"So, you're stupid?" Tate said it as more of a rhetorical question than anything. He was holding a punching bag in place for me as I practiced my swings.

"No, I'm just finally being careful," I grumbled before throwing another punch.

He asked me about Adelaide, but I had been ignoring her after Lachlan found me at the diner. I guess we officially ended things a few hours ago when she cornered me about it.

"You're not being careful you're being... stupid," Tate said. I punched the bag extra hard.

"You know what Lachlan said about her, Tate. You know what that meant to me. What would you do if it was Leah he was talking about?"

"I would talk to her," He said. I opened my mouth to say something but he cut me off immediately. "I would talk to her, and then let her make a decision for herself."

I let out an annoyed tsk sound with my mouth but I knew he was right. I should have given a choice.

"Yeah, well it's too late now. She-" I put my arms down for the first time in what felt like hours. "You didn't see her face, Tate. She won't want to be with me after what I said to her anyway so... it doesn't matter now."

He was quiet after that. The only sound between us for a while was my fists pounding into the punching bag once again.

"I should have never talked to you in the first place." Yet it was the best mistake I ever made.

"We're not friends." Yet I knew she was more than that, somehow she was always more.

"This isn't the fifth grade anymore, Ada." Yet I had wished more than anything that we could go back to those days.

I didn't want to say those things to her, but she had to hear them. I had to hurt her so she wouldn't come back like she had tried so hard to do in the sixth grade, she had always been determined like that. I know I didn't mean what I said and the second I saw the hurt in her face I wanted to take every word of it back.

Maybe I still do, because Tate was right, I should have let her make her own decision.

But it doesn't matter now, because I said what I said and now I had to mean it. What's done is done. Because if I didn't talk to her I wouldn't have to worry about Lachlan hurting her the same way my dad used to say he would.

I punched the bag harder thinking about it. I punched it once thinking about dad. I punched it again thinking about Lachlan, a little harder this time. I punched it harder again knowing that I was the reason she had cried. Punch after punch after punch, harder and harder and harder, because I had no choice but to be stuck in this bullshit. I kept punching because it was what I had to do.

This was how I kept her safe.

"Alright, alright, Jesus, I get it," Tate shouted, snapping me from my thoughts. "Damn it," he coughed once, rubbing his chest where he was holding the punching bag, "what are you, the damn Hulk?"

"Sorry man," I mumbled. I grabbed a towel off the rope of the ring and wiped the back of my neck before grabbing my water bottle. I took a break to breathe.

"You know what'll make you feel better?" He asked after a while. I raised my eyebrows at him slightly. "A party."

"How the fuck is partying supposed to make me feel better right now?" I asked.

"Well damn, alright then. It'll make me feel better, that way I can be a better friend to help you feel better."

I shook my head slowly at his logic. "Whatever," I said in a lame agreement.

------

How the fuck was I supposed to hold my ground when she looked like that?

I saw her as soon as she walked in, wearing a crop top under her jacket and those white shoes that she always slipped on and never untied. It didn't matter what she was wearing though. She could have pulled up in an oversized t-shirt and some crocs and she would still have all my attention.

I took a deep breath and shook it off. You don't need her, she doesn't need you.

I glared at Tate who stood a few feet in front of me. He was too busy listening to this guy tell his story to notice me glaring. I whipped out my phone and discreetly sent a message to him. You dumb fuck, you knew she would be here the whole time, didn't you?

He said nothing, just looked up from his phone and the fucker had the nerve to wink at me before walking over to her and Leah.

You made your choice, now stick it with it. I kept reminding myself before walking off and finding some familiar friends of Tate's. Just because I wanted to talk to her doesn't mean I should.

Yeah, that plan went to shit when I found her looking at me from across the room.

She nodded off to the side, the direction of the back door before walking off. She wanted me to follow her.

Don't follow her, Tristan, but my feet were already moving.

You don't need her, she doesn't need you. I had to repeat the words as I followed her.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her when we made it outside. I leaned against the wall behind me, waiting for her to answer.

"I decided I'm not done with you." She said it so nonchalantly I almost laughed.

"Adelaide we already talked about this." I meant to say more but she cut me off before I could even open my mouth again.

"No, you talked. You decided. You made a choice and now I'm making mine. I'm not letting you get rid of me that easily. Not this time."

Fuck, this was going to be harder than I thought.

"Believe it or not, I'm doing this for your sake. This isn't just hard for you, it's hard for me too."

"It doesn't have to be Tristan. I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices. You don't have to do that for me."

I tried not to watch her mouth as she spoke to me. I had constantly thought about kissing her practically the entire time I spent getting to know her again. She was fucking beautiful. So instead of her mouth, I focused on her eyes, on her honey brown eyes. When that didn't work I focused on her hair, on the half that was thrown around her shoulder, brushing her collarbone and curling softly at the ends. God, I wanted to run my fingers through that hair.

Focus you dumbass. You don't need her, she doesn't need you.

"It's better this way Adelaide, just leave it alone," I said it, yet even I knew that I didn't want her to leave it alone.

"No," She said stubbornly. "You told me the other day that you didn't live a safe life. Well, I don't care about that."

I knew what was coming, I had to say something before she could convince me to change my already faltering decision. But she cut me off once again.

"I care about you. I care about spending time with you. I want to take risks and make some stupid decisions. I want to enjoy my life and I want to have fun, but I want to do it with you, grumpy or not. So, no more turning your back on me Tristan, no more pushing me away. Because I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, so deal with it."

And just like that, her words took a sledgehammer to my resolve.

I didn't stop myself this time from focusing on her hair. I pushed myself off the wall and walked right up to her feet. I didn't stop myself either from reaching down to cup her face. I took my fingers through her hair this time. I looked down into her golden eyes as she looked up at me.

Just give her a second, I told myself, give her a second to take it all back. But all she did was wrap her hands around my wrists as I held her and lowered her gaze to my lips. That was all I fucking needed. I dipped my head lower and met her lips with mine.

It's been too damn long, I've wanted to do this for too damn long. Her lips were so soft as they molded into mine, softer than I imagined they would be. I could feel my heart beating faster and I couldn't care less if it beat right out of my chest.

I put a hand behind her neck and reached one down to her lower back because I needed her closer, so I pulled her closer. As our lips moved in sync, my thumb brushed against the pulse in her neck and I wondered if this meant she felt as happy as I did at this moment.

When I pulled away I saw every emotion on her face. Her cheeks were brighter than they were before and I smiled at that. I fucking loved it when she blushed.

"I'm still mad at you, you know? You're not off the hook with just one kiss."

I definitely took that as a challenge as I leaned my forehead against hers. "Okay. How about two?"

But I didn't want to stop at two. Kissing Adelaide Beck was my breath of fresh air, and that was hard to come by these days.

So fuck what I said before. God damn it, I really needed this girl, and I could only hope that her kissing me back each time meant that she needed me too.

✨✨