Duplicitous (F.C)

Three Musketeers

       My knock echos into Felix's room, and the door urgently opens revealing a polished Felix. "You look unreal." He invites me in by taking my hand and  twirling me around. "You clean up nice, handsome." He grins handing me a flower, it's a baby blue rose. "You didn't have to get me anything Felix." I smile at the light scented flower. "It matches your gown." Felix seems proud of himself for the gesture. "Well, here." Breaking off a stem, I place the rose into his pocket. "Care to join me for a quick snack before we have to socialize for hours on end?" He pulls out a bag of crisps, which happen to be the pickled onion flavor.

He holds out his hand for me to join him on the ground, which I don't hesitate to accept. As I make my way to the ground, I try to land gracefully sit beside Felix, but fall into Felix's lap. "Well, I pictured that happening a bit differently." Felix laughs while holding my head from hitting his desk. "It couldn't have been a more us moment." The two of us hold each other's gaze. "These last few months will be moments I cherish for a lifetime." He plays with the loose strands from my updo. "If this never had to end, what would be our story for the summer." That charming grin I've fallen for a million times throughout the semester appears on his lips.

"Seems very soul torturing, given our circumstances." He traces circles around my jawline, causing butterflies to roam inside my stomach. "Although, no one's lived an honest life if your soul hasn't been tortured just a little." I nod at his remark. "So, entertain me." A smirk falls onto my lips, knowing his boyish mind would take it another way. "After giving you the grand tour, we would sit by the lake and go for a swim. My family is very keen on tennis, so teaching you would have to be penciled in." The smile stays on his face as he lists off our itinerary. "We have a fancy dress dinner, which I have to warn you... my aunt Pamela, she's a yapper." I chuckle. "Venetia will probably want to spend more time with you than me during your stay."

"There's so much more that I could envision for us, Calliope." His tone falls flat again. "It sounds like a Summer  I'd be foolish to miss out on then, huh?" Felix's face scrunches with confusion. "If the offer's still on the table, do you think you could squeeze me in on your journey back to Saltburn?" His puzzled look is replaced with an excited grin. "You're in for a summer that you'll never forget." I had hoped it to be true, but anything but a flight back to America seemed too be a dream. "How'd your mum take the news?"

My silence told him everything. "It's a hard conversation, but you can't leave her in the dark, love." He was right, and sometimes I hated when he was. "Just for the night." He hesitates, but nods in agreement. Felix always understands where I'm coming from, but knows how to bring me back to reality. As much as he hides it from his friends, he goes through his own issues with his family, his curly-haired, flamboyant cousin being first on the roster.

"Shall we go join the rest of the riffraff then?" He stands up, reaching his hands out to me. "I suppose." Accepting his help, he pulls me up and pulls me in. "Wish we could stay in this bubble forever" my smile forms against his chest. "If only we could be the be so lucky."

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"Do you think you'll head home?" Oliver doesn't hesitate with his answer. "Honestly, I don't ever think I'll go home again." Felix passes me a look while Oliver stares at the stream in front of him. "What about your mum?" It saddened me to know Oliver never really had a place to call home. "You know the first time I ever felt the inside of my mum's throat, I was eight. My dad told me I had to sick my fingers in to make her sick, otherwise... she'd die in her sleep." Oliver looks in our direction. "So, home doesn't mean the same for me as it does for you Felix."

It hurts to have the feeling of growing indifferent from the ones that are supposed to care for you at your lowest. "The fucking filth of the place." He shudders at the thought. "The mess, I can't do it. Just can't." I wrap my arms around Oliver's shoulders. "Oh, Ollie." Felix gives me a nudge as the three of us fall silent. "Come with us to Saltburn." A smile falls on my lips, but Oliver still looks down. "No." Oliver quietly replies. "It's too much of an imposition." Felix looks to me for backup. "Oliver if you're not going home, then where are you going to stay? He shrugs. "You can't let what your parents taught you to believe get in the way; you deserve a worry-free summer."

"I would feel weird." Felix shrugs him off. "Mum lets friends stay months at a time." He takes a sip from the bottle before continuing his bargain. "If you get sick of Calliope and I, you can leave." Oliver looks at me surprised by the news. "You're not going home?" I shake my head. "Three musketeers for the summer, what'd ya say?" His hesitation worries me. "I'm in."