The Deal

Chapter Ten - Mistaken

END OF FLASHBACK
ELENA'S POV: Present day.

I lie down in the darkness of the night. I like the sensation of the cold grass, pricking my skin. I inhale the cool, fresh summer air.

I think about Jay, and I let my lips form into a smile. His love story with Matt is beautifully perfect, and I can't say I'm not jealous. This thought gets me thinking about my love life. Jonas.

I bite my lip. Strangely, hanging out with Brendon has been helping me get my mind off of him. Then I think of our close interaction by the pool, earlier today. He wanted to kiss me, and I wanted to kiss him, right? So why didn't we?

Oh, that's right. Because you're supposed to be his brother's girlfriend. Oh, did I mention that we're actually faking our entire relationship?

I mean, this entire thing is pretty ridiculously insane. It's been about two weeks since our fake relationship began, and I'm already "cheating" on Jay. How nice.

I click my phone on to check the time. 12:32 AM. I scroll down to my last messages with Jonas, which was about four days ago. It was a late night conversation about crazy childhood stories. Before I know it, I find myself typing the words, "U up??" while my finger hovers over the Send button.

And so I press it. A few minutes later, my phone vibrates with a text.

Jonas Thompson: Yeah, I need to talk to you about something.

Elena Payton: Sure, what's up?

Jonas Thompson: Can I call you?

As soon as I read the message, I call him and put the phone up to my ear. He answers on the second ring.

"Hey." I smile.

"Hi. Listen, uh.." His voice sounds strained, and I can tell that he's lying down. "So, Liam tells me that he saw you at the carnival with Jay's brother, uh, Brandon? Braden?"

"Yeah, Brendon. We're friends." I correct him.

"Right," he continues. "But Brendon told Liam that you're dating Jay. You said you guys weren't a thing. Am I just a joke to you, Elena?"

I freeze. How do you explain to your angry crush, that you're fake dating your best friend? You can't. So I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"No no no. Listen. We aren't a thing. It's just, Jay and I were playing a prank on Brendon. I didn't want to ruin the fun of it, so I stayed quiet." I blurted. Jonas was silent for a few moments. Then I add, "But you can't tell anyone.. okay?"

Silence.

"I know this situation is really complicated but I promise I'm telling the truth. You're the one I like, Jonas. Honest."

I hear a small chuckle on the other end. "And I like you."

I sigh in relief, as my heart jumps.

"So are we clear? You're not mad?"

He takes a few seconds longer to reply. "Okay. We're good. I'm sorry for assuming."

"It's okay."

I head inside. For the night, (or at least until 2 AM) Jonas and I talk on the phone, trying to be very quiet. I set my phone on my nightstand, sinking my head into my pillow. I went to bed with a strange feeling in my chest.