The Aristocrat

They call it truth spreads

Wednesday 10th.

From beside my leg on the bed, my phone buzzed, the soft ringtone humming out of it against the quilt. Around me, the girls eyes drew to the phone with curiosity. Ivy jumped up on her bed and stretched out her arm in an attempt to grab the phone, but I caught it before she could. She huffed sitting back down in her spot, glaring in my direction.

"Is that him now?" She interrogated me as I checked the screen of my phone, discreetly holding it away from them.

Seeing Asher's name, I bit my lip and nodded, "Yeah."

"Aren't you going to answer it?" Victoria gawked as my hand laid the phone back in it's spot next to my leg.

"No," I shook my head, "I'll call him back later."

Turning my attention completely back to the three of them, I noticed them all staring at me. All three appeared to be looking at me differently, each having their own questions about what I had just told them. It was Ivy's harsh, ploughing stare that I confronted first, "Don't look at me like that," I pleaded with her, rolling my own eyes backwards.

"Like what?" She responded, pursing her lips and cocking her brows in my direction.

"Like you're trying hard not to say something," I said back, sighing as we both stared hard at each other.

"I just can't believe you didn't tell us," She huffed, unfolding her arms from across her chest and throwing them wildly into the air.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal," I reasoned with her, "I didn't know what to say."

"Not a big deal?" She scoffed out her words, eyes wide in disbelief, "Andra I tell you when a guy looks at me, you've been staying over at this guy's house."

"I know, I know," I sighed in defeat, realising that she may have been right for once, "I'm sorry."

"I can't even get my head around it," Ivy stated, a bewildered expression caught on her face, "It's so out of the blue."

Victoria shook her head in disagreement, sticking her hand in the air to gain our attention, "I totally saw it at the party," she confessed, recalling when she had called my bluff at Hugo's birthday party.

Ivy tutted, folding her arms again in frustration, "I knew I should have fucking gone to that."

Victoria stared at Ivy with amusement, chuckling to herself as she watched our friend strop over missing out. I looked around the circle and noticed Fleur, quiet to the side of me, hesitant but wanting to ask something. Her eyes caught mine and I smiled.

"So, um -," Fleur started to speak, her soft voice breaking the attention away from Ivy, "What are you two then? You and Asher?"

"Yeah," Vic jumped in, swivelling in her spot so that she lay down on her stomach, elbows propped up and head held in her hands, "Have you had that conversation yet?"

"No, definitely not," I instantly replied, shaking my head forcefully "We're just – I don't know – casual."

"None of what you just told us sounds casual," Ivy butted in, her eyes digging into me and dragging forward little truths.

"Ok it's not casual," I admitted with a heavy sigh, "But I don't have the energy to start overthinking it. I'm just going with the flow for now."

Ivy nodded but I could there was something she was holding back on saying. It took only a minute of silence before she finally cracked herself and spoke, "And you don't think your mum might be just a little right?"