Exploiting Realities

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT - TRUTH OR TRUTH

"So you've liked him since before Dillon?" she asked, appalled.

I shook my head. "I convinced myself I was being ridiculous and that I couldn't possibly like him. I was still kinda wishy-washy about it until ninth grade when I met Dillon. I fell for him so hard that any thoughts about liking Alec completely subsided."

"Aw," Mia said dreamily, "that's so sweet! It was love at first sight!"

I rolled my eyes. "Not my point, Mia. So anyway, after I started dating Dill, any thoughts of Alec as anything as a friend were pushed to the back of my mind, even though we stayed as close as ever. Even once I stopped liking Dill once I saw him kissing Livi--"

"Wait, WHAT?" she exclaimed, shocked.

"--the idea was so used to being squished in the back of my mind that it didn't resurface. That is, until Alec kissed me--"

"WHOA WHOA WHOA. Stop right there," Mia commanded, now on her feet. "Back it up a little. Dillon kissed Livi? Alec kissed you? Am I missing something here?"

I quickly explained to her the time at Sweet Scoops when I saw Dillon and Livi, followed by the story about Alec in my hospital room. She stared at me, her mouth open in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" she asked, slightly offended.

"I had only told Charlotte about Dill and Livi before I told Alec," I explained, "and you already hate him, so I figured I wouldn't push it by telling you about the kiss."

"I don't hate him," she argued.

I glared at her. "Yes you do. You've always favored Dillon."

"Because Dillon's such a great guy!"

"Except that he cheated on me..."

"Yes, and maybe if you had told me that, my opinion would have been different."

"Did I tell you that they got in a fight?" I asked smiling, knowing how much she would love that story.

"They what? Alec and Dillon?" she gasped. I nodded. "What happened?"

I told her about the fight when they were walking home from school that started off with snowballs and ended in black eyes and fat lips. She listened in awe. I left out nothing, not even the rage that I had been in once Alec had told me about it, and how I had overreacted and shunned him for days.

She sighed. "You're life is just...I don't even know. It's very eventful."

I nodded. "So, I'm done. Now spill everything about you and Justin! How are things working out long-distance?"

"It's...it's hard," she said hesitantly, "but not impossible. I mean, we FaceTime almost every day. We're still really close and there isn't any fear of him cheating on me. I just...I just miss him, you know?"

"I can only imagine," I stated.

"But there's really not much more to say about Justin. Our relationship is very...simple. Not like you and A--"

She was interrupted by my phone, which started screaming Lorelai's personalized ringtone, which was basically a recording of Alec shouting.

"PICK UP THE PHONE! ARIA! HEY ARIA! PICK UP THE PHONE! LORELAI'S CALLING YOU! THAT MEANS THAT THERE'S A 5% CHANCE THAT IT'S ACTUALLY IMPORTANT," Alec's eighth grade voice bellowed.

I slid my finger across the screen to answer. "Hello?"

"Come over. Now. We're watching Elf," Lorelai demanded.