Can We Pretend?

I woke up late the next morning. I think Ryan wanted to prolong me leaving, even if I was asleep for some of the time. I still had to pack and whatnot, so… I guess no one wanted to wake me up. But when I did wake up, I opened my eyes to see Ryan sitting on my bed, reading a book.

“S’up Busty?” I croaked as I sat up and rubbed the sleep away from my eyes.

“Oh, not much. Just about to lose my best friend to the big bad world again” He said, making me frown.

“I’m sorry I wasted all our time with Luce… This was supposed of to be about us, and I-I, I just wasted it” I said, sighing. Ryan shook his head and crawled over to me.

“No, I get it. And I mean, you usually only get one shot at girls like that, and if you pass ‘em up, you regret it… You and me? Bro, we got our whole lives to chill. But chicks like Luce don’t come around often” He said, making me smile.

“Thanks Ry. And I know they don’t… But I completely fucked it up…” I said. He put his arm around me and shook his head.

“Yeah, but give her some time… Go over and apologize before you leave, and then give her time to get over it. Then maybe next time you visit, she’ll be all over you” He said, grinning. I grinned as well and shook my head.

“You’re an idiot” I said, then slipped out of bed and began my day.

---

Packing took a lot longer than I expected. I seemed to be distracted, moving slowly, and taking much more time than needed on things.

However, soon enough everything was packed, and I was carrying it down to the front hall, one bag at a time.

“Wasting time?” Ryan’s mom asked as I set my backpack down. I smiled and nodded.

“I don’t wanna go home” I said quietly.

“You are home Justin. Just remember that. Whenever you have time, come down and stay with us for a bit.” She said, smiling warmly at me. I smiled back and gave her a big hug, then went upstairs and got the rest of my stuff and brought it downstairs.

Ryan and his dad then helped me load my things into the car, before we went inside and ate a quick lunch. I insisted on eating with them, rather than just grabbing a burger at the airport.

But as soon as we finished eating, we all loaded up into the car and drove towards the airport. However, I had one last stop I had to make before I went to Atlanta.

“Um. Mr. Butler, can you just stop here?” I asked politely. He nodded and hopped out, signaling that I would be one minute before I jogged down the street. I knew Alicia’s house anywhere. I had been to it loads of times, but this time was for Luce, not her sister.

I was panting by the time I reached the door, so I took a second to calm my breathing before I rang the doorbell. Then I stood there, waiting patiently to hear footsteps on the other side. At first I heard nothing, and was growing impatient, before I finally heard the faint steps and the lock being undone.

My eyes shot up when it was Alicia who opened the door, and she smiled at me, before remembering.

“What do you want, Bieber?” She sneered, keeping the door, and herself between me and the inside of the house. I couldn’t even really see past her.

“I wanna talk to Luce” I said, my voice sounding strong and confident, when really I would get down on my knees and beg if I had to.

“She doesn’t want to talk to you Justin… Just… just leave her alone” She said.

“Please, Alicia… It’s important.” I said, flipping my hair out of my eyes as I spoke. Alicia sighed and looked past the door, before looking back at me.

“Okay, well you’re still out of luck. She isn’t home…”

I sighed and lowered my head.

“O-okay… Well… I just wanted to… Apologize one more time, and say bye, but…” I said, then started to turn, when Alicia grabbed my arm.

“Bye?” She asked. I nodded sadly and turned to face her again.

“My time’s up… I’m going home” I said, then turned and walked away. However, I stopped short when I saw Ryan’s family’s car parking in front of me. His mom smiled at me knowingly, which I returned half-heartedly as I continued walking back. They started driving as soon as I was in, so that I wouldn’t miss my flight.

But as I looked back at the house, I saw a little flash of red between the curtains.