Tightrope

Elly Belly

Olivia gasped. "Lena. You rebel. Hello Lena's boyfriend!" she called. "Is it Jace? It's totally Jace."

I grabbed at her arm as she twisted out of my grip, but my attempt was futile. She was far quicker. Something to do with that exercise bullshit that the universe had decreed 'healthy'. And Liv was a core-strength queen; even mostly sober, I didn't stand a chance.

She pulled up the edge of the sheets and peered at the boy underneath. It took her a moment to put things together; dark hair, piercing eyes, cocky grin. I could see the moment recognition dawned. "Cole Knight?" she exclaimed, looking up at me, then back down to Knight, then back up again. She was also laughing. "You're hooking up with Cole Knight? Since when?"

"I am not hooking up with him," I replied, feigning a gag.

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Sure. You just, what, hide all of your non-hook up buddies under your bed at 3AM?"

"Just the special ones," said Knight with a wink.

Liv frowned. "Does he know you're kind of in love with Jace? Because you really shouldn't lead him on like that."

"I literally am not into Jace at all," I protested.

"Yeah, you are," Knight called from under the bed. "And hey, Livvie. Just so you know, my intentions are totally pure and I'm disgusted at the thought of kissing your sister." He gagged, loudly and dramatically.

"Rude," I said. "It would be a delightful experience for you."

"Does someone want to explain then?" Olivia suggested. "Because I am very confused."

So, I told her everything.

How Knight had been living on the streets, my offer for him to live with us, the navigation of hiding it from the family, how I'd bought him clothes and stolen him food, Austin's discovery of our secret, the slow build of our friendship and our intense binge of all Vampire Diaries content. Knight interjected regularly with commentary and constant reminders that we were best friends. He was still very much caught up on that.

Liv nodded slowly. "Well, that makes some sense. We thought you were about to get really fat."

"What?"

"I mean, you kept taking so much food up to your room," Liv explained. "We thought you were eating enough to feed two or three people. I mean, it wouldn't have mattered. I'm a staunch advocate for body positivity, but it did seem super sudden. Mum thought you might be pregnant."

"She thought what?" I squawked.

"You were stealing lots of vegetables! You hate vegetables. We thought it was a weird pregnancy craving." Liv shrugged, as if this was a normal reaction to an increased appetite and not completely baffling and battshit crazy.

"I am deeply disturbed by this revelation," I said, slowly. "And am clearly far less stealthy with my food smuggling than I thought."

"Yeah, it was very obvious." Liv looked down at Knight, who was grinning cheekily up at her. "You have to tell Mum and Dad, you know."

"How am I supposed to explain this?" I asked, gesturing in Knight's general direction wildly. Because it was the real question. Mum and Dad were friends with Carl and Daniella Knight. Would they aim for a reconciliation that Knight didn't want? Would they try to fix what was irreparably broken? My parents were inherently good people, but my loyalty was entirely and passionately behind Cole; I couldn't trust that theirs would not be divided. "Like, seriously. What do you suggest?"

"Aliens?" Olivia suggested.

"...Aliens."

"Well, it's more believable than you running into Carl and Daniella's kid in the middle of streets after he ran away from home and decided to let him live in your bedroom. And, by the way, Knight, your parents are assholes—" Knight nodded in agreement "—but seriously, Lena, you have to tell them about Knight. And aliens are just more realistic than the truth, to be honest."

I frowned. "But that's what happened."

"I know! Well, you could tell Mum and Dad that he's your boyfriend," Olivia suggested. Then she sighed. "But they won't believe you. I mean, basically everyone knows you want to bone Jace."

"I do not!" I said hotly.

Knight grinned. "Yeah, you do. Just a little bit."

"I have no idea where you guys keep getting this wild idea from!"

"You were dancing romantically at the wedding," Liv said, counting the reasons on her fingers. "You blush every time his name is mentioned, and you mention his name in literally every conversation. To the point where it is a problem and I have considered booking you in for therapy. Plus, you hooked up that one time."

"Three times," Knight corrected, grinning.

Liv gaped at me. "I did not know that. Three times? When?"

I glared at Knight. "You're a snitch. You can go back to the streets."

Liv looked to Knight again. "Three whole times? And they were conscious?"

"Tipsy!" I said.

Knight ignored me. "They hooked up that time I walked in on them, in the bathroom after the party, and tonight in the hedges. For an hour."

Liv raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh, no, Elly Belly, you're so right. Where could we possibly get that idea? It's like—no, you're right. You're definitely not into Hartley. I stand corrected, and would like to issue a formal apology for my misstep."

I slumped back on my bed with a groan of defeat. "It's my birthday, and I formally request that you gift me with never talking about this again. And a pony."

"It's literally not your birthday for another week," said Knight. "And we already got you a present."

I gasped. "You did? What is it?"

Knight frowned at me. "You must know I will not be telling you."

"Party pooper."

"Maybe I will get you the gift of clarity," said Liv lightly. "A date with Jace. I'm sure he'd say yes. Maybe you could finally realise you want to bone down."

"I hate every party of that sentence. Besides, he wouldn't," I said firmly. "He's not into me like that."

Liv and Knight raised an eyebrow at each other, as if to say get a load of this chick. They were annoying like that. God, I wish Liv hadn't walked in the room.

"Well, Liv likes Zac Delaney!" I countered.

Knight shrugged. "It's just not as funny."

I buried my face in my hands. And so, the Jace-and-Lena joke lives on. To be fair, I hadn't done a very good job recently of refuting it. Instead, I'd continually given my friends and family ammunition. Like, three times? Pull it together, Elly Belly.

Knight had crawled out from under the bed and was leaning against its base, stretching out his neck and back. I nudged his head. "So, when do I get my present?"

I loved birthdays. I was very passionate about receiving things; I was a materialistic girl like that. Besides, my friends knew me well. They never got me anything I had to return.

He smiled secretively. "Tomorrow."

"Will I like it?"

Liv whacked me. "Yes, you'll like it."