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₊❏❜ ⋮ ᶠᵒᵒˡ'ˢ ᵍᵒˡᵈ ⌒
𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗐𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗒-𝗌𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇
ʳᵉᵃˡ ˡⁱᶠᵉ
❝ 𝗂𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎'𝗋𝖾 𝖺 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝗃𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗎𝗌. ❞
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Chris Sturniolo
I sit in the same booth of the diner I was at a few days ago, completely bored out of my mind. My hand reaches over to the glass cup filled with Pepsi beside me, feeling the condensation at my fingertips. My morning was quiet at first. I was reading one of the books Bianca had given me when we went to that one book shop at the city square-I'm not much of a reader, but one night, I had nothing to do. So, my last resort was that novel sitting on top of my nightstand. Romance was never really my preferred genre in books, but this one was not so bad. The Notebook is more melancholic if anything.
My late morning was interrupted when I got a text from a devil who goes by the name Amyra. I have not heard from her since the first time she told me to meet her here; I've done one hell of a good job avoiding her at school. It was not as difficult as I thought because I do not have a single class with her this semester, and I would like to keep it that way.
It has been five minutes since I arrived and she is nowhere to be found. I look around the busy diner-seniors are taking frequent sips of their coffee or getting refills whilst reading the morning paper, kids are messily eating their chocolate pancakes with whipped cream on top, parents are having a chat amongst themselves at the same time they are eating their meals, a few teenagers my age are sitting alone with their noses stuck in their textbooks.
Bored out of my mind, I let out a sigh as I slip off from the booth seat, only to be stopped by Amyra with a sly smile on her face. She sits across from me, her short hair tucked behind her ears and her hands clasped in front of her and rested on top of the table.
"Nice of you to finally show up," I scoff.
She rolls her eyes. "Calm down. I'm only five minutes late."
"Speed it up. I have better things to do than sit here and listen to you talk." I take another sip of my drink, my eyes wandering around the diner instead of looking into Amyra's wicked eyes. Looking into them is what sucks me into her manipulation, and it is too early to be dealing with that.
"God, you're cranky in the morning," she mutters, drinking her cup of Sprite that she made me order for her. If I knew she would be late to the meet-up she initiated, I wouldn't have saved her a drink.
"So, have you thought about what you're going to do?" Amyra glances back at me, her chin resting on the palm of her hand with a sinister smile.
I have not even thought about the ultimatum she gave me until now. To be honest, I still don't have a clue of what to do. Sure, telling the truth is the easiest route to go to, but there is a price to pay. What happened between Kendall and I is buried twenty feet underground as we both agreed to never speak of it again, despite her always giving me the cold shoulder which I don't blame her for.
"I need more than a month," I say truthfully.
Things have been going quite well between Bianca and I that suddenly revealing that I'm being blackmailed by my ex-girlfriend will just ruin the foundation we both have spent weeks building slowly. All I want is for Bianca to maneuver through this school year smoothly-I have pulled her into such a mess already that the least I could do is not ruin her life even more.
"Why?"
"Doesn't matter. I'm gonna tell her either way, just give me more time."
Amyra sips on her Sprite for a moment. She twirls the black plastic straw around her drink as she leans back in her seat, her eyes narrowed at me. I know she is just taking her sweet time "thinking" to spite me, and well, she is doing one hell of a damn good job.
"Fine," she groans, setting her drink down on the table. "I don't see why you can't just tell her the truth if you guys aren't even together unless..." A smirk appears on her face, tilting her head slightly.
"You like her, don't you?" She narrows her eyes at me.
I shift in my seat, taking a sip of my drink.
"Poor you." A faux frown displays itself on Amyra's lips, making me roll my eyes. She was never like this. The girl I once was in love with had a heart of gold who would do anything to make anyone's day. Now, she puts on this facade that plays her out to be the school's sweetheart. "Better tell her soon before your feelings start to get in the way, Chris. It'll only make it worse for you. Oh, and it would suck for her to find out from someone else that her pretend-boyfriend and cousin had a past."
