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13-reasons-ideas · 1 year

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Can’t Go Back Part 24

A/N: Guess who’s back! Thank you for sticking with me. It’s been a rough several months and I think things are finally getting to a point where I can focus on my hobbies again. As always, feedback is appreciated and Character Q&As are open. Much Love -Em

I had finished the last book on my To Read shelf by mid-May. Hopping off my bed, I went over to my bookshelf. There was only one shelf of space left. The stack to shelve had gotten a tad out of hand. Sighing to myself, I sat down to start reorganizing. I pulled the books from H to Z down to fit the new additions to my collection in. My dad poked his head in when the stack fell over.

“Everything okay in here?” I was surrounded by books. Dad tried not to laugh as he took the scene in. Grabbing books, I turned back to the shelf.

“Perfect. Totally meant to sit in a sea of books this afternoon.”

“Sure. You have fun with that. I have to head into the office for a while. Tell your mother I probably won’t be home for dinner.”

“Will do.” I nodded, not turning my attention back to him.

Monty texted me shortly after I had finished the M’s. What are you up to today?

Organizing my bookshelf. I finished my TBR so now they go in the permanent collection.

Only my girlfriend would make a permanent book collection and a separate section for books that aren’t done.

Hey! Lots of people do this.

Yes honey.

What are you up to today?

Trying to study for my last History test. It’s very boring.

I’m sure it is. If you’re free Saturday, how about a get out of studying free card?

Oh? What did you have in mind Doll? I rolled my eyes and grinned. Of course he thought I meant something dirty.

Cool your jets Monty. I was going to see if you wanted to go to the bookstore with me?

I can make that happen. What time?

I think Clay and I are getting lunch to go over our study guide for the Math final. I could do like 1?

Sounds good. Do you want me to meet you at the bookstore?

Sure. I go to the B&N at the Everglade.

It’s a date.

I smiled and went back to my books.

When it was done, I snapped a picture and sent it to Justin. I finished my TBR! You know what that means?

Oh no. More books?

More books!

Do I have to come with you?

No. The parents gave me a limit of 10 books this time.

Only 10?

I have points saved up. And 10 is a perfectly reasonable amount of new books.

For you? Yes. For normal people? No.

Oh shhh, or I’ll make you come with me.

Okay, okay. It’s reasonable lol. I texted Monty a picture of my bookshelf too. He responded with a laughing emoji.

Teachers were beginning to wrap up final units and hand out study guides for finals. Justin was still mad about summer school so he kept up his not giving a shit attitude. I rolled my eyes whenever he sighed or complained about finals. And I stopped offering to help him. If he wanted to do more work in summer school, that was fine by me. It gave me more time to spend with Monty.

On Saturday, I met Clay at Rosie’s and we both got milkshakes. I wasn’t very hungry, and I didn’t want burger breath later. “So Clay, how’s Hannah doing?”

“I don’t know. We have hung out a few times, and I see her at work, but I don’t think we have hung out hung out.”

“You still haven’t asked her out?”

“I mean, we went to Jeff’s place not together, but we were both there, and I feel like maybe we connected?”

“Connected?”

“Well, we were doing… stuff… and we talked.” My eyes widened.

“Clay Jensen did you do drugs in Jeff’s basement?”

“Maybe?” I was stunned.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Clay Jensen, having fun. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Ha ha.” He joked.

“I’m kidding! But seriously. Take the risk Clay.”

“I’ll think about it. Can we look at this study guide now?” I sighed and pulled it out of my bag. We both shuddered. This is not going to be a pretty exam.

By the time Clay and I called it an afternoon, it was 12:30. That gave me just enough time to get to the city. We packed our notes and headed outside. “Man, I really need a car.” Clay sighed, unlocking his bike.

“Your parents said no?”

“I have a bike.” He waved towards the bike.

“That you do. I would offer you a ride, but I’m headed into the city for the afternoon.”

“No worries, Addy.” He smiled. We waved goodbye and I watched as he biked down the street. I started my car and texted Monty. Leaving Rosie’s now. Might be a little late. Drive safe.

Sounds good, drive safe Doll.

I stopped at Starbucks when I got to the mall and got an iced coffee to sip while I browse and a coffee for Montgomery. He was waiting outside Barnes & Noble for me. “Hey handsome. Fancy seeing you here.” I winked as I walked up to him.

“Hey gorgeous. What can I say, thought it would be a good way to find a girl. You know what they say about the readers.”

“I have a feeling I do.” I laughed and handed him his coffee. “Something to do with being high strung, overachievers with daddy issues?”

“Somethin’ like that.” Monty took my hand and let me lead him into the bookstore. I decided I would keep my ten-book limit to myself. I knew how many points I had, and I still had birthday money left from last year.

He chuckled as I practically dragged him towards the YA section. I didn’t stop to look at the romance displays or the cookbooks or the journals. I was on a mission. There were books to buy. I sipped my coffee as I browsed. As usual, I made my way up and down the aisles quickly once to see if anything immediately caught my eye. A couple of books did, so I grabbed them to look over after I was done my power walk. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you move that fast.”

“Ass.” I laughed as I read over the synopsizes of the two books. Neither of them was my cup of tea in the end, so I decided to put them back. I could feel Montgomery watching me as I looked at the shelves. “What?” I asked as I pulled a book down and skimmed the back.

“Nothin’. You’re just cute is all.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. And those shorts are very nice.” I blushed and smiled softly.

“Thanks.” I handed him the book.

“Oh, I see. You needed someone to carry the books.”

“Well, who else would I have asked, when I have my strong, athletic boyfriend to follow me around the store?” He only laughed in response. I grabbed a few more books as I sipped at my coffee. Once in a while, I would notice him watching me and turn to smile at him.

There were six books in Monty’s hands before he finished his coffee. “I’m going to throw this out. Try to leave some books for the next person, okay Bookworm?”

“I’ll try. No promises though.” I mused. By the time he came back, I had three more books. I looked up when I heard him laugh. I grinned at him and held out the books. He took them, tucked them under his arm, and stepped towards me. My brow furrowed and he reached to tuck my hair behind my ear, trailing his hand down to cup the back of my neck, and pull me towards him to kiss me. I kissed him back softly. It was nice to be able to kiss in public. I liked our little bubble. It felt like we were the only two people in the world. He pulled away first.

We continued to peruse the store for a while and stole kisses and glances along the way. Monty slid his hand in my back pocket as we walked. I grabbed another couple of books and sighed. “What’s up?”

“I guess that’s enough books for a little while.”

“For a little while? Addison. There’s like,” he paused to count, “sixteen books here.”

“Yeah. And that isn’t even all of what is on my TBR still. And it’s buy one get one half off all books.” I shrugged.

“Jesus. Crazy woman.” He muttered softly and kissed the side of my head. I sighed and turned to head for the till. After discounts, points, and birthday money, my total was twenty-five dollars.

“Now to figure out how to sneak the extra six books into the house.” I muttered as we left.

“The extra what whats?”

“Uh… nothing.” I smiled sheepishly. He shook his head playfully. “Oh, hey. Pretzels. Split one?”

“Nice change of subject. Sure. Pretzel sounds good.” He rubbed my hand as he held it. This is nice.

In late June, just as finals week was hitting its peak, tragedy struck our little group of jocks. The boys were at Bryce’s trying to blow off some steam. I was trying to be nice to him and make an effort for Justin, so I tagged along. The way his family approached and flaunted their money always took me by surprise. I wasn’t oblivious. I knew my family had more money than most. More than I liked to consider or admit. But it was never flashed around the way it was with the Walkers. I came from old money on my dad’s side, like his mom. But unlike him, I wasn’t exposed to it on a daily basis. The concept of a twice a week maid was enough to widen my eyes. The only time my family had a maid come was when Gran was coming to stay with us, or we were hosting Christmas back when all my grandparents lived state-side, so a very deep clean was needed. The fact that they had a chef come in once a week to meal prep for them was… almost incomprehensible. The only time I met a chef was when I found a hair in my food when my family went out one night.

I had been to his house before of course. I was friends with Justin. We shared custody of him most weeks. Even still, I found myself hanging back and watching the boys socialize. Or I was trying to at least. Bryce thrusting a bottle of water in my hand startled me. I jumped slightly. “Thanks.” I muttered.

“Don’t mention it.” He chuckled. He settled himself next to me and leaned back against the counter.

“Hi.”

“Hi. You know that they will talk to you, right? They know you.”

“I know.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to you then.” Great. Just what I want.

“Sure Bryce.”

“How are finals treating you?”

“I cried before my honours English final yesterday.”

“I almost forgot about my math final.”

“So, we are basically in the same boat.”

“Basically. You had bio and history today?”

“Yeah.”

“How were they?”

“I think I did fairly okay. Can you imagine what my mum would do if I bombed the history final?” He stared off into space with me and shivered.

“I would say something nice about you at your funeral.”

“Thanks Walker. Killing me does seem like a lot of hassle for that though. Like it seems like it would just inconvenience them. Maybe locked in my room to study until I’m forty?”

“True. I would text you news updates. Keep you updated in all things Bryce and the boys.”

“Prefect. Make isolation at least a little bit bearable.” He was actually kind of nice sometimes. Maybe. If I squinted.

“Yeah. My dad would have freaked if I missed my math final.”

“How could you take over the family business if you fail tenth grade math Bryce?”

“No idea. Not like he doesn’t pay someone to do all that math for him. Speaking of, he wanted me to ask you if your dad is taking on any new clients now that tax season is winding down?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think he is, but I can get him to email your dad.” I don’t think he’s going to take your dad on.

“I’ll let him know.”

“Where are you off to this summer?”

“I think we are summering in Fiji?”

“Because California isn’t summer-y enough?”

“Mom thinks the sun feels different. More sunny. I tan better in tropical environments.”

“Sure, you do.”

“What are your family’s plans?”

“We have our annual family trip to Boston at the end of July into the first week of August. Dad pushed his vacation time this year.”

“Doesn’t he own the company?”

“Yeah. But his associate wanted to take vacation in mid-July. She’s taking her kids to Disney World.”

“Again, doesn’t he own the company?”

“Again, yes. Why?”

“Shouldn’t he get first pick?”

“Well, our vacation basically costs us airfare, food, and spending money. Hers and everyone else’s costs a lot more. And requires more planning. So, he lets them have first pick and takes whatever’s left for the most part. Because of that, people are more willing to pick fairly.”

“Interesting.”

“Are you two going to come outside or not?” Justin called from the back yard. Bryce and I looked up and found the house empty. All the boys had moved to the back. We shrugged and joined them. I needed to pass the sniff test so I didn’t dare go in the pool house. Anders and Dylan were in the pool house enjoying Bryce’s stash. It was already nearing eighty degrees in the daytime. We were in for a hot summer. Justin pulled off his shirt, dropped his pants, and jumped in the pool. Shaking my head, I followed Bryce outside.

I sat on the edge of the pool and dipped my feet in the water. Monty was trying to be discreet and swim backwards towards me. He stopped just shy of me and shared a look with Zach. I pretended not to notice. It looked like I was busy watching Justin goof off with Bryce and Garrison. I was watching my boyfriend out of the corner of my eye though. I felt a wave close to my foot. “Montgomery. If you touch my foot, I’m not responsible for what happens to your face.” His hand stopped and his eyes widened. Justin laughed and called from across the pool.

“She isn’t wrong dude. She kicked me in the face when I was trying to bug her one time.”

“I wasn’t going to….” Monty trailed off.

“Sure, you weren’t.” I shook my head and moved to stand up. I pulled my tank top over my head. The shorts I was wearing were fine to go in the water.

