"Let's be alone together,
We could stay young forever."
"It's been awhile," Bianca said, her voice full of confidence. Sitting straight in her chair, she looked as if she was posing for an artist instead of having a cup of tea with me.
"It has," I answered, taken aback by how different the atmosphere felt. Before, I was always wary and on guard around her, and the air was always filled with tension. But today, as we sat at the campus cafe with dainty teacups in our hands, I couldn't help but feel relaxed.
"I heard you and Joshua are dating," I mentioned eagerly, perched on the edge of my seat. Bianca rolled her eyes and waved my excitement away.
"That's old news, Marissa. He's too nice for me," she sighed.
"Oh. But I'm sure that there are other boys," I offered, smiling slightly. Bianca rolled her eyes and scoffed as if I stated the most obvious thing in the world.
"Well, of course. They keep coming, boy after boy. It gets kind of tiring sometimes," she sighed, before frowning slightly.
"But lately, there are fewer boys. Probably because that of that nerd that keeps following me around. Ugh, I already told him that we'll only work on our project after school, where no one can see us. But he keeps going on about how he doesn't know where we'd meet. As if!" Bianca scoffed, flipping her hair.
"And this boy is...?"
"Who do you think?" Bianca snorted. "It's Niklaus Waters!"
With raised eyebrows, I giggled slightly, only to shut up when she shot me a scathing glare.
"Do you not understand, Marissa? He's such a nerd! And he talks back too," Bianca muttered, her pretty face forming into one of pure frustration.
"Niklaus Waters is pretty cute, though. A little dorky, but in an endearing way. Do you know how many girls of his kind practically worship him?" I reasoned with a giggle.
"I do not care how many other nerd girls like him! He is still a nerd that takes sarcasm way too seriously," Bianca complained with a pout. At this, I raised an eyebrow and eyed her with amusement.
"Maybe he likes you," I teased, causing her to immediately wrinkle her nose.
"Gross!" she whined, crossing her arms. I didn't miss the sparkle in her eyes, though. Content with her reaction, I gave teasing her a rest and took a sip of
my rose tea.
"I see you've landed yourself a catch," she continued after some silence, and took a sip of her tea. Her sharp eyes watched me over the smooth brim of the cup, searching for hesitance and motive. Despite that, I managed to smile. It seemed like that was all I could do nowadays, whenever I thought about Yuko.
"Yeah," I replied, my smile still ever-present on my face. "Yuko's been great."
Bianca nodded, setting her cup on the table with a soft sigh. I noticed, since the beginning of our meeting, the faint bags under her eyes and the exhaustion that seemed to cloud around her. My eyebrows creased with concern for this old friend of mine.
"How have you been?" I asked softly. Bianca's eyes shot up to meet mine, a flash of shock passing through her eyes.
"Fine," she snapped quickly, covering up her tracks.
"You can talk to me, you know," I mumbled, sipping my tea.
"Why are you so nice now, Marissa?" Bianca asked, eyes narrowing and lips pulled into a nasty scowl. I shrugged and shot her a gentle and sincere smile.
"People change, don't they?"
"I've only ever been horrid to you," Bianca muttered. "I made Cody break up with you and completely ruined your reputation, and yet...yet-"
"You made Cody do what?" I breathed, eyes widening a fraction. Bianca seemed a little shocked and surprised at the slip of words, but recovered quickly.
"Didn't you know? I thought that boy would've told you already," Bianca laughed lightly, eyes glinting with something dangerous. I prepared myself for the strike. "He was head over heels in love with you, after all."
"B-But-"
"You were getting too popular," Bianca explained with a shrug. "I had to intervene."
"I loved him," I stated with narrowed eyes.
"And I love popularity," Bianca retorted, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "Besides, things turned out great in your favour. Because you broke up with him, that meddling friend of yours got you a date with an even more popular boy in school. And now you are dating him for real!"
"That still doesn't give you the right to make Cody do that!" I protested rather angrily. After all, he was my first love. To think that we could've been more...my heart clenched with guilt, and I felt almost as if I was betraying Yuko.
"But I did. Look, if you had known right from the start that he never wanted to break up with you, would you rewind time and be with him? Or would you stay in the present and continue dating Yuko Hideyoshi?" Bianca asked, raising a perfectly plucked eyebrow at me.
