What A Lie Looks Like | ✓

1.16: sephine

"Don't stop in the middle of the sidewalk," An irritated woman-probably the one that ran into us-mutters as she goes around to continue on her way.

"That was rude," I frown but pull him along with me to avoid any more rear ends.

"Sephy, are you being serious?" He used to only call me that, especially after he figured out how much it bothered me, but I don't mind after being apart for so long.

"What if I was wrong to leave? Hermon is a great school, and I love the program, but I'm not being challenged. I'm sure any company that looks at me will ask what the hell I was thinking when I left Bayard's program." It's something that I haven't been able to push out of my mind because I know that Banes was right, and I hate her for it.

He takes his time to answer, "I don't think you should come back. Professionally it might be the better move, but mentally I think this place is better for you. I think that if you had asked me two weeks ago, I would have said that you should come back but not after seeing you with Hayes and your friends."

"What do you mean?" My cheeks are probably a rosy red right now, and my nose has gone numb from the cold.

Ollie's blonde hair is peeking out from under the white beanie, "I just thought that seeing how you were after Ethan, I didn't know what to expect when you told me about Hayes. After seeing you and Hayes together... I get it. I get why you guys are together, and he's not a bad guy. Cam is hilarious, but I do question Liv's choice in movies considering we watched two Nicholas Sparks movies the other night?"

I laugh agreeing with the part about Liv and try to put the piece about Hayes and I out of my head, "She has another one picked out for us to watch tonight."

He shakes his head, groaning, "Oh my god no. I don't think I can watch another one."

*********

Except we did end up watching another one. We're currently camped out in my basement, watching the Nicholas Sparks movie that Liv had picked out.

"Liv, I'm sick of crying during all of these goddamn movies you keep picking out." I blow my nose into a tissue before tossing it on the floor to join the other ones that accumulated themselves as the older man continues to sing about his love. It's not even an essential part of the movie-let alone an actual character-but I can't stop the tears from forming.

She sniffles and wipes a stray tear, "But they're so good."

I break contact with the television screen to look at her curled up in an outfit almost identical to mine: pajama pants, a sports bra, and hair piled up on the tops of our heads. "No, these movies are terrible."

Liv tosses one of the throw pillows at me over Ollie's sleeping body, and I turn away as it hits me softly on the back of my head, "Take it back. These movies are great and give me life."

My jaw drops, "How do they give you life when someone dies in every single one? And why does Ollie get to sleep, but I had to stay awake?" I whine like a five-year-old because I hate watching sad movies. Ollie fell asleep during the first fifteen minutes, and Liv didn't wake him up, but if I had tried to sleep, she would have fought me.

Ollie moans, waking up from his dead sleep, moving to grab the pillow away from where it fell after hitting me. "If you guys don't stop talking, I'm going to hit both of you with this pillow."

"You woke up just in time for their reunion!" Liv grabs more tissues and passes them to Ollie in a teasing manner who would rather die than admit that he cried during The Best of Me and A Walk to Remember. I however, cried during The Best of Me but not during A Walk to Remember. Liv was just a mess during both.