Something More? ✔️

15

"Are you planning to confront her?" Sandra jutted her chin in Kate's direction. Penny was standing next to Sandra who was supervising the ongoings of the photo shoot. It pained her to even see Kate at the shoot, but she knew she couldn't avoid her forever. Despite knowing this, Penny had done everyone else's makeup except for Kate's.

"I want to," she murmured.

"Then do it." Sandra said. Penny's eyes strayed back to Kate. Her blonde hair was in loopy curls spiraling around her shoulder and even without the accentuation of makeup, her face looked sculpted from marble. Penny's stomach twisted. Sucking in a deep breath and mustering all her courage, she stalked over to Kate. She was scrolling through her phone sitting in front of the vanity, no doubt waiting for Penny to do her makeup. When she sensed Penny approach her, she lifted up her head and a wide smile split across her face.

"Penny! Long time no see."

"Yeah. Long time," Penny managed to mutter. She picked up the concealer from the vanity table. Kate smiled at her through the mirror and Penny forced one in return.

"So how have you been?" Penny asked.

"Not bad. Classes have been surprisingly relaxed lately so I've had more down time," she paused, "how about you?"

Penny leaned forward and caught her eye, "Not so good."

"Why?" she looked concerned and confused.

"Kate, drop the act. I saw you all over my boyfriend," Penny spat out. She had reached her breaking point and all the anger finally burst out.

"Boyfriend?"

"Yes. Boyfriend," Penny rolled her eyes, "James."

Kate swung around in her chair, eyes wide and mouth ajar, "You two are dating?"

"Like you don't know."

"James never told me, I swear," Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows were scrunched in confusion. Penny couldn't help but feel an ounce of regret for coming on so strong; could it be that James really hadn't told Kate? It was possible — Penny hadn't met any of his other friends so it would go to reason that he hadn't told Kate either. She glanced down at the palette in her hand and avoided Kate's gaze.

"I have to go," Penny muttered before leaving her behind.

❋  ❋  ❋

Penny stood on the outskirts of the soccer field. The boys were mere smudges on the landscapes, kicking the ball back and forth. The air was punctured with the occasional bark from the coach or whistle from the referee. Her eyes were glued on James's back; she could make him out even from the sidelines. Penny watched as the boys started heading back to the benches, reaching for towels and water bottles. As he walked with the others, James suddenly felt her quiet presence and looked at her with a surprised expression. Saying goodbye to his friends and slinging his bag over his shoulder, he jogged over to her with a confused smile.

"Whatcha doing here?"

"Um I just wanted to see you play for a bit," she said.

"Cool — next time give me a heads up," He led her to the bleachers and they sat down.

"Why?" Penny replied sharply. Was there something to hide? Did he not want her standing in broad daylight?

He looked up at her tone, "I wouldn't want to keep you waiting." Penny looked down at her hands and started fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. She wasn't sure how to bring up the topic, and she certainly didn't want to straight up accuse him of anything. Sighing, Penny glanced at his side profile, James was gazing at the soccer field lost in thought.

"What's wrong?" he asked upon hearing her labored breaths.

"James, that night when you hung out with your friends, was Kate there?" her voice was feeble. It wasn't that she was scared of confronting him, she was more so scared of his answer. Scared that he wasn't who she thought he was. He blinked a few times as if confused by why she was asking this.

"Yeah, she was there," he said.

"I-I don't feel comfortable with you two hanging out," Truthfully, Penny hated the way she sounded. It felt like she was the crazy, controlling girlfriend that had trust issues, but at least this way she could get some sleep at night. At least if things really did go south, she would rest easy knowing that she had tried to salvage the situation.

"Why? We didn't do anything. I wouldn't do that to you," he sounded hurt.

"Okay, then why didn't you introduce me to you friends?" she paused, sucking in a breath, "am I — am I a secret?"

"What? No!" he sounded bewildered.

"Then why haven't I met them? Why haven't you told anyone we're dating?"

His eyes slid away from hers and he shifted away from her. He was uncomfortable. This wasn't what Penny had expected from him; she had expected him to passionately deny everything and tell her it was all a misunderstanding. She had expected him to leap off of his seat and drag her to meet his friends at that very moment. Instead, James sat there, avoiding her gaze and moving away. Something overcame her: a tidal wave of pain and disappointment crashed against her soul and welled up her throat.

She lifted her chin, "I'm a damn good person. If you want to spend your days hiding me away in some cave, then you clearly don't see that," she paused as she saw the hurt and shock slash across his features, "I'm going," she murmured. With that, Penny picked up her bag and went down the stairs, trying to look as collected as possible. The reality was she couldn't stop replaying his torn expression in her mind. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Despite everything, Penny didn't want to hurt him.