HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY

The only thing that could’ve tugged Elena’s attention away from Chandler was her sister hustling to her side with a devious grin on her face. Her eyes were bright with tears, and Elena felt her happiness for her like a sweet wave. “I know you might not want to, but talk to him,” Emily told her.

Elena shook her head. Yes, she missed him terribly, but she’d gone through this phase with him before. She had given him another chance, and here she was… Hurt again. Maybe they cared about each other. Maybe they even loved each other, but did it really mean that they should be together? Not everyone in love could be in a relationship, and maybe she and Chandler were like that. Maybe they’d only keep hurting each other if they remained together. Maybe their relationship was meant to be a short one.

Chandler’s gaze scanned the room, then came to rest on her. His chest expanded on a deep breath, and his eyes warmed in his handsome face. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, and he’d shaved. The white shirt covering his chest was starched and neat, the tie a color of blue that matched his outfit perfectly.

Oh…. How she loved him, Elena thought.

Chandler strode into the room and Elena noticed that clutched in his other hand was a basket with a long handle. He headed straight for her and his eyes never left hers. When he got to her, he handed the basket to Emily, “Congratulations” he said in that voice that Elena had been dying to hear for weeks, “This is for you… And thank you for the invite…. Hello, Beth,” he greeted.

Emily and Beth smiled at him, “You’re welcome,” said Emily, accepting his gift, “As for the invite, Elijah had a lot to do with it too,”

Chandler nodded with a smile of his own, “I see…. I guess I’ll thank him too as soon as I get the chance,”

Beth giggled as Emily grabbed her arm and pulled her away, “Let’s go,” she said.

Left alone with Chandler, Elena dragged her eyes away. He looked good… Too good and Elena was sure she didn’t really look her best at the moment,”

“Hi…. Elena,” he said softly, dragging her name as if savoring it.

“Hello Chandler,” she greeted back.

“How are you doing?”

Was he seriously asking her that? What the hell did he think? But instead of saying that, she said, “I’m fine. How are you doing?”

He didn’t respond for a while, “Horrible,” he said finally, “Can we…. Can we please talk?”

Elena stared at him. She knew what he wanted to talk about, but as much as she’d missed him, she was also scared of what she felt. Scared and confused.

“I…. I…” she stammered, “I don’t think so, Chandler,”

He reached for her hand, but she moved it out of his reach. His hand dropped to his side. In his eyes, she could see hurt and pain… And she recognized it because that was the way she felt too,”

“Elena…”

“I’m not mad at you, Chandler,” she told him, “But I… I think that maybe…Maybe we should leave things as it is,”

He looked like he’d seen an alien, “I can’t do that Elena,” he said with passion, “I can’t… I don’t want to live without you…. I love you…”

Those three words were almost her undoing and Elena shut her eyes to stop the tears from falling. “I can’t do this… Not right now…. Please Chandler… This is Emily’s party and it should be about her…. Not us,”

He nodded, but he said nothing… Just stared and watched her walk away from him.

_________

Elena left the party after saying goodbye to everyone. It had been lovely to spend the evening with her loved ones and she’d enjoyed the party even if Chandler’s presence distracted the shit out of her.

She almost wept when she got back home. Her house suddenly didn’t feel like home anymore. It felt empty and her heart was heavy. Seeing Chandler again had opened up wounds she thought was beginning to heal and all she wanted at the moment was to be in his arms. To have him kiss her forehead and tell her that everything was going to be fine.

She had just taken off her shoes and was heading into the bathroom for a face wash when someone knocked at her front door. Elena froze. She had no idea who it was, but something about it kept her feet rooted to the floor. The person knocked again, and Elena slowly made her way to the door. She took a deep breath and opened it and her breath caught in her throat.

There stood the person who had occupied her thoughts for weeks. Chandler Kendrick, still dressed as he was from the party, apparently he’d driven straight to her place instead of his home, and Elena noticed that he held another basket. Kinda like the one he’d given to Emily at her party.

It was like a dream come true. Like she’d made him appear just by thinking about him and boy, was she glad that he’d showed up despite what she had said at Emily’s party. She was so happy that she had to fight the urge to wrap her arms around him, but she held back. First they needed to talk, and Elena opened her mouth, but no words came out. They stood for seconds, just staring at each other, before she finally spoke.

“Hi,” she said quietly, but for a moment, Chandler remained quiet, just drinking her in. His hand came up slowly, and he slid his thumb along her cheekbone.

“I’m the biggest idiot in the entire world.” He said.

That wasn’t what she expected him to say at all, and she laughed, unable to stop herself. Chandler smiled as she nuzzled her face into his palm.

“No, you’re not,” she argued.

“Can I please come in?”

“Sure,” she replied and stepped out of the way so he could come in and shut the door behind him.

There was a pause, and then he spoke, “I screwed everything up,” he began, “I shouldn’t have said the things that I said and I shouldn’t have walked away from you… From us,”Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g