Behind the Scenes (A Cole Pendery love story)

Chapter 3

I opened my eyes, still heavy with sleep. I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds to shake off my sluggish haze. Just as I opened them again, Aliza marched into my room and threw open the curtains. Sunlight streamed into the room and was amplified by the entirely white interior.

"Morning, sunshine!" Aliza was always a morning person. When we were younger, she would get up at the crack of dawn to go for a run or cook breakfast.

"There's this thing polite people do before entering a room.. What is it again? Oh yeah, KNOCKING!" I threw the comforter over my head, blocking out the sunlight.

"Yeesh... cranky." Liza sighed as she jumped under the covers with me. She wrapped an arm over my ribs and her leg around my hip so that we were spooning.

"Get off of me." I tried to squirm out of her hold.

"Still not a morning person?" Aliza teased as she tightened her grip on me. I took a tip from Hermione: the more you struggle the worse it gets. I stopped resisting and allowed my cousin to cling onto me.

"What do you think?" Aliza asked, resting her chin on my shoulder.

"About what?" I turned to talk to her, eye to eye.

"The group, the guys, the girls!" Aliza's voice began to climb octaves.

"I didn't talk to anyone that much." I shook my head. I couldn't judge Alex or Lenox based on the few minutes we talked. Couldn't critique Gabe or Dana on how they introduced themselves.

"How could you when you spent the entire night with Cole!?" Aliza's nose wrinkled when she said his name.

I rolled my eyes. "It wasn't like that," I assured her.

"So you didn't like him, you didn't find him attractive?" I felt like I was being interrogated.

"Cole is very handsome but no, I do not like him. Besides, I have a boyfriend." I answered sternly.

"Oh, who cares about him! You and Cole would be much cuter." Aliza shook me. She had never been a fan of my boyfriend and always thought that he was wrong for me.

"I happen to think we're exceptionally cute together." I defended.

"Calm down Saucers, I'm just opening up a second door for you." Aliza mocked my boyfriend by using his nickname for me.

"Liza, stop." I warned.

"What? I'm stating an opinion... the opinion that Cole would suit you better." Aliza dragged the subject.

"He's a pretentious asshole. One moment he was cute, the next a dick. Hot then cold. Up and down." I stopped, not wanting to sound like Katy Perry.

"It's going to happen! I'm Team Cole." Aliza insisted.

I didn't answer, I was over the topic. We laid there in silence until Aliza found a new subject.

"Misha," Aliza whispered.

"Yeah, Liza?" I wondered what was on her mind.

"I'm glad you're down here. I've missed you." She said with a tight squeeze to my hand. Aliza had always been the more affectionate one between the two of us. She shared her feelings, allowed people to see all the folds and layers to her.

"Don't go all soft on me." I preferred to avoid sharing how I feel.

"Misha, I know you. I know who you are." She always had a way of getting the truth out of me.

"I missed you too, Liza." I rolled around to hug my cousin.

"I knew you did. Okay! Now it's time to get up." Aliza's pitch was higher than that of the birds chirping outside.