Seeing as we had to keep up appearances, I couldn’t very well ask Monty to tighten the tie on my bikini top. That would be too much. The boys would question that. Joking around and talking to each other in a group was okay. Touching was not. “Hey Justin, do you mind?” I gestured to my back, not looking at the pool.

“He’s a little busy.” Bryce said. I could hear splashing behind me.

“Zach?”

“Sure.” He climbed out of the pool and untied the bottom strings. He pulled them tighter in a knot and doubled the bow. “Good?”

“Yeah.” I turned around. “Thanks.” Bryce whistled. Gross.

“Why are you keeping her all to yourself again?” He asked Justin. I flipped him off. Why am I being nice to you again?

“I’m not. It’s Addison. Even if I was, I don’t share Bryce.” He seemed to shut the conversation down. Only I could pick up on the stern undertone in his voice. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, and they were back to goofing off again.

I slipped in the pool and noticing Justin was distracted, I swam over to him and jumped on his back. I may have accidentally splashed Monty in my jumping. I snuck a peek at him and he was rolling his eyes and laughing. “Chicken?” Justin asked. His hands went to my thighs unconsciously.

“No. You dropped me last time. Though it would be entertaining trying to watch the rest of you lift each other.”

“We’re strong.” The boys around me protested. They all made a show of flexing.

“Yes, yes. You’re all strong and hot. With superior athletic abilities. Go you.” I laughed.

“Ha! I told you she thinks I’m hot.” Bryce pointed at Justin.

“It doesn’t count if you’re objectively attractive Walker. I also think the blond guy from the Percy Jackson movie is hot. Because he is objectively attractive.”

“Objectively attractive?”

“You’re lucky you’re rich.” I muttered. Justin choked. “You’re a very pretty man Bryce Walker.”

“Do we get called pretty too Addison?” Monty asked.

“If you don’t call me by my full name again then sure Monty. You are also pretty. Foley, I swear if you drop me, you’re sleeping on the floor tonight.” His hand tightened around my thigh.

The group of us hung out for a while. At some point Scott joined us. Even though we weren’t friends per say, he was still nice to me when I was around. He swam over to my corner of the pool. “I’m supposed to ask you if you think I’m pretty?”

“Scott. If you don’t know you’re pretty, I don’t know what to say to you.”

“Alright then. Why was I supposed to ask?”

“I acknowledged Bryce is objectively attractive and the children felt left out.”

“I see. Why are you hiding in a corner?”

“Hiding from Justin. He’s trying to get me to play chicken. But I don’t feel like getting dropped again.”

“And why does he think you’d get to play with anyone else?”

“I think the attempt would be very entertaining actually.” There was a ringing over by the table.

“Someone’s phone is ringing.” I called. The ringing stopped and started again immediately. Zach looked up. It was his phone.

“It’s probably his mommy calling to tell him he has to come home before it gets dark.” Bryce teased. The boys laughed. I even chuckled a little to myself. Oh, how bad I would feel about that chuckle in a few hours. Zach splashed him. By the time the phone began its second round of ringing again, Zach was out of the pool and grabbing it. He was smiling when he answered it.

“Hey Mom. I’m com-.” It was quiet. “Yeah, I’ll be right home.” He hung up and quickly pulled on his pants, over his wet swim trucks. He threw on his shirt and practically sprinted back in the house. He didn’t say a word to any of us as he left.

“What’s going on with him?” Bryce said. We all stared after him.

A few hours after I got home, I got a text from Bryce. Justin got the same text. Zach’s dad died. Justin and I sat and looked at each other at the table, shocked. We sat there for a solid ten minutes, trying to absorb the information we had been given. I was sure our friends were in the same position. How did you respond to something like that? None of us had ever lost a parent. Sure, I had lost a couple of grandparents. I probably wasn’t the only one. But they’re sort of expected to die. They’re old. They’ve lived. Our parents weren’t old. Not old enough to die yet anyway. I picked my phone back up and texted Zach the only thing I could think to say. He would hear the words a lot in the next few months. I am so sorry. I knew he wouldn’t answer.

Zach wasn’t at school for the rest of the week. Not that he should have been. He had been excused from all of his other exams. Because of course he should have been. I didn’t see him until I was walking home from a date with Monty over the weekend. He was just… walking around town. He didn’t see me at first. When he noticed me standing up the street, he waved a little. I waved back and slowly walked over to him. Even though Zach Dempsey and I weren’t really friends, we were friendly. That’s why it didn’t feel weird when the only thing my brain said to do, was hug him. He didn’t cry. He didn’t say anything. He just hugged me back. We didn’t talk about that random, silent hug on the street again. Not for a long time at least. We simply nodded as we parted ways. He walked one way and I walked the other.

July changed a lot of things. Bryce left town with his family a few days after Zach’s dad’s funeral. Seth was back in town too. That meant Justin spent most of the first couple of weeks of July at my house. He was right. My parents were not happy about him doing summer school. As his not-mom my mum had a strict ‘no fun until homework is done and checked’ rule. At first, I spent my time with Monty during school hours. We weren’t really sure what the summer meant for our relationship. Those first few dates, we mostly talked about that.

“Well, I don’t want to not see you.” Monty said, between kisses in the backseat of my car. We had parked at a secluded clearing overlooking the river.

“I don’t want to not see you either. It’s going to be hard though.”

“Don’t talk about hard right now Doll. Please.” I pulled away and looked at him wide-eyed. “You don’t strike me as a public sex kind of girl. And I don’t want to get a public indecency charge.”

“Yeah. I’m not.” I sat up. “Justin being at my place complicates things.”

“Oh, I know.” He ground out as he adjusted his jeans. I could tell my cheeks were flushed.

“We knew we couldn’t see each other every day.”

“But it’s not easy not seeing you.”

“I know it’s not.”

“Why does this have to be so hard?” He sat back.

“I don’t know.” Neither of us were ready nor willing to have the ‘tell other people’ talk. Even though it had been almost a year. And probably needed to happen.

“Seeing each other while school is in, isn’t such a bad thing, is it?”

“No.”

“And I do have other friends. I could say I’m going to the city with Alex or something. Give us some more time?”

“That’s true.”

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I could take you to the bookstore.” He blinked at me. “What?”

“The bookstore?”

“It’s air conditioned.” I shrugged and climbed into his lap. His hands instinctively found their way to my hips.

“You just need someone to carry your books again.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smirked.

There was something different about Justin since he started summer school. I couldn’t put my finger on it. He was… distracted. I noticed he spent more time on his phone after homework than paying attention to what we were doing. Which was fine when it was show re-runs or my mom’s pick for movie night. But when you’re trying to play Ticket to Ride with a guy, it’s much easier when they are paying attention. “Hey. Earth to Justin. Hello?”

“Huh?” He looked up from his phone.

“It’s been your turn for the past five minutes.”

“Shit, sorry.” He looked at his cards and the map. Picking up a red and a pink from the pile, he settled back in his chair. Interesting. I frowned at the board, trying to figure out what he was doing. I came back with nothing. His phone buzzed again. I glanced at it. So did he. Then my phone buzzed. He glanced at it. So, did I. It was like we were waiting to see who would grab their phone first. After a few beats, his hand went to his phone. He smirked a little and put it down. I didn’t check mine.

I came home from a date with Monty a little late on Thursday. It was nearing five when I walked in the door, after I fixed my hair. I dropped my purse and stopped dead in my tracks. Justin had company. Company in the form of Jessica Davis. Who was currently sitting in his lap. On my couch. Making out with him. On my couch. They had their hands up each other’s shirts. On my couch. I cleared my throat. Jessica pulled away and turned towards me. “Oh, hey Addy.” She greeted, like this was normal.

“Hey Addy. You’re… just getting home?” His speech was slowed. Are you shitting me?

“Yeah. What’s going on?”

“Your parents said I could have a friend over after class.”

“Okay.” I blinked. She was still perched in his lap. I glanced at the clock. “I suggest you fix your shirts because they should be home soon. And I don’t think they want to see, uh, this.” I motioned in their general direction. Jessica laughed and climbed off Justin.

“Oh, don’t be such a priss, Addison.”

“I’m not being a priss. I just wasn’t expecting to come home to people making out on my couch.” She rolled her eyes. “Great to see you too. Hey, Justin. Can I steal you for a sec?” I waved upstairs. “There’s snacks in the cupboard, Jess.”

Justin followed me upstairs, trying not to giggle at, assumingly, the fact that he didn’t get caught by my parents. I shut the door when we got to my room. “What the fuck Justin?”

“What?” He shrugged.

“What do you mean what?”

“What?”

“Making out with a girl on our couch?” He was trying to avoid eye contact. My parents are going to kill him.

“No one was home. It’s not a big deal.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“I don’t know, a couple weeks?” I blinked at him. He was still trying to look away from me. I grabbed his face and made him look at me.

“Are you fucking high right now?”

“No? What? Why would you ask that?” His eyes were bloodshot. He was acting very much like Justin when Justin has been indulging in Bryce’s stash.

“Don’t lie to me Justin Foley. You know my parent’s rules. Do you want them to freak out?”

“Oh, come on Addison. It was a little weed. It’s not that big of a deal.” I sighed heavily.

“You know what, whatever. You obviously don’t care. So, I suggest you tell your girlfriend to leave or figure out a way to sober up before they get home. And if that fails, tell her to leave, and come hide in here until you’re sober enough to face them.” I grabbed a book off my shelf and went back downstairs. I nodded at Jessica, who had made herself some crackers and dip. Sitting at the table, I texted Monty.

Justin and Jessica? Did you know about this? He responded a couple of minutes later.

No? Actually?

Yeah. They were making out on my couch when I got home. And to make things even more awkward and complicated, they’re both high.

I mean, to be fair, weed isn’t really that bad.

Yeah. I know. But that’s not the point. My parents are going to freak. Now is really not the time to be pissing them off.

Oh crap. You guys leave for Boston soon, don’t you?

Next week. And if Justin can’t keep his shit together… I left the unspoken implication hang in cyberspace. Are you really just going to ignore the fact that they were on the couch?

I was hoping to just ignore that fact.

Our make out spots are becoming fewer and further between.

We could just stay in your bed, Doll.

But the couch has the TV. So we can not watch a movie without worrying about my laptop falling.

“Who you texting so much?” Jessica asked, trying to peer at my phone.

“Friend from Boston.” I said, locking my phone.

“Oh, friend from Boston, you say? Is he cute?”

“I guess? His girlfriend probably thinks so.”

“Oh. Not a secret long distance lover then?”

“No. And we grew up together. It would be weird.” I slipped my phone in my pocket and grabbed some cereal. We both looked up when my parents got home. I took that as my cue to go get Justin. I practically kicked him downstairs so he could go entertain his girlfriend with my parents and I could have some time to process how I missed it. Probably the same way he has missed me having a boyfriend for… almost a year.

The day before we left for Boston, Justin and I were running around like mad men. I had plans with Monty and Justin had plans with Jessica tonight, so I didn’t want to be too long packing. Unfortunately, neither of us could find anything we wanted to bring. It was going to be nice so I wanted to bring some dresses. We had a few things planned, but like with our other trips, there would be plenty of time to lounge around the house.

“Have you seen my pink and green dress?”

“The one with the stripes? No. Have you seen my blue shirt?”

“I think mum put it in the wash.”

“Okay.” Justin went down the hall to the bathroom. “Has anyone seen my shampoo?” He called.

“It’s in here.” My dad called from their room. I was busy ripping apart my closet. I groaned in frustration.

“You know, it’s just Boston. We go every year.”

