My Sister's Best Friend [T.Chalamet]

7

I took a taxi—well,  a cab—to Theo's house. My phone was buzzing from Sabrina's messages. I declined her call as I gave some money to the cab driver and walked into Theo's house.

The music was blaring loudly, covered by the crowd, and the treaters screamed and burst into bursts of laughter and cheers. I entered a messy room with empty bottles laid on the ground, waiting for someone to trip over them. I was almost a victim. As for the people in this crowded area, they reminded me of the beer bottles: empty and useless. As I stepped over the god-awful mess, I noticed the couples hidden in the corner of the sofa. I moved away towards the other side of the room, engulfed with smoke and the stench of weed.

I continued to walk through the house, leaving the main room, as I ignored the glares from the men. I adjusted the dress, pulling it further down to cover my legs more. I found an empty seat and sat down, looking across the room. Instantly, I see his brown hair contrasting with the red shirt he is wearing. I get up and walk towards him, but somebody grabs me. It's Sabrina.

"Y/N!" She yells and pulls me into a hug. "You came! Now that the bar is right over there, let's get you a drink."
She grabs my hand, pulls me over to the bar, and asks what I want.

"Just a soda and ice." I reply, and she turns to look at me, her face perplexed.

"I don't drink," I say awkwardly as I play with my fingers. It's not time to tell her the true story of why I left Ireland. Why did my school expel me? Or my poor drinking habits. I am trying to change. That's why I came to New York, after all.

Sabrina just shrugs her shoulders and asks for another drink for herself and my soda. We sit there together, making small conversations as we finish our drinks. By the time I finish one soda and ice, Sabrina has 3 more drinks.

Suddenly, the music became louder, and the room grew smaller as more and more people joined and began to dance. Sabrina placed her glass on the table and grabbed my hand, despite my protests. She brought us to the centre of the crowd and jumped to the beat of the music, throwing her hands in the air. I grew more agitated and uncomfortable as I looked around. The girls threw their hands up in the air and were dancing, swinging their hips to the beat of the music, completely careless of the men behind them wrapping their arms around their hips. I felt the air shorten near me; it felt as if I had shrunk. Sabrina became blurrier to me, and instantly I began to feel sick. I pushed through the crowd and exited the room.

I found an empty bedroom with a balcony. I opened it for some fresh air and stood there. I placed my hand on my chest and took deep breaths to slow my heartbeat. As soon as I felt my body relax, I heard a sound. I turned to see Lorenzo standing in the corner of the balcony wearing a black hoodie, his hood covering his face as if he were trying to hide from the crowd. Weird.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack, Lorenzo," I said, placing my hand on my chest.

He smirked and walked closer to me so that he stood next to me. "I'm sorry," he pouted, then smiled. I returned the smile and placed my arms on the balcony as I stared at the sky, which was mostly towering with buildings and skyscrapers. It was New York after all. We stood in silence together, just staring at the sky, yet out of the corner of my eye, I constantly saw Lorenzo making small glances at me, but it was comforting. I liked it. I liked what Lorenzo made me feel. I had not felt it in a long time. comfort.

"So, what made you come here?" he asked.

I jolted in surprise. "What?" I asked, but it came out as a mere whisper.

"Why did you leave your home? Move here to New York. One of the most unenvironmental states of America," he stated as he pointed his arm at the towering skyscrapers spread across in front of us.

"just..." I shrugged my shoulders to make it look like there was no specific reason, but my mind raced a million thoughts as it tried to come up with a suitable excuse. What could I have said? I got kicked out of school. But ironically, it was not my fault yet. Who would believe me? At least not my parents. Or Saorise. "I felt like it. I guess. New York is better than Ireland; besides, I did a lot of things I'm not proud of."

He hesitated, waiting for me to continue. I didn't. Then he stepped forward so that he was closer to me. Still staring outside the balcony, he asked, "May I ask what you did?"

I stared at the skyscrapers for a few seconds, zoning out. Then I realised I still had not answered Lorenzo's question. A few syllables escaped my mouth as I tried to come up with a reason, but that changed as I plastered a smile on my face and turned to look at him. "Nothing too bad. Just the usual." I spoke.

Lorenzo must have understood as he changed the subject. Still staring at the landscape, he stated, "Do you ever wonder if there was more to life than what was planned for you?"

"By God?" I asked.

"No, no," he said, shaking his head, "everything is just always made by your parents. What if, for once, you had the right to make your own choice? You know, mother, I do not want to attend Harvard Law; I want to."

"You want to do what?"

"Mother," he whispered, turning to look at me. "My whole life, Ronan I have been with Leighton because of my parents wishes. They believed us to be the ultimate couple. The right couple. Yet what if I made my own choice and chose who I wanted. Became the man I dreamt of being my entire life."

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at him, "it's your choice, Lorenzo. Be whoever you want to be. I say you only live once so fuck it."

He chuckled but then looked at me and smiled, "Thanks, Ronan," as he placed his arm on my shoulder and rubbed his thumb in circular motions on my shoulder.

"No problem," I said as I gave him a light shove on his shoulder.

He rubbed it, pretending that it injured him, "you're perfect," he whispered, thinking I did not hear it but then I guess he must have realised he whispered it loudly. He froze in his steps, waiting for my response. I stood, frozen like a statue, completely unsure of how to respond. The last person that I had opened my heart to had completely shattered it into pieces and not bothered to pick it up and fix it. I cleared my throat and tucked my hair behind my ear. It failed. Just as I was about to do it again, Lorenzo moved forward and tucked my hair behind my hair.

He did not move.

He remained in this position, his face mere inches away from mine, slightly leaning in. I smelled his scent of perfume mixed with his warm, minty breath that blew in my face as he took heavy breaths near me. My heart began pounding more and more, ready to leap out of its cage. As he slowly leaned in, I felt myself naturally close my eyes, which made me feel my heart pounding against my chest even more. I let out slow breaths, hesitatingly, as Lorenzo slowly leaned in. Just as his lips were about to touch mine, the door opened, which made us both leap onto opposite ends of the balcony.

Sabrina stumbled into the balcony with a boy but then paused as she saw the both of us, "Sorry," she whispered but then giggled, "we did not know anybody has this room." She looked at Lorenzo, who was glaring at her.

"No, it's fine," he said as he got up and walked towards her. He clenched his jaw and uttered to her, "it's all yours to her," as he walked out of the room and back into the party. Sabrina hiccupped, then looked at me, giving me a small wave as she grabbed the hand of the boy and exited the room.

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(1457 words)