Nostalgia

2·9

"This is a terrible idea."

I paused what I was doing with my black eyeliner held in the air next to my face, frowning at Kong through the mirror. I knew this was a terrible idea, but there were no other options.

Placing the eyeliner back in its case, I swiped the smudge of lipgloss away from the corners of my lips.

"I'm open to any better ideas," I told him.

He opened his mouth then snapped it shut, staring at the floor. Then he looked up and opened his mouth again. "I might not have any ideas, but you and James are fine. You're friends now, fake dating or not. That should count for something, right?"

I peered up at his standing reflection in the mirror, dropping my tone ever so slightly when I said, "it counts for nothing. James wants revenge. All this..." I waved my hands in a circle and frowned. "It's part of whatever he has planned and if I don't stop him, he's going to-" I paused and blinked. He'll hurt me.

I wasn't sure how, but James had the upper hand. Not doing anything would mean surrendering to whatever he wanted to do. Playing along with his plan like a pawn and awaiting what would come after.

Kong pouted. He'd gotten rid of his bangs two days ago, so his eyebrows were fully visible and he didn't have to shift them out of his vision every now and then. "Is that so bad though? What if something good comes out of this? What if the two of you get back together? I mean, it'd be better for you, him and... And me."

And him. Kong.

I had told him about my run in with Pat but I had forgotten to say hi to him for her. Not until he'd uttered those last words did I piece it together. If they were still on rocky ground like he claimed, why would she say hi to him?

Unless...

Unless they'd been talking, together. And not once.

My frown deepened and I got up from my sear, turning to face Kong and placing my hand on the top.of the chair I'd previously been sitting on.

"You hated James a month and half ago when he'd gotten an apartment directly across from us." I thrusted my index finger sideways to punctuate my words. "You hated him more a month ago when he practically forced me to be his fake girlfriend and now?" My tone dripped venom and anger and... and hurt. And a little selfishness too even though I wouldn't admit to it. "Now you want me to continue being his ex-turned-fake-girlfriend-and-friend? Weren't you the one that wanted me to be careful with him because he was being fishy?"

"Yes, but that was until I spoke with him at the game on Wednesday."

My eyebrows shot up and my eyes widened. An incredulous sound left the back of my throat and escaped through my parted lips. "So you talked to James about me and you didn't bother to tell me about it till now? Who's side are you even on?"

Kong's gaze darkened and his voice went low, threatening. "I've always been and would always be on your side. That's not even a question here. I spoke to him because I couldn't handle seeing you the way you were."

"And how was I?" I was almost yelling now, taking steps towards my best friend who was now keeping stuff from me. Stuff about me.

"Well, if you must know, Avery, you were sad, and confused, and pissed. Kinda like you are now." It irked me how he was talking in a calm tone, while I was ready to unleash hell.

Was I really angry at Kong? No. Did I hate James? At this moment, hell yeah I did.

"What did the two of you talk about?" I asked him, dropping my voice again. Like a ticking bomb waiting to explode. I had to remind myself over and over to breathe but it still wasn't working. "What did James say?"

"He said that he knew I didn't trust him, but he didn't have any bad intentions. And that he didn't want to be in this fake relationship any more than you did because it was hurting him too."

A bitter laugh left me and I stepped back, a hand to my forehead. "Yeah, right."

"He also said that he was going to fix everything with his dad and you'd be rid of him. He just wants the both of you to be friends-"

"You don't manipulate your friends Kong. James is trying to manipulate me."

"How are you even-"

"He'd already done his homework last week yet he invited me over to help him with the homework. And he kept saying things-doing things that reminded me a lot of what we used to have." I paused to inhale, hoping that Long would understand where I was coming from. "Of him."

A short silence passed between us but when king spoke, I hoped he didn't.

"And how is that a bad thing?" Seeing the effects of his words on my expression, he spoke again quickly. "I mean, if he's trying to recreate moments with you, it means he's sorry about not finding out the whole truth about you and Adam and he wants the both of you back together, right?"

Oh, Kong. My foolish oblivious best friend.

I just stared at him and Kong stared back, waiting for a reply. "Right?"

"It's not that simple Kong." I rubbed my forehead and picked up my purse from the dressing table. James was going to ring the doorbell any second now.

I made my way to the living room with Kong hot on my trail. He took a hold of my wrist and sound me around to face him. "What are you not telling me?"

My subconscious was quick to reply, the whole truth. But my lips said another thing entirely. "You tell me."

He let go of me, watching me like I'd grown six eyes and my nose had vanished. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe we're not so different, Kong. You don't expect me to tell you everything about my life when all you do is hide yours." I was breathing fast. Kong didn't seem to be breathing at all. His face had gone slightly pale and his fingers were digging into his palms.

"Ave-"

The doorbell interrupted him and I walked towards it, throwing the door open to reveal a smiling James. He had a white dress shirt on with black trousers. The first two buttons were left undone giving me a peek of what lay underneath. I had to literally rip my gaze away from that small patch of skin that was revealed to meet his eyes.

I smiled. "Hey."

"Hey," he breathed, smiling back. His gaze wandered into the room when Kong cleared his throat. "Hey, Kong."

Behind me, Kong muttered a small greeting back and James faced me again. My smile widened. I was so ready for tonight.

"You ready?" he asked, offering his hand.

I took it and nodded before following him out of the door, but before I shut it, I stared at Kong for a second that stretched into years. "Pat says hi."

And with that, I shut the door and followed James away.