Too Close for Comfort

Summer: Day 35

Summer: Day 35

Britney's POV:

Sometimes you know more than you think, just as you know less than you want to.

When I started dating Kylar, I did it in spite of Mackenzie. I wanted to hurt her best friend the way she hurt me—because I knew that if he was hurt, she'd run to him. And if my plan worked to the end, I could have Monty.

But not everything went according to plans; my feelings got involved. Whenever Kylar came over, whenever we'd talk, whenever we'd hangout, he looked at me in a way nobody had before. He wasn't eye-raping me like most guys. No, he saw me for who I wanted to be, the girl who simply wished to be normal.

Yet, even still, I'd see how he looked at Mackenzie.

I knew stepping on this fine line between the two of them was risky. Nobody will ever compare to Mack in his eyes, she's his definition of perfect. But I thought that maybe, maybe he could give me an ounce of that love. Just an ounce. Because I want that too.

I just want to be loved.

I hold a picture of the two in my hands as I sit on his bed, the picture frame from his nightstand. I didn't think it could hurt so bad, losing someone that you knew you couldn't have. The same thought I've been turning over in my mind the past few days.

Kylar comes back into the room and sits down next to me. When he sees the pictures, he laughs. "That one's a good one. One of my favorites."

I smile, but the action never quite reaches my eyes. "I think we should talk."

"Yeah sure, about what?" he asks, turning to face me.

I sigh, looking down at the photograph of him and Mackenzie. "You love her, don't you?"

"Of course I love her, Brit. She's just my best friend." Though I knew he was lying, it sounds so fluent off of his tongue—probably due to him saying it so many times.

"No. I mean, you're in love with her," I explain, spelling it out for him. "You love her. You want to be with her."

He presses his lips into a slit and doesn't answer right away.

I knew it. As a matter of fact, everyone knows it.

"I see the way you look at her," I continue, finally meeting his gaze, his doey-brown eyes sad and guilty. "I've always seen it. I just—I thought that maybe you could love me too... eventually." I frown. "Why would you ask me to be your girlfriend if you knew you loved her?" Why would I say yes?

"Because I can't have her," he whispers, his jaw tightening.

"I don't want to be your second best option, Kylar." I set the picture back down on the nightstand. "I think you should tell her. I'd like to think you're genuine with me, but she comes first. Doesn't she?"

"I'm sorry," he says, nodding.

"I used to want someone I couldn't have too. But then I realized too late that it's better to say how you feel instead of waiting around only wishing you said something sooner."

"Who'd you want?" he asks, curiosity beneath his eyes.

I shake my head. "Your brother. But he's not who I want anymore, Kylar. I like you a lot, like a lot a lot. But I can't be with a boy who is in love with someone else."

"Oh, Britney," he sighs, flattening the blonde locks of hair on top of his head. "I'm sorry I pulled you into this. I like you too, but I also love Mackenzie."