Love Bites [on hold]

☆|ten

"This is ridiculous."

Natalie's head snapped up to face her friend, who stood behind the wooden table and was busy sorting DVDs into their acquired spots.

"You think?" Natalie asked, tryong to keep the pained edgeness from her voice.

"Absolutely," Lilly emphasized as she organised some discs into stacks according to genre. "Don't you think so?"

"If I knew what to think, then I wouldn't have come to you, Lily," She pointed out and leaned against the cashier counter, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why do you think it's ridiculous."

Lilliane reached on the tips of her toes and pushed the stack up onto one the empty shelves, then spun around to face her. "Well, obvioisly, it doesn't really sound convincing enough."

"And what are you expecting of a convincing stories, then?" Natalie backfired. She suddenly felt an innate urge to defend herself, even if it were against her own best friend.

Lilliane simply shrugged it off. "I don't have a particular theme, but getting to know a guy over textbook tutorials is definitely not an appropriate way to fall in love, Nat. I mean, look at it, does it sound right to you?"

She stared at the checkered flooring and dozed off through her thoughts. She tried to be completely neutral and rethink everything time and time again, but she came out empty-handed.

She shook her head in determination. "Yes, Lily, it does."

"But how can you?" Lilliane screeched. She crossed the space between them until she was directly facing her. Her hands shot up to grasp Natalie's shoulders and squeezed them, as if she were trying to get the piece of information into the brain of a three-year-old.

"Natalie, honey, listen to me," She pressed. Her dark eyes were lit with concentration that mixed with determination and a little bit of smugness, a desire to prove one's self. "The only moments Charles spent with you revolved around helping you get through school. There was nothing sentimental in that, trust me. And I'm sure he probably never thought of you that way before."

Natalie bit on her lip. "But you weren't there, Lil. When we were together there was always a lot of tension."

Lilliane's perfectly-plucked eyebrow quirked up. "How do you know if you're not the only one who felt it, though?" She inquired.

Natalie stared at her feet in defaeat. "I can't."

"Exactly!" Lilliane cried and shook her arms slightly. "You don't realize that the only thing you'll get out of it is pure humiliation and a low self-esteem."

"So you think I shouldn't tell him?" She asked as her fingers absent-mindedly fiddled with the hem of her blouse.

"No, Nat." Lilliane's look of determination faltered and dissipated into a frown. "I can't tell you what you should do and what you shouldn't do. Your decision is completely up to you, and I'm going to support you all the way. I'm only trying to help you, since you seemed quite interested in my advice earlier."

"And I still am, Lil," Natalie reassured with a weak smile. "I like listening to what you have to say, even if I don't completely agree with it."

Lilliane's face was expressionless as she nodded in understanding. "I'm glad to know I can help, even if by a little bit."

"Hey, there's a party tonight at the Golden Fountain. It can get your mind off whatever that's bothering you. Would you like to come?"