Spark / l.h ✔️

19

~Coralia's POV~

Luke had been pretty absent around the apartment as of lately, though I didn't know why. Of course, he'd been around sometimes, but it was a little concerning how little I'd see him around anymore. I guess it wasn't all bad, though. I mean, I still had Quinn and Romeo to hang out with, after all.

"Lia?" Quinn huffed at me while she and I sat together in my living room, talking with one another. I snapped out of my thoughts and looked over at her, giving her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, babe. What were you saying?" I asked, raising a curious brow at her. She pouted and leaned in, bracing her elbows on her knees. "I was asking how you've been managing living with Luke. We haven't had a shit ton of time to talk about anything recently. I've been working so much." She repeated, peering at me from the other couch.

I gave her a smile and shrugged my shoulders. "It's been good. He and I get along pretty well." I responded, lightly bouncing my leg as my foot sat on the floor in front of the couch. "Just pretty well?" She asked me, narrowing her eyes at me in what seemed to be suspicion. I raised a brow and confusedly nodded my head, frowning slightly. "Um...yeah?" I responded, my answer coming out as more of a confused question than a confirmation.

For a second, she just stared at me, like she wasn't sure whether or not she was going to believe me, but then she finally answered. "You know," She started casually, clearing her throat as she sat up and leaned back against the couch. "That's actually kinda funny." She said vaguely, giving me a look that I didn't understand. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest, raising a brow at her. "What? Why's it funny?" I asked, confused. She grinned and ran a hand through her curly hair, amused.

"It's funny because even when I only was here on his birthday, it seemed like you two got along more than just pretty well. To be honest, I thought you two were, well, you know...boning." She admitted, not a hint of shame or care in her voice. She was being completely open with me, not that I would've expected anything less. That was part of the reason her and I got along so well, the reason we'd been friends for so many years. We were both very open, honest, and blunt with one another. "No! No, nope. No boning." I refused in a rush, blushing in embarrassment.

Because Quinn knew me better than anyone, she narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion and studied me closely for a second. "What did you do?" She asked after a moment.

Appalled, I gaped at her and she grinned at me, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Unh-unh. Don't you look at me like that, you skank. You totally did! You boned him, didn't you?!" She laughed, a big shit eating grin on her face. I glared at her, pouting internally. "No!" I exclaimed, refusing to admit to it.

Quinn just laughed harder, a grin so big on her face that I thought her fucking cheeks would split. "You're such a liar. I know you. So cut the shit and spill the beans." She practically demanded, interest shown clearly on her face. I let out a heavy sigh and rolled my eyes, shaking my head to myself in utter defeat. Did she have to be so insistent and know me so well? "Fine! Yes, we had sex." I sighed, shaking my head again. The grin on her face was actually a little bit alarming. I had never seen a creepier smile on her face in my life. "But it was a one time thing." I added quickly, not wanting her to get ahead of herself or anything.

At my words, she cackled like a witch and grinned at me. "Yeah, okay. That's what they all say." She teased, eagerly bouncing her leg. It was clear that she was pretty excited about the news that Luke and I had had sex with one another. I sent her a slight glare and shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "Shut up. I'm not joking. It was just...just a chance to clear the air." I explained, letting out a heavy sigh in hopes that she'd drop the subject or at least that she'd believe me when I said it was only a one time thing. She just snickered and shook her head, eyeing me closely. "Okay, okay." She said, amused with how I was behaving. "So, what? What about Romeo? Are you guys still...." She raised her brows at me suggestively as she trailed off into silence, curious.

"Fuck buddies?" I finished, raising a brow right back at her. She smiled a bit and then nodded her head. "Yeah, that. You guys still doing that?" She wondered, cocking her head to the side slightly.

I gave her a small smile and lightly nodded my head, curling my legs up under myself on the couch. "Yeah." I confirmed simply, not going anymore into detail than that. She hummed and peered at me in thought, narrowing her eyes. "Speaking of Romeo," She began in a thoughtful hum. "What does he think of you and Luke doing the horizontal tango?" She asked, curiosity in her voice. I just stared at her, a smile threatening to break out across my face at her way of describing sex. "Actually," I sighed out, biting my lip. "He doesn't exactly know." I admitted hesitantly, sending her a sheepish smile.

She gaped at me, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What?!" She exclaimed, her jaw dropped open. I rubbed a hand over my bare face, feeling a bit embarrassed and ashamed. She had absolutely no idea how hard it's been resisting the urge to tell Romeo what happened between Luke and I. I should've, I knew that, but I couldn't. It was clear to me that he had specifically not wanted me to do that, and then I'd gone and done exactly that thing. It made me feel horrible. I mean, I didn't really owe him my loyalty because neither of us had ever promised loyalty to the other during our time with one another. Still, I knew he had never fucked another girl besides me since we started, and I had never been with anyone but him in general. Before Luke, that is.

The knowledge that I had broken my word on my promise that nothing had happened or would happen between Luke and I...it made me feel ashamed of myself. I'd always prided myself in being honest, especially in my friendships. I wasn't one for hiding things.

"Are you joking? Tell me you're joking!" She gasped, gaping at me in shock. I gave her another sheepish smile and slowly shook my head. "Unfortunately, no. I can't say that I'm joking because I'm not." I denied, crossing my legs so my feet were crossed underneath my thighs. Quinn let out a strangled noise of disbelief and practically shot up off of the couch she was sat on to come and join me on the one I was on. "How the hell have you not even told him? They're best friends! You live with Luke, for fucks sake!" She exclaimed, seeming very frantic about this whole thing. I watched her as she continued to rant and rave at me, waving her arms about like a lunatic while she tried to get her point across.

"Q, I love Romeo, but these last few weeks since Luke moved in with me...he's made it very clear he doesn't want me to even hug Luke. He got mad when we hugged on his birthday, for fucks sake. I don't even know how he'd react if I told him that we had sex." I explained, letting out a heavy sigh. Although I had originally not at all wanted to talk to anyone about this, not even Quinn, it felt nice to have someone to share everything with. She hummed in thought, listening closely to every word I spoke. "Hm, I think I see the dilemma. Still, though, Lia. You've been friends for years. Doesn't he deserve to know the truth, not as your fuck buddy, but as your friend?" She asked, frowning a little bit at me.

I sighed heavily and looked down at my fingers, thinking. "I guess so." I agreed softly, uncertainty bustling through me. Even with how certain I was that I should've told him, some part of me couldn't. I wasn't ready to. Not yet.

It seemed the truth would have to wait, at least for now.