A Tangled Web We Weave (Completed)

14. This is Why I Don't Socialize

Israel

"Just calm down and let me explain!"

"Nope, nu-uh, I want a one way ticket from nope town to fuck-that-ville, I ain't dealing with this shit right now!" I shouted, nearly knocking over the plush chair in the process.

"What did you think I wanted when I asked to talk to you at my house?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not that," I snapped and slammed my glass down on the counter.

"It makes sense if you would stop to let me explain," she continued, glaring at me over the centerpiece.

I held up my hands in surrender. "I'll listen to what you say. But there is absolutely no guarantee that I will change my mind."

She sighed. "Ok, so your dad is dating my mom, which is completely weird. What I'm proposing-"

"Is that we fake date to break them up." I finished, crossing my arms. "This sounds like a stupid teen T.V. show."

She groaned. "Don't you see though? If we date, it will cause Cal to have a heart attack which will stress my mom out, which she will take out on your dad, and they will break up."

"But what if they force us to break up or they get married anyway or they just deal with it and move on to the next problem in their relationship?"

"We can cross those bridges when we come to them," she grinned at me. "We can make this work. But we'd have to bring up that we have started dating people. Just be evasive about my nam-"

"Woah, woah, you're assuming I'm going to agree to this thing." I stood up, pushing the chair back as I did.

She ran over to me, her stupid, perfect, blonde hair shimmering as she did. "Israel, work with me, please." She folded her arms. "Otherwise, you'll have to deal with me 365 days a year. At Thanksgiving, every basketball game, over presents Christmas morning."

I looked upward as if trying to find any other solution to the problem in front of me. Shaking my head, I looked down at her. Lordy, she was tiny. And she had little golden freckles sprinkled across her cheeks. Millions of tiny blemishes. I rolled my eyes, finally meeting her blue-green gazes. She had little spots of mascara on her eyelids and she blinked her long eyelashes at me, scowling. "Fine, I'm in." I growled, stepping closer.

She gulped at my low voice going lower. "Good. First date we're watching a movie here, ok? That way, two of the three members will have seen you here."

I gave her an incredulous look. "How long have you been planning it out?"

She giggled. "Oh, trust me, I've calculated everything out. For the first time, I'm doing my own math."

I laughed and recovered. "And what are the limits?"

"Limits?"

"Limits, you know, are we gonna hold hands, hug, kiss, more?" I whispered in her ear.

She recoiled. "Don't get any ideas, Israel. We are a couple in fantasy only."

The door to the garage slammed and Cal walked in, not looking up from his phone. Sabrina froze, glancing at me before staring at her brother.

He flicked his eyes up at her and then did a double-take. "Israel?"

I smirked and, seizing the opportunity, grabbed Sabrina's hand. If she was forcing me into this situation, it was only right that we were both uncomfortable. "Cal," I replied, pulling her a little closer.

His eyes travelled down my arm, stopping on our interlocked hands before hooking onto Sabrina's face. "Your car just got hit by the idiot with a permit down the street and I took it into the shop."

"What?!" Sabrina shrieked, running to the garage while Cal glowered at me from across the kitchen.

I followed her, saluting Cal as I went past. "Babe, I'm sorry about your car. Will you need a ride in the mornings to school?" I sensed Cal's presence behind and widened my eyes a little bit.

She read the message in my eyes and sighed into a smile, a subtle bite in her eyes. "That sounds perfect, babe."