Duplicity (Luke Hemmings AU)

Twenty

A girl's lips were on Luke's. They weren't mine.

But once I saw her tainted angel wings, I knew exactly who it was.

My mouth went dry as I shut my numbing lips. Eyes blurry, as if I had cataracts in my eyes, or my contacts had rolled up. It was neither of those things, I just couldn't bring myself to let the tears welling in my eyes fall, even though they were threatening to.

"Yeah, you guys should ha-- oh." Ashton stopped beside me.

The thing that got me the most about this situation was that it wasn't at all Luke's fault.

His eyes were wide open.

She had him locked against the wall, and he was trying desperately to push her off. He hadn't seen me yet either, he just honestly didn't want her to kiss him.

"Katherine?" Ashton's bottom lip trembled, his voice cracking. Every ounce of emotion he was feeling poured into her name. The cracking of his voice -- the hurt, the pain, the shattering of his heart -- I felt it all too, but for a different reason. I didn't lose a mate, I just lost my best friend.

Katherine turned around, stumbling slightly. Even from a distance, I could tell she was wasted beyond belief. When someone was drunk, they did something they always wanted to do, but wouldn't do when they were sober. A drunk man's actions were a sober man's thoughts. I thought she had my back, but I was wrong. She abused my trust. She pushed me too far; she just dragged me along this entire time. She held all my secrets, all my feelings, and had crumpled them up into a paper ball. Her throw didn't even make the wastebasket; she was too chicken to hurt me sober. Even so, I honestly thought she supported my liking of Luke. I was the naive one. I was the fool.

I thought she liked Ashton.

"What are you doing?" I asked monotonously. I could feel my real best friend beside me, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He looked broken. I probably did, too.

"He's not your boyfriend, don't act like it's a big deal." She snorted, tugging at the wings on her back. I opened my mouth, but closed it again. I couldn't formulate words, I couldn't make a sound.

"But I was your boyfriend." Ashton snapped. They were dating, and she still had the audacity to do this. She wasn't the girl I once trusted with my life: she was a monster. The Katherine I once knew was gone. Or maybe I hadn't really known her at all, maybe her real self had been lurking in the shadows. I didn't know anymore. Everything around me was crumbling. Even Ashton was crumbling. Ashton: a person I considered to be strong. He was breaking apart.

"Can't you see, you're not good for him! You can't give him what he wants: He's too far out of your league." Katherine hissed, ignoring Ashton completely. She was speaking to me.

It was like we were the only two people in the room.

When I had to cry, but I was holding it in, my collar bones always hurt. Right now, they were on fire. The voice inside my head told me she was right. It told me I wasn't good enough for Luke, and I'd never be. I was naïve to believe that I would be enough for him. I wasn't. That didn't change what she did, and it certainly didn't make it any better.

"See, I did this for you. So you could see the truth. Consider it a favor, Raelynn." She continued, stalking over to me. "That's what best friends are for."

"That's not what best friends do, Katherine." I seethed, anger searing through my veins. My blood was boiling. My body didn't just hurt anymore, my body wanted to react.

"If you weren't so self absorbed you would see what I did was right. You aren't all that, Raelynn. You aren't anything special. No one wants you. I took you in when you had no one else, but it's time to put you in your place. You're a washed up, worthless, narcissistic bįtch." She panted, pointing a finger at me, nearing me with every jab she took. "You think you are so god damn smart and cool, but let me tell you something: you aren't. You owe everything to me. You would be all alone if it wasn't for me. You aren't even that smart anyway, you're not even in the top ten people in our class."