Blurred Lines | ✓ [1st Edition]

28 | Catching Up

"Let's be alone together,
We could stay young forever."

"It's been awhile," Bianca said, her voice full of confidence. Sitting straight in her chair, she looked as if she was posing for an artist instead of having a cup of tea with me.

"It has," I answered, taken aback by how different the atmosphere felt. Before, I was always wary and on guard around her, and the air was always filled with tension. But today, as we sat at the campus cafe with dainty teacups in our hands, I couldn't help but feel relaxed.

"I heard you and Joshua are dating," I mentioned eagerly, perched on the edge of my seat. Bianca rolled her eyes and waved my excitement away.

"That's old news, Marissa. He's too nice for me," she sighed.

"Oh. But I'm sure that there are other boys," I offered, smiling slightly. Bianca rolled her eyes and scoffed as if I stated the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, of course. They keep coming, boy after boy. It gets kind of tiring sometimes," she sighed, before frowning slightly.

"But lately, there are fewer boys. Probably because that of that nerd that keeps following me around. Ugh, I already told him that we'll only work on our project after school, where no one can see us. But he keeps going on about how he doesn't know where we'd meet. As if!" Bianca scoffed, flipping her hair.

"And this boy is...?"

"Who do you think?" Bianca snorted. "It's Niklaus Waters!"

With raised eyebrows, I giggled slightly, only to shut up when she shot me a scathing glare.

"Do you not understand, Marissa? He's such a nerd! And he talks back too," Bianca muttered, her pretty face forming into one of pure frustration.

"Niklaus Waters is pretty cute, though. A little dorky, but in an endearing way. Do you know how many girls of his kind practically worship him?" I reasoned with a giggle.

"I do not care how many other nerd girls like him! He is still a nerd that takes sarcasm way too seriously," Bianca complained with a pout. At this, I raised an eyebrow and eyed her with amusement.

"Maybe he likes you," I teased, causing her to immediately wrinkle her nose.

"Gross!" she whined, crossing her arms. I didn't miss the sparkle in her eyes, though. Content with her reaction, I gave teasing her a rest and took a sip of
my rose tea.

"I see you've landed yourself a catch," she continued after some silence, and took a sip of her tea. Her sharp eyes watched me over the smooth brim of the cup, searching for hesitance and motive. Despite that, I managed to smile. It seemed like that was all I could do nowadays, whenever I thought about Yuko.

"Yeah," I replied, my smile still ever-present on my face. "Yuko's been great."

Bianca nodded, setting her cup on the table with a soft sigh. I noticed, since the beginning of our meeting, the faint bags under her eyes and the exhaustion that seemed to cloud around her. My eyebrows creased with concern for this old friend of mine.

"How have you been?" I asked softly. Bianca's eyes shot up to meet mine, a flash of shock passing through her eyes.

"Fine," she snapped quickly, covering up her tracks.