Eli continued to ignore me throughout the week.

It seems evident that he had informed Jones and Kyle as to why we were no longer speaking, and so, hesitantly, they left me alone.

Owen and Taylor were still talking to me, but Owen's pity seemed worse than being completely ignored.

Taylor had no ideas as to why the boys were ignoring me, and she was getting frustrated being left in the dark. All I could tell her was that I messed up and that Eli was mad at me. I told her it was my fault, but that was all I could say. Even though Eli had decided I was no longer worth his time, I wasn't going to go spilling his secrets again.

I tried to justify to Taylor why I was no longer sitting with them. "I have too much homework" or "I have a meeting with a teacher," and even "I joined a club," which everyone knew wasn't true. She gave up asking me where I was on the fourth day.

Throughout the week, I watched Eli's attitude change anytime he looked over at me, and I started to feel like I was just one of the other girls. I understood now when Vanessa would say that Eli looked angry or dead-eyed because now that is precisely the way he looked at me. That is what he wanted people to think of him.

But it was harder for me because I knew better.

Eli was goofy and kind and loved his friends and family and loved playing soccer and watching crappy TV. Sure, maybe he had played a few girls and was a bit aggressive, but we all have our faults.

On Wednesday night, things had become even more awkward between Taylor and me. She had expected answers, and I had none to give her. I had asked her if we could not talk about the boys, but that only made things worse.

I felt terrible keeping this from her, and I could tell she was getting tired of feeling so left out. I desperately hoped that I would be able to save our friendship, but we could no longer talk like we had been before. She left my house early that night with excuses that she had homework. It seemed stupid that this one mistake was ruining everything, but maybe all of this was too good to be true.

I felt like it was that first week of classes again. I had to sit through people whispering about me in the hallway and classes. The trio of girls from Bio snickered when Kyle moved to sit between Eli and me, and I put my head down to hide my shame.

Vanessa and Claire asked me what was wrong, and even though it was nice to speak with them, my heart hurt too much to hold a conversation, and by the end of that week, they stopped trying to include me in discussions.

The only good thing that happened at school all week was Jackson leaving me alone. I don't think I could have handled matters if he had come after me again.

On the weekend I ended up going with my parents to the balloon festival. Eli had at least sent me one text, saying that he couldn't go to the festival anymore. I didn't reply because it didn't need one. I had tried to apologize, and it had not worked, and he was doing everything he could to ignore me, so maybe it wasn't worth my energy.

He did not want me around anymore, and he did not want to be my friend or anything else we could have been.

At the balloon festival, I could barely enjoy myself. I saw Brock, the boy who had initially asked me to the festival with another girl from my grade, Felcica. I almost felt jealous.

"What's up with you, Betty?" My dad asked me. He and my mom had happily been chatting about which balloons they thought were the prettiest, and I had not been engaging in their conversation nearly as much as I would have. They knew something was seriously wrong when I turned down having a fun impromptu photoshoot.