“I know Justin. I just like to be prepared for every eventuality.”

“Yeah. Wait… are you trying to impress Adrian?” Justin laughed. I turned and he was leaning against the doorframe.

“No. Absolutely not. Besides, he has a girlfriend.” A girlfriend I happen to like.

“If you say so.” He smirked. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off as he went back to packing his bag. I gave up on my closet and decided to tackle our toiletries. I wasn’t too concerned with travel sizes because it was all going in my checked luggage.

“Decide what book you’re taking with you Addy?”

“Don’t you mean books, plural? It is a 6-hour flight after all.” He laughed.

“Okay, okay. Books?”

“I’m happy you asked.” I grinned as I pulled out the Barnes & Noble bag from under my bed. His jaw dropped. I shrugged.

“Your parents are going to freak.”

“They know I went book shopping.”

After a very long day of packing, Justin left to go meet Jessica. I texted Monty to let him know I would be leaving in about fifteen minutes. “I’m going to hang out with Alex and Clay for a bit.” I told my parents.

“Just remember we leave early tomorrow for the airport Addison.” My dad said, not looking up from his list. My mom was emptying the fridge.

“I will.”

When I got to the cliffside where we agreed to meet, Monty was waiting for me. I couldn’t help myself. I ran and held onto him like it was the last time I would ever see him. “You’re only leaving for two weeks Addison.” He grunted at the impact.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” He kissed the top of my head. We stood like that for a few more minutes before finally separating. I took his hand and led him up the trail. It was good for both of us to be walking the trails. He was starting summer training with the boys while we were gone, and I was going to be sitting for around 8 hours straight tomorrow. Provided our flight wasn’t delayed, of course. It was just starting to get dark, and I stopped along the way to take in the town’s skyline in the evening dusk. Monty rested his chin on top of my head, and I sighed, leaning back into him. It was so peaceful. I looked up and him and noticed a small bruise forming on his jaw. Not wanting to start a fight right before I left for two weeks, I pretended I hadn’t seen it. I smiled sadly to myself still. I wish he would just talk to me about it.

After a few hours, wandering around and soaking in the last time we would have for a couple of weeks, which feels like an eternity when you’re 16, we knew it was time to say goodbye. When we got to the parking lot, he made me turn around at his Jeep. I furrowed my brow. Before I could ask, he twirled his finger in the air. I clamped my mouth closed and turned. He rummaged around for a minute. “What are you doing?”

“You’ll see. Just wait a minute.” I huffed. He chuckled. “Ah.” He muttered. He tapped me on the shoulder. I turned. He held out a small Barnes and Noble bag. I was taken aback. I wasn’t expecting anything. I pointed at the bag and then at me.

“F-for me?”

“It’s not much so don’t start.” He smiled, shyly.

“Okay.” I took the bag.

“I can’t wrap stuff worth shit, so the bag is as good as you’re going to get.” I laughed and shrugged. It was a fair enough explanation. I opened the bag and pulled out a spiralbound notebook. The cover was pink with the titles of all the classics on it. I smiled. “You won’t be here for your birthday, and I know your notebook is getting full so….” Monty trailed off.

“Thank you. This is really sweet.” I flipped it open and gasped. On the first page, he had drawn a book like on the cover, and titled it The Next Classic and written Hawthorne at the bottom where the author’s last name sometimes appears.

“Happy birthday, Addison.”

