More Than Meets the Eye

Chapter Nine

Freddie's Point of View

I was frustrated. Things were not going the way I had anticipated. I wasn't sure how long I could keep this going; I wasn't sure how long I could go pretending I didn't know what Auston was up to when Addison wasn't around.

At first, it surprised me, when he unveiled he was in a relationship. I was happy for him; I couldn't believe he was changing his ways, and beginning to settle down; but I was wrong.

I discovered he was cheating only a month into their relationship. I walked in on them making out, much to Auston's embarrassment. I didn't care; I wasn't going to tell Addie, it wasn't my place. But then, I got to know her. And I realized I wanted to tell her. She deserved better.

I couldn't stop thinking about her; she consumed my thoughts. Soon enough I realized; I had feelings for my best friend's girlfriend. Yikes. I'm sitting out on the balcony, trying to figure out my next move when I hear a shiver come from behind me.

"Oh hey, what are you doing here?" I ask, although I'm not entirely surprised; this was one of the places I could always find her when she was here.

"I could ask you the same thing" she tells me, and I guess she's not wrong. She sits on the swinging bench beside me, and joins me looking out into the beautiful city. I had to agree with her; sitting out here was peaceful and calming.  "Everything ok?" She asks and I gulp. By the look on her face, I could tell she knew that something was off; lying was not an option. I debate a little while before I answer her.

"Everything is just so complicated" I breath, putting my head in my hands. Why did I have to get feelings for her? Why did I have to walk in and discover what Auston was really up to? "I really just don't know what to anymore" I add, being cryptic but truthful.

"To do anymore about what?" She asks me, and I can tell she's growing worried there's something truly wrong.

"It's about the girl" I continue on being cryptic. "I just- I can prove it but I don't know if I want to" I grumble. And this was the truth.

"What? Why wouldn't you?" She asks me. We had discussed it on numerous occasions; and she had agreed to help me prove it, obviously not realizing it was her I was referring to.

"It's hard to explain" I tell her, and I can tell she's getting pissed with me being so cryptic.

"Fred," she starts, inching closer to me. "What's going on with you? There's something up not only with you, but with you and Auston" I'm floored; how did she notice? I guess I wasn't exactly subtle in my looks to him constantly, and the pair of us always seemed on edge when the other was around. He was terrified of me spilling his secret, and I was terrified of him figuring out mine.

"What do you?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know" she dismisses me before I'm even able to fully form a sentence. "I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noticed" she adds, and I really hope she's wrong. I didn't think anyone else had noticed; they surely would have asked one of them about it.

I don't know how to answer. I look at her, willing for all of this to go away.

"I don't want you to hate me" I say quietly, looking over the city to distract myself from the conversation I do desperately did not want to be having.

"Freddie, why on earth would I hate you?" She asks me. I know she's probably confused by this, and I accept it's time I stop being so cryptic. "And I don't want to complicate things with Auston"

"Just tell me! Please" she sounds frustrated at first, before softening her tone. I sigh, unlocking my phone and finding the picture I had wanted to show her. I put it in her hands, and she looks confused. "What is-?"

"Proof." I reply, maintaining eye contact with her. I can tell she's confused; she doesn't understand what she's looking at. It takes her a moment, before a wave of emotions washes over her. Should I have showed her? Was I doing the right thing?

"Proof.." she trails off, handing me back my phone. I can't tell what she's thinking, but I wonder if she's piercing together the fact that the girl I've been referring to is her.

"Is the girl me?" She asks me, and now I have no choice; I can't lie.

"Yes." I say in a soft whisper. I feel a lump in my throat as the word leaves my lips. "The girl is you, Addie" I feel guilty. Guilty for putting this on her. Guilty for telling her about Auston. "I'm sorry- I shouldn't have said anything" I tell her, mentally cursing myself.

"I- I don't know what to say" she fumbles over her words. The guilt washes over me all over again.

"I shouldn't have told you, it's not fair to you or to Auston" I say, scrambling. There was no way to take it back now, she knew. She knew and there was nothing stopping her from going and confronting Auston.

"Freddie, I have a confession to make" she blurts out, and I focus all my attention on her. She looks worried, just as I did moments ago.

"What is it?" I ask her, my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

"I don't want you to hate me for this either" she tells me softly.

"I won't" I assure her, and it's true. She was a wonderful, giving person; she didn't deserve to be dating someone who was cheating on her.

"Auston and I... we're.. I mean we're not actually dating" she chooses her words carefully, but I don't understand.

"What do you mean?" I ask her, at a loss for words.

"His agent- he wanted to give him more positive PR. He was seeing too many girls, and the media was not liking it. They asked me- and I don't know what prompted me to say yes, but I did" she's rambling and avoiding looking at me.

"So, you've been faking it?" I ask, surprised. It was definitely not what I was expecting her to say. But the more I thought about it, the more I could see how true it was. The didn't act like your typical couple, but I never read too far into it.

"Yeah... we have been" she sighs, closing her eyes. I turn my attention from her and look out towards the sky; I can't believe it. She wasn't actually dating my best friend; I didn't actually ruin their relationship, because it never existed! As happy as I felt, I was also hurt he couldn't trust me with this information. "You're not mad, are you?"

"Mad?" I ask, taken aback she cares about how I'm taking it. I don't think mad is the right word; though I'm not sure exactly what the right word is. "No, no I'm not mad..." I trail off, now not knowing what to say. Where did this leave us? Where did this leave her and Auston? Would their fake relationship end? Would it continue?

"I didn't do it to deceive you- I also didn't think we'd become so close" she tells me honestly. I know we have to address the fact that I like her, but I'm not sure how to bring that up. "I didn't know I'd wind up hurting anyone" Her words are a blow; because now I know what she's addressing. "I can't say I don't feel the same- I honestly just- I don't know" she fumbles on her words, and a sadness overtakes her.

"Addie, please don't cry" I whisper, as I note she begins to tear up. "I didn't want to put this on you, I'm so sorry" she puts her head on my shoulder, and I begin to rub her back. "I'm here for you. I'll help you through this as best as I can" I tell her honestly, and I mean it.

"Thanks Freddie" she sniffs, and we fall into a comfortable silence. We sit like this for awhile; I'm not really sure how long, both deeply absorbed in our own thoughts. I was a little hurt she didn't feel the same, but I couldn't dwell on that. I was just glad she didn't hate me for showing her the other side of Auston.

I didn't look forward to, however, the moment Auston was to find out she knew; he would certainly know it was because of me.

"I don't want to mess up things between you and Auston" she gets up from her position, And wipes the tears from her face. "I won't tell him you told me. I don't know what I'll do, but I don't want to cause any issues with you guys" I know she probably has to stay in a relationship with him, because that's what her agreement was, right?

"What will you do?" I ask, feeling sympathetic. She shrugs, not having a clue.

"Nope. But I'm sure with your help I'll figure it out"