Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
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VANISHING BENEATH CURTAINS of fabric never fails to comfort me. Specifically, hiding behind the tons and tons of costumes I've designed and created over the past four years.
Perhaps it's the sweet nostalgia that guides butterflies to dance around my heart. They tug on fond memories of spending sleepless nights with the costume crew, pulling together last-minute fixes and arrangements merely hours before a performance.
Blends of diverse colors and cultures sway vibrantly before my begging gaze. Every design is a stamp of history marking my very existence. Like Mason's existence is forever stamped in my history when I fell in love with him.
It takes no effort for grief to return and present me with the harshest reality.
My relationship with Mason is over. Terminated without a valid reason. His responses were so vague. Standoffish. He was cold and disheartened in my presence. Different from the boy whose reddish lips brushed affection over my skin as he held me and told me how much he loved me.
The room warps as tears collect in my eyes. I rub my nose, now runny from the cold, and bite my bottom lip before it has a chance to tremble. How could he just break up with me like that? What happened so fast?
There's a soft click of the closet door. Moments pass before Lucas' familiar physique enters beneath the threshold. Emerald eyes pierce mine through the dimness. A huff floats from his lips and he begins to part the sea of skirts and dresses to reach me. "You're not blubbering all over your precious creations, are you?" He offers a half-hearted chuckle and crouches mere inches in front of me.
"I just couldn't take it," I mutter. "I needed comfort."
A more honest chuckle rumbles through his chest and he shakes his head. "Who would have guessed you'd come here?"
"How ever did you find me?" I play along.
A pitiful smile spreads his lips. "I'm sorry about Mason." He runs his thumb along the curve of my jaw. A gentle somberness breathes into his deep voice. "If it helps, I never liked the guy."
"That doesn't help, but thank you," I reply bitterly.
Our timid laughter fills the tightly packed space. Luc's large frame assists in making the remaining air as stuffy as can be, but between his lavender body wash, favorite flavor of minty gum, and the kindness in his eyes, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
"Wanna skip school and stay in here?" I offer with a traitorous squeak in my voice. "I can help you pick an outfit for your date."
"Cute, but I'm not wearing a costume for my first date with Amber. I doubt I even have a date anymore," he adds in a quick breath. "Plus, people are bound to wonder why the two of us hid in a closet all day. You did say there were stupid rumors about us, right?"