“Oh.” I smiled. My eyes had started to tear up. This was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given me. I closed the gap between us and kissed him. He pulled me closer to him and I deepened the kiss just a little. Not too much, just enough to make him remember me while I was gone.I had finished the last book on my To Read shelf by mid-May. Hopping off my bed, I went over to my bookshelf. There was only one shelf of space left. The stack to shelve had gotten a tad out of hand. Sighing to myself, I sat down to start reorganizing. I pulled the books from H to Z down to fit the new additions to my collection in. My dad poked his head in when the stack fell over. “Everything okay in here?” I was surrounded by books. Dad tried not to laugh as he took the scene in. Grabbing books, I turned back to the shelf.“Perfect. Totally meant to sit in a sea of books this afternoon.” “Sure. You have fun with that. I have to head into the office for a while. Tell your mother I probably won’t be home for dinner.” “Will do.” I nodded, not turning my attention back to him. Monty texted me shortly after I had finished the M’s. What are you up to today? Organizing my bookshelf. I finished my TBR so now they go in the permanent collection. Only my girlfriend would make a permanent book collection and a separate section for books that aren’t done. Hey! Lots of people do this. Yes honey. What are you up to today? Trying to study for my last History test. It’s very boring. I’m sure it is. If you’re free Saturday, how about a get out of studying free card? Oh? What did you have in mind Doll? I rolled my eyes and grinned. Of course he thought I meant something dirty. Cool your jets Monty. I was going to see if you wanted to go to the bookstore with me?I can make that happen. What time? I think Clay and I are getting lunch to go over our study guide for the Math final. I could do like 1?Sounds good. Do you want me to meet you at the bookstore? Sure. I go to the B&N at the Everglade. It’s a date. I smiled and went back to my books. When it was done, I snapped a picture and sent it to Justin. I finished my TBR! You know what that means?Oh no. More books? More books! Do I have to come with you?No. The parents gave me a limit of 10 books this time. Only 10?I have points saved up. And 10 is a perfectly reasonable amount of new books. For you? Yes. For normal people? No. Oh shhh, or I’ll make you come with me. Okay, okay. It’s reasonable lol. I texted Monty a picture of my bookshelf too. He responded with a laughing emoji. Teachers were beginning to wrap up final units and hand out study guides for finals. Justin was still mad about summer school so he kept up his not giving a shit attitude. I rolled my eyes whenever he sighed or complained about finals. And I stopped offering to help him. If he wanted to do more work in summer school, that was fine by me. It gave me more time to spend with Monty. On Saturday, I met Clay at Rosie’s and we both got milkshakes. I wasn’t very hungry, and I didn’t want burger breath later. “So Clay, how’s Hannah doing?” “I don’t know. We have hung out a few times, and I see her at work, but I don’t think we have hung out hung out.” “You still haven’t asked her out?” “I mean, we went to Jeff’s place not together, but we were both there, and I feel like maybe we connected?” “Connected?” “Well, we were doing… stuff… and we talked.” My eyes widened. “Clay Jensen did you do drugs in Jeff’s basement?” “Maybe?” I was stunned. “Well, I’ll be damned. Clay Jensen, having fun. I never thought I’d see the day.”“Ha ha.” He joked. “I’m kidding! But seriously. Take the risk Clay.” “I’ll think about it. Can we look at this study guide now?” I sighed and pulled it out of my bag. We both shuddered. This is not going to be a pretty exam.By the time Clay and I called it an afternoon, it was 12:30. That gave me just enough time to get to the city. We packed our notes and headed outside. “Man, I really need a car.” Clay sighed, unlocking his bike. “Your parents said no?” “I have a bike.” He waved towards the bike. “That you do. I would offer you a ride, but I’m headed into the city for the afternoon.” “No worries, Addy.” He smiled. We waved goodbye and I watched as he biked down the street. I started my car and texted Monty. Leaving Rosie’s now. Might be a little late. Drive safe. Sounds good, drive safe Doll. I stopped at Starbucks when I got to the mall and got an iced coffee to sip while I browse and a coffee for Montgomery. He was waiting outside Barnes & Noble for me. “Hey handsome. Fancy seeing you here.” I winked as I walked up to him.“Hey gorgeous. What can I say, thought it would be a good way to find a girl. You know what they say about the readers.” “I have a feeling I do.” I laughed and handed him his coffee. “Something to do with being high strung, overachievers with daddy issues?” “Somethin’ like that.” Monty took my hand and let me lead him into the bookstore. I decided I would keep my ten-book limit to myself. I knew how many points I had, and I still had birthday money left from last year. He chuckled as I practically dragged him towards the YA section. I didn’t stop to look at the romance displays or the cookbooks or the journals. I was on a mission. There were books to buy. I sipped my coffee as I browsed. As usual, I made my way up and down the aisles quickly once to see if anything immediately caught my eye. A couple of books did, so I grabbed them to look over after I was done my power walk. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen you move that fast.” “Ass.” I laughed as I read over the synopsizes of the two books. Neither of them was my cup of tea in the end, so I decided to put them back. I could feel Montgomery watching me as I looked at the shelves. “What?” I asked as I pulled a book down and skimmed the back. “Nothin’. You’re just cute is all.” “Oh?” “Yeah. And those shorts are very nice.” I blushed and smiled softly. “Thanks.” I handed him the book. “Oh, I see. You needed someone to carry the books.”“Well, who else would I have asked, when I have my strong, athletic boyfriend to follow me around the store?” He only laughed in response. I grabbed a few more books as I sipped at my coffee. Once in a while, I would notice him watching me and turn to smile at him. There were six books in Monty’s hands before he finished his coffee. “I’m going to throw this out. Try to leave some books for the next person, okay Bookworm?” “I’ll try. No promises though.” I mused. By the time he came back, I had three more books. I looked up when I heard him laugh. I grinned at him and held out the books. He took them, tucked them under his arm, and stepped towards me. My brow furrowed and he reached to tuck my hair behind my ear, trailing his hand down to cup the back of my neck, and pull me towards him to kiss me. I kissed him back softly. It was nice to be able to kiss in public. I liked our little bubble. It felt like we were the only two people in the world. He pulled away first. We continued to peruse the store for a while and stole kisses and glances along the way. Monty slid his hand in my back pocket as we walked. I grabbed another couple of books and sighed. “What’s up?” “I guess that’s enough books for a little while.” “For a little while? Addison. There’s like,” he paused to count, “sixteen books here.” “Yeah. And that isn’t even all of what is on my TBR still. And it’s buy one get one half off all books.” I shrugged. “Jesus. Crazy woman.” He muttered softly and kissed the side of my head. I sighed and turned to head for the till. After discounts, points, and birthday money, my total was twenty-five dollars. “Now to figure out how to sneak the extra six books into the house.” I muttered as we left. “The extra what whats?” “Uh… nothing.” I smiled sheepishly. He shook his head playfully. “Oh, hey. Pretzels. Split one?” “Nice change of subject. Sure. Pretzel sounds good.” He rubbed my hand as he held it. This is nice. In late June, just as finals week was hitting its peak, tragedy struck our little group of jocks. The boys were at Bryce’s trying to blow off some steam. I was trying to be nice to him and make an effort for Justin, so I tagged along. The way his family approached and flaunted their money always took me by surprise. I wasn’t oblivious. I knew my family had more money than most. More than I liked to consider or admit. But it was never flashed around the way it was with the Walkers. I came from old money on my dad’s side, like his mom. But unlike him, I wasn’t exposed to it on a daily basis. The concept of a twice a week maid was enough to widen my eyes. The only time my family had a maid come was when Gran was coming to stay with us, or we were hosting Christmas back when all my grandparents lived state-side, so a very deep clean was needed. The fact that they had a chef come in once a week to meal prep for them was… almost incomprehensible. The only time I met a chef was when I found a hair in my food when my family went out one night. I had been to his house before of course. I was friends with Justin. We shared custody of him most weeks. Even still, I found myself hanging back and watching the boys socialize. Or I was trying to at least. Bryce thrusting a bottle of water in my hand startled me. I jumped slightly. “Thanks.” I muttered. “Don’t mention it.” He chuckled. He settled himself next to me and leaned back against the counter. “Hi.” “Hi. You know that they will talk to you, right? They know you.” “I know.” “Okay. I’ll talk to you then.” Great. Just what I want. “Sure Bryce.” “How are finals treating you?” “I cried before my honours English final yesterday.” “I almost forgot about my math final.” “So, we are basically in the same boat.” “Basically. You had bio and history today?” “Yeah.” “How were they?” “I think I did fairly okay. Can you imagine what my mum would do if I bombed the history final?” He stared off into space with me and shivered. “I would say something nice about you at your funeral.” “Thanks Walker. Killing me does seem like a lot of hassle for that though. Like it seems like it would just inconvenience them. Maybe locked in my room to study until I’m forty?” “True. I would text you news updates. Keep you updated in all things Bryce and the boys.” “Prefect. Make isolation at least a little bit bearable.” He was actually kind of nice sometimes. Maybe. If I squinted.“Yeah. My dad would have freaked if I missed my math final.” “How could you take over the family business if you fail tenth grade math Bryce?” “No idea. Not like he doesn’t pay someone to do all that math for him. Speaking of, he wanted me to ask you if your dad is taking on any new clients now that tax season is winding down?” “I don’t know. I don’t think he is, but I can get him to email your dad.” I don’t think he’s going to take your dad on. “I’ll let him know.” “Where are you off to this summer?” “I think we are summering in Fiji?” “Because California isn’t summer-y enough?” “Mom thinks the sun feels different. More sunny. I tan better in tropical environments.” “Sure, you do.”“What are your family’s plans?” “We have our annual family trip to Boston at the end of July into the first week of August. Dad pushed his vacation time this year.” “Doesn’t he own the company?” “Yeah. But his associate wanted to take vacation in mid-July. She’s taking her kids to Disney World.” “Again, doesn’t he own the company?”“Again, yes. Why?” “Shouldn’t he get first pick?” “Well, our vacation basically costs us airfare, food, and spending money. Hers and everyone else’s costs a lot more. And requires more planning. So, he lets them have first pick and takes whatever’s left for the most part. Because of that, people are more willing to pick fairly.” “Interesting.”“Are you two going to come outside or not?” Justin called from the back yard. Bryce and I looked up and found the house empty. All the boys had moved to the back. We shrugged and joined them. I needed to pass the sniff test so I didn’t dare go in the pool house. Anders and Dylan were in the pool house enjoying Bryce’s stash. It was already nearing eighty degrees in the daytime. We were in for a hot summer. Justin pulled off his shirt, dropped his pants, and jumped in the pool. Shaking my head, I followed Bryce outside. I sat on the edge of the pool and dipped my feet in the water. Monty was trying to be discreet and swim backwards towards me. He stopped just shy of me and shared a look with Zach. I pretended not to notice. It looked like I was busy watching Justin goof off with Bryce and Garrison. I was watching my boyfriend out of the corner of my eye though. I felt a wave close to my foot. “Montgomery. If you touch my foot, I’m not responsible for what happens to your face.” His hand stopped and his eyes widened. Justin laughed and called from across the pool. “She isn’t wrong dude. She kicked me in the face when I was trying to bug her one time.” “I wasn’t going to….” Monty trailed off. “Sure, you weren’t.” I shook my head and moved to stand up. I pulled my tank top over my head. The shorts I was wearing were fine to go in the water. Seeing as we had to keep up appearances, I couldn’t very well ask Monty to tighten the tie on my bikini top. That would be too much. The boys would question that. Joking around and talking to each other in a group was okay. Touching was not. “Hey Justin, do you mind?” I gestured to my back, not looking at the pool. “He’s a little busy.” Bryce said. I could hear splashing behind me. “Zach?” “Sure.” He climbed out of the pool and untied the bottom strings. He pulled them tighter in a knot and doubled the bow. “Good?” “Yeah.” I turned around. “Thanks.” Bryce whistled. Gross.“Why are you keeping her all to yourself again?” He asked Justin. I flipped him off. Why am I being nice to you again? “I’m not. It’s Addison. Even if I was, I don’t share Bryce.” He seemed to shut the conversation down. Only I could pick up on the stern undertone in his voice. Just as quickly as it came, it was gone, and they were back to goofing off again. I slipped in the pool and noticing Justin was distracted, I swam over to him and jumped on his back. I may have accidentally splashed Monty in my jumping. I snuck a peek at him and he was rolling his eyes and laughing. “Chicken?” Justin asked. His hands went to my thighs unconsciously. “No. You dropped me last time. Though it would be entertaining trying to watch the rest of you lift each other.” “We’re strong.” The boys around me protested. They all made a show of flexing. “Yes, yes. You’re all strong and hot. With superior athletic abilities. Go you.” I laughed. “Ha! I told you she thinks I’m hot.” Bryce pointed at Justin. “It doesn’t count if you’re objectively attractive Walker. I also think the blond guy from the Percy Jackson movie is hot. Because he is objectively attractive.” “Objectively attractive?” “You’re lucky you’re rich.” I muttered. Justin choked. “You’re a very pretty man Bryce Walker.” “Do we get called pretty too Addison?” Monty asked.“If you don’t call me by my full name again then sure Monty. You are also pretty. Foley, I swear if you drop me, you’re sleeping on the floor tonight.” His hand tightened around my thigh. The group of us hung out for a while. At some point Scott joined us. Even though we weren’t friends per say, he was still nice to me when I was around. He swam over to my corner of the pool. “I’m supposed to ask you if you think I’m pretty?” “Scott. If you don’t know you’re pretty, I don’t know what to say to you.” “Alright then. Why was I supposed to ask?” “I acknowledged Bryce is objectively attractive and the children felt left out.” “I see. Why are you hiding in a corner?” “Hiding from Justin. He’s trying to get me to play chicken. But I don’t feel like getting dropped again.” “And why does he think you’d get to play with anyone else?” “I think the attempt would be very entertaining actually.” There was a ringing over by the table. “Someone’s phone is ringing.” I called. The ringing stopped and started again immediately. Zach looked up. It was his phone. “It’s probably his mommy calling to tell him he has to come home before it gets dark.” Bryce teased. The boys laughed. I even chuckled a little to myself. Oh, how bad I would feel about that chuckle in a few hours. Zach splashed him. By the time the phone began its second round of ringing again, Zach was out of the pool and grabbing it. He was smiling when he answered it. “Hey Mom. I’m com-.” It was quiet. “Yeah, I’ll be right home.” He hung up and quickly pulled on his pants, over his wet swim trucks. He threw on his shirt and practically sprinted back in the house. He didn’t say a word to any of us as he left.“What’s going on with him?” Bryce said. We all stared after him. A few hours after I got home, I got a text from Bryce. Justin got the same text. Zach’s dad died. Justin and I sat and looked at each other at the table, shocked. We sat there for a solid ten minutes, trying to absorb the information we had been given. I was sure our friends were in the same position. How did you respond to something like that? None of us had ever lost a parent. Sure, I had lost a couple of grandparents. I probably wasn’t the only one. But they’re sort of expected to die. They’re old. They’ve lived. Our parents weren’t old. Not old enough to die yet anyway. I picked my phone back up and texted Zach the only thing I could think to say. He would hear the words a lot in the next few months. I am so sorry. I knew he wouldn’t answer. Zach wasn’t at school for the rest of the week. Not that he should have been. He had been excused from all of his other exams. Because of course he should have been. I didn’t see him until I was walking home from a date with Monty over the weekend. He was just… walking around town. He didn’t see me at first. When he noticed me standing up the street, he waved a little. I waved back and slowly walked over to him. Even though Zach Dempsey and I weren’t really friends, we were friendly. That’s why it didn’t feel weird when the only thing my brain said to do, was hug him. He didn’t cry. He didn’t say anything. He just hugged me back. We didn’t talk about that random, silent hug on the street again. Not for a long time at least. We simply nodded as we parted ways. He walked one way and I walked the other. July changed a lot of things. Bryce left town with his family a few days after Zach’s dad’s funeral. Seth was back in town too. That meant Justin spent most of the first couple of weeks of July at my house. He was right. My parents were not happy about him doing summer school. As his not-mom my mum had a strict ‘no fun until homework is done and checked’ rule. At first, I spent my time with Monty during school hours. We weren’t really sure what the summer meant for our relationship. Those first few dates, we mostly talked about that. “Well, I don’t want to not see you.” Monty said, between kisses in the backseat of my car. We had parked at a secluded clearing overlooking the river. “I don’t want to not see you either. It’s going to be hard though.” “Don’t talk about hard right now Doll. Please.” I pulled away and looked at him wide-eyed. “You don’t strike me as a public sex kind of girl. And I don’t want to get a public indecency charge.” “Yeah. I’m not.” I sat up. “Justin being at my place complicates things.” “Oh, I know.” He ground out as he adjusted his jeans. I could tell my cheeks were flushed. “We knew we couldn’t see each other every day.” “But it’s not easy not seeing you.” “I know it’s not.” “Why does this have to be so hard?” He sat back. “I don’t know.” Neither of us were ready nor willing to have the ‘tell other people’ talk. Even though it had been almost a year. And probably needed to happen. “Seeing each other while school is in, isn’t such a bad thing, is it?” “No.” “And I do have other friends. I could say I’m going to the city with Alex or something. Give us some more time?” “That’s true.” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. “I could take you to the bookstore.” He blinked at me. “What?” “The bookstore?” “It’s air conditioned.” I shrugged and climbed into his lap. His hands instinctively found their way to my hips. “You just need someone to carry your books again.” “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I smirked. There was something different about Justin since he started summer school. I couldn’t put my finger on it. He was… distracted. I noticed he spent more time on his phone after homework than paying attention to what we were doing. Which was fine when it was show re-runs or my mom’s pick for movie night. But when you’re trying to play Ticket to Ride with a guy, it’s much easier when they are paying attention. “Hey. Earth to Justin. Hello?”“Huh?” He looked up from his phone. “It’s been your turn for the past five minutes.” “Shit, sorry.” He looked at his cards and the map. Picking up a red and a pink from the pile, he settled back in his chair. Interesting. I frowned at the board, trying to figure out what he was doing. I came back with nothing. His phone buzzed again. I glanced at it. So did he. Then my phone buzzed. He glanced at it. So, did I. It was like we were waiting to see who would grab their phone first. After a few beats, his hand went to his phone. He smirked a little and put it down. I didn’t check mine. I came home from a date with Monty a little late on Thursday. It was nearing five when I walked in the door, after I fixed my hair. I dropped my purse and stopped dead in my tracks. Justin had company. Company in the form of Jessica Davis. Who was currently sitting in his lap. On my couch. Making out with him. On my couch. They had their hands up each other’s shirts. On my couch. I cleared my throat. Jessica pulled away and turned towards me. “Oh, hey Addy.” She greeted, like this was normal. “Hey Addy. You’re… just getting home?” His speech was slowed. Are you shitting me? “Yeah. What’s going on?” “Your parents said I could have a friend over after class.” “Okay.” I blinked. She was still perched in his lap. I glanced at the clock. “I suggest you fix your shirts because they should be home soon. And I don’t think they want to see, uh, this.” I motioned in their general direction. Jessica laughed and climbed off Justin. “Oh, don’t be such a priss, Addison.” “I’m not being a priss. I just wasn’t expecting to come home to people making out on my couch.” She rolled her eyes. “Great to see you too. Hey, Justin. Can I steal you for a sec?” I waved upstairs. “There’s snacks in the cupboard, Jess.” Justin followed me upstairs, trying not to giggle at, assumingly, the fact that he didn’t get caught by my parents. I shut the door when we got to my room. “What the fuck Justin?” “What?” He shrugged. “What do you mean what?” “What?” “Making out with a girl on our couch?” He was trying to avoid eye contact. My parents are going to kill him. “No one was home. It’s not a big deal.” “How long has this been going on?” “I don’t know, a couple weeks?” I blinked at him. He was still trying to look away from me. I grabbed his face and made him look at me. “Are you fucking high right now?” “No? What? Why would you ask that?” His eyes were bloodshot. He was acting very much like Justin when Justin has been indulging in Bryce’s stash. “Don’t lie to me Justin Foley. You know my parent’s rules. Do you want them to freak out?” “Oh, come on Addison. It was a little weed. It’s not that big of a deal.” I sighed heavily. “You know what, whatever. You obviously don’t care. So, I suggest you tell your girlfriend to leave or figure out a way to sober up before they get home. And if that fails, tell her to leave, and come hide in here until you’re sober enough to face them.” I grabbed a book off my shelf and went back downstairs. I nodded at Jessica, who had made herself some crackers and dip. Sitting at the table, I texted Monty. Justin and Jessica? Did you know about this? He responded a couple of minutes later. No? Actually?Yeah. They were making out on my couch when I got home. And to make things even more awkward and complicated, they’re both high. I mean, to be fair, weed isn’t really that bad. Yeah. I know. But that’s not the point. My parents are going to freak. Now is really not the time to be pissing them off. Oh crap. You guys leave for Boston soon, don’t you? Next week. And if Justin can’t keep his shit together… I left the unspoken implication hang in cyberspace. Are you really just going to ignore the fact that they were on the couch?I was hoping to just ignore that fact. Our make out spots are becoming fewer and further between. We could just stay in your bed, Doll. But the couch has the TV. So we can not watch a movie without worrying about my laptop falling. “Who you texting so much?” Jessica asked, trying to peer at my phone. “Friend from Boston.” I said, locking my phone. “Oh, friend from Boston, you say? Is he cute?”“I guess? His girlfriend probably thinks so.” “Oh. Not a secret long distance lover then?”“No. And we grew up together. It would be weird.” I slipped my phone in my pocket and grabbed some cereal. We both looked up when my parents got home. I took that as my cue to go get Justin. I practically kicked him downstairs so he could go entertain his girlfriend with my parents and I could have some time to process how I missed it. Probably the same way he has missed me having a boyfriend for… almost a year. The day before we left for Boston, Justin and I were running around like mad men. I had plans with Monty and Justin had plans with Jessica tonight, so I didn’t want to be too long packing. Unfortunately, neither of us could find anything we wanted to bring. It was going to be nice so I wanted to bring some dresses. We had a few things planned, but like with our other trips, there would be plenty of time to lounge around the house. “Have you seen my pink and green dress?” “The one with the stripes? No. Have you seen my blue shirt?”“I think mum put it in the wash.” “Okay.” Justin went down the hall to the bathroom. “Has anyone seen my shampoo?” He called. “It’s in here.” My dad called from their room. I was busy ripping apart my closet. I groaned in frustration. “You know, it’s just Boston. We go every year.” “I know Justin. I just like to be prepared for every eventuality.” “Yeah. Wait… are you trying to impress Adrian?” Justin laughed. I turned and he was leaning against the doorframe. “No. Absolutely not. Besides, he has a girlfriend.” A girlfriend I happen to like. “If you say so.” He smirked. I rolled my eyes and flipped him off as he went back to packing his bag. I gave up on my closet and decided to tackle our toiletries. I wasn’t too concerned with travel sizes because it was all going in my checked luggage. “Decide what book you’re taking with you Addy?” “Don’t you mean books, plural? It is a 6-hour flight after all.” He laughed. “Okay, okay. Books?” “I’m happy you asked.” I grinned as I pulled out the Barnes & Noble bag from under my bed. His jaw dropped. I shrugged. “Your parents are going to freak.” “They know I went book shopping.” After a very long day of packing, Justin left to go meet Jessica. I texted Monty to let him know I would be leaving in about fifteen minutes. “I’m going to hang out with Alex and Clay for a bit.” I told my parents. “Just remember we leave early tomorrow for the airport Addison.” My dad said, not looking up from his list. My mom was emptying the fridge. “I will.” When I got to the cliffside where we agreed to meet, Monty was waiting for me. I couldn’t help myself. I ran and held onto him like it was the last time I would ever see him. “You’re only leaving for two weeks Addison.” He grunted at the impact. “I’m going to miss you.” “I’ll miss you too.” He kissed the top of my head. We stood like that for a few more minutes before finally separating. I took his hand and led him up the trail. It was good for both of us to be walking the trails. He was starting summer training with the boys while we were gone, and I was going to be sitting for around 8 hours straight tomorrow. Provided our flight wasn’t delayed, of course. It was just starting to get dark, and I stopped along the way to take in the town’s skyline in the evening dusk. Monty rested his chin on top of my head, and I sighed, leaning back into him. It was so peaceful. I looked up and him and noticed a small bruise forming on his jaw. Not wanting to start a fight right before I left for two weeks, I pretended I hadn’t seen it. I smiled sadly to myself still. I wish he would just talk to me about it. After a few hours, wandering around and soaking in the last time we would have for a couple of weeks, which feels like an eternity when you’re 16, we knew it was time to say goodbye. When we got to the parking lot, he made me turn around at his Jeep. I furrowed my brow. Before I could ask, he twirled his finger in the air. I clamped my mouth closed and turned. He rummaged around for a minute. “What are you doing?” “You’ll see. Just wait a minute.” I huffed. He chuckled. “Ah.” He muttered. He tapped me on the shoulder. I turned. He held out a small Barnes and Noble bag. I was taken aback. I wasn’t expecting anything. I pointed at the bag and then at me. “F-for me?” “It’s not much so don’t start.” He smiled, shyly. “Okay.” I took the bag. “I can’t wrap stuff worth shit, so the bag is as good as you’re going to get.” I laughed and shrugged. It was a fair enough explanation. I opened the bag and pulled out a spiralbound notebook. The cover was pink with the titles of all the classics on it. I smiled. “You won’t be here for your birthday, and I know your notebook is getting full so….” Monty trailed off. “Thank you. This is really sweet.” I flipped it open and gasped. On the first page, he had drawn a book like on the cover, and titled it The Next Classic and written Hawthorne at the bottom where the author’s last name sometimes appears. “Happy birthday, Addison.” “Oh.” I smiled. My eyes had started to tear up. This was the sweetest gift anyone had ever given me. I closed the gap between us and kissed him. He pulled me closer to him and I deepened the kiss just a little. Not too much, just enough to make him remember me while I was gone.

