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Dedication: Daliah1998 for being so supportive and posting so many quotes of this story! I really appreciate it <3

Recap:

I take that as my cue to silently slip away, mulling over the newly learnt information in my mind.

Firstly, I need to deal with Samara and Jai.

Secondly, I need to deal with myself and my own feelings, although I know, that is going to be a much more difficult task, than the first.

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"I didn't want to tell you, because it would make me feel worse than I already do," Samara huffs as she slides her large, gold hoop through her ear.

"What do you mean?" I question, sitting back onto my bed, already organised for tonight.

"I know Jai's one of your good friends, practically a part of your family. He's an amazing guy, I just... don't feel the same way. I love being single, I don't want to be tied down. Not until I at least get with Eli Matthews. Then, I can die happy," she informs me and I laugh, her obsession with Eli still prominent after all these years. She turns to me. "By the way, if I got offered to have 'revenge sex' with Eli, I would do it in a heartbeat."

"Don't remind me," I laugh, shaking my head, knowing that if I ever did take up the offer, Samara would kill me in my sleep. "And I'm not going to make you feel bad. You can't force yourself to like someone."

"But you think we would work together and be really cute, don't you?"

"Yes," I grin widely. "Jai would be a good boyfriend."

"I know," she pouts. "Maybe in the future, but not right now. I'm having too much fun."

"Your call," I shrug.

Samara has always been like this. She always has some guy following her around. She loves the chase, the thrill of dating and being able to do whatever she wants. I, on the other hand, desperately want to settle down and have a solid relationship. I am a hopeless romantic, forever seeking a big love that only exists in books or movies.

Samara turns to me. "How do I look?"

Tonight, Samara and I are heading to the school carnival. I used to be heavily involved in fundraisers like this, but not anymore.

"Gorgeous," I honestly advise her.

She is dressed similar to me. We both have high-waist, denim shorts on, but I have a high-neck, black top on, whereas hers is maroon and low-cut, once again, appearing much more daring compared to my outfit.

I get to my feet, giving myself a quick once over. I have my hair tied in a messy bun, on the top of my head, with wisps falling down to frame my face. Samara has hers in a high pony tail, her long, red hair trailing down her back.

She follows me through the house and I call out bye to mum, before slipping out the front door.

"Want me to drive?"

I cringe at the thought. "Uh, I'll drive."

"Suit yourself," she shrugs, not picking up on my fear.

There is more traffic on the road, compared to usual, as we make our way across town. The carnivals always draw a large crowd. It's often hard to find a car park. I was almost going to ask mum to take us, but she is going herself, with a group of teachers from her school.

The air is cool when I step out, but not cold enough to make me regret wearing shorts.

Samara loops her left arm through my right one, as we head towards the dazzling lights. The sounds of whirring rides, children's laughter and the chatter of voices being spoken can be heard through the night air.

Even though the same rides and stalls are here, every year, the social chair committee seems to make it bigger and better, each time. I give an impressed nod at the large crowd gathered. They will raise a significant amount of funds tonight.

Sliding my phone out, I find myself messaging Miles, asking if he is attending tonight.

I send it, as I hear my name shouted.

Finn stands there with Alec and Jai flanking him. Samara and I head over to them.

I haven't spoken to Alec much since our 'talk' and overhearing him say those things to Finn. I'm trying not to feel hurt, as I'm hoping he said those things to get Finn off his back. But in saying that, I'm also on speaking terms with Miles again, so I don't know if I even want things to go further with Alec.

A girl walks towards us, with a bottle of water in her hand.

"Hey," Finn greets her, quickly pecking her on the lips.

I blink in surprise, never having seen him do that before, except making out with someone at a party.

"Hi guys," the girl beams.

She's pretty in a very natural, beach-y kind-of-way, with her tan skin, dark freckles and long, blonde hair. She has naturally light, pink lips and a nice smile, perfectly contrasting Finn's dark hair.

"Becs, this is my sister."

"Hi Becca, I've seen you around school," I smile at her politely. "Do you know Samara?"

They greet each other, apparently they are already friends. Samara is friends with everyone, it seems, which is ironic, as I'm considered the "nice" one.

"Want to go on the Ferris Wheel?" he asks her and she grins.

"Definitely."

They walk towards the wheel, holding hands, looking extremely cute.

"Wow, my brother is dating one girl," I say aloud. "That's so weird."

"It's cute," Samara gushes. "Our little Finn, growing up."

I notice that the boys are looking awkward. Alec's arms are folded across his chest as he looks to the ground and Jai is frowning, absently holding his shoulder, although it should be healed by now.

"Let's go play some games," Samara suggests.

The boys agree and we all trek towards one of the stalls. I glance down at my phone, seeing no reply from Miles.

We just took a step forward in our relationship, I hope we aren't going to take three steps back, now.

We walk past the Kissing Booth. I see Bentley standing there, underneath a sign saying "$5, it's worth it ;)".

"Isobel!" Bentley calls out. "Care for a kiss?"

"Maybe, if it wasn't from you!" I call back, causing Jai to snort.

We make our way over to the balloon popping stall.

"I'll verse you," I say to Alec, stepping up to the Carnie and handing him $3.

I miss one balloon but hit the other two. The popping sounds are loud and I laugh as I hit them, glad that Alec is back to smiling and being himself, again.

"Watch and learn, Princess," Alec says, shouldering me out of the way.

He effortlessly throws the dart, popping three balloons in a row. I huff as he scores six points higher than me. He wins a bubble blower, whereas I won a keychain.

"Great," I say flatly, swinging the chunky, plastic chain around in my hand.

