Roommate Roulette

18 | Secret

"Are you guys a thing?" I asked, dropping into a hush.

He bit his lip and shook his head, almost sadly. "He's bisexual, but he doesn't know that I'm gay too. But thing is... we kissed that day after the sleepover we had at my place."

I tried to keep my excitement in check. "And?" I frowned. "What's wrong? That's good, right?" He nodded and the crease in between my eyebrows deepened. "What happened after?"

"He's been acting like it hasn't happened at all. At first, I thought it was because he didn't want to make it awkward. But now I think it's just that he doesn't like me at all and that he thinks that I think it was an accident."

I snorted. "You're kidding."

"All it does is complicate things, Eve."

𑁍 • 𑁍 • 𑁍

Before I could unlock the door, I felt two light taps on my shoulder. It didn't feel like his touch, but who else would it be? "Hey, Gra—Arsinoe?" I stepped away from her.

She looked down at her shoes and shifted uncomfortably. "I had to run to catch up to you. I'm so sorry, Eve. About that night. I didn't mean to—"

"To what? Push me into a pool when you know I couldn't swim?" I crossed my arms and glared at her.

"They forced me to! They told me I had to prove I was good enough to be part of their group."

"'They'?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow when I knew very well what she was talking about.

"Like—Vivian and them." She still wouldn't meet my eyes. 

I scoffed. I'm not tolerating this. "Look, you did what you did, alright? I'm not  forgiving you because peer pressure isn't something to be easily forgiven."

"I already said that I was sorry." Somehow, this only infuriated me more.

"And you think that's enough?" I kept my voice low so I don't make a scene for people living nearby. "Let me see what I have to forgive. You betrayed my trust, called me a slut, nearly drowned me and threw away our friendship like it was nothing." I listed, daring her to talk back.

"But, please, listen for a moment." I gave her the benefit of the doubt and let her continue. "At least I made friends, isn't that what you wanted? I made my point clear that I was sorry and I don't ever want to do that again. I'm in a group so I'm not lonely, like you wanted."

Five, four, three, two, one.

My eyes softened, but I kept my voice even. "That's the thing, Arsinoe. If you made friends, they wouldn't have made you do that."

"I don't get it!" She bursted out, throwing her arms in the air in distress. "How can you  make friends so easily? I have friends now that I can depend on, so you should be proud of me."

I shook my head. "You used to be my best friend, Arsinoe. Real friends means they'd be with you no matter what, no matter the situation. It's not something you have to pay your way into. You don't change for people unless it's for yourself."

Her face fell and tears formed in her eyes. They weren't frustrated tears, just... miserable. "You don't have the right to say that—"

I made a noise in between a scoff and a laugh. "Like you had 'the right' to call me a slut? No, I don't think so. We do things that we don't mean to sometimes and that's okay. But it's like I don't even know you anymore. I don't think I ever  knew you in the first place." My voice cracked, but I didn't let my emotions get the best of me. This was on her.