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sophiewritesworld · 2 years

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MASTERLIST

SUPERNATURAL:

Dean Winchester

13 REASONS WHY:

Montgomery de la Cruz

Jeff Atkins

Zach Dempsey

STRANGER THINGS

Eddie Munson

#masterlist #supernatural #13 reasons why #Stranger things #Supernatural imagine #13 reasons why imagine #stranger things imagine #dean winchester #montgomery de la cruz #jeff atkins #zach dempsey #eddie munson #jeff x reader #montgomery de la cruz x reader #eddie munson x female reader

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beamergirll11 · 3 months

Text

I’m Not Yours

Synopsis:

You and Monty have been hooking up secretly but he is still in denial about his sexuality. A party at Bryce’s you find yourself in the arms of another man. Your openly gay and your family is very influential so no one really cares but Monty sure does.

Pairing: Toxic? M Reader x Monty

Warnings: violence, beat downs, Monty being Monty

A/N: Bryce is in the fanfic not trying to glorify him

You had been out of the closet for the past two years. At first you did have some trouble but when your rich and your daddy owns parts of Crestmont people tend to bow. It was a late Saturday night at Bryce’s and of course he was throwing a party. Everyone was drinking and pretty rowdy, Despite some of the people’s disdain for Bryce they showed up because of free booze and drugs.

That night something different happened, You usually found yourself prowling on dating sites or hitting up Monty when you had that itch that needed to be scratched. However tonight you had met a handsome young man blond hair the works. He was charming and in a mere hour he had his tongue down your throat.

No one gave you shit because of who you were, Bryce on several occasions even managed to find a few guys for you to play with. You were single and ready to mingle nothing serious because you hadn’t found the right guy and hell you were young.

Your face was practically being devoured by this guy whose name you didn’t even know. However he smelt like sandalwood and he tasted like cigarettes for some reason this was intoxicating to you. When he finally let you go the look in his eyes told you what was next and you would have happily gave in if it wasn’t for Monty…

Over the guy’s shoulder you saw Monty staring at you menacingly. At that moment you knew there was no way tonight was going to go the way you wanted it to. The guy began to pull you towards Bryce’s house, Obviously ready to take you to pound town. You couldn’t help but smile knowing you were going to get what you wanted what you craved.

However your hands were forced apart by Monty and suddenly he was between you both. Once your eyes met his you sighed and with only your expressions you begged him not be an…asshole for once. This didn’t work and what made it worse was the guy thought he could take Monty on. Once the guy placed his hand on Monty’s shoulder that was it, Monty had him on the ground beating him.

Blood flew each hit purposely meeting his face, You went towards him but as Bryce rushed over he managed to tackle him with the others. As they held Monty down the guy got up on all fours spitting out teeth mixed with bright red blood. In that moment you bent over trying to comfort him but he shoved you away.

When Monty saw this he seemed to get some fucking boost like a video game character because now he was back on feet trying to get to him. You rolled your eyes irritated and made your way to some others trying to distant yourself from the situation.

After the party ended Bryce was handing out 100s to the guy you had almost been dicked down by if it wasn’t for Monty. You watched from afar with frustration as you took a drink from your rum bottle. Tonight you would most likely either needed to be driven home or you would take Bryce’s sofa or guesthouse.

As you began to take another drink you groaned as you saw Monty approach you. You began to walk away but he stopped you his voice almost pleading, “No wait…”

You wanted to walk away but for some reason Monty always got to you.

“What? Monty haven’t you done enough?”

“I don’t know why I did what I did…” he said apologetically.

“What am I to you?” You demanded to know as your brows furrowed.

“It’s complicated Y/N.”

“No it’s not…Monty you’re a fucking coward…either be who you are or leave me alone.” You snarled.

“You…you don’t mean that.” He said shaking head.

“Yes I do…I’m not yours Monty.” You said watching him as he glared at the ground.

“I know who I am…I accept myself and I don’t give a fuck who doesn’t.” You said your voice slightly cracking.

Damn you hated how he could make you emotional, Monty looked up at you sympathetically and regardless of his actions you knew he cared maybe even more than just cared.

“Don’t cry…” was all Monty could muster.

“Monty we can’t see each other anymore.” You said watching his eyes widen and his shoulders go slack.

“Don’t do this…” He pleaded.

“Then right here right now tell everyone who you are.”

“…I can’t.” He said avoiding eye contact as if he was ashamed. You sighed completely over the situation, You had feelings for Monty. However he wasn’t brave enough to be himself, Terrified of the judgement harassment he would get. His dad would most likely disown him, everyone knew his dad was a piece of shit.

“Monty…I can fuck or be with whoever I want.” You said despite feeling guilt.

Monty seemed angry but in despair at the same time, His temper threatened to make him have another outburst but somehow he held it down. With a glare he turned heel shoving past Bryce and the others. They all looked at each other confused except Bryce who knew who Monty really was.

