Liar's Desire ✔️

22| Hot Cocoa

Hinata's POV

Everyday after school, I would ride my bike to the same place; a hill near my house that had a really nice view of the sunset. 

I used to go there a lot with Tiffany, Brooke, and Tristan. If we weren't such dirtbags, our friend group probably could've still been together. 

For around forty-three days, I've had similar dreams. Those dreams all had Carlos in them. 

Honestly, I forgot about him for a while. In fact, after he switched schools, I made myself forget about him because the thought that I had actually bullied someone haunted me. 

But of course, Tiffany complaining about Tristan not talking to her made me remember everything all over again. 

Tristan had always been outgoing but still kept to himself. Before our friend group had deteriorated, Tristan had always been a likable person. I would know because in all of our classes together, teachers loved him. 

Together, we all kept a video diary to record our friendship. In one of the videos, Tristan is laughing as Brooke put Tiffany on her back. We were all in an empty classroom together and the snacks that we were eating left crumbs everywhere. But of course, we cleaned up the mess and while doing so, we played music that Tiffany and Brooke were singing very loudly to. 

None of us even acknowledged Carlos's existence at the time, we were just a bunch of stupid teens that hung out in the same classroom every single day. 

During exam season, the school would put everyones exam grades up on the wall. At the top of the list was Carlos Alonzo. Tiffany got mad at him being at the top of the list and was saying things like, "Rolls Royce boy bought his way in so he probably bought his grades too," and "Carlos is so annoying! Why does he have to steal our opportunities?" 

Tiffany was studying for seven straight hours every single day plus, during her breaks at school, she was studying for the exams. Carlos's success really bugged her and suddenly, she was demanding us to do outrageous things. 

Tristan was really hard to read. He never shared his thoughts or opinions on things but when Tiffany took out the hair iron, that was my first time seeing Tristan snap. 

"You're crazy!" he exclaimed, "And you think this idea will be 'fun?' Tiffany!"

But soon enough, Tristan found it fun as well. That innocent smile on his face turned into something malicious. 

Sometimes, I couldn't help but wonder what could've happened if we just stayed as the happy and innocent friend group that we used to be. 

Now, all five of us were sitting at a cafe. I had ordered hot chocolate with a peppermint candy cane and was just stirring the candy cane in the hot chocolate. It was so awkward just sitting there with all of them. 

"We're all thinking the same thing, right?" Brooke said, "Carlos." 

"Yeah," Tiffany said, "Carlos." 

Tristan just sat there and stared at his hot chocolate. Something was on his mind but I couldn't put my finger on what. 

"Tristan," I began, "You also regret it, don't you?" 

He just ignored me and continued to stir his hot chocolate with his spoon. 

"Tristan?" Tiffany said, "You okay?" 

He just nodded his head and continued to stir his hot chocolate. Tristan wasn't the same Tristan that I knew about a year ago. 

"Do you still carry around that pocket mirror?" I laughed. He used to always look at his reflection using a small blue pocket mirror. 

"I punched a mirror," he finally said, "What good is a reflection that you can't recognize?" 

"You punched a mirror?" I said, "When did that happen?" 

"Not like you even care," he said, "The glass shattered and I—," He paused and continued to stir his hot chocolate. 

"It's going to get cold if you keep stirring it," Brooke said. 

"Cold like Tiffanys attitude," Tristan said. 

Tiffany rolled her eyes, "Gosh, you guys are so negative! We need to do something fun." 

Tristan mimicked Tiffanys speech using his hands and mouth. I giggled and Tristan looked straight at me. Honestly, I got scared just looking at his grimacing eyes. 

"The hill!" Tiffany exclaimed, "We used to go there often!" 

Suddenly, Tristan stopped stirring his hot chocolate and downed the whole cup in one go.

He slammed it on the table and slung his bag over his shoulder, "I left ten dollars on my chair. That should be enough to cover the cost of my drink." 

He left and Tiffany crossed her arms, "Tristans such a brat!" 

"Well," I began, "Take the fact that he punched a mirror into consideration." 

"He never tells me anything!" she exclaimed, "I hate it!" 

Brooke was just scrolling on her phone and to be honest, I just wanted to leave. 

I slung my bag over my shoulder and placed ten dollars on the table, "To cover my drink." 

What happened to the friend group I used to call home?