1.The Betrayal

***Deticated to that "Frank" in my life that I did the same thing Liz did

^^^I'm sorry I realized too late what you were to me and by then, you were gone***^^^

...1.The Betrayal...

Everyone has that one person that knows them better than anyone else.

That one person that brought you ice-cream and pizza when they knew you were having a tough day.That one person just held you and told you to let it all out because you had heard your parents arguing loudly the night before. Or that one person that suffered through The Notebook with you despite them finding it too cheesy and lovey-dovey.

For me, that person was my best friend.

Frank Taylor Blackstone.

He lived three blocks down from our house and the first time I met him, he had saved the cat from the huge pine tree behind the Dixon's house next door.

He had been nine at that time.

He was the one guy that I had come to depend on other than my dad.

Admittedly, I admired him. He was the type of boy that didn't care what the world thought of him. He was always going his own way, doing his own things and not minding what people said about him or the huge glasses he wore all the times because of his poor eyesight.

Even now being a sophomore, Frank still went around wearing his Star Wars oversize shirt with the baggiest jeans ever made in the entirely of mankind's existence.

Many of our classmates made fun of him, poking at his fashion sense, even his unruly mane of a hair.

I admired him all the more when he bowed to the students making fun of him and said, "Always here for your source of laughter. All day. Every day."

I couldn't do that. I care about what people thought of me. I didn't like to be judged critically. I wanted everyone to like me. Undeniably, it was my one of many weak qualities.

Honestly, I liked Frank.

When most girls went after the guy that resembled Zac Efron in High School Musical 2, I preferred Frank.

May be it was a given; after all, he had seen my face without make up and didn't laugh at it or judge. Or may be it was the fact that he was always there for me when I needed him.

Remembering our fondest of memories, I regretted what I had to do tonight. The memories of my confrontation, after my audition at school today lingered in my thoughts.

"You have to do it, Liz" Samantha Brown smiled as she looked at me from the stairs above.

"Losers need to be shown the8r place on the food chain," her trusty lieutenant, Jessica Peters, added as she smiled innocently at me."They can't and will not be friends with a cheerleader. If you want to be one of us," She paused as she pointed at all of them, "you can't hang out with him," she added, spittimg out the world 'him' like it was sour in her mouth.

They were talking about Frank.

"For my initiation," I said, finally finding my voice. " You want me to stop hanging out with Frank?" I asked.

Why Frank? How could I stop hanging out with Frank?

"Yes," Samantha replied in a bore voice as she admired her perfectly manicured nails.

"What do you even have to lose anyway?" Jessica asked. "He's not even a looker with those big specs and weird fashion sense."

He's the guy that has always been there for me, I wanted to yell at her but I was too scared to voice my opinions. Opinions that need to be voiced.

But, a dark thought crossed my mind for a shadow of a second: stop hanging out with Frank and you can become popular.

He'd understand why I had to do this. He should understand. It's not everyday a sophomore can join the team!

"Okay, " I muttered in a low voice.

"What?" Samantha asked.

"I'll do it," I blurted out against my better judgement.

"Good to hear," She said with a pleased tone. "Now do it by tonight and text me when it's done."

"Tonight?" I asked. I thought I'd atleast have one night, another night to spank with Frank.

"Yes. Is something wrong with that?"

"Nope," I answered. "Not a thing."

"Here you go, Elizabeth," Frank's voice broke me out of my rlthoughts as he climbed through the window into my room and took a seat beside me. "Your mom gave me this," he popped a chocolate cookie into his mouth before handing me a plate.

I grabbed three in one go and shoved one into my mouth.

"Hey!" He protested before he grabbed the plate back.

"You would have finished five before I finished one," I complained before I stuck out a tongue at him.

"Pig."

"Toad."

We both laughed at our assigned nicknames.

"Aren't the stars just beautiful?" Frank asked as he reclined onto the roof.

"Yes, they are," I answered, although my eyes weren't focused on the stars.They were only focused on him, drinking in every detail of him. His dark hairs that I had always had to stop myself from running my fingures through. The green eyes hidden behind the glasses that he wore. Everything. The way hos brows arched down the way they always did when he was in deep concentration.

I was supposed to hurt him. Tonight.

Would he forgive me? Would he understand why I had to do this? Did he u derstand that I didn't have a thick layer of skin and I cared about what people thought of me? Or would he hate me?

"Elizabeth," he said, bringing me out of my thoughts.I was surprised to see that I had been staring at him wordlessly. For how long, I did not know.

"Uh-huh," I muttered.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, staring intently back to me.

"Yes, perfectly," I lied as I grabbed the last cookie and tried to focus on eating 8t as the guilt ate away at me inside.

I felt him sit up and then a second later, he was wrapping his arms around me in a comforting gesture that just made me want to forget everything about and freeze time.

How could I do this to him? My best friend.

Tears streamed down my face as I thought over it.

"Lizabeth? You are crying. What can I do?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I mumbled out.

"Lizabeth, stop crying."

Taking in a deep breathe, I paused.

I need to do this as fast as I could. Like ripping off a band-aid. Painless and clean.

My body tensed, as Frank loosened his arms,

feeling the change in my demeanor.

"Elizabeth?"

"This need to end, Frank. Now."

"What needs to end?" he asked, confusing apparent in his voice.

"This," I yelled, shrugging out of his arms "Us! We need to end."

"Why?" he asked with a pained expression on his face.

"We just need to, okay?"

"No!"

"No?"

"We can't end this, Liz," he replied in a determinded tone as he came and stood next to me, placing both his hands on either side of my shoulders. "Liz, you don't want to end this. We've been friends for five years," he added, his green eyes staring intently into mine, begging me. Pleading with me, tugging at my heart.

I put on a cold face. "And that's six years too long for me, Frank.

"Who is making you to say these things?"

"No one. No one is. I've just realized it myself that tjis friendship is not doing me any good." The words were tearing me up inside, cutting my being and serving ot with a side of bitchy.

"This is the one time you are bringing this up. What happened?"

"Like I said, Frank, I grew up. I think it's time you stopped obsessing about Star Wars and grow up too."

I wanted to take my words back instantly when I saw the hurt on his face. But I knew I was almost there. "It's done, Frank. We are done," I muttered in a low voice.

"Fine." He was looking at me as if I had grown and extra head. I couldn't blame him. I wasn't recognizing myself too. "I'm not going to grovel." He got up, dusted off his jeans and started towards the window to my bedroom."I hope you'll have a happy life," he added as he glanced back at me, waiting for me to change my mind and stop him. But it never came. "I'll miss you."

The next sound was that of my bedroom door slamming behind him.

I cried as the tears unconsciously streamed down my face.

I thought of Frank. I had obviously hurt him

Crushed him.

I had just shut out the very reason for my existence.

Taking out my iPhone, I scrolled through my contacts, pausing at Frank's number. With one press of the button I could get him back. I'd grovel. I'd do anything to get him back. To hear the beautiful sound of his laughter again. To be with him. With one press of the button, everything could return to normal.

But I couldn't. Instead I continued and stopped at Samantha Brown's number, se ding her a text.

*It's done.

❝❀❀❞*

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***