"Sook," Alec smirks, stepping back so that Samara and Jai can verse each other.

Alec undoes the plastic covering, before passing it to me. I grin, pulling the stick out and blowing softly. Large bubbles begin to form, blowing straight towards Samara, where they pop onto her hair.

"Hey!" she cries out angrily, smoothing over her red locks. "I just washed this, ya know!"

Alec and I chuckle at her anger. I turn the other direction and continue to create bubbles, watching them float through the fluorescent lights from the stalls.

Samara took a cool photo of me while I was doing it and I grin, before placing to bubble blower back into its plastic holder. Alec takes it back, sliding it into the inside pocket of his suede jacket, so none of us have to carry it.

Samara beat Jai, causing Jai to blame his poor form on his "injury".

We continue walking and my eyes light up when I see Faye, the fortune teller. Last year, she told me that my future was going to look up, due to my family becoming much closer and my grades returning back to their usual standard. What she said was true, Finn and I were closer than ever and my school work is almost better than it was, before everything.

"No, not the fortune teller," Alec groans, much like he did last year. "I don't believe in any of that shit."

"Then don't go in," Samara clips, striding towards the lady.

Faye is dressed in a loose, floor-length skirt with sequins attached to it. She has various hoops dangling from her ears and her wavy hair has gotten longer since the last time I saw her.

"Hello," she greets softly as we get closer. "Do any of you want a reading?"

"Me!" Samara pipes up, allowing Faye to take her hand.

They disappear into the tent.

"This is a load of shit," Alec mutters. "She's wasting her money."

I ignore Alec's remark and pull my phone out, checking to see if Miles had replied. He hasn't.

After a few minutes, Samara returns, with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Anyone else?" Faye asks.

Jai peers at me, but I decide against it. It costs $60 for a reading and I did it only last year.

"How about you, honey?" she asks Alec tenderly.

"No thanks." he bluntly replies.

She gives him a sad smile, before reaching out and grabbing his hand.

"Get off me!" he suddenly exclaims, looking appalled, but her grip only tightens.

"Don't waste your time with her, she will never love you the way she loves him," she says gravely, before abruptly letting him go.

Alec looks extremely freaked out and Faye's eerie eyes turn to face me. I step back, knowing all too well that she was referring to the love triangle, between Alec, me and Miles.

"Come on," Jai urges, gripping Alec's shirt.

"What the fuck!" Alec half-shouts, casting a furious stare back at Faye, who is still watching us. "That old lady is messed up."

I grow quiet, feeling her warning on a much deeper level, than Alec. I'm guessing that the other two have pieced it together, as well.

Alec continues to grumble under his breath, as we all ignore him.

"Anyone want cotton candy?" Jai asks, to break the mood.

"I do," Samara agrees and without asking either of us, they both walk ahead.

"That wasn't obvious," I roll my eyes and turn to Alec.

I take a moment to look at Alec. He's dressed in black jeans and an expensive-looking suede jacket. His dark hair is windblown, his lightly tanned skin appearing pale in the harsh, bright lights. He runs his hands through his already messy hair and sighs.

"Can we go somewhere to talk?" he asks.

"Sure."

I glance around for Finn, but can't find him anywhere. I follow Alec as he leads me out the back of the stalls and behind the brick building of the bathrooms.

"What did you want to talk about?" I ask him as I begin to twist my fingers nervously.

Not answering, he swoops down, pressing his lips to mine.

My eyes widen in shock as he kisses me. I quickly shove his chest, making him take a step back, a look of surprise on his face.

"Woah, Alec, I came here to talk."

"Why not make out instead?" he shrugs, leaning in again.

"Alec!" I say crossly, shoving him back. "Every time we hang out, it doesn't have to be about that."

He lets out an annoyed groan, stepping back, scowling.

"What the fuck do you want from me, then?" he snaps.

I blink, taking a step back, as if he slapped me.

He sighs, his shoulders slumping. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I'm just not good at this back and forth shit. You need to spell out what you're feeling because I don't get it."

"I don't know how I'm feeling, so I can't possibly explain it to you," I say sassily back, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Well, when you figure it out, let me know." he steps back from me, looking frustrated, before stalking away from me, his fists clenched.

I lean against the brick building, letting out a breath. My head feels heavy with thoughts. I stand there for a long time, thinking, trying to figure out what I should do. I can't hang out with Alec, without it revolving around getting physical with each other. Miles, however, is going out of his way to prove he's not like Alec - who is acting exactly how Miles used to.

My phone begins to ring. I glance down, to see Miles' name across my screen.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Isobel," he breathes, causing my heart to jump into my throat. "Can you meet me?"

"Miles? What's wrong?" I ask him, straightening, the hairs on my arms bristling.

"Where are you? Can you meet me at your house, or are people home?" he asks, sounding pained.

"No one's home, what's wrong?" I ask urgently, my heart hammering loudly in my ears.

"I've fucked up, I can't explain it, just meet me. Please." he whispers.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Meet me at home."

I quickly hang up. I run to my car breathlessly, starting it before I have even shut my door. I hastily text Samara, telling her I needed to leave, before I tear out of the car park.

For so long, I've hated Miles and now, I feel like I can't breathe, thinking he might not be okay.

I pull up home and let out a gasp of horror, seeing Miles sprawled on my porch, his face a mess of black and blue, with traces of blood trailing down from his nose. His face is crumpled in pain as he lays there, hunched over, gripping his sides.

"Holy shit," I breathe, feeling sick. "What happened?"

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Any ideas or theories?

What do you think about what Alec said?

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