Last × CTH

III - Insta-Celeb

I ended up treating Michael to some takeout Nandos since we already had pizza earlier at lunch.

"We're not gonna have fastfood delivered to us everyday, Michael. Get ready to eat some good and healthy food," I said as we munched over spicy chickens.

"You're a good cook anyway so I'm good," he said back.

After eating, we hung out in the living room, just catching up on things that happened while I was gone.

"You're such a gossip girl, you know. You know so many gossip yet you're a guy," I mused, laughing as I realized this.

"Shut up," he said. "So, you saw him earlier?"

I quickly shut up, not because he told me to but because of the topic he chose to talk about.

"Yes," my tone clipped, looking down at my hands.

"You have to act like you don't care, Cassie. Act like you're over it because that's what you made him believe," he reasoned out and he was right.

"I know what I have to do, I'm just--I know you know the real deal and it's only with you I can say these things and actually be miserable, so let me sulk," I mutter.

"You're a lame girl, you know?" he said as a matter-of-factly. I eyed him and he shrugged, not at all sorry. "Let's just watch a freaking movie. Put Big Hero 6 on. You'll love it, Cashy."

I obeyed as I don't have any plans for tonight. I don't wanna go out because I don't have a place to go, no friends to go out with, there's only Michael but he's a couch potato. Besides, I'll start class tomorrow. I don't even have to worry about paperwork. They already had it covered. Middle of the semester and they were able to admit me. Oh, what money can do. But it's gonna be a bit hard for me. Hopefully, the profesors will take it easy.

Shortly, Hiro Hamada is onscreen, playing innocent over being a magnificent bot fighter.

x

x

x

The faint snores breathing right in my ear woke me.

I flutter my eyes open and found myself in the couch beside Michael. He probably shifted in his sleep so his mouth was directly in front of my right ear and his snore became too uncomfortable for me.

Careful not to wake him up, I untangle myself from his heavy limbs.

The TV is still open, I notice. I turn it off and start to gather our mess. The bag of chips we had, some microwaved popcorn bits. Mornings like this are normal.

It's like Michael and I are live-in partners.

I cringe at my thought, finding it disgusting. Michael has been my longest friend and I, his. We practically grew up together, knowing each other in ways others don't know us both. But the sitch is, we're not really informed of each other in other things, personal things. I don't know his folks, he doesn't know mine.

He knows I like cheese on my pizza and I hate pineapples in them. But he doesn't know my parents' names. He prefers not to. He's seen them once and knew how bad they were to me and prefers not to know them any more. I know he likes sleeping with the light on but I don't know any of his relatives except his really, really cool uncle John. This house is John's house, and I also don't know why Michael stays here but John told me I can stay here as Michael does so I do.

I go straight to the kitchen to wash dishes and prepare breakfast, looking in the fridge and settling for bacon and eggs.

7:14 AM.

I still have a lot of time for school which starts at 9 AM and I will be driving my mustang to school which is uber fast.

As soon as breakfast was done, I wake up Michael, playing Paramore's That's What You Get on the house's component from my phone. This house has a high-end speaker system since that's what Michael and I do here frequently. Play music and play instruments. The living room can easily be turned into a mini-studio with a mere push of the couch to the wall.

Directly under the stairs facing the living room is a little door which serves as a compartment for all our instruments. There's another, larger door or closet which has the drums and other recording and music stuff.

Michael stirs, jumping, almost falling off the couch as Paramore blasts the first notes which are really shock-inducing and loud.

"FUCK!" he shouts and I lower the volume.

"Goodmorning, little shit," I grinned at him.

"Fuck you," he mutters, rubbing his eyes.

"Ditto, Cliffo. Breakfast's ready," and I went back to the kitchen. He followed as I expected him to and we ate in comfortable silence.

"You clean up this time," I say and quickly went up the stairs to my room. Washing up and changing into other clothes.

It's awfully cold today so I settled for a pair of black skinny jeans and black converses--really, though, the jeans and converse are a given--and a dark gray hoodie.

No makeup, I'm not trying to be pretty for anyone, I told myself. Just my usual powder and light colored lipstick. Grabbed my backpack and stomped down where Michael seemed to have cleaned up the dishes and himself, too.

"Why do girls take long to prepare yet look the same?" he mused as he saw me go down.

"Why do guys not try to be douches and be nice for once?" I throw right back at him to which he smiled wolfishly.

"Wanna ride in my mustang today?" I asked, my eyes lighting up.

"I don't have class 'til 10:30 but I wanna experience some sweet ride," he stands up and we proceed to the door, locking it as we went out.

"This is neat, Cass. Real sweet," he breathes as he sits next to me in front, ogling over the high-tech-ness of the car.

"I know right?" I squealed, unable to contain the excitement. I don't think this will ever go away though, this is just me with cars. Squealing highschool girl, going heart-eyes over a car. Yep, Casandra, that's me.

I started the engine and sighed again as I heard its steady purr. I slowly eased us out of the parking space. In a few minutes we were out in the highway.

"You do still remember the way to the university, right?" he teases, where I stepped on the gas in response, pushing him back to his seat, his one hand grabbing the door, the other grabbing his seat tightly.

"Of course, I do, Michael," I said, a naughty smile in my lips.

"Cassie, don't fucking kill me!" he wailed, eyes wide as the town flew by quickly through our windows, I'm going over a hundred, I think. I quickly eased off the gas because I don't want a ticket.

I laughed, this is exhilarating. It almost tore me apart to slow down even more as I see the large university building by the highway, not so far away now.

"Well, even if you don't kill me, you'll be the center of attention soon enough," he says as we eased onto the university parking lot.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said truthfully and scanned the lot for a good parking space. Miraculously, as we arrived quite early because of my insane driving, I got a good spot. After killing the engine, I proceeded opening the doors and climbing out.

"See?" Michael laughed as I looked over him as he climbed out of his seat.

True enough, the majority--if not all, though I think all of them--of the students hanging out in the parking lot before classes start that morning are looking over us, or maybe me, or maybe the car. The dork's right.

I was the center of attention.

I didn't really care about all of them watching but directly across me in the lot, against the hood of his car, Calum looks up to look at me from kissing Cara.

Ow.