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15

I NEVER RESPONDED to Ramona's assumption because there wasn't an appropriate response to it. What could I have said; that I knew it all along and suspected his feelings too? That I didn't know about it and she seemed right? Either way, I'd be agreeing to her opinion and the conversation wouldn't end well.

For the next seven days, I tried to keep my distances from Marven to avoid raising suspicions in her. Then the eight day arrived; the day of the annual Halloween party.

I wore a brown crop top, yellow shorts and chunky heels to display my costume; a pear. That was the theme, wasn't it?

Leaning against a tree whose branches were covered in toilet paper, I caught sight of Marven. "You look gorgeous." He complimented me with a wide grin and I blushed. He suggested for us to take a few pictures together, and as he stood beside me, the scent of his cologne filled my nostrils. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder; the warmth of his body radiating onto mine. If I had any doubts prior to this day about my feelings for him, then it was all cleared now. I was indeed in love with him and desired for him to be mine.

But all good things must come to an end, they said. Our ending was Aileen, our mutual friend. (Now, when I say mutual, I mean she's made it public that she likes Marven, and we were only friends because we both didn't like him dating Ramona.) She walked into the compound in a lovely red cocktail dress and approached us. She nodded at me then began to strike a conversation with Marven. 

I had no right to be jealous; he was never mine and never will be. I saw the way Aileen's eyes lit up when she spoke to him, and I was reminded of the times she openly spoke about how she envied Ramona. At the time I thought she just admired being loved, but now I understood she admired being loved by Marven.

I excused myself from being a burden to them and headed straight for the snack bar. Food was the one thing that never disappointed me, and I was glad they were present whenever I was upset.

An hour of listening to sad songs later, I jogged towards the spot where I left Marven and Aileen to be. Aileen was gone by now, and Marven had his hands in his pockets and earphones plugged in. I sneaked up behind him and pulled out one of his earphones to listen to his music. He jumped back, but when he saw it was me, he put his arm around my shivering shoulder and we strolled in silence listening to songs about heartbreaks.

"Laurette, will you hang out with Ramona and Daelan once they start dating?" Marven asked as the songs were over.

"I don't know. I mean Mona has always been there for me, so if she needs me to accompany them to certain places then I have to."

"But I don't want you to."

"Why?"

"The reason we became close is because of I started dating Ramona. So if you're going to be with them then eventually you're going to replace me with Daelan just like Ramona did."

"Marven," I began, wrapping my arms around his neck, breathing in the smell of cologne as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "To me, you're irreplaceable."

"And you are too, for me." He said, before breaking our embrace. "There's still half an hour before the party ends, do you want to join me to the haunted trampoline park?"

"Yes!"

The two of us shouted, jumped and bumped onto each other, unleashing our inner child personalities. At a certain point, I was worn out and laid on the ground, grasping for air to my breath. Marven bent next to me and told me to lie still, while he'll attempt to make a jump.

"Hey Laurette," he shouted as he took a high jump. "I'm falling for you. Literally." And with that he fell right next to me.