*
It's only been five minutes. Five minutes is not enough to recover after a kiss. I still can't believe what I did - I don't know whether to be mad at myself for initiating it, or to be mad at him for kissing me back. But I can't really be mad at him - not after what just happened.
It's not like it was on purpose. I never wanted to fall in love with him. But I did. I don't know how it happened, but somewhere along the way, I fell in love with my best friend. It's the kind of thing that only happens in movies and TV shows - no one actually falls in love with their guy best friend, right? It was ironic, in a way - how predictable this whole thing was. I mean, come on. It must be the most cliché thing to ever happen to me, but for some reason it felt more real than anything. More solid - like it could never be broken. It felt like it would last forever, but I really wasn't that naive.
I admit that I forgot about the video we were preparing to shoot - "Last to stop kissing" **FRIENDS EDITION**. I know, not very creative, but it's not like I choose what videos to make. I just act in them, and have to pretend it was my idea all along. In any case, I had completely forgotten about the video until Hunter knocked loudly on the door.
"Piper?" he calls out. "Are you in there? Come on, we have to film!"
"Just a second!" I shout, sighing as I hear his footsteps retreat down the stairs. I had taken refuge in Liana's bedroom - the only place I didn't think Jentzen would be. I don't know where she was, and I feel bad for intruding in her room and entering it without permission, but I just couldn't face my friends right now. This video is going to be hard to film - I can only hope I don't get Jentzen.
Just the thought of him is enough to make me blush - I need to pull myself together quickly if I don't want to give anything away. I know Jentzen hasn't told anyone. He would never do that without my permission, I'm sure of it. And he would never dare tell Lev without me there. I'm scared of what Lev could do to him. Sure, Jentzen is much stronger, but he cares too much about his friend to do any serious harm. Lev? Not so much. He's not necessarily a bad person, or a bad boyfriend. He can just get unnecessarily violent sometimes, especially towards Jentzen, and sometimes even towards me.
"Piper! Hurry up!" Hunter yells from downstairs, anger apparent in his voice. Oh no. I can only hope he doesn't get angry enough to tell my mother. It's only been twenty seconds since he came up and knocked...
Squaring my shoulders and trying to put on an emotionless face, I open the door and walk down the stairs. Everyone else is ready to film, and I accidentally meet Jentzen's eyes as I clear the last step. Not good. I see him blush and I quickly look away, feeling my own cheeks heat up. Luckily for us, Hunter is too preoccupied briefing everyone about the video to notice, and everyone else is paying attention. I've been through this a thousand times - peppy intro, suspenseful video introduction (like they haven't read the title), appearance of the squad (like they aren't in every video) and then just get on with whatever we're filming. Give the fans what they want to see - don't show them everything, exaggerate some things for the purpose of the camera, blah blah blah. Not everything in all of my videos is real - sure, I do like Lev, but half of our relationship is exaggerated for social media. And I don't really hate Jentzen, like it seems in our latest videos - Hunter and my mother just told me to act like we're barely friends so that people stop shopping us. That's why everyone thinks we're drifting apart, but the opposite is true. I don't know if he got the memo - he genuinely seemed upset when I rated him least and when I was mean to him. I didn't actually mean that - but I could hardly have told the truth.
"Piper!" Hunter snaps his fingers in front of my face, sounding irritated when he says my name. "What is up with you today? Focus! We have to film your intro. Remember..."
Hunter talks to me as if I don't do this every day of my life - as if I haven't been doing this every day of my life for the past four years. Lev shoots me an annoyed look - always one to agree with Hunter. Elliana gives me a conciliatory shrug, and Emily gives me a small smile, which I half-heartedly return. I avoid looking at Jentzen, for obvious reasons. I don't know how we're meant to deal with this now - I had a small hope that we would be able to ignore it and that everything would go back to normal, but the second I met his eyes I knew that that wouldn't be possible. We would have to deal with it after the video, though - Hunter was already incredibly impatient.
The cameras get rolling, and I film my classic energetic intro. No one notices anything different (the fans might and of course Jentzen does) and then I introduce the video idea. I can feel my heart hammering as everyone chooses their partners for the challenge. Please don't let me get Jentzen. If anything, it would just be cruel. Emily and Elliana get each other - they both laugh and shrug like they don't really mind. That means that there's Jentzen and Lev left, and whoever I don't get will not take part of the challenge. How could fate be this evil? Okay, maybe I'm being a tiny bit dramatic. But I don't think I can get closer than three meters to him after that kiss. Oh god, the kiss. Now I'm thinking about it again.
"Piper!" Hunter calls me to attention, glaring. Lev looks bored, but Jentzen eyes me with concern. I don't meet his eyes as I spin the wheel.
And of course it didn't land on Lev.
*
أنت تقرأ
Never Meant To Be
قصص الهواة"It's slow, and sweet, and deliberate, and much longer than any kiss I have ever had before. It's filled with longing and years of waiting for this one moment - filled with tension and desperation." It was never meant to be real. I was never meant t...
