more than friends? || c.f.

chapter twenty six - the tree house

He drowned in my eyes with his green ones while he put the necklace on. Then he kissed me again. I soaked up every second of this kiss, since it would be the last one. Feeling his soft lips on mine for one last time. Him caressing my cheek while doing so. The way he tasted like a mix of fresh mint and sweet honey.

Afterwards I touched his necklace that was now around my neck and smiled at the boy. I knew that I'd be close to him, every time I would touch it again.

We went back to the house and hung out with the rest. We were in the living room, playing with the Wii. I laid down on the couch after a while and fell asleep. Mom woke me up again after two hours. "Hey, bean. It's dinner time", she said.

We sat at the kitchen table, like yesterday. We had the same pasta as we did the day before. After that I helped to clean the kitchen and went upstairs. The dinner had a weird vibe, for me at least. Probably because of the two brothers staring from each side, for exceptionally different reasons.

I went into Belly's room, the girl was luckily alone. "Hey, can I sit with you?", I asked her. "Sure, come in", she answered and put her book away. "Um, something happened today. Like, a-a lot happened today. I-I mean, since last night, actually", I stammered, not really sure how to start. "Just tell me", she said, so I took a deep breath.

"Okay, so, I couldn't sleep, right? You went upstairs with Jake, Steven also went to bed and the two brothers were sleeping on the couch. But I just couldn't shut off my mind, so I went outside, to the beach. I-I watched the sunset, alone. Well, until Conrad came. And then we talked about Susannah and-and one thing led to another and... we kissed. And talked about our feelings", I tried to explain.

„Hold up, are you for real?", the girl asked. „Yup. He said that his heart feels light and free now, and that the newly won space inside is taken up by me", I told her. „Wow, okay. That's fucking cute. So, are you two finally together?", Belly asked.

I lowered my gaze and tears started to roll once again. It was an emotional rollercoaster. „No", I sniffed. „Why?!" „Because Jere is so mad at us. Like, you can't imagine how mad and heartbroken he was. I-I can't do this to him. Especially not now", I replied.

„Yeah, I understand. I'm just like you. I always need to make others happy first, instead of myself", Belly said. „I know. I just can't destroy Jere's feelings, and their bond... Not now with... Susannah... Ugh", I whispered and wiped away some tears.

Suddenly Belly started crying, too. „I hate this. This is unfair", she sobbed. „I know. I hate this, too", I replied in between my sniffs and hugged her. My best friend and I laid on her bed for half an hour and cried together. We told each other stories about earlier in our lives when we were still young.

„Promise me you'll never leave me", I said. „What? Why would I ever leave you?", Belly asked me. „I have the feeling everyone's gonna hate me soon", I replied.

The girl held up her pinky finger: „Don't worry. I'll never leave you. Even if I'm mad at you some day, or you might think I don't like you anymore... I won't leave. I'll always love you, you're my big sis." Then I intertwined my pinky finger with hers.

„What do you think? Wanna sleepover in my bed?", Belly asked. „Oh, my god. Absolutely!", I replied and jumped up from that bed. „I'll go get my stuff and then I'll shower", I told her excitedly. „I'll get us some snacks and drinks", my friend added.

I brought my ipad, the charger, fuzzy socks and a pillow. Then I went into the bathroom and finally took a shower. This one was really needed. After that I washed my face and went back into my room to put on cozy shorts, a crop top and a cardigan.

„Okay, ready?", I asked my friend as I walked into her room. „Oh, hell yeah! Uh, just leave the door slightly open. Just in case... I don't know. Just feels safer right now", Belly said. „That's alright. So, what do you want to watch?", I wanted to know as I sat down on the bed and looked on my ipad. „The notebook", she replied.