Episode2
1581 Words
YAS
The room goes deathly silent for a long minute. From the corner of my eye, I can see Mila watching from the kitchen door.
Her eyes are so fixated on us, her stare seems to be burning through my skin.
I wait for him to confirm it’s a joke, but it seems he’s waiting for me to break character first.
It’s a joke. It has to be.
I let out a loud laugh. My shoulders shake, and my eyes are partially closed, but I hear Dian’s laughter in the background too.
“That’s funny,” I voice out, placing my hand on his shoulders. “Now, be for real. What are you hiding?”
“Nothing,” he shrugs,
I roll my eyes at him. “If you’re not telling me what it is, then you should probably leave. I don’t like backstabbing bitches.”
With a feigned gasp, he places a palm on his chest. “How dare you?”
“Eat your secrets.” I bite, trying to steady my mildly jittery hands.
“Well, if you must know…”
I lean closer.
“I’m getting a boob job.”
I suck in my teeth as I gently shove him off.
“On a serious note, Dian. We have been friends for more than three years. How dare you keep secrets from me?”
His brown eyes soften, and the curls on his hair cover a fraction of his eyes. “Next Saturday is Valentine’s Day.”
“And?” I ask, propping an elbow on my thigh, and placing a palm beneath my chin.
“I wanted us to spend the day together. Seeing that you have nothing planned for the day.”
“What makes you think I have nothing planned for valentines?” I ask, picking up a pen.
“Do you have something planned?” He questions,
Mila pops her neck through the door. “Did Aiden ask you to be his valentine already?”
I don’t bother sparing her a glare. “Mind your business,”
Dian’s brows bend into his forehead as asks, “Did he?”
There’s always a brooding sense to Dian whenever the topic of Aiden comes up.
Something protective. Aiden is persistent, yes, but he poses no threat or harm to me. I wish Dian would understand that.
At that moment, my phone rings out. All three eyes fly to it.
Of course, it’s Aiden. Speak of the devil and he appears. f**k.
“You should answer it,” Dian nudges,
“I’ll call back later.”
He picks up the phone, and shoved it in my face. “Answer it. It would be rude not to.”
I receive the phone from his hands, and place it on my ear. “Hello,”
“Hi, Yas. How are you?”
Mila has now left the kitchen area and is fully present in the room.
“I’m good.” I swallow the bulb of saliva in my throat, “how are you?”
“I am good. I’m just working on a few things.”
“Alright.”
Why did he call?
I wait for him to speak up first.
“Next Saturday is Valentine’s Day.”
“I believe it is,” I respond,
Mila’s ears are now perked, and she leans further.
I know the chances of her hearing through the phone pressed on my ear is low, but I don’t want to take that chance.
“I was wondering if you would like for us to spend the evening together.”
Hm.
The smile on Mila’s face tells me she knows everything.
“Yas?” He calls my name when I don’t respond,
“Um, I think I’ll have to rain check. Once I’m sure, I’ll let you know.”
“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”
“Sure. Bye.”
I tap on the red button before he musters up a response.
As son as the phone drops, Mila and Dian begin their investigations.
“What did he want?” They ask simultaneously,
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing?” Mila purses her lips.
“Nothing means nothing.”
Dian doesn’t push further, but he doesn’t make any statement either.
I can’t help but wonder why he handed the phone to me. Does he want me to be with Aiden? Would things be better that way?
I drop the pen flicking in my hand. I’m probably overthinking things.
“I am certain Aiden called regarding Valentine’s Day.”
“No, he didn’t.” I lie,
“Yes, he did.” Mila pops up again.
“Girl, be gone.”
I return my attention to Dian. “I don’t think we should spend Valentine’s Day together.” I say to him,
“Why? Are you scared of Aiden losing interest in you?”
On a normal day, I would laugh at that, but the lump in my chest doesn’t let that happen.
“Wait. Don’t you have to spend the day with Rhea? Since she’s your girlfriend and all…” I make an attempt at deflecting,
“She won’t be my girlfriend by Valentine’s Day.”
I raise an inquisitive brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Of course I know what it’s supposed to mean, but I need him to spell it out.
“That’s the secret.”
“Huh?”
“I was writing down my break up speech.” He scratched the nape of his neck, “I need the perfect moment to break it out to Rhea that I no longer want to be with her.”
My chest tightens, and my breathing stiffens.
As much as I love my best friend, and want the best for him, I know how hard it is to let go of the one you love.
“Are you sure you want to break up? I don’t want you making decisions you’ll regret later.”
“I’m sure. If I wasn’t, no one would be able to convince me. Not even Jax, and we all know he’s the most convincing.”
“If that’s what you want, then I’m in support. Although you already know that.”
He nods.
Mila steps out of the kitchen at that moment. “I do think you should consider Aiden. He’s not that bad,” she says, wiping her hands with a napkin.
“He’s not bad at all.” I respond, before I can even think better of it.
“So, you admit that you think he’s attractive?” Dian teases, leaning closer.
“I never said he was appalling to the eye. I’m just uninterested.”
Dian picks up his books from my chair, and places them into his bag. Although I already know he’ll end up leaving his books here. He never studies alone. Retentive memory, and all. Lucky bastard.
“I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asks,
“Definitely. We have a twelve pm class, I’ll save you a seat.”
“That’s why I love you.”
My heart pauses.
No. That means nothing. “Of course, you do. Bye.” I wave him off,
“Bye.”
He eventually closes the door behind him.
“He definitely likes you,” Mila says, as soon as he is gone.
Ignoring the rapid beating of my heart I turn to face her, “The love confession was a joke.”
“Are you sure? I think he was testing to see your reaction.”
I pick up the pencil and ruler on my chair. “Don’t be silly, Mila. We’ve been best friends for years.”
“Ugh, I’m tired of hearing that. It’s boring.”
“But it's true.” I counter, picking up random papers from the floor.
“You like him too.”
“That’s untrue,” I refute, focused on my work.
“It’s so true that you can’t even bear to look at me while you deny it.”
I shut my eyes for a moment, mustering up the courage to match her icy eyes.
By the time I am able to meet her eyes, she already has a threatening look on her face. There’s a thin line that runs beneath her nose, and all the way to the bottom of her cheeks.
“I don’t know why you’re both deceiving yourselves, but there’s obviously love there.”
“You’re right.” I am able to meet her eyes this time, “there is love. It’s platonic.”
She walks off to the kitchen. “I already know Aiden asked you to be his valentine.”
“You’re bluffing,”
She turns to me. “That boy is absolutely smitten with you. He is intelligent, comes from a wealthy background, and nice. He’s tall too! Literally your type, but you won’t let yourself fall for him because you love another.”
All the color drains from my face.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I might not know it all, but there’s one sure thing I know,” she takes a pause, straightening her posture, “there are two men who like, or probably even love you. You apparently love one, but you’re too scared to take a step. I don’t know what you’re scared of. Rejection, maybe? I don’t care. Here’s something else I know, if you don’t make a choice soon enough, you’ll lose both of them. Maybe permanently this time.”
- Writer
