[lowercase]
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i'm in the middle of shoving a binder into my back pack after school, when a voice interrupts my best friend, grayson, who was ranting about the importance of the school cafeteria, keeping nacho day on the monthly menu.
"y/n. come on, i need to talk to you. now"
grayson's older sister, cameron, stands a couple feet away from me in the middle of the busy high school hallway. i would expect the usual rush of students escaping the school to jostle her about, but she stands her ground, staring at me.
"come on cam.." grayson groans. "i was literally in the middle of talking to her."
"i'm doing you a favor, gray" she says without looking at him. "y/n, lets go"
i glance at my best friend but his eyes are closed, a sign that he's annoyed.
"i'll drop by your house a later, ok?" i tell him, nudging his shoulder. he nods and heads towards the school's exit without saying a word.
i follow cameron into an empty classroom.
"alright, look. i know you like my brother." she starts off. "it's really annoying and obvious. here's what i have to say: back off. get out of his life because one, he doesn't want you like that, and two, you're not good enough for him. i have standards for who my brother hangs out with and you don't meet them"
i don't take her words to heart.
"it's not really my business, cameron, but shouldn't grayson be able to choose who he wants to be in a relationship with?" i say.
cameron believes that since grayson's my best friend and i spend time with him almost every day, i've developed an obsessive love for him. i'm sick of her attitude towards me everytime i do something unsatisfactory in her eyes.
cameron exhales loudly, unprepared for my comment.
"just stay away from grayson" she says, before turning in her heel and walking back into the hallway.
i smile to myself when she's gone because i know that's the last thing i'm going to do.
***
i'm sitting with grayson on his back porch in the late afternoon sun. the wonderful topic of this discussion has been focused on why grayson believes mondays should "not be a thing"
i twist my neck around to look at the screen door when i hear it being pulled open. cameron begins to walk out and then sees me, the same puff of annoyance i heard earlier this afternoon passing through her lips.
"really?" she says, eyes digging into me. our conversation cones in mind. i just shrug.
"we're friends, cam"
she rolls her eyes before retreating back into the house.
"what was that about?" grayson asks.
"nothing" i say, not wanting to get into it. "no really. did that have to do with what she wanted to talk to you about earlier?" he says.
"um, yeah" i respond, finally coming to conclusion that there is no reason to not tell him what cameron said to me. it's not like he's going to stop being friends with me because of the words of his sister.
"well...she basically told me to back off. of you. she told me that i'm not good enough for you in a friend sense - or a more - than friend sense. and then she told me to get out of your life because she has standards for who her younger brother hangs out with and i don't meet them"
when i finish, grayson looks absolute horrified. i can't help but smile a little.
"what...you're ok with all of that stuff she said about you?" he exclaims, standing up.
"sure" i say, almost laughing. "i don't care what she says or thinks about me. we're still good. that's what i care about."
"i can't believe...you know none of that is true, right?"
"what? what she said?"
"yeah. like you not being good enough for me"
"i mean i don't think it's true unless you do"
"woah, no. of course not." he says hastily. he sits down again, the edge of the patio table between us. "you're...more than enough"
i've had feeling for this guy in front of me for a long time. throughout our relationship, throughout all of the years that have passed, there's been time and time again that i've been left, wondering if he feels the same way.
"what are you saying?" i ask quietly.
"i'm saying that...i've been letting what my sister says get in the way of what i want for way too long"
and then, he leans forward and kisses me.
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[if there are mistakes, sorry. i am too lazy to read all of this over and fix it. so if there was mistakes, sorry.]
