Same But Different (Completed)

Chapter Twenty Three

"So, are you up for it again?" Whitney's voice was too smooth, too teasing. It grated on me, but I kept my composure.

I glanced at Jason, who gave me an unbothered thumbs-up. Why is this happening? I couldn't wrap my head around it. Sending Yuri with Jason had been meant to help her forget her problems, not throw her into worse situations, especially not with Whitney. Why would Jason want her to kiss Whitney?

My thoughts spiraled for a moment before I shook my head. There was no time to dwell on it now.

"Let's do this," I said, my tone dripping with sarcasm as I followed Whitney's lead, walking to the closet.

Whitney grips my hand tightly, tugging me into the dim confines of the closet. Once the door clicks shut, she fixes her gaze on me with a primal intensity, as though I'm prey. She inches closer, her breath warm against my skin, and then leans in, her eyes fluttering shut. I follow suit, a wave of regret crashing over me for being trapped in this moment. Our lips collide, and everything else blurs to oblivion. I remind myself this is for Yuri, and with that thought, I kiss her back, my hands tangling in her hair, pulling her fiercely toward me. But as I lose myself in the kiss, I'm haunted by memories of a different girl—Belle, who stood outside her house, leaving me aching with unsaid words. Whitney's tongue invades my mouth, a frantic assault, her grip on me suffocating. I recall how many times I fantasized about this very moment, how I yearned for her. Yet with every desperate second, the fire that once drew me to her dwindles, replaced by an unsettling realization. I can't bear to open my eyes and confront the urgency in her, the way she strives to meld into me—a longing so thick it chokes the air between us.

"Wait - Stop kissing her," Yuri's voice echoed in my mind, sharp and accusing. I flinched, her words cutting through the haze of confusion and desire. What was her problem? She put me in this situation. She made me feel like this, like I had no choice but to be here.

Frustration bubbled up inside me. Fine, Yuri, you come kiss her then, I thought bitterly, trying to push away the growing frustration gnawing at me. The more I tried to drown it out, the louder her voice became in my mind, relentless, questioning everything I was doing. But as the thoughts swirled—Yuri's voice, Whitney's touch—I felt myself fading, slipping further away from the moment, from reality.

 All I could feel was the tension between my chest and my heart, a strange pressure that pulled me deeper into myself. In the back of my mind, I knew. I realized it too late—what I had done, what I had allowed to happen. My mind had betrayed me, slipping out the words I hadn't intended. I called out for Yuri, I thought, my stomach twisting in a tight knot. 

Uh-oh, I thought weakly, the sinking feeling settling deeper in my bones. The edges of my vision blurred as I felt myself retreating, falling back into the cold, consuming darkness. The pull was undeniable, and with it came a sense of detachment, as if I were watching all of this from a distance—unable to change anything, unable to stop myself from fading away.

*B L A N K *

Yuri felt the hard surface of the closet door dig into her back, a rush of confusion swirling in her mind. "What?" she thought, grappling with the intensity of the moment.

Whitney had her left thigh wrapped around Yuri's, a bold move that sent shockwaves through her. Yuri squeezed her eyes shut, deciding to embrace the darkness instead of confronting the chaos unfolding before her. Whitney's tongue slid against hers, igniting a fire she hadn't anticipated.

"Damn, I actually did it! I got out!" Yuri thought, a surge of confidence washing over her, thrilled at the thought of Sasha no longer kissing Whitney. "Now let's get this over with," she resolved, her heart racing as she surrendered to the whirlwind of emotions, ready to lose herself in the moment.