The Rebel Girl’s Fated Love

Beating the King

Chad's P.O.V.

This girl is something else. First, she agrees to dance with me after completely rejecting me in the kitchen earlier, then she calls me out on my s**t and tells me all of my moves almost exactly like she's experienced them before, and now, she's made a bet with me that includes me being able to make-out with her for ten minutes. What girl is willing to make-out with someone without having a casual conversation with them first or even getting to know them? I mean, yeah, I've made out with girls before without having to try too hard, but I've also gone to school with them since kindergarten. We don't even know each other, yet she's willing to make-out with me when I win?

Tucker walks up beside me in the kitchen as I grab a few beers for the beer pong game I'm about to have with Tiffany, "So, I saw the two of you dancing together." he casually says to me.

I nod my head at him, "Yeah? So?"

"So, is she pretty cool? I mean, she hangs out with Melanie a lot, so she has to be pretty laid-back." he says to me as he leans against the counter and takes a swig of his beer.

I look up and furrow my brows at him, "She was quick to call me out on my s**t. She pretty much told me every move that I would've made on her if she was any other girl. She literally gave me a play-by-play of what I usually do to pick up chicks."

Tucker chuckles at me as he shakes his head, "Yeah, that makes sense as to why she's friends with Mel."

I set the beer bottles down on the counter, before crossing my arms over my chest, "Tuck, man, what's going on between you and that Melanie chick? You talk about her a lot and seem to be invested in what's going on in her life more than you actually should be. It's almost like you have a crush on her or something. I mean, I know you guys used to kind of be friends growing up, but I feel like there's more to the story than that."

Tucker's jaw clenches as he turns away from me, before he finally lets out a defeated sigh and looks back at me, "Mel and I were best friends growing up, like tied to the hip, best friends. The summer before high school, I asked her to be my girlfriend because I liked her so much. We spent that entire summer together sneaking off to spend time with one another. It was an innocent relationship, but she was my first kiss that summer, and it was the best kiss I've ever had. Then, once we started football practice for high school, I started getting caught up in all of the popularity that goes along with it. Girls were paying attention to me, I started making friends with all of the upper-classmen because I was going to be on starting varsity, I was being invited to hang out with the popular crowd all of the time. Mel didn't fit the mold of it all. She skateboards, reads all of the time, listens to rock music, has this whole grungy vibe going on. She's super tom-boyish and has a crude sense of humor. She always says what she's thinking and doesn't care what anyone else thinks about her. Honestly, I was self-conscious about having her as my girlfriend and was more worried about being popular. I was worried about how she was going to make me look, so I broke things off with her. If breaking up with her didn't make me a big enough asshole already, then me just completely ignoring her afterwards sure enough did. I completely cut her out of my life and acted like the years of friendship that we had didn't mean anything. Then, to top it all off, her dad left her and her mom only a month after I walked out of her life. The two most important guys in her life, just completely abandoned her within a month of one another."

"Damn dude, that's pretty harsh. I mean, I chose you as my best friend because you don't give a s**t what other people think and always tell it how it is. I'm surprised to hear you say that's the reason you ended things with her." I tell him as I stare at him.

Tucker's shoulders fall in defeat, "That's how I am NOW, but that's not how I was right before we started high school. I mean, a lot can change within a year. I quickly learned who my real friends are and I also quickly learned how big of a mistake I made with her."

"Just apologize to her, then, if you want her back in your life. She seems like the type of person that would forgive easily." I tell him as I shrug my shoulders.

A humorless chuckle leaves his lips as he looks back up at me with saddened eyes, "You don't know Melanie. You're right, she will definitely forgive me easily, but it will have to be on her own time, whenever she's ready. That time is definitely not right now, when she can't even stand to be at the same party as me. I'm just going to have to wait around until I know that she's ready. She's feisty, just like Tiffany. She will fight against me with everything that she has, until she's ready to let me in. I'll be able to tell when she's ready to let me in again, though. It might be tomorrow, it might be two years from now. Hell, she might never be ready. What I do know, though, is that I'll definitely try my hardest to prove to her how sorry I am if I ever get the chance. I promise you that. I just wish I knew whether or not she's okay without me being in her life. I want to know whether or not she has someone to take care of her. Someone that filled my space after I left."

"Tiffany seems pretty cool, and she seems REAL, just like how you described Mel. Stop worrying about Melanie so much. She definitely has someone in her corner now, and she seems like she'd be a good friend to her. Hell, in fact, Mel showed up with four friends tonight, not just Tiffany. You might not be the one that's there for her now, but she definitely has people who are. Those two guys seemed extremely protective over her earlier when they left with her. They didn't put up a fuss or anything about having to leave." I tell him, before I pat him on the shoulder.

Tucker lets out a frustrated sigh as he squeezes his eyes shut, "Yeah, I wasn't happy about seeing the two guys. Did Tiffany say whether or not she was dating one of them?"

I chuckle at him, "Tiffany and I have barely even spoken, so no. From what I could tell, though, they were just friends. If they were dating, Melanie would've stayed at the party even though you are here. She wouldn't have ran out of the door the second that she saw you, because it wouldn't of bothered her." I tell him, before I shrug my shoulders and pick up the beers on counter, "I've got to get back to Tiffany. Me and her made a bet with each other. If you want, I can try to get information out of her about Melanie?"

Tucker shakes his head at me, "No, it's okay. You said that she's like Melanie, so she'll be able to tell what you're trying to do the second that you ask about her, anyway. She'll quickly shut you down and it'll ruin your guys' night with each other, because she'll stop talking to you just to protect Melanie."

"Okay, man, whatever you say. If you change your mind, let me know." I tell him, before walking out of the kitchen towards the backyard.

When I get to the backyard, I notice a bunch of the football players huddled around the beer-pong table yelling and high-fiving each other. They're all laughing and cheering as they watch the two people who are playing with one another. I look around the yard, trying to find Tiffany, but I don't see her anywhere. I make my way towards the beer-pong table and push through the crowd to see what's going on, only to see that tiny red-head playing against a senior, who's a lineman on our football team. On top of that, she's beating him. Tiffany still has six cups in front of her, and he only has one in front of him, which means that she's kicking his ass. She has the ball, and with one last throw, she makes it into the cup on the other end of the table. All of the guys start to high-five her and pat her on her back as she talks s**t to my teammate on the other end. His head is hung low and his friends are making fun of him, but he proudly comes up and shakes her hand anyway.

It's only then that I realize I'll be having a conversation with her tonight, instead of making out with her, because this guy has been the best beer-pong player I've ever seen, up until now.