Forever.

Chapter 20: "Already on your knees for her?"

Axel and Luca were the 'good boys' of the neighborhood. That's what people thought, but their close friends knew otherwise. Even though the guys were brought up in a strict environment, they had their fun in one way or the other.

Luca was the older brother, while Axel was two years younger than him. They both looked so different but so similar at once. While Luca had inherited his father's luscious dark brown locks, Axel got his shiny blonde hair from their mother.

While the brunette engaged himself in a book world, Axel messed around and pulled pranks. They both were big foodies though. While Axel was an intelligent and a total goofy kid, Luca was a studious book nerd, equally goofy but great at hiding it.

Puberty did hit them hard. Both had a nice sculpted jaw, dark green orbs, sharp eyebrows, plump lips, and the hair. Just wow.

While both the ladies found them attractive and; Axel and Veronica were very close, it was all platonic, for now.

Veronica and Laylah were getting ready for tonight's dinner. It was Lay's last night, and Veronica was upset because of that too. The first reason was a specific raven-haired, well-built guy, who she called her best friend and now the 'love of her life' and his proximity to Mayah. Even though he didn't know shit about the last part.

She was stressing and pacing around her room while she had just a towel wrapped around her body. She'd left her hair open in hopes of letting it dry naturally, and then with the help of a dryer, she was going to set it so that it didn't turn out to be a frizzy mess.

After a lot of thought, she chose white because she was 'feeling' the dress. She decided on getting her hair done first and fast. So she plugged her dryer in and dried her hair quickly because she realized letting her dark, voluminous locks dry naturally wasn't rational, and it was getting late. She did that quickly and put on some makeup that consisted of her favorite pinkish nude lipstick, winged eyeliner, and a bit of blush.

She wore her short white dress, which reached her mid-thigh. She decided to pair it with a minimalist pearl earring and choker set. She looked at her reflection in the mirror again and was satisfied with how she looked. Cute and hot. Her inner-self boosted her self-confidence just like that, and she wore her ballerinas and headed out of her room just to see that Sebastian was getting out of the room in front of hers. He'd wear his white shirt and black pants with his black analog wristwatch, and his hair was also brushed, unlike usual. Boy, did he look hot?

It was hard not to drool, but Veronica hadn't forgotten how Sebastian had followed actually strike that, ran after Mayah and Sylvie when they were leaving. His proximity to the Mayah chick was already unnerving. Then he dared to run after the girls after Sylvie called Laylah a bitch. That girl needs to calm the frick down. Calling my best friend a 'bitch' for no reason is like inviting me to gut you. God, the twins, make me sick. Veronica thought.

She glanced at Sebastian to find him checking her out. It would have been cute and shit if it weren't for him running after the girls even after Sylvie, the ugly ass bitch, had called Laylah a bitch.

To be honest, Sylvie's looks weren't bad. She looked nice, but her insides were just full of shit from what Veronica had observed in the day. Deciding to leave the issues, she took a deep breath, and without looking back at Sebastian, she started walking.

"Veronica," Sebastian called out.

That was weird but nice weird. He never called her by her full name. It was always Ver or V. Even though her name sounded great coming from his lips; she wasn't about to melt. She was pissed. And she was going to stay pissed at him until he did something to un-piss her.

She turned around and raised her eyebrows at him. He strolled towards her slowly, yet he was before her in a second. She wondered what was happening when he lifted his hand to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. The eye contact was deep; her breath hitched because of the tension. She was angry at him but decided to relish the moment because she intended to be angry later on and not slip away in the moment if there was going to be one in the future. Just this once. She thought.

He whispered, but his voice was clear for Veronica to hear, "You look stunning."

She took a deep breath and said, "Thank you."

He smiled at her, and Veronica smiled back. The difference was that her smile was fake. She was trying to be nice to him. She didn't have any claim on him. He wasn't her boyfriend to be upset because of his proximity to other girls. She had no rights, but she did. She was his best friend. And even though he wasn't her boyfriend, he was hers. She knew it was toxic, but she didn't say it out loud, so it was fine. That's what she told herself.

As this exchange happened, Josh came out of Seb and his room. Veronica turned on her heel and darted towards the living room as soon as they heard the door open. She ran a hand through her hair and sat on the couch, waiting for everybody to come.

Sebastian arrived in no time and said, "What is it?"

"What is what?" Lifting her gaze from her phone, Veronica looked up at him feigning confusion.

"You're not talking to me,"

"What are we doing now?" Veronica deadpanned.

"Veronica, you know what I mean." Seb took in a deep breath.

"No, I do not." Veronica went back to her phone, and this was it.

Sebastian knelt in front of where she was sitting, putting his index finger under her chin; he tilted her head to look at him. She shot him an annoyed glare but complied anyway.

"You seem distant," Sebastian said.

"We are talking still; you say that I'm not talking to you. We are close, and still, you say that I am distant. Are you lost?"

Sebastian scoffed, "Veronica! That's not what I mean. And no, I am not lost. Seriously, don't act like this. What is it, tell me?"

Veronica rolled her eyes, "Well, I'm not sure about that. It seems like you're lost. Maybe Mayah charmed you so well that you don't realize it. Nothing is wrong, really."

Sebastian raised his eyebrows at her, and she just shrugged.

"Already on your knees for her?" a smirking Josh said as he entered the living room, followed by Laylah and Theodore.

Sebastian quickly got up and stretched his hand out for Veronica. Pretending she didn't see his hand, she got up by herself and walked past him to Laylah. A smile stretched out on her face. Laylah looked beautiful in her black dress. They hugged each other.

"You both look amazing," Josh said while grinning at the two.

"Why thank you, you don't look too bad yourself too, Josh," Laylah replied, grinning at him.

Veronica smiled and said, "Okay, now let's leave, shall we?"

"We shall," Laylah said, and everybody grinned at each other except for Theodore and Sebastian, who had a scowl settled on their faces.

--x--

This chapter. Yeah, I don't know about it either. I feel like it's good but then again, I don't. It's complicated lol. 

But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed!

Thank you so much for reading!:)

-Estrel <3