The Perfect Promise

Chapter 6: The Proposal:

~Song Chapter: SNAP, Rosa Linn~

"The most amazing date, I've ever had", I heard Ben say for the hundredth time.

His date with Mark went great, and they had already planned a second one.

"I'm telling you-", he started.

"-It was amazing", Christine said at the same time as he did.

"Honey", she took his hand, "I love you and I'm happy you are happy and that your date went well, but if you keep saying the same things over and over again, I'm going to have to perform a lobotomy, and I'm not licensed to do that just yet."

Ben's eyes were wide open, and he pressed his lips together.

"In other news-", she turned to me, "Excited for the movie?"

I just gave her an angry look.

"Don't look at me like that. What's done, it's done. Not like you can uninvite him anyway."

I raised my brows. It wasn't such a bad idea; I could-

"Stop thinking about it.", she pointed a finger at me.

"How did you know I was thinking about it?"

"You have that look. The one that murderers before they kill someone.", she said, "I'm going to say this once, and only once Winter. You are forbidden from uninviting Cameron from the movies."

I was ready to disagree with her, but Ben interrupted me.

"Oh, that reminds me, I can't make it tonight. I have the date with Mark. It's the only free day we both have this week."

"That's fine, I'll just cancel your ticket.", she said, and I swear her eyes shined with an idea. I just didn't know what.

After a very long, long day with a picture of how mine and Cameron's kids would look like (I have to admit, they looked pretty cute), one with the perfect wedding dress, for our -apparently winter because Ben found it hilarious- wedding and one of a vanilla wedding cake, it was finally last period, which meant literature with Ms. Bell.

We were saying our opinions on the characters of our summer reading, 'Pride and money'. Not 'Pride and Perjure', the literal masterpiece, 'pride and money'. A woman who was so madly in love with some guy she couldn't see how he measured pride and money over his love for her and when she figured it out, she was -yes you guessed it- heartbroken.

Who was choosing those books? I really wanted to know.

I raised my hand and Ms. Bell nodded my way.

"I think that the protagonist was naïve. She was so focused on her love for him, that she couldn't see the signs. I mean the guy, even though he loved her, chose not to marry her, because her mother didn't have enough money to give him. He had a choice, between an easy life without love and a hard-working one full of love and he chose the first. She could have understood his character before. She was way too naïve-"

"She was in love, Winter", Cameron jumped into the conversation.

Ms. Bell's eyes met his and he deepen in his chair even more. His leg was bouncing under the desk, and his left hand was playing with his watch's handle.

"She was blinded by her love for him, yes, but that didn't make her naïve. It just means she loves with all her heart", his voice barely hearable.

"Correct Cameron, very good." Ms. Bell's eyes were shining. She loved a good argument between students. She proceeded on elaborating even more on the subject of love.

I just nodded and took notes.

How could you be so in love with someone, you didn't know who he really was?

How did you even know you were in love?

Five minutes later, we were walking to the bus. Ms. Bell had already assigned us a project on my least favorite topic -What is love and how strong it is? -, all according to the book. I think it was obvious I had no idea how to answer that, so I would just write exactly what I thought for the character of the book. How naïve she was to believe that love was something so strong it could break boundaries, that money and pride set. That would be enough. It was in a month, so I had plenty of time.

I know what you are thinking and, no.

No one broke my heart, into tiny pieces and made me hate love. My parents had a perfectly happy, healthy marriage. I simply had the mind of a scientist. I needed proof. And since I'd never felt love, in the way that consumed you, I found it hard to believe in it.

It seemed too good to be true.

"Car.", Cameron's voice, distracted me from my thoughts. No matter how fast I left class to hide on the bus, he always found me. Maybe he put a tracker or me or something like it.

I decided to accept it, and simply not talk to him when I was in the car.

After five minutes of the utter and complete silence I was giving him, Cameron spoke.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you, what was with all the... um comments, Christine and Ben made today?"

I knew -and feared- that this conversation would come up eventually. I wasn't going to avoid it. It's not like anything they said was even remotely close to reality, so I had nothing to hide.

"Well... they have created this fantasy, that you and I would be perfect for each other, because of the childhood friend thing we have going on. According to them, the childhood friends' romance is the perfect romance trope.". I could even hear them say it in my mind. I had that many memories. Just two days ago they had said it was 'The perfect love story'.

"But they don't even know me.", he chuckled.

"Yeah, that won't stop them."

He laughed even louder.

Was he enjoying this? I sure as hell wasn't.

"I don't think you understand. It became their goal to make us fall in love, and they're the most determined people I know. They won't stop until we date, not to mention get married. So, I'm glad you are enjoying this because that's how your life will be until the senior year is over."

His face went blank.

Huh. So, he hated this as much as I did.

I expected a lot of things from Cameron, but what he said next, I wouldn't guess in a million years.

"Then maybe we should."

"What?", I screamed so loud, I'm pretty sure the drivers next to us turned to make sure I was okay.

"Relax, I didn't mean it like that. Let's just pretend we are dating."

I was shocked. Speechless. For the first time in my life, I had absolutely nothing to say, just "Nooooo. Definitely no."

"Come on think about it. We will put on the girlfriend-boyfriend show for like a couple of months in front of your friends and then break up, in a very public, very angry way, so they have no choice but to never mention it again."

"No. No. No. No. I've seen enough fake dating movies to know how this trope ends and it's always the same. So, no. A definite and absolute no."

"Fine, okay. It was just a suggestion.", he said. I realized I might have overreacted a bit. Just a tiny bit. "Tell me if you change your mind.".

"I won't.", I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, so I could see outside the window.

The next seven minutes and twenty-five seconds were the most awkward of my entire life. Thanks to Ben and his panic texting, I manage to distract myself.

How could he think, I and him would be able to look like we were even in love?

We can barely stand each other.

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A/N:

It's been four days since I posted the first chapter, and it already has 50 views, I couldn't be happier. Thank you so much for reading!

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