Pretend

I felt a twinge of annoyance at Seb. That probably made me a bad person, but honestly. First he lied to me about being sick. Then he totally lied about getting in a fight at Link. Literally no one goes to Link. And Seb is the least confrontational person I know. He's so full of bullshit, god. Then, when I tried to change the subject by talking about something he loved, he pushed me away.

I loved Sebastian Clark. He was my best friend, and I couldn't imagine my life without him. But sometimes he annoyed the hell out of me.

"So, how was last night? Other than your, uh. Fight." I put as much disdain into that word as possible, but Seb didn't seem to notice. "Obviously you went to Link with Zach?" I asked. Seb nodded.

"Was it packed?" I pressed. Seb shook his head.

"That's unusual," I said sarcastically. Seb erased a mark on his drawing pad and still didn't say anything. I sighed exasperatedly and crossed my arms tight over my chest. My phone went off, signaling the arrival of a text from Renny.

BABE HOW DID LAST NIGHT GO

I grinned and sent a text back to her, knowing that it would piss Seb off. He hated it when I texted other people while hanging out with him. He said it was rude. And he was right, it was rude. But then again, so was shutting me out the way he always did.

It was so good!! M was a perfect gentleman. We got a teeny bit buzzed on Mikes and we snuggled and held hands and walked along the water and he walked me home :D

Seb shot a glare at me. I smirked. My phone went off again.

awwww so presh

AND

AND WHAT CORA ANGELINE TELL ME WHAT ELSE HAPPENED

He kissed me!!!

"Cora!" Seb snapped. "Will you stop fucking texting!" I raised my eyebrows at him, his cussing surprising me. He glared at me from underneath his unruly hair.

"Only if you stop lying," I said coldly. "Only if you tell me the truth about what happened to your face, Sebastian. You can't possibly think I'm so stupid as to believe that you got in a fight." My voice was harsh and mocking. I knew I was being a bitch. But I was so frustrated. I just wanted to tell him about last night. I wanted to celebrate my victory with my best friend, but I couldn't because he was being such an asshole.

The tips of Seb's ears were turning bright red, a sure sign of an imminent loss of temper. He took a deep breath and let it out loudly.

"I'm fine," he said, his voice sharp. "I tripped and bumped into some dickhead and he punched me. It was an accident and I'm fine. If you're going to be such a bitch, then leave." I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I shot up from the step.

"Fine! Fine. If I'm such a bitch, such a horrible friend for worrying about you, I'll leave." I jumped the stairs and paused halfway down his front walk. "Don't bother texting me, Seb. Or calling. Or showing up at my house or even looking at me." My words were like knives. I could tell that they were hurting him. And I was glad. "Fuck off, Seb. I'm done."

My feet pounded down past his letter box, past his barren driveway, and down his street. I ran and ran and ran, trying to get the anger out of me. I hated getting mad at Seb, I really did. But he was such a jerk sometimes.

Someone jogged up next to me.

"Hey, Cora," the someone said. I glanced over at him and felt butterflies erupt in my stomach.

"Marcus!" I said, adjusting my pace so that I was running at his speed. "Hey!"

"How are you?" he asked, wiping sweat off of his upper lip.

"Good," I panted. "Enjoying my run. You?"

"Better now that I've seen you," he told me. I giggled, then sped up.

"Catch me if you can!" I called, and sprinted away.

I was faster than Marcus, but he could run longer distances. When we neared Point Chase Park, he caught up to me, picked me up, and ran to the center of the soccer field where I used to play Tiny Tots Soccer with Seb. Marcus set me down and lay down next to me. I could smell his delicious boy scent. It filled my nostrils and sent me spinning.

In my pocket, my phone vibrated. I ignored it. It was either Renny or Seb, and I didn't feel like talking to either of them. Marcus ran his hand up and down my arm.

"You're so pretty," he whispered. I felt a shudder of happiness slide up my spine. My cheeks felt warm. I was sure that I was blushing.

"Thanks," I whispered back.

It was still astonishingly warm, 75 degrees and sunny. The sky was bright blue and the leaves on the oak trees surrounding the soccer pitch were vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. It was a beautiful day. I was with Marcus.

But Seb and I had fought.

I had been so foul to him.

He was my best friend and I had told him to fuck off.

I stood up.

"I'm really sorry, Marcus," I said, brushing grass off of my shorts. "But I have to go."

"What?" he asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion. "Why?"

"I'll call you later," I promised, and ran off.

When I got to Seb's house I was out of breath and sweaty. My hair was wild and my face was bright red. I knocked on the door once, then went inside. My feet made soft swishing noises on the carpeted stairs. When I reached Seb's room I called in," Hey, Seb?"

No answer.

"Seb, I'm coming in. If you're naked you need to not be in about two seconds." With that, I opened the door. Seb was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"What," he said, his voice flat.

"Seb, I'm so sorry," I told him, standing in the doorway. My stomach was drawn up into a tight knot of anxiety. "I was a bitch and I know that and I wish I hadn't said anything. If you don't want to talk about what happened that's fine. If you do want to talk about it, that's fine too. But I'm not going to push you either way. I'm really sorry."

Seb stared at the ceiling for a few more minutes. Then he turned his head towards me.

"I'm sorry too. For lying," he said. I smiled and sat down on the blue beanbag that was sitting on his floor.

"It's okay," I replied. I shifted positions and felt the corner of a book poking into my hip. I reached underneath me and pulled out the small paperback.

"Safe Haven?" I asked, holding back laughter. Seb blushed and grabbed the book from me.

"I didn't know you were a Nicholas Sparks fan!" I giggled. Seb threw his pillow at me.

"How was last night?" Seb asked quickly, an obvious ploy to change the subject. I smiled and told him all about the party - how they actually played good music (Death Cab for Cutie, Arcade Fire, Cold War Kids, Fleet Foxes, Birdy, the Mowgli's, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Shins, All The Indians, Whitley - all of Seb's and my favorite bands), how it was super chill and relaxed, how Renny dressed me up to look as good as possible, how Marcus had held my hand. How he walked me home. How we kissed. I closed my eyes, remembering the warmth of Marcus's lips on my own. Seb made a grumpy noise. I opened my eyes and stared at him.

"What?" I asked. Seb shrugged.

"I don't like Marcus very much," he muttered. "He's not good enough for you." I pushed Seb lightly.

"Stop being so big-brother-ish," I ordered. "I'm old enough to take care of myself."

Seb flopped backwards onto his bed and sighed loudly, then picked up his drawing pad.

"Hold still?" he asked.

"Again?" I teased, but then I picked up Safe Haven and sat still, reading the romance novel while Seb's pencil skimmed across the paper. Sunlight streamed into his room and warmed the air. The book wasn't actually too bad. A bit sappy, but sweet.

Kind of like Seb.