"What the fuck?" Bailey hissed at her best friend as soon as Sean left.
Kaycee was in shock. Absolute shock, to say the very least. She could swear she was hallucinating, really.
Before Sean could question the confused and frightened looks on both girls' faces, he was immediately dragged by Julian who supposedly needed help setting up the speakers or something, and Kaycee vaguely recalled Julian saying something about how Sean was the most tech-savvy friend he had.
"Kaycee, what the fuck?" Bailey repeated, nudging the curly haired girl's arm. "Why are these here?"
Kaycee could only shrug in response, her eyes glued to all six of her paintings on the damn wall. Staring at the wall with their jaws dropped to the floor probably seemed maniacal to the other sane people in the apartment but both girls could care less. "I have...I really don't know."
"But...but those are yours!" Bailey continued, confusion overpowering the poor girl's system. "And you had them with you, in your room, yesterday!"
Embarrassed at what she had done last night, Kaycee couldn't fathom how much more embarrassed the boys would be if she were to confront them about it. They got these paintings, her paintings, from the freaking trash chute.
"Did they steal them?" Bailey whispered, her eyes widening with horror. "Should I go talk to Julian?"
"God, no!" Kaycee hushed, her head beginning to spin dangerously. "I...god. Okay, just promise me you're not going to get all mad. At least, not here."
"What did you do?" Bailey breathed. "Did you sell it to them?"
"Just...stop." Kaycee interrupted quickly, not wanting to embarrass herself further.
She heard the words, "No, I threw them out at two in the morning because I couldn't sleep" playing in her head and couldn't comprehend how foolish that sounded.
"I was really, really frustrated last night. I need you to remember that." Kaycee began, her hands trembling. "I couldn't sleep last night, and...I was really angry. I was mad because I felt like nothing was going right and so...I, uh, I threw everything away in the trash chute."
Bailey waited. Waited for a moment to process things. What she recalled from last night was comforting Kaycee, eating grilled chicken for dinner, watch a couple episodes of Friends on Netflix and saying goodnight to each other before heading to bed. Things didn't quite add up, for Bailey.
"Are you serious? You threw them out?"
"Okay, I know. It was a reckless thing to do and I did it only because I was frustrated." Kaycee sighed.
"Kaycee, what are you talking about?"
"I honestly don't want to talk about it." Kaycee sighed, before lying yet again. "I regret it, I really do."
"But you spent hours on all of these, Kayc."
"I was upset, Bailey. None of that occurred to me."
"Kayc." Bailey sighed, disappointedly. "You could've talked to me if you were really that upset last night. I didn't know you were that upset."
"I know, I know." Kaycee breathed. "Don't worry, though. I'm okay."
"Okay, well, what are we gonna do?" Bailey continued. "Do you want to tell Sean and Julian?"
"No!" Kaycee said, quickly. "I don't wanna make them feel weird or anything."
"But you deserve to be paid for that." Bailey retorted. "They stole!"
"It's not really stealing, though." Kaycee shrugged. "I did throw them out willingly."
"Okay, well, aren't you worried that they're gonna figure it out soon? Your signature's at the bottom corner in every one of them so it's not gonna take them long." Bailey warned.
"God, that's so embarrassing." Kaycee covered her face with her palms, already cringing at scenarios she internally made if the boys found out.
Bailey rolled her eyes at her best friend, and Kaycee knew she was mad. But, all that was secondary. Right now, she needed to figure out what the hell to do.
Thankful that the speakers had begun to work, Kaycee was glad no one heard the two girls conversing over the music being blasted on the speakers. They continued to stare blankly at the wall, still in shock that this was real. However, to Sean, staring at the wall whilst talking amongst themselves seemed sort of odd and so it didn't take long for him to acknowledge that something was up before heading the girls' direction.
"Are you two okay?" Sean asked, the warmth in his voice magically soothing Kaycee's racing nerves. "Is everything alright?"
"Uh, yeah." Bailey forced a smile. "We're fine. I'm just, uh, gonna grab some pizza from the kitchen."
"Bailey-", Kaycee started, beginning to follow her but was cut off instantaneously.
"I'll be right back." Bailey said, leaving the two by themselves.
After years of having known each other, Kaycee learned that Bailey was a terrible secret keeper. She would either give things away by laughing hysterically, or by refusing to make eye contact, or sometimes by outrightly just blurting it out. Kaycee's thirteen year old self decided she would never forgive Bailey for accidentally telling her parents about the 58% she got on her History quiz in eighth grade. The poor girl was grounded for a whole week, and was forbidden from attending dance until she managed to bring her History grade up to an A-. Bailey ultimately realized and accepted that she truly was a horrible secret keeper, after the
trait of hers also got her into trouble numerous times, and so eventually she just knew to back off from any situation in which she couldn't maintain composure.
