Eclat

“When are you going to tell her you’re madly in love with her?” Ellie swiped the cigarette from between my fingers, taking a long drag.

I rubbed my eyes tiredly, shrugging my shoulders as she returned the cigarette. Ever since Carter had given Doli the stupid ring, they had been inseparable and it was difficult to ignore either of them. I still needed some time to think things through and formulate a course of action. Somehow, I knew that she wasn’t truly happy with Carter like she was with me. It sounded terrible but it wasn’t a lie; that look in her eyes was ingrained in my mind whenever she would pretend not to notice me. But she’d quickly replace it with a grin or laugh at something Carter said. I knew better than to believe that she was over me. Yet here I was, still running solo with a bleak future ahead of me. If I decided to give up on her, of course. But that was out of the question.

Ellie rolled her eyes at my nonchalant façade. “I know you better than you know yourself, Christofer Drew Ingle. You’re going to be hung up on her if you give up. You’re not a quitter. Sure, you can be lazy sometimes but you don’t quit when things don’t go your way.” Except when I dropped out of high school. That’s the million dollar rebuttal.

“Thanks for the motivational speech, Ells,” I said dryly, clapping for added effect. She walked past me, bumping her hip into my side before going to the pantry to scavenge for food.

Every time Ellie would ask me what course of action I’d take, I would never know what to say. I couldn’t pull a douchebag move and try to form a rift in their relationship. I couldn’t tell her how I felt because I’d tried to already. I couldn’t and wouldn’t bother trying to talk to Carter. Yet. He was still stuck in his puppy love phase, thinking Doli was the next best thing. She was though. But she was the best thing, end of story. Irritably, I drummed the table with the heels of hands, creating a beat, one foot tapping the floor. On a lighter note, she’d been wearing the vegan moccasins almost every other day and she had said she loved the song just like the first one. She’d also gotten me a pair of vegan moccasins and a gift basket with cigarettes, lighters, and candy. I wore the moccasins as many times as I possibly could. Of course I was utilizing the candy and other treats too.

“You told her how you felt already though, right? That you liked her?” Ellie asked through a mouthful of cereal, milk dripping down her chin. She wiped it off with the back of her hand. I confirmed her suspicion with a well pointed look. One hand was held up in surrender as if to say “sorry, sheesh.” She closed her eyes then opened them, quick as ever. “I have an idea. And no, it doesn’t involve being a dirty little secret home wrecker.”

My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh, really? How so? I hope this plan doesn’t involve something too. . .out there.”

“It’s an age old trick but it works, trust me. There’s nothing a girl likes more than a guy who isn’t available. Well, that’s how I am but we’re not talking about my nonexistent dating life now are we?” Ellie reached over to ruffle my hair which caused it to become even messier. She smiled a little. “Anyway, what you have to do is make her jealous. Even Ms. Cool, Calm, and Collected has to notice that her Chrissy Wissyboo is too busy with his new girlfriend to care about her new boyfriend.”

I stared at Ellie, dumbfounded but slightly fascinated. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. Don’t they do this type of shit in those movies on the ‘women empowerment’ channels?”

There was no way that this could be the solution to my problem. It seemed absurd, utterly ridiculous, sophomoric, and a bunch of other synonymous phrases that led to my conclusion: this wouldn’t work. The plan was too simple. Dahlia wouldn’t fall prey to Ellie’s grade school scheme of utter fuckery. But it was worth a shot, I decided, looking at Ellie who had a mischievous glimmer in her eyes. At the back of my mind, I knew Ellie could gain closure between us if she “dated” me. That didn’t make it right though and as my parents told me endlessly when I was younger---you should always know the difference between a girl and a lady. Regardless, you should ensure that they be given fair treatment and with the utmost respect and care. My mama didn’t raise a fool, although sometimes I believe I should’ve listened to her more closely when she attempted to refine my mannerisms and speech.

“We’ll give it a trial run and if it doesn’t work in thirty-six hours, it’s not gonna continue,” I said firmly, hesitant about the whole idea of a fake relationship after my personal contemplation. This was wrong on many levels and I was still agreeing to the terms and conditions. Ellie would too, there was no doubt about it, and that worried me even more.

She extended her arm and I clasped her hand in mine for a handshake. “Deal.”