With that, she leaves the diner with the same smirk she had on when she arrived. I finish my drink before I, too, slide from the booth to go back home. Just then, I spot a silhouette looking right at me whilst standing by the bar counter with a paper bag filled with to-go boxes. Fuck. I clench my jaw in frustration, combing my hair back as I go in that direction. I didn't have much choice, my legs have a mind of their own.
"Hi," Bianca says, her lips in a thin line as she clings onto the brown paper bag. Her dressed in a simple black and white plaid pajamas similar to mine, and a light grey Gap Athletic, 1969 crewneck that fits her body loosely. She is wearing her glasses, which she has been wearing wearing more often instead of her contact lenses. Not that I'm complaining-I think she looks good either way. It's Bianca, for fucks sake.
"Hey," I say back. It feels like I just got caught cheating, but we are not even together. Yet, it still feels wrong.
"..."
"So..."
"We were just catching up," I tell her. I try not to cringe at the thought of me and Amyra talking like we're friends.
"Hm?" She pretends to act clueless, but knowing her, she knows the truth. Maybe I'm feeding into my delusions but I sense a hint of jealousy from her. Why? That, I do not know.
"Me and Amyra, we were just-"
"What about you and Amyra?" She says instantly, her doe eyes looking directly into mine.
Her eyes are like honey.
I never knew her eyes were this light of brown.
I smirk, my arms crossing over my chest. My eyes narrow at the girl in front of me as I notice her bite on her inner cheek. "You okay, sunshine?" Calling her 'sunshine' has become a habit of mine. It's not like I can control it, it rolls off my tongue naturally.
"Mhm," she nods, her lips returning into a thin line.
"Really?"
"Yup."
"I don't know," I say. "It sounds like you're a little jealous."
She scoffs. "I'm not jealous. Why would I be jealous? Me? Please. It's too early to be joking."
I shrug, stepping forward so I'm not far from her as much. "Well, it didn't exactly bring a smile to your face."
"M'just trying to get home before the food gets cold. Speaking of which, I should get going." She exits the diner, the bell chiming as she steps out. I run my tongue along the inside of my cheek as a chuckle escapes me, trailing behind her without thinking twice. I reach for her waist, pulling her back gently, making her halt in her tracks.
"I'll take you home." I unlock my car that is mere steps away from us. She pulls back from me with a shake of her head along with a faint smile.
"It's okay, the walk isn't far from here."
Stubborn, like always.
"Didn't you say, 'm'just trying to get home before my food gets cold'?" I mock her tone, which drives her over the edge as she sighs in defeat and lets me direct her to my car. The second I get in, I toss her my phone. Her taste in music is versatile-I appreciate it in silence. There are many songs that she has played that I've never heard of, and I end up liking them surprisingly. She's mostly into songs from the seventies or eighties, which surprised me at first. I didn't expect her to be an old soul, but then again she's a spontaneous girl.
I glance at the screen right as an unfamiliar song begins to play, reading the title of this track: How Deep Is Your Love by Bee Gees. My fingers tap against the steering wheel, matching the rhythm of the song.
I know your eyes from the morning sun
I feel your touch in the pouring rain
And the moment that you wander far from me
I want to feel you in my arms again
And you come to me on a summer breeze
Keep me warm in your love, then you softly leave
And it's me you need to show,
How deep is your love?
I hear Bianca hum the words softly under her breath as if she is she is too sheepish around me to sing at a volume any louder than a whisper. Even if she's quiet, her voice brings me solace. It's almost hypnotic. She's hypnotic.
I'm not sure why it made me feel uneasy when Bianca saw me leaving right after Amyra. We're not together nor will we ever be, yet I felt... guilty? Is that the right word to describe how I felt?
