My Captive Heart

(XXIV) "Tell 'Em That We're Just Good Friends"

     Angel poured sunlight into the room to revive her languid friend.

To save herself from going blind, Isabella quickly gave her back to the window. "What do you want?" she whined.

Angel hovered over Isabella's backside. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young lady."

Isabella moaned in defiance.

"What happened last night?!"

The achingly, precious memories came back to her at once. "Close the blinds first."

"Fine." Angel snatched the blinds shut, allowing only faulty lines of the sun rays to seep into the room. "What happened, you little skank?"

The insulting name brought Isabella the energy she needed to turn around and strike Angel in the abdomen.

Angel only laughed as the burning in her core subsided quickly. "Buffy?" she sang, a moniker among Isabella's closest friends. "Tell me."

"Don't Buffy me," Isabella said, smirking as she sat up, trying to recollect the portions of the night before.

About 24 hours in advance, Isabella had called her housemates, Gina, Emma, and Angel, to inform them to find shelter for the night elsewhere. She gave no explanation with the order, though many questions were asked. But the girls did as they were told.

Angel was the first one to run back to the palace with her spare key.

When she walked into the house and took a peek in the dining room, her first thought was that Cupid came and vomited all over the place. The amount of unlit candles was plentiful and the enticing aroma was still spewing off the burnt wicks.

Angel flew upstairs to Isabella's room and bogarted her for answers.

"So, who the hell did you have dinner with? And fuck afterwards?"

Isabella sighed and locked her eyes into Angel's. "Do you have to be so provocative?"

"Look at this bed...look at this room," she said, pointing out the pillows scattered on the floor. "Who the hell was here?"

"Who else?" Isabella was offended.

Angel had a few guesses but was too afraid to voice them.

"I wanted to talk to you about it but I didn't want to be talked out of it."

"Out of conquering your second sex partner in life?"

"No!" Isabella found a calming focus point in her bare hands. "I won't conquer him until I'm married."

"Start from the beginning," Angel said, taking a seat on the bed.

"I called Prince..." Isabella purposely missed out on the disgusted reaction on Angel's face. "I wanted him to come over so we could enjoy our last night together. I'm leaving soon and when I come back, this house won't be the same with all of his things gone. I wanted everything to be perfect..."

...

"I never imagined us like this," Isabella said from across the small table, sized for intimacy.

"Like what?" Prince asked, completely ignoring the food in front of him. He couldn't decide if it was the tight, red dress Isabella wore or the overwhelming amount of candles in the room that threw him off more.

"Playing pretend. But I really needed this. I want to remember us in this setting. Happy, in love...Because it really matters to me how this all ends for us."