"Is she good?" Sean pressed.
"Yeah, she's just hungry." Kaycee lied, her voice quivering.
"Are you sure? I mean, you guys don't-",
"Don't worry, everything's okay." Kaycee interrupted, attempting with all her soul to carry a regular and nonchalant conversation with him. "So, uh, what are you majoring in?"
"Business." He replied, leaning against the wall with his shoulders. "Minoring in photography."
"Oh, cool!" Kaycee beamed. "That sounds fun."
"It is." He smiled. "What about you?"
"Um, I'm majoring in Psych right now." She replied. "But I've been dancing since I was a kid so, uh, I don't know. I guess that's where my career's headed towards."
"Wait, you dance?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised. "No wonder you look so familiar!"
Kaycee reddened, unsure of what the boy was saying. "Oh?"
"I dance, too." He explained. "I think you might've popped up on my Instagram feed here and there, or something? Maybe at, like, a class? I don't know. But I know I've seen you before."
"Oh." Kaycee chuckled. "Do you take classes here?"
"I haven't, in a while. I've been real busy with school, and of course in the midst of all the moving, I kinda just had to take a break." Sean replied. "Do you?"
"Yeah. But, I'm probably just gonna back off for a bit, you know. There's just, way too much going on." She breathed, evidently stressed, tucking a loose curl behind her ear. "It's been, you know, eventful lately."
"I feel that." Sean laughed. "It really has been eventful."
"Not...the good kind of eventful, though." Kaycee smiled, sadly. "More like the kind that makes you wanna rip your hair out and scream into a pillow."
"Wow." Sean breathed.
"Sorry, uh...I know that sounds, like, sad." Kaycee laughed, nervously.
"It's fine." Sean smiled. "It's been the bad kind of eventful around here too."
"Yeah." She murmured.
"But, dance is supposed to be fun. I have trouble remembering that sometimes, and that's when things get real stressful." Sean continued.
"I know, me too. Sometimes, it feels like I'm doing it for the wrong reasons, you know? And then I have to go back and tell myself that it's supposed to be fun."
"And honestly, I've been realizing this lately and if you're not having fun with it anymore then you just gotta take a break, you know? Like, it's supposed to be an outlet for you to just let go as opposed to feeling...I don't know, overwhelmed?"
"Yeah." Kaycee returned the smile. "You're right."
"I don't really know about you but, like, I know I take life way too seriously sometimes. And I've genuinely been trying to put forth this conscious effort into not doing that anymore."
"I do that, too." Kaycee said. "I have this obsessive requirement to be good at everything. And as much as it's good to be...determined, I guess, I feel like it just gets super toxic sometimes, you know?"
"I'm sure things will pan out the way they're supposed to, Kaycee." He reassured. "It really will."
"Thanks." Kaycee murmured, butterflies erupting in her stomach as his dimples made an appearance once again.
An awkward silence emerged between the two, and Kaycee took this as an opportunity to look around the place. People were talking amongst themselves, eating, some playing cards with feel-good music playing the background. Just as she was about to comment on how it felt nice to be out and about, her eyes landed on that same wall again. Those damn paintings.
"Well, you're pretty much the only person I can talk to here so I guess you're stuck with me." Sean laughed, a hint of nervousness in his tone.
"What about all your friends?"
"Julian's my only friend, really." He explained. "These are all his friends, honestly. I'm just here because, uh, we're roommates?"
Why does it feel like we're sharing the same life?, Kaycee thought to herself.
"Yeah, sure." She giggled, cringing internally at how fake that sounded. "I mean, I'm not really the social butterfly kind of person either."
"I assume Bailey is, though?" Sean chuckled, gesturing towards her short haired best friend on the other side of the room munching away on pizza, deep in conversation with two other girls who seemed around their age.
"She is." Kaycee laughed, secretly hurt that Bailey practically ditched her. They were supposed to be in it together. "Clearly more than I am."
"It's okay, you can hang with me." He grinned, playfully nudging her shoulder.
This guy was touchy-feely!
"By the way," Kaycee cleared her throat, somehow gathering courage enough to last a lifetime. "I, uh, really like the paintings on your wall. Where'd you guys get them?"
For a fraction of a second, something behind Sean's eyes flickered. Kaycee noticed because he didn't do a very good job at hiding it. But, he regained composure before answering with the same, charming grin on his face. "Just, uh, this antique store downtown. Julian's not really into this kinda stuff, but I don't know, I really liked them."
