KINDA CLICHÉ - teo briones

𖤐 14.

☆彡

estella and payton stared each other off, both their eyes narrowed. They were bent over, arms stretched out. The only thing they were
doing was going around in circles, waiting for who struck the first move.

Usually, it was estella who did, but
this time, payton flung herself forward.
estella was smaller than payton, giving her an
advantage. She watched as payton
crashed into the wall, a loud thud echoing
around the room, making estella burst into a fit of laughter.

They were currently in an empty room, filled with nothing but a table in the corner. One of the crew members had led them inside, saying something about how they were too loud. "Ow," payton groaned, rubbing her forehead, "that hurt."

"you shouldn't have done that." estella laughed, going over to help her. "Idiot."
"Woah, estella," payton said, pretending to be shocked, "are you...being nice? Oh, my god, this is life changing!"

estella rolled her eyes, hitting her arm gently.
"Shut up, I was about to beat you again."
payton shook her head. "This is abuse."
"Yeah, animal abuse," estella countered,
sticking her tongue out at her. "Wow, no applause for that? How rude." payton put her hand over her heart, sighing dramatically.

Their eyes were on the door as it
was being opened, hoping it was someone
who'd let them out. Instead, it was teo. His
own eyes focused on estella, who was staring right back at him.

"Oh, there you guys are." teo looked out
the door again. "kenzie's been looking for you guys for the past hour." "Some crew guy told us to wait in here," estella explained, shrugging.
"Guess he forgot about us."

teo gave her a slight nod, his gaze going
to payton. "So, what were you doing in here?"
"estella and I were wrestling," payton replied,
"and I won." "stop lying, dipshit" estella commented, giving him a look. "I won, she's weak."

"Alright, then let's wrestle," teo offered
"you and me, estella." "Uh..." estella thought for a moment. "Sure, okay."
"Yes, some steo action!" payton cheered,
letting out a loud whoop.
"You get him, estella, you're doing amazing sweetie!"

The two bent over, arms stretched, the
way estella and payton were just a few minutes earlier. They circled each other, waiting to see who would attack first.

estella shot forward, jumping onto teo.
She had him pinned to the floor. Thinking she
won, she loosened her grip on him. which was a mistake. teo took that as an opportunity to flip her over, so now she was on the floor.

He was hovering over her, almost
forgetting payton was in the room. Almost. estella kicked her knee up, hitting him in the stomach. teo fell as estella scampered out from under him, laying on the floor as she stood.

estella brushed herself off, helping him up afterward. She held his hand, scrunching up her face when he intertwined their fingers.
"Ew." estella quickly took her hand away, but
only because she wasn't sure of what to make
out of the feeling in her chest. And because
payton was there.

"Damn it, I'm cockblocking you guys," payton
exclaimed, "I'll just go." They watched as payton left, an awkward silence coming over them.

estella and teo stared at their feet, fidgeting with their fingers. Occasionally, one would glance at the other. Sometimes, they'd catch the other staring.

"So, are you still free?" He asked, silently hoping the answer was yes. "No, I'm now 5.99," estella joked, making them both laugh. "I'm kidding, dude. And to answer your question, yes." "Oh, great." teo took her by the hand, leading her out of the room.

"Because I don't have any scenes to film right now, and you have nothing to do."
"Actually, I-" "You know what, estella? We are going to hang out so you can fall in love with me, okay?" estella snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not gonna happen, but okay.'
"It will." he shot back. "You just haven't
seen it yet." "Seen what?" estella's voice was sarcastic. "Our bond? The connection we have? Those don't exist." "Why are you raining on my parade?" teo asked rhetorically, pretending to be hurt. "You're breaking my heart."

"oh my god! estella!" They were now outside, where kenzie stood waiting. The blonde-haired girl whirled around at the sound of their footsteps, a worried look on her face. "estella! There you are, I've been looking for you. Do that again, and I'm calling your mom."

estella was quiet, a little intimidated by her
tone. "Oh, payton and I were wrestling. Then
teo came over, and got us out." payton joined the group seconds later, followed by alyvia.

"Okay, before you say anything, they almost kissed." All four sounded surprised. "What?"
"Yeah, I just wish I recorded it," payton
continued, oblivious to the tension, "when estella
and teo were wrestling." The two blonde girls looked over at the "couple" with sly grins.
"Aw, we ship it."

"It's not a thing, it never will be." Instead of
estella denying it, this time is was teo who did.
"We're just friends, that's all we'll ever be."

estella's face fell for a brief moment, a painful
pang in her chest. She quickly replaced it with a
blank look, something she'd gotten very good at
doing. Everyone only saw her blank expression
everyone except teo.

One thought ran through his mind: why was that so hard to say?

Maybe it was because the previous week, he had spent every second with estella. estella
and teo had gotten to know so much about
each other, and not just the simple things like
their favorite colors or foods they liked. It was
little things like playful punches and harmless
flirting. Or maybe that wasn't so harmless after
all. It was in that moment that he realized what
that meant.

teo really, really liked estella.

And estella really, really liked teo.

☆彡

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