Sean's POV
"What do we do?" Kaycee asked. I couldn't believe this. They were just good moments ago. But clearly, it was a facade judging by the scene 30 feet away from me.
"We have to tell him. There's nothing else we can do but that." I responded with a tense shrug. Kaycee let out a sad sigh, but took out her phone and took a picture of them, making sure her flash wasn't on. "Let's just act natural, like we don't know a thing."
"What are we going to do about Chloe?" Kaycee whispered, turning around to face me. Her eyes filled themselves with worry and uncertainty. "Let's just talk about it when we get to your pla- she's looking over here! Act like you're freaking out at me." I said, holding her hand.
"What? That's not natural." She pointed out incredulously. I gave her a look to which she ignored. "Sean, let's just go to my place and talk about it. But no funny business, Lew." She said with a small smile.
Kaycee walked past me and pulled me in the direction of her house. "See how easy that was?" She whispered while whipping out her house key. I rolled my eyes but pulled her into my side to put my arm around her. Once we made it to Kaycee's house, she let us in, walking in first.
"Family, I'm home!" She yelled while hanging her keys on one of the hooks by the door.
"Caitlin, you could've told me that you were bringing a guest." Kylie mocked. "Hi Sean. How was your day, lovebirds?" She asked while walking ahead of us to the kitchen.
"Good, for the most part." My girlfriend replied. I sat at the island, letting go of her hand. "Where's mom and dad?"
"They're actually out having dinner with your parents because some people decided to take forever introducing them as their significant others' parents." She informed us.
"Why is that a big deal? They're already friends, what's the use in introducing?" I asked, causing Kylie to scoff. "You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend now! Besides, our parents have been wanting you guys to be the best of friends since you guys were little. Now that you're even more than that, it's a dream come true for them." She smiled brightly.
Kaycee looked over her shoulder then winked at me knowingly. I couldn't fight the slight blush that crept onto my cheeks while I shook my head in amusement. It was pretty hilarious that our parents had plans for us yet they didn't try anything further until Kaycee suddenly got enrolled into the same school I and a ton of her friends attended.
"Well, if you don't mind, Sean and I have a couple things we need to discuss." Kaycee trailed off, grabbing my hand while walking in the direction of the stairs.
"Okay, but no funny business! Mom and dad may have put you on birth control but that doesn't mean you should take your chances." Her sister yelled after us. A chuckle left my lips as I thought of the last time someone told us, "No funny business." Sorry, Tim.
"So," She sighed while closing the door then plopping down on her bed. Meanwhile, I sat in her office chair, which had our matching hoodie draped over the back of it. "What are we going to do about Chloe?"
I let out a puff of air before spinning myself in the chair as my brain processed the situation at hand. Chloe was cheating on Julian. Why would she do this? Did Julian and her break up and just not tell us? Was the cheating intentional? Was it one-sided? Hundreds of questions and outcomes ran through my mind endlessly.
This was something that would ruin him. Julian is head over heels for Chloe; She's literally all he thinks about. The way he lit up when he saw her walk into a room. How could she do this? Then I started to think, would she tell him herself? Would she just keep it from him all together?
"Well we have to tell Julian." I responded. "It's best we tell him. Either that or she does, and something's telling me she won't." Kaycee sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"Sean, I know Chloe. She's not like that. She's honest." Kaycee reasoned, beginning to pace in front of me. "Kayc, we both just saw the same scene with our own eyes. Yes, Chloe's like that. If she wasn't, she wouldn't be doing this in the first place." I said passionately. I cared about Julian with every bone in my body. He wouldn't hurt a fly. For him to fight for her after the bet then have it turn into this is heartbreaking.
"Okay. Then let's just give her until tomorrow. I promise, if she doesn't own up to her infidelity by then, we'll tell him ourselves." Kaycee proposed with pleading eyes. The faith she has in her friends is inhumane.
After pondering on it a bit, I declared it a deal. Little did we know, within a day, the world around us was going to crumble beneath our feet.
~~~~
I let out a relaxed sigh as my girlfriend pecked me on the cheek before turning her attention back to the road. "Kaycee! You're driving!" I exclaimed incredulously.
