NINI
"I leave you five seconds, FIVE FREAKING SECONDS, alone and you already make out with Caden West?!" April shouts, while we're locked in the toilet. Her eyes show she's on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"It wasn't that bad", I reply blushing, thinking of the last few minutes when Caden kissed me like I was the most special girl on Earth. His kiss is always so wanting. So desiring. It just makes you lose control.
"No, I'm sure it wasn't. Which is exactly my problem", April says, clearly having a breakdown.
"Why?"
"Guys like him won't stop hurting you", she whispers, worried really.
"Caden is not like that. He said he wouldn't hurt me", I reply, somehow feeling the urge to protect him.
"That's what they all say in the beginning. It's only after a few months that you find yourself broken."
"He said he wouldn't hurt me."
April must have heard the protective tone in my voice.
"I get it. You like him. I just wanted to make sure you won't end up heartbroken."
I nod and give her a hug: "Thanks, babe."
"Always. I'm here for you. You know that, right?"
"I know", I reply. And I'm grateful for it.
~
After April there is one other person that I know would ask me thousands of questions when I tell her the news. My bestie. Soph.
So, as soon as April and I get home, I pull out my phone and start texting her.
ME: Hey, Soph!
ME: So, something might have happened.
Her answer is instant.
SOPH: Oh my gosh, are you okay?
ME: I'm fine.
ME: Yet, I might have made out with Caden West locked in a washing room.
She doesn't reply anymore, however, five seconds later, I get an incoming video call from her. I take the call, and it doesn't take much until her voice fills up the room, I'm in, from how loud she's shouting.
"WHAT?!"
In only a few milliseconds, Alec appears next to her quickly checking her out to see if she's harmed or if something has happened. He doesn't really look like in a renovation outfit, since he's still wearing his tux, his curly hair perfectly styled. The scar on his cheek is still visible, from when he had a car accident last year. I asked Soph and she said the doctors told him it will never go away. The same works for the scar on his neck.
"Foxy, are you alright?" he asks, quickly placing a hand protective on Soph's waist. She nods and kisses him once, to calm him down.
"I am. But apparently, not her." she says that, turning the screen so that Alec can see me. I wave at him, smiling to be polite.
"Elway", Alec greets me by my last name, his voice so much colder than the tone he used while talking to his girlfriend. It gives me chills. And we're not even in the same room.
"So, how did it happen?" Soph continues asking, and Alec doesn't move away from her. Once he heard her scream, there's no way he'll leave her alone. Too "dangerous".
"It just kinda did. He was staring at me while I was dancing at the frat party, so I got annoyed. I wanted to talk to him, so I lead him to the closest empty room. We ended up making out there."
Alec frowns, clearly done with this conversation and the world. The only reason he's still staying there is Soph, who's kissing his neck.
"Just like that?!" she asks, taking a break from kissing, only to be replaced by Alec who now does the same to her neck.
"Yeah. I mean, I didn't plan it or something", I explain myself. That's the moment my phone tones with a new notification.
"Holy Moly, he texted me", I say, opening up the app.
"He what?!" Soph shouts again, getting more excited. "What does it say?"
I immediately read her the message, without reading it only to me first.
CADEN: Hey, Broadway. Thanks for the amazing night. I'm sorry, but I can't make it to rehearsals this week, Coach Banks is working us dead at training. I'll be there for your auditions.
CADEN: You'll be the best Juliet the world has ever seen.
I'm blushing and Soph is cheering at the other end of the line.
"See, I told you he'll come through", she says. I smile at her, since I really have been hoping she would be right. She was.
"I know. I guess I..." I want to finish but I'm interrupted by a loud crack somewhere in the background. Soph jumps scared, yet Alec quickly catches her and makes sure she's alright. The crack came from their side apparently, not mine.
Still with me on the call, they both go to see what happened and Soph yelps as she discovers who made the sound. One of their constructors broke one of the statues that was supposed to be on display. My bestie gets sad, which makes Alec annoyed at the person.
"What happened?" I ask, although I can very much see.
"It's Marvin", she says, pointing with her eyes at the constructor. "He broke one of the Ancient Greek statues. He's..." she wants to explain yet Alec finishes for her, saying something else.
"Fired. He's fired."
Marvin tries to protest yet my bestie's boyfriend stops him with a death glare. "I'll buy you another one, Foxy", he then says to Soph. She quickly kisses him and tells him there's no need. He insists, saying he would give her the world if he could. I tune out. And focus on my conversation with Caden. It would be weird not to reply, so I text him back.
ME: I also enjoyed tonight.
ME: And I'm sorry about training. No need to worry about rehearsals. I got this.
His reply comes in an instant.
CADEN: I know you do.
CADEN: What are you up to now?
ME: Watching my bestie kiss her boyfriend during a video call.
CADEN: Ouch. Sorry.
ME: No problem. They're cute.
CADEN: Want to watch a movie together?
ME: As in you coming at our place? No way. April is currently having a breakdown, cursing whoever invented the law book.
I look up at my friend, who's sitting at the table, cursing at the textbook like it were her biggest enemy. I take a picture and send it in our friend group. April, who also got the message, looks up at me and shows me the middle finger. I stick my tongue out at her, which makes her laugh.
CADEN: No, we could start them at the same time.
ME: Sounds nice. Only if we're watching a romcom.
CADEN: I've already watched every Matthew McConaughey movie, isn't that enough?
ME: You can never have too many romcoms.
CADEN: Whatever, you can pick. But make it good, since my best friend came join us for movie night.
ME: Alright. What does he like?
CADEN: Taylor Swift.
ME: Wow. Impressive. He should meet my friend Dia. She also loves music.
CADEN: I'll tell him.
"Nini, are you okay? I've been calling your name for the last five minutes." Soph says, looking panicked at the screen.
"I'm fine. Really. You know what? Why don't I let you two lovebirds do your thing, and I'll tune out?"
Alec throws me a death stare for calling him a bird. Well, he's the one calling his girlfriend a fox.
"Okay. But will you be okay?"
"I am. I will. April is here. And besides, I can call you if anything happens."
"You sure can. Love you, babe."
"Love you too! Have fun. But not too much fun." I say, to resemble her mother. She smiles and closes the call. As I look up, April is sitting next to me, staring.
"Holy Moly, you scared me." I say, trying to get the remote from her. She only scrolls further through Netflix.
"Why don't we watch this?" she asks, clicking on Stranger Things.
"No. It's not a romcom. And, what are you doing here?"
"I am done", she says, pointing to the closed books on the table.
"You were cursing the book seconds ago."
"It's called productivity through aggression."
"Oh my gosh", I let out. She chuckles.
"So, yes or no for Strangers Things?"
I look at her puppy eyes and give up. "Let me text the guys."
ME: April crashed our movie night too. She wants Strangers Things. Yes or no?
CADEN: What happened to a romcom?
ME: April happened.
She smirks, reading the text.
CADEN: Okay then. I'm in. So is Jacob.
CADEN: But we're still up for a romcom someday.
ME: Sure.
I answer that blushing, meaning we'll go on a date once. April rolls her eyes and stands up, coming back with some snacks from the kitchen.
"Dia bought those good apple chips from the store yesterday." she says, handing me a bag of apple chips.
"And is she okay with us eating them?"
"Yeah, I texted her earlier. She says she bought them for all of us."
I nod and send a quick thank you text to Dia in our friend group chat. She answers with a heart.
"We can begin", I say and type that to the guys as well.
CADEN: You do the honors.
ME: One
ME: Two
ME: Three
ME: Let's go.