Bryce simply shot you a look and then changed the subject for everyone. As Monty left Bryce got everyone inside to check out the arcade room being built. As you walked inside you turned slightly seeing Monty in the distance by his car giving you one last glance. You shook off the feelings as you turned back heading inside before hearing him speed off…

#13 reasons why angst #13 reasons why #13 reasons why imagine #13 reasons why fanfiction #13 reasons why Monty #montgomery de la cruz #bryce Walker #13 reasons why gay #my writing #fanfiction

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rottenstyx · 2 years

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im trying to find a fic

do any of you know a fic (I think the name was jessica) about montgomery and his sister where there are some rumors that him and his sister are dating? I think it had 3 parts also

I've been trying to find it for awhile now :(

I'd be very happy if any of you knew the link or who wrote it

#montgomery la cruz x reader sister #monty de la cruz #monty de la cruz x reader #montgomery de la cruz x reader #montgomery de la cruz #monty x reader #montgomery de la cruz imagine #monty de la cruz masterlist

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buckyseddie · 2 years

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unexpected date gone right

pairings — montgomery de la cruz x fem!baker!reader, featuring bff!tyler down x bff!fem!baker!reader

summary — in which, she lets monty take her out on a date to stop the constant harassment she endures from him.

word count — 1.9k.

warnings — jealous!monty, angst, mentions of hannah’s death and how reader feels about it, fluff.

notes — i just want to make two things very clear. i wanna clarify i wrote this fic BEFORE i found out that monty was gay. i’m only leaving it up because people wanted it to stay up. and secondly, i, in no way, support what monty did to tyler. that was completely wrong, and i have certain morals, so i don’t excuse his actions. however, i do have a soft spot for villains, and i feel that he, sort of, redeemed himself a little bit. and i also feel that if he hadn’t been killed off, prison would’ve taught him a lot, and maybe have redeemed himself. so, i just wanted to make that clear. and, p.s., in this imagine, monty never did any of the tramatizing things, like what he did to tyler. gif and divider creds to owner!

p.s., feedback is very much encouraged and appreciated <3.

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“THANK YOU, TY. I’LL TALK to you later, buddy!” she exclaims with a bright smile as tyler hands her the previously fallen textbooks.

“of course.” he says, before pausing, causing her to turn around with a questioning stare.

“um, i wanted to th—thank you.” he stutters out, wearing an uncomfortable expression.

“thank me for what?” she asks, tilting her head to the side in confusion.

“for always being so nice to me… and for being my friend. i know that you know how i acted towards hannah before. but, unlike everyone else, you didn’t judge me on that and i really appreciate it.” he admits, wearing a shy smile.

“aw, of course, ty! you’re so much more than your past. you’re a great guy, and i know that people will realize that one day.” [y/n] says, before pulling him in for a comforting hug.

“thank you — for everything.” he mumbles into her hair, finally hugging her back.

as he hugs onto her for a few more seconds, he feels confused and uncomfortable, considering he’s never had someone genuinely care about him or hug him like this, other than his family.

“hey, get away from her, stalker!” a snarky voice abruptly yells, causing [y/n] to slowly pull away from her friend, trying to find the person with the very familiar voice.

“what, was hannah not enough? you gotta move onto another poor, innocent girl?” monty exclaims, eyes almost blazing in jealousy.

“i was just—” tyler starts, but monty interrupts him. “—no. you leave her alone, freak.” he says, pushing the poor kid against the lockers.

“montgomery! leave him alone. tyler is my friend. leave him the fuck alone, asshat.” [y/n] exclaims, clenching her fists to keep her anger at bay.

“but, he—” he starts, but she swiftly pushes his fists off of tyler’s shirt — this isn’t very hard, considering the second her hands touch his, he instantly lets go of tyler.

“no. he’s one of my best friends. and if anything, he’s like my brother. so, if you go as far as even looking in his direction, you’ll have me to deal with.” she spits out, grabbing tyler’s arm and pulling him behind her.

“tyler, go to class. i’ll see you later, alright?” she orders, turning to him as he nods.

he turns around and rushes down the hall.

“what the hell is your problem? could you be any more of a stereotypical, cliché, entitled jock-asshat?” she asks incredulously, turning to him and practically glaring in his direction.

“you know what? honestly, why should i be shocked? you’re friends with fucking bryce, after all.” she mumbles, rolling her eyes as she walks down the hall, hoping the boy will just leave her alone for once.

but, of course, he doesn’t leave her be.

i mean, why would he? he has been bothering and annoying the girl for months now.

why? [y/n] has no clue.

but, that’s probably just because she’s super clueless.

“hey! just because i’m friends with bryce doesn’t mean i’m anything like him.” he exclaims, falling into step beside her.

“yeah, okay. why else would you be following me around, and annoying the shit out of me? it’s kind of obvious that you either want to piss me off, or get into my pants — and neither will be happening, anytime soon.” she states, stopping finally, and turning towards him, crossing her arms across her chest.

she raises her eyebrows in question, challenging him to tell her she’s wrong.

he sighs, anxiously fidgeting with his fingers — something that’s very unlike monty.

“spit it out already! i have a very important class to get to, and i really don’t have time for your shit today.” she groans, rolling her eyes at his sudden shyness.

“i like you, alright!?” he exclaims as she gapes in shock, not expecting him to stoop so low, to play this type of game to manipulate her.

but, the problem is, he isn’t lying. far from it, actually.

“w—what?” [y/n] asks, throat tightening up.

groaning, he shuts his mouth completely, so frustrated that he admitted what he’s been hiding for months.

“well? are you going to explain why you think pretending to like me is gonna work out with your plan to get into my pants?” she asks, glaring at him.

she couldn’t explain why, but for some reason, she didn’t like that he was using the crush tactic as a way to get under her skin, and to get what he wants.

the real question she doesn’t have an answer to is, why does this affect her so much? why does she care?

“y—you think i’m pretending to like you? why the hell would i do that? are you really that judge-mental that you think you know who i am just because i’m friends with someone who’s terrible? zach’s friends with bryce, but he’s nothing like him — the same with scott!” he exclaims, finally unmasking his hurt expression.

[y/n] sighs, mentally smacking herself for how mean she was seconds ago.

sure, monty’s not the definition of an angel, but deep down, she knows that he’s not a totally terrible guy.

and he is right.

she doesn’t know him at all — she just knows the side he shows her, which probably is just a ploy to distract everyone from seeing who he really is.

and being judge-mental is never the answer, which deep down, she knows.

she just couldn’t help it with him, she wanted to hurt him for being so rude to tyler.

“look. i’m sorry, monty. i don’t know you, so i can’t assume you’re like bryce. but, can you really blame me? you portray yourself exactly like him, so i can’t help but believe that. and how is it that one of the boys that tormented my best friend for an entire year — until it drove her to kill herself — could ever like me? i can’t help but think it’s just a joke. and not to mention, you always joke around about getting into my pants.” she admits, sighing as she drags her fingers through her now tangled hair.

“i get that and you have every right to believe that. but, i would never lie about my feelings — especially, towards you. my sister has had her fair share of getting hurt and played by guys and i’ve promised her i’d never do what others did to her to another girl. it’s heartless and disgusting to hurt a girl that way when all she does is care for you.” he admits, looking anywhere but her eyes, his anxiety becoming clear as ever.

“okay.” she sighs, looking up at him expectantly.

“okay?” he asks, slightly confused at what she means.

“i believe you. i know your sister and as much as i hate admitting this, i know you’re a good brother to her by the way she talks about you. so, that has to mean you’re at least not completely terrible. so, meet me at rosie’s at seven, alright?” she states as he nods, eyes sparking in utter excitement, before she turns and walks down the hall.

—————

SHE REALLY DIDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY she told monty to meet her at rosie’s.

maybe, she was desperate for attention because guys never ever take her seriously.

or maybe she liked the antsy, nervous side of montgomery that she saw earlier in the day.

so, that’s why she found herself standing in front of her gigantic mirror inside her bedroom, wearing a cute, but casual outfit.

she wears an ocean blue cropped tank top with a jean jacket and a pair of light-wash skinny jeans. her hair sits down on her shoulders with small, innocent curls. and her makeup is natural; just some mascara and chapstick.

the whole point of her appearance that night, was to show monty that she isn’t going to change anything about herself, only for a guy.

when she does leave her house and arrive at rosie’s, monty is already sitting down at a table, tapping his fingers on the table anxiously.

“wow, you’re on time for once.” she states jokingly, trying to break how uncomfortable the silence is between the two of them as she sits down across from him.

“you know, this is the exact same place marcus harassed hannah. i’m not sure why i’d ask you to meet me at a place with such a bad memory…” she trails off, taking in a deep breath as she plays with her fidgety fingers on the table.

“i’m really sorry about that. a lot of the guys thought she was easy and marcus thought he could get her easily. he was a real dick that night.” he says, hesitantly landing his hands on top of hers, squeezing lightly.

[y/n] jumps in shock at the touch at first.

but, after a few more seconds, she relaxes, not being able to deny the comfort montgomery’s touch brings her.

“can i ask you a question?” she asks, looking at him this time.

“sure. what is it?” he asks, his nerves slowly unraveling as he lifts up one of his hands to run through his hair.

“why me?” she asks, her eyebrows furrowing, oddly becoming scared of the answer she will receive.

“what do you mean?” he asks confusedly.

“why do you like me? what’s so great about me that makes you like me? i can tell you right now, i’m not very interesting.” she admits.

“why do i like you? i like you, because you’re a good person, inside and out. you will do whatever you have to, to take care of your friends — to protect them. you never let anyone boss you around, or tell you what and who you are. and despite everything you’ve been through, you’re so kind and nice to everyone. you’re loyal and caring and you always put everyone’s lives and happiness above yours.” he says, sighing.

[y/n]’s quite shocked that he even knows any of that about her.

she tries to look for just one lying bone on him, but she comes up with none.

“h—how did you even know all that?” she asks, still shocked.

“i’m good at observing people and you’re an open book. you try to hide your real feelings, but it’s useless because you’re so simple to read.” he states, blushing a mad red color.

“o—oh…” she trails off, blushing hard, making her duck her head down, so that her hair covers her flaming cheeks.

“n—no one ever notices me… that’s why i was so convinced that you saying you liked me, was just a lie.” she mumbles, looking back up at him.

monty’s eyes widen in shock. “that’s not true. [y/n], everyone notices you.” he states, brows furrowing in confusion.

but, this little statement means little to nothing to her, considering everyone else never mattered to her.

she’d just wanted one person to notice her — at least, that is, before she saw how mean he was to others.

she finds herself becoming more comfortable around him and they began to talk about anything they could; things like her dealing with her sister’s death and the guilt that came with it, or monty’s issues at home with his father’s abusive behavior.

hours had passed by and soon enough, monty was walking [y/n] to her front door.

“i had a great time. maybe… we do it again, sometime?” she asks, leaning against the door.

“y—yeah, i’d like that.” he agrees, nodding as she lifts her body up off of the door and turns to turn the doorknob.

she pushes the door open and as soon as she’s in, she turns to the unbelievably, genuinely happy boy.

“okay, um,” she pauses, biting her bottom lip to hide her excited smile. “i’ll, uh, see you tomorrow at school, kay?” she asks as he nods.

“bye.” she gives a cute little wave, a few giggles leaving her lips, before she shuts the door.

although, she doesn’t see the genuinely soft and excited grin on the de la cruz boy’s face.

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megslangley02 · 4 years

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Hold Me Close - Montgomery De La Cruz x Reader

Masterlist

Prompt List

Montgomery De La Cruz x Reader

Monty comes to the reader after trouble at home and they comfort him :(

Warnings: Mentions of abuse

Word Count - 1.8k

It was almost 3 am when your doorbell rang multiple times. Your parents were at a wedding for the weekend so you were home alone. Sitting up abruptly in bed, you quickly woke up, threw on a hoodie and jogged downstairs. Cautiously opening the door, your eyes fell onto a familiar figure.

