Fantasy World

Maci entered her dorm room singing some song she'd heard in Steven's car. She smiled at Corey before kicking off her shoes and plopping down on her bed. "Hey, how'd it go?" Corey asked. 

Maci grinned at her. "Good. We got pancakes, hung out at the beach for awhile, and then he dropped me off," she told her. 

"Aw! You two need to just date," she decided. Corey flipped through the pages of the magazine she was reading. 

Maci laughed. "I thought you said go with the flow?"

Corey smirked. "I did. And now that you're going with the flow, you should obviously take this advice," she stated. 

Maci rolled her eyes. "When was it you gave me that advice? A few days ago?" she asked. "Give it time... What if he changes his mind in a week, anyways?"

Corey snorted. "You have not seen how that man looks at you. I swear he looked like he wanted to marry you."

"Whatever. He isn't that serious," she mumbled in return as she picked up her physics notes that she needed to be studying. 

"Has he always acted that way around you?" Corey asked curiously. 

"What way?"

"Like... Completely happy and like he wouldn't rather be anywhere else than hanging around and waiting for you?"

Maci snorted this time. "Steven is just a happy guy. He lives in the moment," she responded as she opened her highlighter. 

Corey put down her magazine. "Mace, I hate to be the one to ruin your simple view on things, but I think he's in love with you."

Maci's highlighter dropped onto her bedspread, leaving a bright yellow streak. She hissed as she tried to rub it off, even though she knew that wouldn't help. "He is not. He... We're just having fun," she mumbled with a frown. 

"Did that freak you out?"

"Yes."

Corey tossed her magazine onto her dresser. "Why would you be scared of Steven being in love with you?"

Maci sighed in exasperation as she rubbed her forehead, unknowingly wiping yellow highlighter ink on her skin. Corey held in her laughter. "Because... Because he's Steven. That's too serious for me being his little sister's best friend. And because... The last time someone told me that... It just..."

"He turned into a dick a year later and then dumped you because you wouldn't have sex with him three years after that," Corey supplied. 

Maci gave her a pathetic look. "Sure, let's go with that..."

Corey sighed. "Look, I know that Kyle hurt you and all, but I think you need to look at the bright side. Look who you are spending a ton of time with now. Do you regret that? Would you rather not be spending any time with Steven and still have Kyle?"

Maci chewed on her lip. "Do you think that maybe this whole... Happiness about being... I don't know what we are," she sighed in frustration. "The newness of this whole thing is just temporary?"

Corey thought about it carefully. "There's always that new excitement over finding yourself with someone different. I think that since you two have a history and this isn't just someone random, it'll last beyond the whole 'honeymoon' phase," she admitted. "It dies down because you get so used to someone being around and it's no longer something new. You two are used to being around each other. I mean, I guess it depends on if he can hold on to a serious relationship, too. I know you can, but I don't know about him. What do you think?"

Maci thought back to the girls Steven had been with before. "He dated one girl throughout high school. But since I've been here, I haven't noticed or heard of any girls." Her phone buzzed on her pillow and she picked it up, seeing it was from Stephanie. 

"How long has he liked you?" Corey asked curiously. 

Maci sighed. "He hasn't even said if he does. You're assuming he does," she pointed out. She looked down to read the text message. 

'Hey, I need to ask you something.'

She quickly replied with an okay. "He obviously does, though. Maybe this has been there for awhile and he just never did anything about it. Maybe the whole hook up thing was a catalyst," Corey suggested. 

Maci's phone went off again. She clicked the okay button, but didn't read it yet. "I don't know... He's got all these women as his feet... Why me out of all of them?" she questioned before looking down. 

'Does Steven have a girlfriend? Mom said she heard a rumor and she's freaking out lol'

Maci swallowed hard. "Hang on a second," she whispered as she quickly dialed Steven's number. 

"Aw, couldn't get enough of me for one day?" he asked teasingly. 

She smiled a little. "I've had too much of you, actually. I have a question. Your sister just texted me asking if you had a girlfriend because your mom is freaking out over some rumor," she told him. "What do you want me to tell them?"

Steven hesitated. "What should I say?" he asked carefully. 

Maci chewed her lip while Corey gave her an expectant look. "Whatever you want..." she mumbled. "Doesn't matter to me.." Corey reached over and hit the speaker phone button. 

Steven was quiet for a few seconds. "Are you sure about that?" he questioned. 

She let out a sigh. "Well, it depends on what you want this to be and if we want to tell your sister about it through a text message..." she mumbled anxiously. 

"Well, what do you think I should say?" he asked. 

Maci groaned. "I don't know, Steven. Do you want me just to say the truth, that you don't have a girlfriend? Or do you want me to tell her what we've been up to? Or would you rather something different?" she returned. 

"We probably shouldn't tell her about... Us like that..." he mumbled nervously. "Maci, what would you rather me say to her? What would make you happy?" he demanded. 

Corey finally stepped in when she realized Maci wasn't about to have an answer. "She'll say you've got someone in mind, but you two aren't dating," she said before hanging up the phone. "There. Problem solved," she told her roommate with a smile. 

Maci laughed and shook her head. "He's going to call back in about two minutes," she pointed out. 

Corey rolled her eyes. "Whatever. He can handle it," she dismissed. 

Maci laughed before replying to Stephanie with what Corey had said. Stephanie almost instantly replied. 'Do you approve of her? Or is she a scum bag ho that just wants his money?'

'He pays for her meals when they go out and she doesn't expect anything from him,' Maci replied. 

'Has he bought her anything?'

'Just food.'

'God she reminds me of you lmao'

Maci panicked and sent back a simple laugh. She stared at her phone as she contemplated the whole thing. She really didn't want to worry about anything. She wanted the easiness and uncomplicated titles. Maybe she would tell him that. At least until after finals, she didn't want to worry about putting a name to what they were doing. It was less than two months until then. After that, they could figure out what they wanted to be and tell Stephanie then. There was no way she could keep it a secret even if it ended shortly. 

So when Steven called her back, she explained that to him. And to her surprise, he seemed perfectly okay with it all.