𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 ;; 𝒶𝓊𝒷𝓇𝑒𝓎 𝓍 𝓀𝑒𝓁 𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓉𝓈

↳ 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥 𝕒𝕦𝕓𝕣𝕖𝕪 ・❥・: ̗̀➛

"But they'll make it embarrassing. Basil's too busy with his internship, and I can't ask Aubrey, so I have to ask you."

Sunny's voice dripped of sarcasm, but not sounding genuinely mad, as he crossed Sally's arm to make it look like she was mad. "It's great to know I'm your first choice."

"You know I don't mean it like that!" Kel sighed. "Listen, I just need your help. Please, Sunny... How do you make someone like you?"

He shrugged. "You don't. They start liking you on their own. You can't force someone to like you. That's too much work."

"I meant... How did you get Basil to like you?"

"Nothing. If I did, I don't know what. I confessed, and he accepted, since he felt the same way. I don't know why, but he did."

He sighed, laying down on his bed. Hector put his paws on top of his chest, smiling at him with his tongue hanging out. "Sunny," Kel said, "I mean this in the nicest way possible: You're useless."

Sunny smiled. "I'm glad I could help."

. . .

ᴏɴ ᴠᴀʟᴇɴᴛɪɴᴇ'ꜱ ᴅᴀʏ, Kel had no plan on how to make Aubrey like him. Maybe he should give up on Plan Aubrey. There couldn't be a Plan Aubrey if there was no plan anyway.

Aubrey had asked if he wanted to hang out after school. He, obviously, said yes. Now that school was finally over, they were walking home instead of taking the bus like they normally did. Because it was Valentine's Day, Aubrey had a lot to talk about.

"So many people in this school show off their love for their partner too much," she was telling him. "I was trying to get to my locker, but there was this couple literally making out right in front of me. They were ignoring me, so I had to stand there and wait for them to move."

"PDA is weird," Kel replied as they walked by a store showing off Valentine's Day cards in their front window. "But I get why they do it."

"True. I'm not a big fan of it, though."

Kel took a mental note of that.

"Anyway," she continued, "since Hero and Mari are off at college and Sunny and Basil are on a date, it's just me and you. Have anything you want to do?"

The reminder they were alone was exciting but nerve-wracking at the same time. "Nope."

They continued talking while they walked. Kel liked how comfortable they felt around each other and how easily he could make her pretty smile and laugh come out. It felt like they hadn't changed since they first met each other, and he would hate that to change.

It might change if you confess to her. Kel turned his head away from her to tell himself, Stop thinking like that.

"Hey, Kel." Aubrey pointed to a large bear being displayed on a shop's window. "Buy me that."

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Buy me the bear."

"I don't have any money on me...?"

She huffed. "Jeez. You're not good at this pretend-boyfriend thing."

"Pretend-boyfriend?"

"You know, it's Valentine's Day, and we're walking together. People are gonna think you're my boyfriend, so since you're now my pretend-boyfriend, you're supposed to buy me a gift."

"I didn't know I had to buy you anything!"

"Which is why you're a bad pretend-boyfriend." She smiled. "But don't worry. I have money, so you tell me what you want me to buy you. Then, I can hang it over your head how I bought you a gift like a good pretend-partner when you didn't."