Oh my GOD! He's lying!
"Oh, cool!" Kaycee squeaked, her cheeks burning. "Um...what..what store was it?"
Sean looked away from the girl, and Kaycee wanted to leave. She was afraid she said too much, perhaps making him nervous and she instantly regretted it.
"I, uh...I don't really remember, actually." He gulped.
"Oh, that's okay."
Sean smiled back in response, and Kaycee tried to analyze his features a bit more, as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. Something about him was so different, so unique. If the circumstances were different, Kaycee might've just put an effort to actually get to know him. But, she was scared. To death. Sean scanned the room before speaking up again, and the curly haired girl truly felt lightheaded. This was unlike any situation she had ever been in before.
"Kaycee." He said, and she could swear her name had never sounded better.
"Yes?"
"Do you wanna, like, get out of here?" He asked, lowering his voice.
"From your housewarming party?" She scoffed in disbelief, her eyes widening.
"Out of the ten people in this room, I can name three. So, I think we've established that this just...you know, isn't my thing." He shrugged, running a hand through his curls. "And by the looks of it, it doesn't seem to be your thing either."
"I don't know, Sean." Kaycee giggled, nervously. "I mean, we just met. Plus, I can't leave Bailey."
The boy rolled his eyes sheepishly before replying, "You guys were totally being weird earlier!"
Was he always this...direct? With people he knew for no more than twenty minutes?
"We weren't!" Kaycee exclaimed. "You're just misreading."
"Well, do you wanna go?" He chuckled, pouting ever so slightly. "I'll treat you to, uh, ice cream?"
"We just met, you know." Kaycee giggled. "It's been twenty minutes, at most."
"And?" He cocked an eyebrow up. "Did you not read Romeo and Juliet in high school? They knew each other for, like, three days before killing themselves for each other."
Romeo and Juliet? Where was he going with this?
"Okay, no, I didn't mean it like that! Shit...sorry, uh, if I made you feel uncomfortable or-",
"It's okay, I know what you mean." Kaycee laughed heartily. "Not the best comparison, though, you know?"
"Yeah, I agree." He mumbled, embarrassed.
"Where would we, like, go?" Kaycee asked, suddenly very conscious of her surroundings. She felt like she was committing some sort of crime, being so spontaneous.
"Is that a yes?" A smirk played on Sean's lips.
"I don't know, Sean." Kaycee repeated, pulling her flannel close to her. "I don't even know your last name. Or how old you are. Or, like, your birthday."
"Easy." He shrugged. "My last name's Lew, I'm nineteen, and my birthday's on November 25th. Are we good now? Is this, you know, confirmation that I'm not a murderer?"
"Okay, really?" Kaycee giggled, rolling her eyes.
"Fine." He sighed heavily, but still maintained the smile on his face. "I don't wanna pressure you."
"Another time, though." Kaycee promised, grateful he was understanding about it. "Maybe when we know each other, for, three days?"
"Very funny." He rolled his eyes, reddening ever so slightly.
Kaycee laughed heartily, gesturing her way to the kitchen to grab pizza. She half-expected Sean to just stay out, maybe take this as an opportunity to talk to some of the other people in his apartment but to her surprise, he followed her. Like a little, lost puppy. This had never, ever happened to her before. It was weird!
"So, are you just gonna follow me around?" Kaycee asked, grabbing a disposable plate as she took a couple slices of cheese and pepperoni.
"I told you, I know no one here!" He laughed. "Why, do you want me to leave?"
"I don't know." She giggled. "You've got some pretty bad jokes, you know."
"Oh yeah?" He gasped. "I see how it is, then."
Just as Kaycee was about to entertain him with another sarcastic comment, both teenagers turned around at the noise of footsteps behind them. Bailey walked in, with two girls by either side of her. Kaycee was reminded of Mean Girls at the sight of this, and wanted to laugh.
"Hey, so, is it okay if I go out tonight?" Bailey asked, her question evidently directed towards Kaycee. "I'll be back by midnight. Don't wait up."
"You're leaving?" Kaycee barked, anger flushing her system.
Bailey, and everyone else, could sense the anger in her tone and so one by one, all of them conveniently excused themselves from the kitchen and waited outside.
"Wow." Kaycee scoffed, as everyone left. "You've gotta be kidding."
"I'm sorry, Kayc, but I don't want to be involved in another one of your messes!" Bailey exclaimed, exasperated. "I feel like I'm always trying to get you out of things, and, make you feel better and I don't actually remember the last time we went out and had fun!"
