fake smile // pete davidson

06. real life

yuki carefully went over her toenail as she applied a fresh coat of cobalt blue. she made sure the nail polish was in a solid shade of blue before moving on to her next; she tried to avoid too many layers. when she finally finished her right foot she pulled back, admiring her matching blue toes on both feet. then, she turned to the girl on the other side of the bed:

"are you ready now?"

the other girl groaned in agony. barely making eye contact with yuki, she replied. "i was hoping you forgot about that."

yuki shook her head and peered over at the other girl's burgundy toes. she reminded her of the deal they made 20 minutes before: "you said you'd 'carefully think over' you-know-who while you paint your nails."

roman nodded. desperate for a subject change, she glanced at her fingernails. "you think my fingers need a touch-up?"

yuki glared at her and roman knew the jig was up. she took in a shaky breath as she relayed the details of her and pete's relationship. yuki nodded meaningfully, humming in thought ever so often. as roman talked, she felt herself getting lighter as the insecurities she had harbored alone for so long left her. is this what talking to a therapist feels like?

when she finally finished it was like a huge weight was lifted off of her. she could hardly believe that pete meant this much to her. wasn't she supposed to be a heartbreaker? someone who kisses and tells? the pit in her stomach grew as she thought about her reckless dating history. roman didn't know she was this much of a bitch.

"and how does that make you feeeeel?" yuki asked, mimicking the overly compassionate tone of a stereotypical therapist. she leaned in and put on a super serious face for effect.

roman giggled. yuki joined in. then the giggling turned into chuckling. then the chuckling turned into laughter. before they knew it, both girls were collapsed on the bed, shaking with laughter. they clutched their aching stomachs, starting to forget why they were laughing. the laughter died down.

"wait, what was so funny?"

"i dunno."

they laughed again. their perfectly painted toenails were smudged and the bed was streaked with blue and red nail polish. but in the moment, they didn't care.

thank you, next (next!),
thank you, next (next!),
thank you, next!
i'm so fucking grateful for my ex!

roman's ringtone rang out, cutting the girls' laughter short. yuki narrowed her eyes, glancing at the caller ID.

petey princess💞

oh boy.

----------
three months later

as roman watched the clouds slowly drift by, the events of the past few months replayed through her head on repeat.

she dumped pete. did she regret it? no. did she love him? maybe.

the musically talented young woman was in central park, humming the melody to her newest single. her floppy hat and thick black sunglasses concealed her identity from the public. sure, she had gotten a few weird stares, but it was mid-September and people didn't really care.

she thought back to the call, and how pete called to make sure she was alright. "a mental health checkup" he called it. yeah right. they both knew he was calling to make sure they were over. "i've found someone," he said. found someone my ass--

positivity, roman reminded herself. she ended things with pete permanently. it was time for her to move on. as for pete?

roman tugged on the gold necklace hanging from her neck. the piece of jewelry housed a tiny rose gold diamond that glittered in the light. it was a birthday gift from pete. it came in the mail a month ago attached with a note that said "happy birthday to the pop princess".