fuck boy ◎ luke hemmings

the plan I

     — Are you going to tell me what all this is for?

     I am facing one of the craziest things I have ever seen in my life. I watch my brother getting out dusted boxes, poster boards, crayons, markers and post-its. I feel like I'm about to listen to my brother going insane about some time traveling thing he believes he discovered.

     —Michael! — he jumps and finally gives me attention — What are you...

     —Calum is almost here. — he interrupts — You'll see.

     Michael has completely lost it. At least that's what it seems. I give up trying to get any concrete answers and just decide to accept the fact that I share genetics with a lunatic. And because we do live under the same roof, I might as well give him some support. And then hand him some flyers for mental institutions.
   
      He sits at the chair next to the poster board and waits for his best friend quietly.
    
     And then, out of nowhere, breaking the silence, the front door opens and Calum comes in along with his sister.

     —Since when does he have a key to our house? — I whisper to Michael, but he ignores.

     I say hi to them both, but they also ignore me. They move next to Michael and stand there still, staring directly at me.

     —You're all so creppy. Stop it.

     Calum turns the card board over and I can see it in red crayons, written in big letters, right at the center "THE PLAN".

     —Before anything — Michael starts — We need to tell you a story. For that reason, we have Mali here. She is the nucleus of all of this. It's for her that all of this should be done. Got it?

     I don't even get time to answer.

     —Everything started two months ago.

     Calum ads another card board to the table. Now it says "SUMMER".

     —Starting from the common knowledge that every girl's dream is to have a summer love story... Cher, don't look at me like that. — he says before I even cut him off about that — It is known that you are not like every girl, that's why we need you. Just listen.

      It always annoys me when people reinforce stereotypes.

     —Like I was saying — he clears his throat — Mali, Calum's sweet inocent sister, thought she would finally have that dream coming true. And, for a while, she did have it. She met a boy at the vacation club and he was everything you can think of: a gentleman, caring, the most beautiful blue eyes. But, sadly, the guy was nothing but a heartbreaker. A jerk. The classic fuck boy.

     —Four days ago I caught him cheating on me with another girl. So, I tried talking to her and she didn't even know I existed. — Mali shares — Then we decided to go get an explanation out of him. Can you believe we found a third girl?

     —Wow. — I say, indignant.

    I feel bad for her. She always thought she would find a real prince charming and live happily ever after. Mali believed that so much that it was annoying. She made a story like that for every single doll she owned. Because of that, I spent my whole childhood playing with Michael and Cal. But eventually they started to annoy me too. All they could think of was going after the girls that lived in our neighborhood, trying to get kisses and dumb stuff like that. And all of the sudden, that was all they cared about. Girls. Then, I ended up isolating myself from these premature kids. My mom even gave me a dog for thinking I was a too much of a lonely kid.

     —I cried a lot. — Mali continues — I cried to the point I barely had any tears left. Now I want him to pay for it. And that's where you come in, Cher.