Lessons [completed]

Hot Gossip

Jynx's POV

On Friday, the lunch squad (plus Trisha and Kira) decided to have a party at Lindsay's house. Her parents were filthy rich—possibly three times as rich as Emily's.

The mansion, large and geometric, sat atop a hill among other mansions, as if they overlooked the trashy town that their kids indulged in. The exterior was a deep brown, but the inside tended to be white, gray, silver, or black. The furniture was inviting, and each room echoed a warm greeting.

"Is this really your place?" I asked, looking around with wide eyes.

Emily slapped my shoulder, and I laughed when I looked over at her. She scolded me with her eyes, crossing her arms into her big brown sweater.

"Yes, this is really my house. I know it's a bit big, but my mom is an actress!" She defended herself. I noticed that her bright red lipstick remained perfect no matter what she did with her mouth.

Elaine snickered at the thought of Lindsay's mom. Jack, on the other hand, smiled at that thought. That made sense.

We all sat down in her gigantic living room, which had luxurious fur carpeting and multiple black couches. I took one couch with Emily while Lindsay and Jack took another couch. It was a rule within the squad that couples wouldn't be treated as just friends. We didn't want that for ourselves.

"So, what's up?" Trisha asked.

Kira looked over at her (they were sitting next to each other but with some distance between them) with the dreamiest eyes, and it got me wondering about those two.

Tim cleared his throat and spoke up. "We've been hearing a lot of gossip lately. Elaine, I heard you were hit on with a guy!"

Everyone started giggling to themselves because everyone knew.

My bestie replied, "Oh, shut up! At least both majority genders consider me attractive. . ."

The whole group continued laughing at her, and her pasty cheeks turned a dusty rose color. She buried her face into her hands, getting her black hair stuck to her face. When she removed her hands, her raccoon eyes were a tad smudged.

"C'mon, tell us what happened!" Emily hollered.

Unfortunately, the egging on didn't encourage Elaine in a positive way.

Some backstory: Elaine is a total bitch to people she doesn't like. Instead of just being passive aggressive and salty, she's a full on asshole. That means Emily. Now, I love Elaine, but it's a struggle when I also love Emily.

So, when Elaine heard Emily be a little rude, she burst. "Me? Why don't you tell us what you're doing with Hunter?"

Everyone stopped laughing at once. Elaine glared at Emily, and Trisha and Kira uncomfortably stared at each other.

Emily cleared her throat and tilted her head away from me. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," said Elaine.

"I don't know what—"

"I've heard what you're doing with Hunter. He's a bragger. Apparently, he made out with you last Tuesday," she said.

I was stunned. The small part of me that still trusted Emily and her fidelity was crushed by the rest of me. I had no faith left. There's a reason why I'm an atheist. I'm a lesbian, and I have no faith in people that seem perfect.

"Elaine, please—" Kira chimed in.

"Are you gonna admit to it?"

"Elaine!"

"That you cheated?"

"ELAINE!" Kira screamed.

Elaine and Emily watched each other sadly, as if they both knew it was true and it bothered neither of them. Honestly, it didn't bother me either. I wanted to break up with Emily because of it, but I wasn't ready. I still loved her and wanted her to be my wife.

Maybe she could be the sexy, rich wife that cheats on me while still only marrying me. I'd consent to that.

Kira continued, "That is extremely inappropriate! You have no idea what's happening between Emily and Hunter. Just because she's tutoring him, doesn't mean it has to be romantic!"

However, she gave up fairly quickly, as if she was indifferent on the topic.

Trisha budged in. "Where'd you hear that from, anyways?"

Elaine looked away from Emily, as if retreating her attack. "Lots of the popular kids. I heard Hunter's been bragging about it."

"Well, he's a liar. You can't trust a popular boy like him," Emily growled. She made eye contact with me and snatched my hands into hers. "Jynx, I love you."

I smiled weakly, only believing the part where he's a popular boy. I gave her a small kiss on the lips and didn't verbally reply.

Reese said, "Okay, now that that's over with, does anyone wanna catch me up on these two?" She pointed to Kira and Trisha.

Kira, as usual, was watching Trisha closely. Trisha showed barely any interest, but she would tense up shyly whenever Kira moved closer.

"Nothing's going on between us!" Trisha groaned, looking over at Kira with disapproval. "She just has a creepy crush on me or something."

Emily smiled a bit, which I enjoyed seeing.

Jack nudged Trisha. "Everyone has a crush on Kira, so what's your excuse?"

Lindsay should've been offended by that since Jack implied she had a crush on Kira too, but literally everyone wants to screw Kira, so it's chill.

"I don't have a crush on anyone. I'm not interested in that stuff."

"Asexual?" Elaine asked.

"None of your business!" Trisha retorted. "You're being a real bitch today. Watch it."

Everyone let out an energetic yip at the sass.

"I was just asking. Cool it," she said.

After we all hung out, which was amazingly awkward, I drove Emily home.

"Did you really make out with Hunter?" I asked her as we pulled out of the driveway.

She sighed and shook her head. "Of course not, Jynx. I'd tell you if I was cheating. You don't deserve to be cheated on."

"That's kind of funny because you actually did cheat on me one time without telling me."

"He kissed me, though," she replied.

"I know, but it was still a kiss."

She said, "I know. I should've been more honest with you, but I'm sorry. I hope we can move on from that because I want you to trust me. I want us to be honest with each other! Please."

What did she want me to say? We both knew she was cheating. Even if Elaine wasn't telling the whole truth, I was positive that she still had feelings for Hunter. There was no doubt in my mind that her heart skipped a beat when he stepped into her house to study. I used to be that person to her, and now it's Hunter. It's hard to forgive that.

"I forgive you," I sighed, trying to express my discontent with the situation.

She didn't reply or make any obvious movements, though I knew she felt guilty. I wanted that. There was no hope for her to stop, but if anything was gonna stop her from cheating it was going to be me.