21: The Purple Rain

[ K A R A ] Gabe and I were walking along the beach, away from the crowd and the drama. Looking over to him, I felt so bad that he got punched in the face for no good reason. Thankfully, his nosebleed had stopped. But still. We were quiet, and we didn't say much as we kept on walking. "Gabe, I know you have every right to be mad at him, but please don't tell anyone... about the whole Ryder and I thing," I said finally. Gabe smiled and mimed zipping up his mouth, "My lips are sealed," he said. "And I'm so sorry that he hit you. He's such a barbarian," I rolled my eyes. "What do girls see in him, really?" he laughed sarcastically. "I know he's bad. But he's really not all that bad," I said meekly. Then we were quiet again. We had been walking for a while now. The lights and the party were far away in the distance. "Should we start walking back?" Gabe asked. "No... I think I wanna stay here for a while," I replied. Gabe let out a chuckle. "What's so funny?" I asked. "Your mom was right. W