Patience

No Lies Tonight

"Oh, my God!" Seth exclaimed.

"What?" Brandi looked around "What's going on?"

"You!" Seth had his jaw totally dropped "I saw you from afar and you looked great, but... from here..." he looked her up and down, just like Brandi hated to be looked at "You look..."

"Awesome?" Brandi half-smiled.

"Totally! I mean... this dress is so... and the whole look, with everything and..."

"Seth... it's just a dress and some make-up. Underneath it all, it's still the same old me you see everyday."

"I never said there was something wrong with the you I see everyday." Seth said in a kind tone of voice. Brandi blushed a little and looked down, so he wouldn't see her smile.

Even with the music going on, an awkward silence fell right there around them.

"Seth, stop it. You don't mean it."

"I do. I so do, Brandi. You have no idea how much I mean it."

"Seth, please, stop." Brandi played with her hair and stared down at her feet.

"Stop what, Brandi?"

"Stop lying."

"I'm not lying!" Seth was offended.

"Oh, you're not? Just like you didn't lie when you said Summer wasn't gonna be here and I can see her from where I'm standing? Or isn't she that one talking to Marissa and Ryan?" Brandi pointed to the trio and Seth turned to look at them.

"Yes, but I..."

"Ok, just stop it right there, Seth." Brandi ordered and he just shut up "Why did you lie to me?"

"What?" Seth pretended to not know what she was talking about "What do you... I mean, you're not that upset just because I told you Summer wasn't gonna be here, are you? Because she..."

"Ok. Just stop it. Again!" Brandi ordered again "I know you're not with Summer. Not even close to that. What I wanna know is why you lied to me." Brandi looked directly into his eyes, waiting for a sincere answer.

"I'm sorry." Seth looked down, ashamed.

"That doesn't answer my question. Why did you lie?"

"Because... I really don't know why I lied. Maybe... because... I... wanted to..." Seth lowered his tone "Make you jealous."

"What?" Brandi asked and leaned in closer to hear him better.

"To make you jealous." Seth kept the low tone, but Brandi was able to hear him this time.

"Make me jealous?" Brandi asked surprised.

"Yeah... maybe that way you would like me."

"This is absurd!" Brandi shook her head and started to walk away.

"Wait!" Seth ran after her and grabbed her arm to stop her "I'm so sorry, but I'm just a loser. I always think people will never like me, because... well... they actually never do like me. It's pretty rare when someone does, and you seemed to like me right away, but I didn't know if that was for real, and then I wanted to be sure if you really liked me, so I kinda put you to this test to see if you were gonna get jealous and then if you did, then it meant you really liked me and..."

"Stop it! Why don't you stop saying stuff just to fill the void? Why don't you say stuff that you really mean and that actually make sense?"

"I did! Just a few minutes ago and you thought I was lying."

"I don't know exactly what you're talking about, but can you blame me for thinking you were lying? You always lie!" Brandi raised her voice a little.

"I swear I didn't lie once tonight. Not even once."

"You didn't lie tonight, but what guarantees me that you won't lie tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow? Or the day after that? I can't be friends or... God knows what, with someone that says he likes me, but I can't be totally sure of it, because he's always lying. Now, tell me Seth, what can you do or say to guarantee me you won't lie to me ever again?"

Seth didn't know what to say, so he stood still. He just looked at her, opening his mouth every now and then, trying to find something to say to Brandi, but nothing came out of it.

"That's what I thought." Brandi rolled her eyes and started to turn around to leave, when she felt Seth grabbing her wrist, turning her to him, and placing his lips softly on her mouth.