The Only One » cth [en]

12. jade almost hates luke

"Ashy!" I extend his name hoping he'd come to me.

My cousin enters the living room eyeing me suspiciously.

"If you're going to ask for money you probably have more than I do."

I put my pencil inside my bun and turn to him offended.

"Hey, I'm not an opportunist. Why are you so rude?"

"Fine, fine. What do you want?" He asks impatiently and I pout.

"Okay, okay, sorry. What do you want dear cousin?" He sits next to me and I smile.

"Much better. I want to know what do you think of this new dress I'm working on."

I show him my notebook and studies the sketch of a prom dress. Raphael, my boss, is really enthusiastic about making a prom dresses collection next and for the first time he asked me to do something worth of the best. He always puts my creations aside.

"Wow, this is really good. When you become Lady Gaga's to go stylist please get me an autograph."

A huge smile takes over my face and Ash hands me my notebook back.

I really want to get this right.

"I'm leaving. See ya. Let me see the final result when you're done."

I nod back and go back to my pencils. 

A relaxing cover of Dusk Till Dawn  keeps playing in the background and I hum along.

After a while someone knocks at the door and I frown because Ash took the keys.

I put my book aside and get off the couch.

I ignore the pang of annoyance that goes through my body when I catch sight of the blonde boy that enters the apartment without permission, for a change.

"Ashton is not here." I close the door behind me.

"I know, he went to pick up Michael and Calum."

"And you couldn't wait for them somewhere else?"

He stops in the middle of the hall and turns to face me.

"Is there something wrong? Why are you acting so bitchy?"

I lift an eyebrow and roll my eyes.

"You're the one who's being a bitch lately." I make sure that the sarcasm is present in my voice "More than usual anyway."

"Are you serious, Jade?"

I take this as the right moment to atack Luke with his inappropriate acts.

"For starters why would you ask Calum if he has always been blind that time?"

"Please, as if you weren't dying to ask him that. And you're so fucking uptight, that you didn't." He tells me off in my face. I roll my eyes while groaning loudly.

"I'm fucking uptight? What the fuck are you talking about, you asshole?"

He leans against the hall's wall and furiously passes a hand through his hair. I feel anger spreading through my every nerve.

Luke and I, we fight all the time. But we've known each other for so long that in the following day we would go back to normal because it's like that with us four, we've always been around each other.

"Is that your problem, Luke? That a new person has come into our inner circle and you feeling like it's disturbing the dynamics or what?" I raise my voice, throwing my arms in the air. What is wrong with him?

His laugh fills the room and I frown.

"Wow, he's the one with the disease but you're the one who's fucking blind. Is this really what you want?" He slides to the floor.

"He's not sick, Luke. And what do you even mean?"

I find myself sitting next to him on the floor.

"I mean that you're the only one who doesn't see that he likes you."

I lower my gaze and pull my knees to my chest.

"He doesn't-"

"He does, Jade. And you like him back even if you can't admit it to yourself."

My mind goes back to that intimate moment and how Ashley was so chill talking about this possibility. After a brief pause he speaks again.

"I just don't understand why you'd settle for someone who can't see how beautiful you are."

"What?" For a moment I think my eyes would pop out from how wide I had opened them.

He closes his eyes like he had say something wrong.

"Don't take me wrong. I'm not into you. I just think you deserve better than him. He can never give you what others can."

And suddenly, I wish he was insulting me.

"Stop saying that he won't be enough for me. How would you know what's enough for me? Oh, that's right you don't."

Silence falls upon us again and I cringe. What is it with me having awkward conversations lately? And people ask me why I'm not that into socializing.

"I'm gonna go to my room. Tell Ash dinner's on him when he gets here." I get up and before leaving his side I add "And please don't mention this conversation to Calum. He's great. Which is why you should think about the real reason you're being a dick about your friend."

And when I get to my room I hear the front door opening.

God, I do hope he's leaving. 

If everyone keeps telling me the same could it be that I'm really that blind to see it?