headline ; l.h

chapter 7 ; just breathe in

japanese wallpaper - breathe in

First week of Saturday detention. I don't want to be in this room alone with Luke while I'm writing an essay. I knew I had to face this somehow.

Mr. Babineaux comes in the detention room while I am sat still on the wooden armchair properly behaved. "Both of you are aware why you are here. I think that both of you two are completely talented in a way not everybody can have. I know that I have over reacted. This shouldn't even be the punishment to a minor offense. But I cannot hold back my word." He starts writing on the blackboard.

"Why is acting important?" is written on the board. Oh perfect. Acting, it's exactly what I'm doing. Acting nonchalant about a person that I actually love and care about. Acting and pretending are the same. I can pour my heart out on this essay. Mr. Babineaux, get ready to give me extra credits for this.

Mr. Babineaux each spares us two papers stapled to each other. "I'll be back in two hours. Behave, alright? I both trust in you."

I started writing on my paper. Why is acting important, really? On stage, acting is important because it's a way of expressing your feelings through a story. You are pursuing a character and you are showing the audience how you feel, how you cope with a situation, etc. But off stage, acting is unnecessary but is actually very useful. When you are stuck in a situation where you cannot show people your true colors or your true feelings, you have to act. You need to convince them. Acting is all about convincing people, tricking people, and being a different person.

"Emily." Luke pokes my shoulder, interrupting me from writing.

"What?" I say without looking up at him.

"What I did was wrong, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have done that." Luke apologizes. If he only knew what I felt when he kissed me, he wouldn't feel sorry. What he did was partly wrong and partly right. Wrong in a way because he was in the middle of something he should be cautiously deliberating about. Right in a way because he expressed his true feelings. Or was all really just a big mistake?

"A mistake?" I ask, not taking my eyes off from the paper.

"Yes. I'm sorry." Luke sat beside me and continued writing his essay.

It was just a mistake, he said it. I hate myself for thinking that there was actually a meaning behind that kiss. I hate myself for thinking that I actually have a chance with him. I hate myself for expecting.

An hour passes by without the both of us speaking a word. We both knew that it was going to be awkward after what happened. But we are best friends. We shouldn't act this way. I eventually will have to forgive him, so why not do it now? I have to forget what he made me feel. I have to forgive and forget.

"You know what?" I say in a calm way. He looks up from his paper and stares at me, waiting for me to say something. "We're fucking best friends. And best friends don't stay silent in a room when they're all alone. They talk. They have fun. I forgive you." I stood up and opened my arms widely for a big hug. He pulls me in and kisses me on a forehead. I guess it's a best friends thing now?

"I can never stand seeing you vulnerable." I quietly laugh into his ear.

"I knew you would forgive me, I just didn't know that it would be this early." He laughed back.

Our two hours of detention were up and Mr. Babineaux isn't back yet. We left our essays on his table and went out the classroom feeling victorious for making it out of detention alive.

(a/n): HI THIS IS QUITE SHORT BUT I HAVE A BETTER CHAPTER AHEAD OF U I LOVE YOU THANK YOU FOR READING THIS CHAPTER YAY I LOVE U