My gaze wanders to her for a second, her fingers twirling the ends of her hair whilst she looks out the car window. I can tell she does not feel at all comfortable just from her body language alone. I can practically hear her thoughts shouting at her all at once, and I wonder what they are saying. I wonder if my name is there.
Bianca Sinclair
When I saw him step out of the same booth I saw Amyra leave from, my stomach felt funny. I was asked to pick up breakfast from the diner by Natasha because she was too idle to cook-I didn't mind the walk, it felt more relaxing since I was listening to my playlist. Everything was going well. The sky was still gloomy. The ravens were still croaking across the sky. The trees still lacked leaves. It was when I reached the diner that my insides felt like butterflies just lost their ability to soar around.
I noticed Chris' car as I was walking to the main entrance. I didn't think much of it, I figured he would be helping out Marie like he usually did. When I walked inside the diner, I saw Amyra having a conversation with someone. She didn't see me. She looked too focused in whatever discussion she was having. Though, my heart stopped beating for a minute when I saw Chris in that same booth. I didn't know they were in touch.
But who am I to care, right? I'm just the pretend girlfriend. It's none of my business. I'm just the pretend girlfriend, that is all.
I didn't even realize we had arrived at my house until the car comes to a halt and I was being tapped on the shoulder, my named being called out whilst I was disassociated from the world.
"Bianca."
I turn my head to face Chris, my eyes boring into his. I unbuckle my seatbelt whilst my hand finds the handle, thus I can leave this uncomfortable silence. However, of course, I get pulled back momentarily; his fingers wrapped around my hand before I could even bolt out of his car with my food. His eyes are filled with much amusement as if he is enjoying the way I'm dodging his eyes like it's a game. As if he is entertained by my jealousy.
Oh.
Jealousy.
That's new.
Well.
Okay.
I'm jealous, then.
How lovely.
I'm glad we have made it clear.
I want to leave this car.
"You okay there?" He interrupts my thoughts. My loud thoughts. He can probably hear them. He's good at reading me for some reason, and I'm not sure whether to be impressed or annoyed because he reads me like I'm a picture book. His eyes are mesmerizing. They're so blue. I didn't realize just how blue they are.
"Yup. All good. I'm going now. My food is probably cold. See you, bye." I run out of his car, not daring to glance back to see if he is still there. I open my front door, locking it behind me before I sprint to the kitchen, dropping the takeout bag onto the counter. Then, I waste no time to rush to my room, my heart pounding loudly; pound any harder and it would most likely leap out of my chest. My thoughts are running at ninety miles per hour, making my head hurt.
There is absolutely no way I felt jealous because I have grown to like Chris.
Right?
Right?
At first, we were strangers, being told I had to tutor him then in a blink of an eye, we are in a fake relationship. I would be lying if I were to say the little things he did like have a hand on my waist or call me "baby" did not have an effect on me. But I thought that was only because I have never had much interaction with guys before. As days of acting like a couple turn into weeks, the butterflies in my stomach have multiplied. There's more of them now.
God, what is happening to me?
Being away from Conrad for so long has made me spend more time with Chris. The only problem is that not once did I complain. Alright, I might've took a few steps back from Chris whenever we were mere centimeters apart. However, that was because I was scared of what it would be like if we were to kiss again as the tension would only worsen from there, not because my conscience was yelling Conrad's name. No. The time apart from Conrad has only helped me get in touch with my feelings. My feelings for Chris.
Oh my god, I like Chris?
Oh my god.
I like Chris.
ੈ✩‧₊˚ chat with gian! *ੈ✩‧₊˚
a short chapter but YAAAAY
she finally admits (to herself) that
she likes him
we're one step closer 😇
also i think after i might do
a time jump 2 chapters from now
so it'll be a few days before christmas
or maybe a day before xmas idk because i
have something planned for it 😇
again, thank you for 100k. you and fools
gold have a special place in my heart and i'm
so glad you enjoy this story as much as i do <3
i love you, see you soon!
(unedited)