My Brother's Bestfriend → kuwonu(discontinued)

VIII

It was worse than she thought.

The party barely started an hour ago and people were already losing themselves. From what Paige could observe from her view on the balcony, couples were half-dressed, nearly sucking each other's faces off, a few intoxicated people attempted to dance on top of the glass dining table as if the thing didn't cost more than their lifespan and just moments ago, Paige watched in utter shame as a girl tried to wash her undergarment in the sink for five minutes until she gave up, leaving the piece of lingerie there.

Honestly, Paige didn't even know why she bothered attending this event. Although it is her penthouse, she would rather be in her room, moping about going back to Yeehaw land. And yet, here she is, standing awkwardly alone, in an Elie Saab dress that no one will see her in, with a forbidden drink glued to her hand, in which she had no interest in consuming. Talk about a waste of a night.

"I thought I might find you up here," A voice says, making Paige turn her head to a grinning Mallory.

"Hey," Paige mutters, averting her attention back to the crowd below. If she wasn't in such a sour mood, she would've complimented Mallory on how well-dressed she looks. But, she just wasn't having it tonight. 

Mallory sighs as she notices Paige's salty behavior. "Why aren't you down there?"

"I don't know..." Paige trails off, quietly, watching Zion intensely as his presence came into view. She narrows her eyes once he sits down next to a girl with porcelain skin and fiery red hair. He wraps his arm around her, making Paige chuckle slightly. No matter how bad her heart continuously stung at the sight of the two, she refused to reveal any emotion towards them. She knew Zion's adoration for her was all a hoax. And frankly, she couldn't give a damn. All that matter to her at this point was that she was right about that scheming boy all along.

Mallory takes a peek at what her best friend's eyes were fixated on. "Did the both of you stop talking to each other or?"

"It appears to me that we never were," The curly-haired girl responds, a hint of bitterness behind her tone. Paige inhales sharply as she watches Zion whispers something into the petite girl's ear, causing her cheeks to turn into a rosy color. The burning sensation in her chest grew, but Paige fought back. She wasn't going to let him win this battle.

"I don't know what happened between the both of you, but he's probably trying to make you want him from what I can see." Mallory cocks her head as Zion rubs small circles on the girl's inner thigh. "I mean, he did his part now it's time to do yours."

Paige gives Mallory a weird look. "My part?"

Mallory huffs. "You know, make a move on him."  When Paige stares at her blankly as if she was speaking in a foreign language, the blonde girl wanted to mentally slap herself for being the smart one for once. "Basically, he might be using her to make you jealous so you can crave him or whatever."

"That makes no sense." Paige shakes her head, nearly stifling a laugh at the dumb idea. He wanted her. It was never the other way around. Unless something hypnotizes Paige into falling for him, nothing was going to make her want this boy the way he liked her.

"It's a dumb tactic that usually works," Mallory smiles. Her crystal blue eyes travel back to the honeybadgers who were ready to devour each other then frowns. "Look, if you truly don't want him, then don't even look in his direction, but if you do, make things right with him before he uses his temporary fix tonight."

Paige clenches her drink as Zion slowly slides his hand underneath the pale girl's dress. She lowers her lips to sip the beverage for the first time, grimacing at the profound taste, letting the liquid burn her throat as it made its way down. "I don't want him."

Mallory bites her bottom lip anxiously, examining the way her best friend constantly downs the drink through the tiny black draw as if the liquid was water. This was Mallory's first time seeing Paige drink Vodka and she had to admit that it wasn't a pretty sight. The poor girl was clearly trying to drown her sorrows. "Whatever you say, Paige." Mallory winks at her then heads down the sprawling staircase.

The curly-haired girl continues to drink the Vodka as she watches her blonde friend walk amongst the crowd. When she could no longer spot the tall blonde, Paige made the mistake of looking at Zion just to catch him staring back at her with those vibrant brown eyes of his. Paige notices his hand was still underneath the girl's sequin dress while he blankly stared at her as if he was teasing Paige. Their staring contest is interrupted by the redhead uttering something in his ear, causing his eyes to advert from Paige to the girl.

Paige sighs in relief, not sure how she was going to break the contact between the two of them. She peers down at her drink, realizing the glass is empty. After mentally debating with herself for a minute, she decides to get a refill because the burning sensation in her stomach was better than the one in her heart.