Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"DO YOU THINK I live my life without consequences?" I wonder while settling into the comfort of Lucas's arms. Visiting him in the late of the night, inhaling his masculine lavender scent, mirrors the early days of our friendship when sneaking over to vent about relationships or our families was a common occurrence.
"Hmm. What do you mean?" His voice rumbles through his chest as he tries to keep it low.
"Like...am I spoiled? Is my life a musical?"
"Let me guess. Mason said that?"
I nod while busying myself with invisible loose threads on my sleeve. Half of me expects him to agree that I tend to imagine my life as a Disney film.
"Huh," he drags while stroking his chin. "You do tend to romanticize life a bit."
"How?" I hiss and poke his ribs. "How could you agree with him?"
He chuckles and moves away from my vengeful jabs. "I think it's cute though," he admits in a pitchy tone stained in amusement. "You're optimistic and you always want things to work out in the end like you're in a musical or something."
"I just like to think positively." I pout and fold my arms. "Doesn't make me a brat or mean I don't live in the real world."
"He called you a brat? Wow." A soft whistle leaves his lips. "That's hard to imagine. Mason never loses his cool."
I sit up abruptly and face him with my knees pressed into the mattress. "Th-this was our first fight. He's never been angry with me before. The only time I've ever seen him upset with other people, he usually gets quieter and ends the conversation. Not that he ever really gets mad either."
"Sounds like he was taking some anger out on you." Lucas sits up with me and places a heavy hand on my thigh. "You're right. It is unhealthy."
"Well, I did call him an asshole," I mutter in a tone drowned in guilt. Sure, Mason never gets upset with me, but when have I ever truly been fed up with him? "I got a tad bit emotional and things just spiraled."
"You have every right to be emotional, Pep." Lucas leans closer and that innocent hand slides to my lower back, invoking unwanted chills to crawl down my spine. "Look at what he's putting you through. It's not fair."
"Yeah." I try not to squirm. My skin itches and tingles where he touches me, and I so badly want to push him away. Gestures like these no longer carry the nature of friendship and reassurance, but seduction from a guy who's a tad pushy.
Lucas isn't one of those pushy guys. I know him. We're just going through a weird phase right now.
"You should break up with him. Officially." He cups my face and tilts it as he sits higher than me.
I blink a few times and try to look away from his demanding eyes. "But...we're already broken up."
Beneath the dimness, the lines of his face scrunch, becoming something harsh and judgemental. "Not really. You've been on this weird emotional roller coaster with him. You're not together but you dance, have dinner, hold hands and argue like you're still a couple."