Montgomery De La Cruz.

You'd known Monty since the two of you started at Liberty and never been especially close but knew each other relatively well. There always seemed to be some form of flirting happening between the two of you but it never turned into anything more. You knew he was damaged and that he didn't have much self-control. You'd witnessed him lashing out multiple times, firing like a loose cannon. He hung around Bryce and the other jocks which meant you'd normally sit with him at lunch, being good friends with Justin, Scott and some of the others.

However, the boy stood in front of you now was not the one you seemed to know. His head was bowed and his hood was covering most of his face.

"Monty?" You asked, his head raising slightly.

"I-just." his voice broke slightly as he tried to speak, "please can I come in, Y/n. I don't know where else to go." He stated. The way he said your name made your heart break slightly, it was so hollow.

You nodded your head and closed the door behind him once he was inside. Flicking on the light, you could see him clearly. The side of his face was red, with some parts turning black and he had fresh scratches all over.

You gasped slightly as the realisation hit you. You'd always seen Monty with bruises or cuts but you'd assumed they'd been from football or fistfights. A wave of guilt rushed over you. You'd never realised what was happening at home.

"I'm so sorry, Monty." You whispered, stepping closer to him.

He avoided your gaze and opened his mouth but only a croak came out as you saw a tear fall from his eye. You wrapped your arms around him and he rested his head on yours. His body shook with shaky breaths as you felt your own tears forming behind your eyes. You'd thought Monty was damaged but you were wrong; he wasn't damaged, he was completely broken.

You pulled away from the hug after a little while and looked at his red eyes, tears still falling. Seeing him like this made you feel sick to your stomach. You took his hand, interlocking your fingers and leading him to the kitchen. He stood, leaning on the counter, as you fished around in the cupboards, pulling out two mugs, hot chocolate powder and mini marshmallows. You walked over to the freezer and pulled out a bag of peas. He watched you as you moved around the kitchen, filling the mugs with milk and putting them in the microwave. You walked over and handed him the frozen peas. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards as a thank you. He put the bag onto his bruised cheek and winced slightly at the pressure and the cold. You didn't expect him to talk about it, he wasn't a very talkative person; especially when it came to something personal.

The kitchen stood silent as the two of you didn't say anything. It wasn't exactly a comfortable silence but there wasn't anything awkward about it either. Since you'd opened the door, you'd been wondering why Monty had come here. Come to you, at his most vulnerable and when he needed someone the most. He had come to you.

You knew Bryce was out of town for the weekend at some fancy country club party with his parents but there were loads of other people. The whole baseball team, for example. But no, Monty had come to your house.

You were drawn out of your thoughts by the microwave beeping. You walked over and grabbed the mugs, setting them down quickly before they scorched your hands. You picked up two generous handfuls of marshmallows and put them on top. Turning around, you could see Monty was smiling at you. It was only a small smile and the majority of his face was covered by the bag of peas but you still saw it. You carried the mugs into your living room and set them on the coffee table in front of the sofa, Monty following behind.

You realised you hadn’t even asked if he wanted a drink, you’d just made one. Whenever you were down or needing cheering up, hot chocolate was always the answer. It was an automatic response, you were never the greatest at consoling people but you were a good listener and always there for your friends and surely you’d have to be crazy to decline a mug of hot chocolate.

He sat down and put his head in his hands, placing the bag of peas on the table.

"I'm sorry, Y/n," he whispered as you sat beside him on the sofa. It was the first time he'd spoken since he'd stood on your doorstep.

“Sorry? Monty, you have no reason to be," you replied softly, tilting your head to try and see his face.

He looked up at you with desperate eyes.

"It's not fair, to come here and dump this on you. I just-" He paused, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

You moved closer to him and placed your hand on his shoulder.

"I promise you, it's okay. You're not dumping anything on me, I’m here, Monty. I want to help."

He looked at you as you felt tears in your eyes, threatening to fall. You didn't know why seeing him like this made you feel so deeply sad. You felt like you should've been here for him ages ago. But, how could you? You didn't know what was happening and you didn't know how. The best you'd been able to come up with so far was hot chocolate and marshmallows. A tear slipped out as you realised you had no idea how to make any of this better.

He silently wiped your tear away as you looked up at him.

"I just knew that if I was with you, I'd feel better." He whispered, his hand lingering on your cheek.

You smiled slightly as your stomach twisted at his words and a warmth spread through your body and up to your cheeks. Except, at the same time, looking at him devastated you. You closed your eyes as he stroked your cheek with his thumb.

When you opened them, Monty was closer to you and you felt your heartbeat quicken. You stared into his dark eyes and before you were fully aware of what was happening, you shut your eyes and Monty's lips were on yours. He kissed you softly as you moved your hand from his shoulder and onto the back of his neck, your fingers wandering into his dark hair as you pulled him closer. You didn't know a single kiss could hold so much emotion, but this one did. It was slow and gentle, neither of you wanting to change it into something more. It sparked something inside of you that you hadn't felt before, making your skin feel electric to his touch. The two of you parted and just looked at each other, both at a loss for words.

Monty didn't say anything instead, he just looked at you, trying to read your expression. Your head spun, in your mind, you’d always disregarded the comments Monty had made at school, knowing he said the same to other girls.

However, thinking about it, lately, he hadn’t been complimenting other girls… just you.

A small smile spread across your lips and you kissed him again. He pulled you into his lap as you wrapped your arms around him. You pulled away and looked at the bruise on the side of his face.

“It’s fine, Y/n, it’s just a bruise. He was drunk and I said something I shouldn’t have.” He replied, looking away from you.

“It’s not fine.” You whispered softly, resting your forehead on his.

He kissed you again, his hands bringing you closer to him. He never wanted to let you go and he needed you with him.

“At least, stay here for the weekend.” You mumbled, being careful to not put your hands on his bruise.

“What about your parents? I don’t want to get you in trouble, Y/n,” He replied, his voice soft.

“They’re not here and even if they were, I can talk to them and-“

You looked at him with sad eyes and buried your head into his neck. He sighed and hugged you tight.

The two of you stayed like that for a few minutes, not saying anything and just enjoying the feeling of having the other in your arms.

You yawned, remembering it was the middle of the night.

“Do you wanna go upstairs?” You asked, ignoring the hot chocolates sat on the coffee table.

“Yeah, okay,” He replied softly.

You slipped off of him and stood up, offering your hand to pull him up. The two of you walked up the stairs and you lead him to your room. You were glad your parents had made you tidy it the day before, as it was actually in an okay state for someone else to be seeing it.

Monty walked over to the photos stuck on the wall and looked at all the smiling faces. One was from a house party at Bryce's a few months ago; there were a couple of other people in the photo but Monty noticed that you and he were looking at each other and laughing, each holding a red cup filled with god knows what and raising them to each other. He thought back to that night and remembered thinking how pretty you’d looked.

You walked over to him and rested your head on his shoulder, following his eyes to the photo. It was one of the only photos you had together but you had always loved it.

“I beat you at beer pong that night,” You stated with a smile.

Monty smiled at you properly for the first time and shook his head, “we’ll have to have a rematch,” he replied, turning to look at you, "and I’m pretty sure that was Reed’s fault, not mine,” He added, causing you to smile.

You took off your hoodie and climbed into bed. Monty climbed in next to you and rolled over to look at you. He tangled you up in his arms and pulled you close, resting his head on yours. You felt his heartbeat slow and his body relax as you buried your head in his chest and breathed in his scent.

You realised how deeply he needed you and, although you hadn’t realised it before, you also wanted him to hold you close and never let go.

#monty de la cruz #monty de la cruz x reader #montgomery de la cruz #montgomery de la cruz x reader #13rw #13 reasons why #netflix #fluff #monty de la cruz fluff #imagine #13rw imagine #monty de la cruz imagine #montgomery de la cruz imagine #13 reasons why masterlist #13rw masterlist

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masonmountxx · 3 years

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The one and only monty de la Cruz!

#montgomery de la cruz imagine #monty de la cruz #13rw

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netflixmomma516 · 4 years

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We’re Not Dead | Bryce Walker Imagine

*BUZZ BUZZ*

I lazily turn over and see my phone lighting up the room. I grab it and swipe it open.

I see a text through half-open eyes.

Unknown; We're not dead. I'm coming back for you I promise. I love you and always will. - Bryce

I sit up in bed fully awake.

I rub my eyes to clear the crusty out of them. I reread the text.

Unknown; We're not dead. I'm coming back for you I promise. I love you and always will. -Bryce

My heart starts to race.

I immediately text back.

YN: Where are you?

Bryce: I cant tell you yet, but I promise I'm coming back for you.

Tears well in my eyes.

YN: I need you back please. It's hell with out you.

Bryce: I promise I'll be there soon.

I toss and turn all night. The last memory I have with him is the night of Homecoming. He gave me a promise ring. A promise to always be there for each other and love each other. NO MATTER WHAT!

I know all the fucked up things he did, but he was getting better. I was a witness of him getting better.

My alarm goes off.

I rush to get ready.

YN; Stel, I need to talk to you meet me at Monet's before school.

Estella: Of course sweetheart.

Estella and I have both had our fair share of heartache. She lost her brother and I lost the love of my life. They were both labeled monsters and in their own way they were. Stell and I both know Monty didn't kill Bryce. But we never figured out who.

Monet's 7:30am.

"Just an ice coffee with cream and sugar," I say with a smile. I look around the shop and see Estella look directly at me with a smile. I grab my coffee and meet her at the table.

I whisper, "last night I got a text…" I say and look around. "From Bryce." She gives me a weird look. "There's no way." She looks dumbfounded. I pass her my phone. She reads the text and rereads the text. "What does it mean we're?" She asks. "I think he's talking about him and Monty." Her eyes glass over. "Stell, I don’t know but I know I'm going to find them." "Consider me in." She says with a smile.

Me; Bryce please text me. Bryce: Yes? Me; Where are you? Bryce: Meet me at the campsite we always went too. Me; On my way.

"Lets go." Stella says.

I grab my keys and head to Bryce and I's campsite.

We get to the middle of the woods next to the clearing of the lake.

I park my car and go to the clearing. I take a deep breath and close my eyes.

My mind goes to the last night we were here.

The smile and laughs. The joking and flirting. The kissing and sex.

Tears fall onto my freckled cheek.

Its almost as I feel Bryce wrapped around my torso. I snuggle in closer with my eyes still closed.

"Please come back Bryce." I whisper. "I am back." I hear him whisper in my ear. I open my eyes, and turn around.

I see the dark haired, brown eyed, man I fell in love with. I touch his face making sure he is real. The last 6 months have been hell without him. I have no one except for Estella, she's the only one I know that understands my pain.

"YN, I'm back for many reasons. But tonight it's all about us. I promise."

#13 reasons why #13rw #13 reasons why imagines #13 reasons why imagine #Bryce Walker #bryce walker imagines #bryce walker imagine #s4 #monty #monty de la cruz #montgomery de la cruz #montgomery de la cruz imagine

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cloveswifey · 10 months

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13 Reasons Why MastersList

“Just 'cause Hannah fucked up her life doesn't mean she has to fuck up ours.”

Zach Dempsey

“Don't love anything more than life.”

Justin Foley

“I hope that wherever you go next, you feel peace, you feel safe in a way that you never did here.”

Clay Jensen

“If I sell out Bryce or lie, either way, my whole life falls apart. I got no one else on my side”

Montgomery de la Cruz

“Why don't they put up a poster that says 'Don't be a fucking dick to people'?”

