soulmates [m.c.]

chapter three

"Alright, thanks for the ride, Mikey", I thanked my best friend, hugging him and getting out of Michael's car, slowly pacing my way through Max' front yard. As I reached his doorstep, I rang the doorbell. I waited for him to open the door for me, which took quite long today, but I didn't think too much of it.

Max greeted me with a kiss and a surprised look. "Wow, you're early. I expected you to be here in 20 minutes. I still have Lindsay over, but she was just about to leave anyway." I cringed. Even though I would never accuse him of cheating and wouldn't consider myself a typical jealous girlfriend, I was never exactly comfortable with Max hanging out with Lindsay. Lindsay was what you would describe as the dream of every teenage girl; she was rather short, just about 5'1 tall, but somehow her legs didn't seem to come to an end. She had silk-like dark brown hair which came down to her tiny waist and accentuated her tan perfectly. Even though I hated to admit it; she was absolutely gorgeous. The only thing about her that seemed to be a bit off were her eyes; they always had that kind of dull, almost black colour, but I doubt anybody besides me ever noticed this, as most people were taken aback by her obvious beauty.
    I, on the other hand, wasn't the exact opposite but nowhere near as stunning as Lindsay. My self-esteem differed a lot, from feeling somewhat acceptable looking to absolutely horrendous during my rather bad phases. I was extremely pale, even though I lived in Australia; my roots had started to grow out, showing my natural hair colour, which was almost black and stood in heavy contrast to the dyed light blonde hair which still had some purple in it from a hair experiment I had made a few months ago. Unlike Lindsay and many other girls at my school, I was rather tall, about 5'6 and a few freckles were visible on my cheekbones.
    I must had been lost in my thoughts for a while because Max looked at me questioningly. "I'm sorry, I wasn't listening, did you say anything?" I gave him an apologetic look, trying to ignore my jealousy and the fact that Lindsay was still in the house, probably listening to our conversation. He smiled at me, which sent chills all over my body. "I asked you whether you wanted to come in and join me and Lindsay or if you wanted to stay outside in the cold?" The laugh which followed resulted in me smiling even more and forgetting about my low self-esteem. That was the thing in mine and Max' relationship. Obviously, I trusted him and was truly in love with him but I was sometimes just scared he'd find somebody better than me, even this was quite unrealistic. I mean, I was his soulmate, after all! We were meant to be together! And after all, he always made me feel special and whenever we hung out I had the impression the whole universe revolved around me. Whenever he was around, all my doubts suddenly disappeared.
"Oh yeah it's so cold out here, I'm freezing my ass off" I replied sarcastically, running my hands up and down my bare arms pretending to actually be cold, blissfully ignoring it was summer and Australia, which, trust me, is never a good combination if you're looking for a place with less than 40 degrees.
Max laughed at my sass then opened the door further, making just enough space for me to enter the house. I followed him up the stairs to his tidy room. Lindsay was sprawled out over his king-size bed, holding a wii remote, apparently playing a round of Mario kart. Greeting her was rather weird as we did not know each other very well and she wasn't the type of person I was too keen on hanging out with. After our awkward hug, I sat down next to her while side-hugging my boyfriend awkwardly.
    We played some video games, but during the whole time, Max was being flirty with me, randomly touching my thighs and planting kisses around my face.
Lindsay left after a few hours, leaving me and Max to ourselves, cuddling and making out in his bed with some movie playing in the background. His left hand which had previously been running up and down my back, started to move towards my bra. He was just about to unhook it when my phone started ringing on his nightstand. It didn't stop for what seemed like ages so Max let go of me so I could check who was trying to talk to me so desperately. Initially planning to simply turn it off, I picked it up once I saw Michael's caller-ID lightened up my lock screen. "Hey Michael what's up?" I asked him cheerfully.  "Are you still at Max'? I'm in the area, if you want to, I can give you a ride home?" He replied with the same amount of happiness in his voice. I let out a relieved sigh. "Actually, that would be great. Thanks Michael, I'd have to take the bus otherwise. You're the bestest friend one could ever wish for, love you". He just replied with a laugh and told me he'd be over in five. As soon as he hung up, I realised Max' extremely pissed facial expression. "What is it with this guy that makes him so special to you? Seriously he's not even attractive or special in any positive way. I am your boyfriend, not that tall, awkward joke. When will you finally stop picking him over me? Gosh I am your soulmate! Why do you always have to fuck things up?!" Shocked at his sudden outburst, I wiggled myself out of his grip which had started to tighten around my waist again, got up, went downstairs and opened the front door. Before I closed it behind me, I looked at him with a blank expression on my face and simply stated "Good to know how you feel about my best friend. Maybe you should keep in mind that he at least respects me and does not play the childish games which you seem to love, like purposely making me jealous by constantly seeing other girls . He's been my best friend ever since I can remember and even though I really love you, I will not leave Michael behind just because you don't want me to hang out with my friends of the opposite gender while you are doing the exact same thing. I may be in love, but I am not stupid. " I slammed the door shut, leaving Max behind speechless.