La Douleur Exquise

Seventy Nine

"I had a crush on you," Darcie reveals, not that it comes as a shock. Since camp, I've known that she had feelings for me. She laughs humorlessly at the expression on my face. "Since I was eleven years old, I had the biggest crush on you and the only other person who knew was Mia. She thought it was hilarious and would tease me about it because back then, you weren't as good looking as you are now."

"Well, that's a massive blow to my ego," I sarcastically say, rolling my eyes and kicking the side of her hip gently with my foot. 

Darcie laughs along, throwing her head back and brushing her hair from her face. She was carefree and beautiful, not even realising how captivating she is. I found that it annoyed me that I hadn't noticed it before because while I hadn't always looked the way I did, Darcie hasn't changed at all. 

"Anyway, when you and I shared a class all those years ago, I thought, 'Finally!'" Darcie continues, her focus back on me. "I was kinda gearing up to ask you out and Mia helped me plan it all but the day before I was due to ask you out, I was walking down the hall and saw you and her kissing. Well, not kissing, more like probing each other's insides with your tongues. It was gross."

I remember that day well. Mia Carpenter had never featured on my radar before but there she was, strolling towards me confidently, throwing her arms around me and planting her lips on mine. I hadn't planned to kiss her back but when a gorgeous girl starts kissing you, you don't push her away. Or maybe you should. I make a mental note to remember this for future reference.

"I was upset with her so I took her aside and asked her why she would kiss you," Darcie's voice suddenly becomes a perfect balance of anger and sadness. "She said that you had kissed her but she was my best friend, so I know when she's lying to me. She kissed you because she didn't want me to have you. Even if you two did break up after, I wouldn't be able to date you because just like you have bro code, we have a sister code and rule number one is that you don't date a friend's ex."

I frown. "Ok, so basically she dated me because she's a bitch who never really liked me. I can live with that. I don't think I actually loved her, now that I think about it. Can we get to the Sean Thomas thing now?"

"Do you really want to hear that?" Darcie double checks. When I give her a blank stare in return she nods her head and sighs heavily. "Mia slept with Sean."

Truth be told, I had my suspicions about that. Mia would sometimes get really secretive and would ignore my messages only to be all over me the next day. One time, I found another guy's football jersey crumpled up on the back seat of her car but I couldn't make out the number. If I''m being honest, I don't think Sean was the only one Mia cheated with. Every guy Darcie's gotten close to, whether in the romantic sense or just simply as friends, Mia would always find a way to worm her way closer to them. 

"What about Ritchie?" I ask, not really wanting to know the answer but curious enough to ask. "Did she ever try it on with him?"

Darcie scoffs. "She wouldn't stand a chance. Ok, so I answered your questions, time for you to answer mine. Why did you try to kiss me?"