(Spin-off of Imaginary, more so specifically it's second book, Severity)
Cleo Vexer, a problematic teenage girl, is the sensation of your average pessimist and mediocre criminal. Still having to survive the rest of her senior year bitter and lonely...
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"Oh it's just you." I brush strands of hair off to the sides of my face; relieved.
Sever steps inside - hands in his pockets - with an eyebrow raised at me. "What do you mean it's just me?"
"Oh nothing," I smile sweetly before yelling, "False alarm!"
What I really should've done was keep my mouth shut and wait it out, but who am I to do the smart thing? And after all, Riley looked like she was about to pee her pants at the mention that Caslon could be at the door.
Riley is evidently more relaxed as she runs out of a room and bee lines straight back to the couch. The book is once again glued to her hands as she tries to find the page she was on. Once she finds it she turns to us with a sheepish expression.
"Sorry," She smiles coyly to Sever, a stranger in her eyes, "I was left on a major cliffhanger."
Sever laughs lightly. His eyes meet mine as he mouths 'who's the girl?'
"She's my friend's little sister. I'm just watching her for the time being." I whisper the slight lie. Oddly enough, not telling Sever the truth didn't feel so bad, mostly because it didn't matter to him whatsoever.
It wouldn't hurt him.
Sever shrugs before tugging me by the arm away into the kitchen. Suddenly his face shifts serious and uneasy, and that starts to make me worry. Sever isn't always the let-loose of the group, though when he looks really concerned, it usually means a lot more than his usual 'life sucks' scowl.
"Have you spoken to Winsley lately?" He asks in a rushed tone.
"What do you mean?" My eyebrows furrow confusedly. "Is she not okay?"
Sever purses his lips before remembering to let go of his tight grip on my arm. "She's been distant lately, and when I say distant, I mean really distant. It's like she doesn't want to talk to anyone anymore. I'm really starting to worry about her."
I try thinking of a reason that might've unsettled her. Last time I checked, she wasn't so hung off the wall. "Her Mom kicked her out last night, but she never gets that upset over it."
"You're her best friend! You're supposed to know this kind of stuff!" Sever tugs on his hair irritatedly, his conclusions going to nowhere.
"Exactly!" I bicker. "I'm her best friend not her mind! If she wants to tell me something, she'll tell it and by her own will."
There's a silence besides Sever's long, heavy breath. "I just don't want her to spiral like how she was not too long ago. If I don't do anything to help than I'm just a useless boyfriend. And I'm not going to be that guy to her."
I nod slightly, soaking in his mini speech. "Well then maybe you should talk to her -"
"But I've tried talking to her!"
"Well then let her know you're there for her. That means the world to Winsley and you know that." I reasoned, arms flailing in the emphasis. "I can talk to Winsley for hours if you'd asked, but that wouldn't mean anything. She's the type of girl who'll speak her mind when she wishes and not take a word from someone else if it contradicts what she believes is right for her. And look I get it that we're all not 2-D shapes but Winsley is black-and-white sometimes. She'll tell you when she's ready and that's that."
Sever goes silent for a moment, his foot barely taping like a metronome. He looks a little embarrassed, almost resembling a child caught in his act and being sent to timeout. The expression was quite a rarity in my eyes, since pride was always seen on his shoulders.
"Now go to her and tell you love her." I cross my arms as Sever starts to look up at me. "Tell her that she's your prized possession, tell her she's your everything, tell her she's your one and only, tell her all that. And don't forget to tell her that you won't leave her. Winsley is your soulmate, till death do you part."
Sever's small smile starts to brighten; hope being the change I see. "I may hate you sometimes, Cleo, but you're an amazing friend."
"Of course I am," I respond. "That's the life I was lead with, till death do I part."
"Good luck to you, Cleo." Sever messes my hair ever so brotherly.
I smile, basking in the happiness. And even through that smile, I think about the luck I'm going to need, the holes I've dug myself into, the mistakes I'll soon have to fix.
"Thank," Is my soft reply. "I'm going to need it."