Alex Standall

#cloveswifey #zach dempsey #alex standall #clay jensen #montgomery de la cruz #Justin foley #13 reasons why #13 reasons why imagine #13 reasons season 2 #13 reasons imagine

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13-reasons-ideas · 2 years

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Once A Serpent? Part 4

A/N: New chapter! It’s a little short but I feel like this is the most logical spot to end it based on what’s coming next. I have decided how I want to show you guys Kennedy and Sweets’ relationship. There might be chapters that end up being only flashbacks, depending on the content but for now, it should just be flashbacks sprinkled in sometimes. Sorry if the spacing is weird. I don't know why it looks funny on my end. As always, much love and feedback is appreciated. -Em

I didn’t hear from Nathan, post breakup, until the next Saturday. I had just gotten home from my first shift at Monet’s. My phone vibrated on the counter. I thought it was my boss, Daphne, or someone from work. I silently hoped it was Monty. I refused to admit that I might possibly have a crush. My breakup was still fresh. When I saw that it was none of those people, but rather Sweet Pea’s name on the screen, I almost spit out my granola bar. What the hell? Why is he texting me now? What does he want? What could he possibly have to say to me? I sighed and decided to leave it unread for a while. He wasn’t worth dropping my snack and homework over. Not anymore. That didn’t stop me from glancing over at my phone every few minutes though.

My curiosity got the better of me and I pushed my math notes aside. I wasn’t going to solve this question anytime soon. Maybe I’ll text Scott and see if he knows the answer. I unlocked my phone and tapped the messages icon. Instead of texting Scott like I should have, I opened Sweet Pea’s text. How’s California? I rolled my eyes. What was I supposed to say to that?

It’s sunny. I locked my phone and stupidly, tried to go back to my math homework. After several minutes of still getting nowhere with it, I gave up and texted Scott.

Hey. Did you figure out question eight? I’m about rip my hair out trying to do it.

Figure it out? No. Get the answer? Yes.

What?

Melissa said it’s 38. Zach agreed.

You know it says ‘show your work’ right?

Well shit.

Yup. I don’t think you can say ‘my girlfriend said it’s this.’ and get points.

I’m busy right now, but we can call later and figure it out?

Sure. Tell Melissa I said hi.

I will when I see her tonight.

You’re not together? I thought you were spending the day together.

Her parents needed her to do stuff for her grandma today so we moved things.

Ah. Sweet Pea texted me a few more times while I finished my work.

You good?

Yeah. My ex is just… I don’t know.

Boy troubles?

You could say that. My phone started ringing. It was Scott.

“Scott.”

“Kennedy.” I could hear voices in the background. “You’re on speaker.”

“You’re calling me because?”

“Boy troubles.”

“Tell him to fuck himself.” Bryce called.

“That would require answering his texts. Are we sure the answer is 38? I don’t think it’s 38.”

“It is.” Zach said.

“What’s he saying? Dude. My mom will murder all of us if you fuck up her couch.” There was a chorus of laughter in the background. I assumed they were being idiots at Scott’s place.

“I don’t want to look.”

“Do it!” the guys called. I groaned.

“What’s the situation there?” Monty asked. Fishing for a story or is he curious?

“K so he hasn’t spoken to me since the breakup. And when I went to return his stuff, I overheard him saying some not so great things.”

“Any more to go on?”

“Secrets Monty.”

“You wouldn’t kill me. You like me somewhere deep down.”

“Sure she does. Real deep.”

“Fuck you Walker.”

“Anyway. He texted me when I got home asking how California is. I told him it’s sunny and haven’t looked at my phone since.”

“Fuck him. Read the texts and call me back.”

“Fine. In the meantime, can you get Zach to explain how the hell this is 38?” I hung up and opened Sweet Pea’s messages.

Sunny?

That’s it? Not exciting? Again, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Jones misses you.

Fangs wants you to answer his text. Which I assume you never got if you didn’t answer. Because it’s Fangs.

I sighed and answered him. Yes. Just sunny. It’s small and school just started. The only cool thing that has happened is homecoming. We lost. Tell him I didn’t get the text. Short, sweet, and to the point. Maybe now he will leave me alone.

I texted Scott. No point in calling. He basically was just asking if I got a text from my friend or not.

That’s weird.

I know.

I abandoned my phone for the rest of the day. I didn’t want to think about Nathan and his out of the blue text. If I kept my phone on me, I would just read it over and obsess over it. That wasn’t healthy. We broke up. We were over. We both had to accept that. Random texts weren’t okay. After all, I was the experiment. “Took him two years to figure that out?” I spat. My parents were gone for the night, so the house was empty. My question was met with silence. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get his text out of my head.

I needed a distraction. I tried cleaning the kitchen. Scrubbing at the already clean counters. Mopping the floor. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. Once that was done, I went upstairs and did my laundry. Folded my shirts and hung my pants. How’s California? I huffed and emptied out my closet. I didn’t like how it was organized when we moved in. The pretty little rich girl. I ripped a sweater off its hanger. Experiment. I threw a pair of jeans across the room. Was never going to work out anyway. Both better off. I screamed and pulled at my hair. I hadn’t let myself really feel the emotions of our breakup. It all happened so fast that I never really got a chance to take a breath and accept it. And so, I did what any sane person would do. I sat on my floor and sobbed. I let myself feel the cold loneliness that I wrapped in too warm sweaters during the day and thick, heavy blankets at night. For the first time in a month, I freely let my mind run wild with memories. Once, they were cherished. Now though… now they felt tainted. Like everything we did, like all of our promises from the last two years meant nothing.

FLASHBACK

I was curled up on Nathan’s bed, flipping through an old comic book. He was in the kitchen. I could hear cupboard doors opening and closing. The scrape of metal on glass filled the trailer. I winced. “Sorry.” He called. I didn’t respond. He came back into his room with a pb & j on a plate for us to share. Not exactly the healthiest breakfast. My mom would flip if she saw me eating this at nine a.m.

“Thank you.” I mumbled as I sat up. He joined me on the bed silently and kissed my temple. We ate our sandwich quietly, while we shared the comic I was flipping through. He, of course, knew it by heart. But he still reacted like it was the first time he was reading it when a twist happened. I smiled to myself because I knew he was only doing it for my benefit.

As we laid together lazily, wasting a dreary Saturday morning, he played with my hair. “This is it, right?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“This is what they mean in all those old movies and books we read for English, about that person? The person who is it for you? This is what they are talking about?”

“I think so.” I nodded.

“So, this is forever?” He sounded hopeful.

“Yes. This is it.” I had long since abandoned any fear of leaving. I had allowed myself to become comfortable. I was content. And madly and completely in love with Nathan.

“I promise this is forever.”

“Forever.” I sat up and kissed him deeply.

END FLASHBACK

I remained on the floor as more memories ran through my mind. Eventually, I heard my phone ringing somewhere in the background. I ignored it. Sometime later, my parents came home. I had stopped crying but was still on my floor. My parents called my name. I groaned in response. “Kennedy?” my mom asked as she came in my door.

“What?” My voice was gravely and sounded hollow.

“Oh, honey.” She came and sat with me. Her hand ran through my hair, untangling it. My dad came up the stairs.

“Girls?”

“In here.”

“Oh my.” Dad stayed in the doorway.

“I hate him. I hate him Mom.”

“I’ll get the ice cream.” Dad said before retreating back downstairs. Mom pulled me into her lap. Together, we stood and slowly made our way downstairs.

Dad had ice cream on the counter with three spoons. I took a chair over to the counter and sat down, pulling the tub towards me. We are an eat it out of the tub kind of family. “Don’t hog all the brownie bits.”

“I make no promises Pops.”

“What happened honey?”

“Nate texted me.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing of consequence. Just… nothing.” I sighed.

“I’m sorry pumpkin. I always thought I should have kicked his ass.”

I laughed. “Dad!”

“What? It’s my right as your father to kick ass.”

“Dad!”

By Monday I was in a better mood. I was back to thinking that Nathan didn’t matter anymore. Scott was waiting for me at my locker with his math homework. “This is how it is 38 apparently.” He handed the papers to me.

“Morning Scott.” I looked over the work. It was all Greek to me. “Uh… huh. Right. Sure.”

“Oh good, you agree.” I pulled my textbook out of my bag and pulled out the loose sheet from this weekend. Handing it to Scott, I shoved another book in to replace it. My sweater was balled up in my locker and I slammed it shut. We started on our way to class as I scribbled the work off Scott’s paper to mine. Bryce and the guys caught up with us near the cafeteria.

“What did you get up to this weekend?” Bryce asked. He snaked his arm around my shoulder. I rolled my eyes and brushed him off.

“Not much. Reorganized my closet. Watched movies with the parents. You?”

“I had a date.” He shrugged. The boys groaned and made some stupid comments.

“Fantastic. Was she nice?”

“Nice enough.” He smirked. “How’s the ex?”

“He sucks. And has gone radio silent again, thankfully. I had ice cream. I feel better.” Melissa walked over to us and hugged me tightly. I stiffened. I wasn’t good with unprovoked touching.

“Men suck.”

“Hey!” Scott protested.

“Not you hon. I’m sorry Kennedy.”

“Don’t be. It was bound to happen sometime. Also yes.” I shrugged. The bell rang and I waved bye to my friends.

Justin and I got to work Tuesday afternoon at the same time. I watched as he pulled his sweater over his head in one motion. I could feel my neck flush. Not because I was attracted to him or anything. It’s just one of those things that is attractive anytime a guy does it. It was my third shift, so I was still learning the basics. The register was easy enough to do. You selected the drink, any customizations, and any extra items, and then took the money. Fairly simple. For the most part. I had already had some ‘I only like the idea of coffee’ orders. One girl asked for eight pumps of syrup in her medium latte. The espresso bar was a work in progress. The buttons were finicky lately, or so I had been told by Daphne on my first day.

I was finishing an espresso order for a ‘Prestilla’ when I could feel someone’s eyes on me. I tried to ignore the feeling, but it wouldn’t go away. I was used to the feeling of being watched. But I wasn’t as new in town anymore. People were starting to ignore me. I shook my head slightly. When I looked up, Montgomery was watching me from the doorway. I smiled at him softly. He nodded in my direction. I pretended not to pay attention when he came to order. “Monty.”

“Justin.” I wasn’t dumb. I knew they weren’t friends. Even though I knew that I was taken aback by Justin’s slightly hostile tone. We were at work.

“What can I get for you?” I choked back a snort at his customer service voice.

“Pour over with cream.”

“Anything else?”

“What’s in the lemon raspberry muffin?”

“Is… Are you-?” Justin muttered but stopped himself. “Lemon. And raspberries. And whatever else goes in a muffin.” I hummed, trying not to laugh.

“One of those.”

“That’ll be five ten.” I turned to grind the coffee for the pour over, groaning slightly.

“How’re you?” I turned around and tilted my head. I couldn’t hear Monty very well over the coffee grinder. He held up a hand for me to wait. Once the coffee was ground, I was able to hear again. “I asked how you are.”

“Oh, I’m good. You know, working. You?”

“Good. Work okay?”

“It goes.” I was never good at small talk.

“Fair enough. Are you working Friday night?”

“I don’t think so? Why, what’s up?”

“Bryce’s parents are out of town so he’s having some people over after the game. Did you want to come?”

“Sure. I think Melissa and I are going to the game together. Are you planning on winning this week?”

“We always plan to win.” Justin piped up. “Here’s your lemon raspberry muffin, that has lemons and raspberries.”

“Thanks.” I handed Monty his coffee and he smiled at me. “See you tomorrow, Kennedy.”

“See you, Monty.”

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