"Tonight could've been fun!" Kaycee retorted.
"Really?" Bailey replied, coldly. "Do you see the kind of mess we're in? It's embarrassing. You should be embarrassed. Tonight was supposed to destress us from everything going on, you know."
"I said I was sorry, Bailey! I was upset last night, for crying out loud. It was an impulsive thing to do and I am really, really sorry for screwing your night up." Kaycee said, tears blurring her vision.
Bailey sighed, really not knowing how to respond to Kaycee who harshly wiped against her eyes.
"Okay, well, I met these girls. Charlize and Tahani. We're just gonna go out for drinks." Bailey shrugged uncomfortably, lowering her voice. "You're welcome to join us."
Kaycee knew that wasn't true. Bailey clearly needed a break from her and this was just one of those formal, obligatory invitations that wasn't really sincere. Once again, after so many years of friendship, Kaycee could differentiate between her Bailey being sincere and Bailey being....well, not sincere.
"It's fine." Kaycee mumbled, turning away as she grabbed a can of Diet Coke from the counter. "I'm going to go home, then."
"Are you sure, Kayc?"
"Yeah, whatever." Kaycee replied, clearly upset. "Have fun, I guess."
"Thanks." Bailey whispered before heading out.
Kaycee wanted to throw something. She was never one to really get angry at other people, but Bailey and her often butt heads a lot. Especially as they grew up into two completely different girls, it was harder to stay on the same page.
Kaycee also felt stupid for mindlessly grabbing a can of Diet Coke, considering she was planning on leaving right away. She decided she would finish her pizza alone, crying, drink up her beverage and make her way out. She considered just dumping everything in the garbage so she could leave right away, but she was too nice to do that.
They paid for this, she thought.
"Hey." Sean entered, his voice wanting to make her cry some more.
Kaycee, once again, harshly wiped her eyes hoping he didn't notice or hear anything. He did.
"She was wrong." He continued, crossing his arms over as he stood in front of her. Kaycee refused to look at him, but he bore his eyes on hers making it quite hard to do so. "I don't really know what mess you made, that she was referring to. And I don't really wanna know. But, you know, you have nothing to be embarrassed of. People make mistakes. And if I'm being honest with you, it was her duty as a friend to help you through it."
"Thanks." Kaycee said, setting her plate of pizza and can of Diet Coke on the side.
"I'm sorry I eavesdropped." He added, quickly. "I just couldn't help myself...and, you know, you guys weren't really using your inside voices."
"Oh, man." Kaycee ducked her head down in shame. "Did everyone hear?"
"Oh no, don't worry about it." Sean replied. "I was right by the kitchen but no one else seemed to hear."
"Okay."
"So you're okay?" Sean sighed. "I have more to say that can make you feel better, you know."
"I'm fine." Kaycee replied, even though all she wanted was to go home and sleep. "But I should probably head out."
"Why?" He asked, quickly. His cheeks turned bright red as soon as the word left his mouth and naturally, he tried to explain himself. "I mean, uh, why...why would you ditch me like that?"
"You'll be fine." Kaycee laughed. "It was really, really nice to meet you, Sean. And thank you, for helping me out."
"No no, don't say goodbye!" Sean pleaded. "Just stay, please. Another hour?"
"Bailey already left, though. I honestly don't know anyone here."
"You know me!" He retorted. "You now know my last name, my birthday, my age. Isn't that good enough to stay another hour?"
"I don't know, Sean. I'd really like to go home and just, like, sleep the night off."
"Listen." He said. "You said to Bailey that, last night you were upset and did something stupid and-",
"Sean-",
"No, let me finish." He said, quickly. "Not every night needs to result in you going home and feeling like shit, when no one can really help you. Stay, please. I'd love to get to know you. I honestly wouldn't be able to sleep tonight knowing I let you leave my party in tears."
Kaycee blushed, not knowing what to say. She fidgeted with her fingers nervously, her eyes landing on her unfinished pizza and half-can of Diet Coke.
"Bailey's out there having fun. I don't see why you can't have fun either." He shrugged.
"I literally know no one here." Kaycee repeated.
"Neither do I!" He laughed. "Plus, my offer still stands if you wanna go out and get some ice cream."
You should be embarrassed.
We're just gonna go out for drinks.
You're welcome to join us.
Bailey left. She didn't care that she left Kaycee, alone, at this party where the poor girl quite literally knew nobody. She was out, drinking, with two other girls who were far more important to her than Kaycee was, tonight.
"Okay, yeah." Kaycee agreed. "Let's get out of here."