knj imagines

ruined surprise || c. la barrie

"How do I look?" I grabbed Corey's outstretched hand as he twirled me around.

He flashed a bright smile and nodded in approval. "You look beautiful, as always."

I blushed and smoothed out a small wrinkle in his shirt. "And you don't look too bad yourself," I said with a wink.

We were dressed and ready to go to Jc and Chelsey's holiday party. Usually I'm not the biggest fan of parties (social situations freak me out) but I was sucking it up for our friends.

However when we got there, my social anxiety disappeared and I found myself actually having a lot of fun.

I was standing in a group with Nezza, Franny, and Emily when Corey came up to me and grabbed my hand, tugging me with him.

"Where are we going?" I allowed him to pull me away from the girls and take me into the living room where a game of "beer" pong had been set up.

"Chelsey and Jc versus me and you," he said. "Better couple wins."

I laughed and narrowed my eyes at our enemies, letting them know I was in it to win it.

The game lasted about 45 minutes and eventually everyone had migrated over to watch us. Of course I have terrible aim so I was not doing anything to help us win. However I couldn't help laughing at all of us in our nice clothes playing beer pong.

We eventually admitted defeat, growing too bored of the game to continue. New people replaced us as Corey and I walked away from the table.

"Are you having fun?"

"Yeah I actually am. Are you?" He smiled and nodded but I could see he looked distracted. I followed his gaze around the room and fixed my eyes back on him. "Who are you looking for?"

"Oh, no one. Just looking to see who all is here, see if there is anyone else I want to talk to. I think I saw David somewhere over there so I'm going to go say hi," he said, kissing my forehead and heading over towards the hallway.

I found Nezza and Emily and we picked up our conversation where we had left off earlier. After about 20 minutes David had joined us and I glanced behind him, expecting to see Corey.

"David, weren't you just talking to Corey?" He shook his head and gave me a confused look.

"I haven't talked to him all night. I think I saw him go back the hallway," he said and I began walking in the direction he pointed.

I hated to open doors in other people's houses but I needed to find him. I had already opened their bedroom door and a bathroom door so I only had one more door to choose.

I turned the knob of the closet door and peeked in to see a figure. I could barely make out Corey's face, and I opened the door to allow more light in. However when I did, I revealed a very guilty looking Franny beside him.

My jaw hit the floor as I looked between their two faces. Corey tried to put his hand on my shoulder but I backed away.

"(Y/N), I swear this isn't what it looks like. Please just let me explain," Corey said. I scoffed and turned away from him, running down the hallway and through the throng of people.

I made a beeline for the door but I felt someone grab my elbow when I was almost there. I turned around to see Kian, concern on his face. He leaned down close to my ear to be heard above the loud conversations all around us.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm great. Other than my boyfriend being a cheating, lying jerk," I said, pulling away from Kian and leaving the house.

I heard Corey call my name but I didn't turn around, hoping he would just leave me alone. Of course it was wishful thinking as I felt his hand on my shoulder.

I spun around and glared at him as hard as I could. "Do not touch me," I said.

"Please just let me explain," he said again. I shook my head as I pulled the car keys out of my bag.

"No, I don't need you to explain," I said as I spun around and walked to our car.

"Wait just stop and take a breath. I don't want you to drive when you're mad," he said as I got in the driver's seat.

I laughed and started the engine. "Like you care."

I spent the night crying alone and waiting for Corey to come home. I was sure he would but he didn't show up at all.

The next morning I found him asleep on the couch and I sat down on the edge, gently shaking him awake.

He immediately sat up when he opened his eyes and pulled me into his arms.

"I swear I was not cheating on you. I would never do that to you. Jc was keeping your present for me because I was afraid you'd find it so he put it in his closet. I wanted Franny to see it but I didn't want to pull it out in case you came to find me so we just went inside. I guess I underestimated how small it was. Point is, I love you and I'm sorry," he said. "I just didn't want to ruin your surprise."

My heart melted and I hugged him again. "I'm so sorry I yelled at you," I said into his shoulder.

"No it's okay. Just as long as you're not mad at me and that you know I love you. That's all I care about," he said, planting a kiss into my hair.