* don't judge the name choice. i kind of like both of them.
c u l v e r
〤
"I bet you can't fake date for a month without falling in love with each other." Ariel, one out of best friends, says. "There are rules: you have to sleep in the same bed, sharing an apartment doesn't count. You have to hold hands, but the first one to kiss the other and/or say 'I love you' loses. If you make it the entire month, I'll give you $200 each."
Carden didn't even look at me before he says, "Deal."
That was three weeks ago; we've almost made it through the bet. It doesn't help that I already liked him, but now I'm in love with him.
〤
Carden walks into my bedroom, turning the light off.
I look up at him, getting ready to protest, but the poor baby looks so exhausted, I just throw the covers back and scoot over. He crawls in the bed beside me, pulling my body close to his.
"Long day?" I ask him.
He nods. "So. Incredibly. Long. Three tests, two essays, and 6 homework assignments." He says, looking up at the ceiling. "Why didn't you stop me from taking on so much?"
"I tired! But you were a stubborn human and didn't listen to me!"
"Next time slap me until I listen."
"Ooh! No problem!"
"You sound way too excited to hit me!"
I shrug. "Eh, hitting people is fun sometimes."
I roll over, looking through the sliver of open curtain out the window. It's 2:56 AM, and I haven't been able to fall asleep yet. Only three more days. And then I can sleep alone. I can be alone. I can worry about my crush on my best friend without having to worry about breaking a bet. I just have to make it to Monday morning.
〤
My "alarm" is going off, and by "alarm" I mean Carden standing over top of me with a pillow hitting me and saying "get up" in a sing-song voice every morning at 7 AM for the past month.
I scowl, looking up at him I stretch and get out of the bed.
"You have way too much fun with that." I note.
"'Eh, hitting people is fun sometimes.'" He says, quoting me from last night.
We change and get ready, quickly eating breakfast and heading towards the campus for classes.
Ariel looks up from the picnic table she's sitting at.
"Sooooo...." she says in a sing-song voice. "Only three more days!!"
"Still going strong," Carden says.
She looks disappointed at that news.
"We better get going if we want to make it to History on time," I say.
〤
After school, I nearly collapse on the couch when we walk in, I'm so tired.
"What do you want to do on this fine Friday evening?" Carden asks.
"Sleep," I deadpan.
He laughs. "Well, if we go to sleep now, that would ruin your already poor sleep schedule, so how about we get some Chinese food, and watch a movie?"
"Sure," I say.
We've eaten and watched three and a half movies at this point. It's eight-thirty and Carden seems like he's distracted.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" I ask him.
He shrugs, turning to look at me. "Not much," he admits. "Just all the homework I've got to do."
I laugh. "If that isn't the truth,"
I sigh. "I'm going to go to bed early, you stay up as late as you'd like."
He nods, and I walk down the hallway to my bedroom, changing for bed and burrowing myself in the covers.
〤
"You must've been really tired last night, you didn't even wake up when I came in," Carden says.
I laugh. "Yeah, I didn't sleep the greatest the night before, plus school is just tiring,"
He nods. "Yeah, I've got to work on an essay today,"
"I have to work on some homework and an essay, too. I have an essay due on Monday,"
After we eat, we both return to our own rooms to work on homework. I'm not sure what class he has an essay for, but mine is for History.
Several hours and snack breaks later, it's six o'clock and I've finally finished all of my homework and my essay. I don't like to get behind on schoolwork— it's never a good thing.
〤
Carden just walked out of his room and nearly jumped for joy.
"I'm finished." He says. "I'm finished!!"
I laugh. "That's good!"
For dinner, we eat leftovers from last night and then watch a couple movies.
At 10:24, we start getting ready for bed. I turn the TV on, laying back in bed after I've changed and done whatever it was that I needed to do. Carden walks in a few minutes later, crawling in the bed beside me. He looks over at me, and there's a look that I haven't seen before; Carden and I have been friends for nearly six years, too.
Before I can stop myself, I say, "I love you."
Then, "Wait, no, I'm not supposed to-"
But Carden's lips cut me off, kissing me softly.
"What about the bet?" I ask, when he pulls away, cupping my face.
"Forget the bet, C, I love you," he whispers, kissing me again and pulling me closer to him. His lips press against mine gently, holding me close to him as he nips at my bottom lip, slipping his tongue in my mouth when I gasp against his lips. He moves, laying me back on the bed and leaning over me, kissing me softly.
When he pulls away, he looks into my eyes and his lips are swollen and red.
"I've wanted to do that since before the stupid bet even started," he whispers.
"Me too," I admit. "I've liked you since we were in eighth grade."
He smiles at me.
〤
Monday morning rolls around quicker than I thought possible.
Carden slams his hand down on the table. "We lost the bet," he says, a smile spreading across his face and lighting his features.
I smile too, grabbing his hand and pulling him closer to me. "I love you," I say softly.
Ariel smiles at the both of us. "I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. The only reason I even started the bet was to get you two together."
I shrug. "Yeah, I kinda figured," I say.
Carden laughs, turning to me and placing a small kiss against my lips.
"I love you too," he says softly.
2/8/2021
yeahhhhh.... this one sucked