"I-"
"That's right. You wouldn't. Look on the bright side of things, maybe then I won't be the witch everyone perceives me to be. I'll be something good, a fairy godmother, perhaps?" Bianca giggled without humour. The sunlight chose that very moment to shine through the cafe windows and form a halo around Bianca's neat blonde hair. It was ironic, to say the least.
"But what about Cody?" I asked, frowning slightly. "He never did anything wrong. He's a nice guy that didn't deserve it."
Bianca rolled her eyes and held her hands up, "Casualties can't be avoided, can they?"
"You're horrible," I muttered, shaking my head. Why wasn't it a surprise anymore?
"Say what you want, Marissa. But remember, without me, you would've never gotten to know your Prince Charming," Bianca sighed, lips quirking into a triumphant, but genuine smile.
"I care about you, Marissa. Whether you'd like to believe me or not, you've been my unwilling best friend for years. Even if I could do without the emotion, I'm happy for you," Bianca continued to say, rolling her eyes as if her words disgusted her. I let out a small laugh, and nodded my head.
"You're the weirdest best friend I've ever had," I sighed, shaking my head. "But thank you, Bianca. This friendship is screwed up on so many levels, but I'm here for you if you ever need to talk."
"I have my therapist for that," Bianca stated, pursing her lips.
"You know what I mean," I deadpanned, rolling my eyes at her.
We drank the rest of our tea in silence, and suddenly, Bianca's phone rang. Staring at her phone with masked emotion, she pursed her lips and stood up abruptly.
"I have to leave," she stated, eyebrows raised.
"Alright. We should do this more often," I said hesitantly, causing surprise to flicker through her blue eyes. Bianca's eyes narrowed, and she searched my own for hidden motive, and sighed rather angrily when she found none.
"Whatever."
"Goodbye, Bianca," I sang, a smile forming on my face.
"Goodbye. And...if you ever want to talk to Cody about it, apologise to him for me, will you?"
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
"I don't do apologies, honey."
-
"So what are you going to do?" Yuko asked quietly, tucking his chin over my head. Hugging me from behind, I could feel his steady heartbeat through his flesh.
"I don't know," I mumbled. "Should I talk to him about it?"
"If you want to," Yuko replied.
"Aren't you going to be...jealous or something?" I couldn't help but ask. He had been nothing but calm throughout the entire re-telling of my meet up with Bianca. I couldn't fathom if it was a good thing or not.
"Should I be?" he asked softly. "If you still had feelings for him, you wouldn't care about what I think."
"So you're not jealous," I sighed in relief, leaning backwards and closed to him. He laughed under his breath and stroked the side of my head.
"Do you want me to be?" he asked teasingly, and without thinking, I blurted out, "Yes."
"Really now?" he asked, his breath hitting the nape of my neck and sending shivers down my spine.
"I don't know. You're always so calm and I don't...," I trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.
"Think that I care enough to be jealous?" Yuko finished my sentence, but his voice was clear of contempt.
"Stop being so smart," I muttered grumpily.
"Stop being so cute," he retorted. "And if you want me to be jealous, I'll be jealous."
"It doesn't work that-"
"You're not allowed to go out tonight, in case you go and meet that man," Yuko muttered in my ear. "I'm going to keep you here, under my watch."
A smile began to spread across my lips, and I let out a small giggle.
"What are we going to do the whole night?" I asked, giggling still. Yuko scoffed, as if I asked a redundant question.
"Watch anime, Ris. Use your pretty little head to think, will you?" Yuko snorted, earning a soft punch from me.
"'Kay, smarty pants."
"Did you just 'K' me?"
"Maybe I did. Where's your evidence?"
"Oh, you're in for it now!"
I let out a loud squeal when he launched his hands around my waist and began to tickle.
-
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :P So Bianca...still not very nice but kind of nice, right? She's so confusing GAHAHA
Oh YES I COMPLETELY FORGOT: Marissa and Yuko don't have a ship name! Shall it be #Yurissa or #Mako? Let me know!
And finally, wish me luck for my Chinese Oral exam tomorrow! Let's hope I don't screw it up D: #prayforshevon
Song of the Chapter: Alone Together, by Fall Out Boy.