”LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?”

not being invited to a Carter’s party but showing up instead wasn’t something you cared much about. mostly because you’d known the family since you could walk, but also because you used to be friends with their son.

your childhood years, you and your twin brother, Nick, hung out with Kian Carter, the son of one of the most richest families in Cannon Beach. “Hung out,” because no—you and Kian weren’t friends. to be honest, he didn’t even like you. at least that’s what he showed.

to deal with his feelings, all he ever really did was make fun of you with your twin, making him laugh. sometimes, it wouldn’t even be funny, he’d just laugh. your relationship was never good, for sure.

—

at this ‘party’, too many people had pissed you off. stupid drunk girls who kept spelling vodka all over themselves and boys who wouldn’t stop trying to get in your pants. so you escaped. or tried.

you walked upstairs towards the last room down the right hallway, a wide, tall black door in front of you. you quickly went inside, turning the side lamp on to reveal a luxurious room, just by the water.

you looked around for a minute. kian and his family were so rich, it was unfair to you.

and as the curious person you are, you wanted to look around. you examined tables, a bed, a drawer. the drawer was the most important thing there, more so, what was inside of it.

A small notebook peered from the left corner, catching your eye. Titled, “things I hate about her (you)”. your eyebrows furrowed as you reached for it, hesitantly I opened to the first page, reading. his old hand writing was prominent, revealing that you were indeed inside of his room.

“Noah is so desperate for friends, and it makes me sad. I hate that. I hate how joyful she is all the time. How she always wears a smile. Like she doesn’t care about what I have to say. I want her to. Of course, it hurts me to see her cry. But I want her to have friends.”

as you kept reading, it got worse.

“I hate how needy she is. how unreliable she is. how unreadable she is. she’s so ridiculous. crying? because we didn’t want to spend time with her? she’s so pathetic, I wish someone would just tell her.”

A sudden door had opened, a familiar voice peering through.

“Noah, come back to the-“

He seen you. Looking, reading. He’d hoped you hadn’t read to far in whatever you had in your hand, because he didn’t read much either, and the only book he had was that one.