Friendship Material. (𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒇𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒕𝒔)

9. We're just friends remember?

We were having so much fun, the four of us - me, Kayden, Mellow, and her little brother. We played video games and watched movies, snacking on chips and soda. As the night wore on, the conversation turned to a topic that made me feel uneasy.

"What if we told her and she could cover up for us?" Kayden texted me under the table.

I knew exactly what he meant. We had been "friends" with each other for a while now, but we didn't want anyone to know. We were afraid of what our friends would think, especially Ally and Brody. They were always teasing us about our "friendship" and making jokes about how we should just date already.

We talked about it for an hour or two, weighing the pros and cons. Mellow was our best bet - she was cool and laid-back, and she didn't seem to care about our relationship status as long as we were happy. But even so, I was hesitant to bring it up.

"So like, y'know, me and Kayden," I started, my voice faltering.

Mellow looked up from her game, curiosity was written all over her face. I could tell she was expecting something juicy, but what she got was so far from her expectation.

"You see," I continued, "Ally, and Brody, were betting on me and Kayden."

Mellow's eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"I saw them texting in the group chat once. They said they'll treat us to food if any of us catch feelings."

I paused for dramatic effect. "But they deleted it, of course."

Mellow looked at me skeptically. "And?"

"And we don't want them to know about us," I explained. "So we were thinking...what if you covered up for us? Like, if we meet up somewhere, you could pretend to be with us so no one gets suspicious."

Mellow's expression softened as she realized what I was asking. "Oh, I get it now. Yeah, I can do that!"

I breathed a sigh of relief and cracked a smile. "Thanks, Mellow. You're the best." 

The weeks went by in a blur. Kayden and I continued to see each other in secret, stealing kisses and touches whenever we could. We sexted each other late at night, sending each other pictures and videos to keep the flames of desire burning. And all the while, Mellow covered up for us, pretending to be our chaperone or our lookout whenever we needed her.

But there was always the nagging feeling at the back of my mind - what if our friends found out? What if they found out about the bet and thought we were just playing along? I knew I had to tell Kayden eventually, but I didn't want to ruin our fun.

One day, I decided to come clean.

"Kayden, I need to tell you something," I said, my voice shaking slightly.

"What is it?" he asked, turning to face me.

"I told Mellow about us. About the bet and everything."

Kayden's face went white. "What? Why would you do that?"

"I had to," I said, my heart beating a faster pace. "I couldn't keep it from you anymore. I was scared that if they found out, they'd think we were just playing along. That we weren't serious about each other."

" Who said we were serious about each other?"

Kayden was silent for a long time, his eyes fixed on the floor. Finally, he spoke.

"you know Lizzie. We're just friends remember? It's too dangerous and you know that. We have to be careful."

I watched as Kayden's lips formed those words, and I felt my heart sink to the pit of my stomach. The words echoed in my mind, replaying themselves over and over again. "We're just friends," he had said. Was that all we were? Just two people who had met recently and decided to explore their physical attraction? I had been the one to suggest keeping things casual, but why did his words still sting so much?