"We're at a stop light." She argued in faux annoyance. I shook my head at her in amusement, letting a smile take over my face. "You really have some nerve---you try to kill me on the way to the location of our date, which I might add, I don't know where or what it is." I scolded.
"Don't be dramatic. You'll love it." Kaycee said, intertwining our hands. I could see the determination in her eyes. The fierce green that lit up with the sun was prominent as she drove. Her head was held high with pride and excitement. Meanwhile, her small hand that tangled itself with my own gave me reassurance. Her thumb made small circles on the back of my hand, every now and then, going along the lines of my veins. I couldn't help the tingling feeling she gave me all over. It made me feel helpless and weak in a good way.
Today was the day of our date. I was itching to be alone with Kaycee. Being alone with her with no interruptions would be a paradise. And luckily, that's what today was all about: us and our alone time.
"Why don't you play some music? It'll calm you." She suggested, holding her aux cord up. I obliged and plugged my phone in. I scrolled through my playlist and was about to just shuffle it until I saw one title that stuck out to me. I pressed the song then placed my phone back down, waiting for my girlfriend's reaction. A grin danced on my lips as the first lyrics of Can I Be Him by James Arthur blasted through the speakers.
Her body tensed up before she took her hand away from mine, taking me by surprise. I thought she'd like it. We pulled into a plaza parking lot. Kaycee parked quickly before she turned the car off. She got her bag from the backseat, almost hitting me in the head.
"Kaycee, stop. Wait a sec." I said, grabbing her arm. My whole demeanor changed once she looked at me with angry, yet glossy eyes. "Close the door." I said sternly, seeing that she was about to cry. She slowly but surely obeyed my wish.
"Why are you crying?" I asked, pulling her onto my lap, her long legs dangling over the center console. I felt my face shift to one of concern and sorrow. "Because! You played that song! Why would you do that?" Kaycee responded, looking down at her hands.
"I didn't know it'd make you angry. I thought it was nice since that's the first time we danced together in front of people-" I explained, wiping the potential tears away from her eyes.
"Of course you think of it that way! I see it as the day I fell even harder for you, only to find out that I was a bet! Do you have any idea how much that hurt?" Her tone was bitter and sad. My heart broke at her reasoning.
"Kaycee, look at me." I said grabbing her face. Her red eyes met mine, causing me to grow angry at myself. "Please don't think of it that way. Think of it as a breakthrough. Think of it....as the day that I fell in love with you. Even when you slapped the shit out of me-" I was cut off by a light chuckle from her. "That only gravitated me towards you even more. I wanted to fight harder for you. I knew I loved you."
Kaycee grabbed my face then kissed me gently. "It sounds nice. The day Sean Lew's obsession with Kaycee Rice began!" She said with her hands up in front of her. "I need to see that on a banner."
"Shut up. Let's go inside." I joked, helping Kaycee out of the car and off my lap. She grabbed my hand excitedly, pulling me out of the car then locking it. We walked up to and through the doors of a building. I didn't even have the time to read the name of it since Kaycee was so excited.
"We have a reservation under the name..." I zoned out as Kaycee spoke to the man at the counter. The lobby looked old and rustic. It had a haunted vibe but a normal, home-like living room look. Where the hell am I?
My eyes wandered to the ceiling but something on the wall above the man caught my attention. 'Nick's Escape Rooms'.
My observation was interrupted when Kaycee pulled me with her to a room. "They're here!" A familiar voice exclaimed. I looked ahead to see that it was Nat. Almost instantly, my stomach dropped. No alone time it is.
But the last thing I wanted to do was stress Kaycee out or worry her, therefore, I forced a grin onto my face as I saw Josh and Nat make their way over to us. "Hey, I didn't know you guys were coming." Josh smiled, putting his hands in his pocket.
"Same here." I said, giving our girlfriends a questioning look. They shared a guilty glance. "Look, we noticed you guys were having problems so we brought you both here to solve them." Nat spoke up, putting her hands on her hips.
"Okay, first of all, this is mind control and coercion. Second, Sean and I don't have any problems. Third, you can't force us to talk!" Josh scolded, crossing his arms.
"Actually, we can." Kaycee said with a mischievous smirk. She grabbed Nat's arm then took a step back into the hall. "...because once this door closes, you're stuck in here. Have fun. Love you, Seanie!" She finalized before shutting the door.
And then there were two.