A Unique Connection

Chapter 3

The dress up top is what Rhea wears to meet Kyle.

Nicole followed Rhea into her room as they both lied down on her bed. Both of their gazes were glued to their television after their long day. Even though their favorite TV show was on, all Rhea could think about was what happened earlier that afternoon. She wanted to express her thoughts and feelings to someone other than Nicole, honestly, sometimes she could get a little jumpy with drama. She didn't know if she should tell Catherine because her sister didn't need anymore to think and stress about. She felt herself drifting off into the world of sleep when the sound of her phone snapped her back to attention. Before Rhea could get her hands on her phone, Nicole grabbed it and began opening her phone. She cursed herself for giving Nicole her password.

It was a message from Kyle. Nicole screamed at the sight of his name on her phone and read the text aloud. "Hey Rhea, the rest of the band wants to meet you, do you want to meet us for lunch?" Without letting Rhea snatch back her phone, Nicole quickly replied to Kyle giving a quick 'sure!' After a few seconds, she replied back saying, "How about the Green Racoon tomorrow, at noon?" Nicole read with a satisfied smirk. Rhea quickly grabbed her phone from Nicole's grasp but then hesitated and thought about what to text back. She just answered with a simple ' I'd love too' At the sight of the two texting, Nicole screamed before yelling, "He just texted you, why am I freaking out? It's your boyfriend and it's just a band meeting." Nicole yelled. "He's not my boyfriend, yet," Rhea said just to play with her for the minute while a small blush crept onto her face. "You need to make a good first impression on all of the other band members, not to mention Kyle's gonna be there! You need to decide on what you're gonna wear!!!" Nicole exclaimed crazily while flipping through Rhea's closet.

"Come down Nicole, Plus, why are you going crazy, I'm the one he asked?" Rhea stated getting slightly annoyed. "I'm just happy for you, I want you to be ready and prepared that's all!" Nicole exclaimed pouty like. "You know all these events are nothing like that story we wrote when we were in camp as kids! " Nicole pointed out with a sarcastic tone. A larger blush awoke on her features, remembering the weird story that they had written when they were younger. "It's nothing like that story we made." Rhea exclaimed. "Whatever, maybe you should wear this, it's formal but attractive if you want to attract your egg!" Nicole exclaimed with a smirk trying to make the two feel nostalgic. Egg was the code name for Kyle that they used to use when talking about him. Nicole held up a black dress with ruffles on the top.  It traveled not much farther than her knees, along with a blue denim jacket around her shoulders. The outfit as well included a leather belt and cowgirl style boots to complete it. "See, we make such a great team, especially when it comes to boys." Rhea said before hugging her friend.

Awhile later she was off. She decided to walk instead of driving since she didn't want to look for parking for an hour. All she could think about was what she had been hiding for a week. If Kyle actually liked her, what would she do then? She still had to tell her parents, he should be the least of her worries right now. All this left her mind when she spotted Kyle in the distance, waiting outside for her by the Green Racoon. "Hey!" He called to her from his spot by the door. She let out a small breath before walking up to him. "Hey, where is everyone?" Rhea asked, feeling somewhat nervous being around him alone. "Oh them, yeah they kind of canceled." Kyle said, matching her nervousness. "Oh ok, so should we reschedule ?" Rhea asked somewhat mad that he didn't just send her a text. "Oh, um, well I was hoping that we could have lunch; since you're already here." A small blush awoke onto her features thinking about his words. She shouldn't, but she wanted to so badly. So, she quickly sent a frantic text to Nicole saying she was there and that it was only her and Kyle. After sending it she then looked up at Kyle. "That would be perfect."

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Nicole was cleaning out her and Rhea's cat, KitCat's litter box. She held her nose as the fumes were spread through the air. "Why does Rhea have to leave this part up to me! I love cats but not what they make in their litter box!" Nicole blurted. She felt a vibration in her pocket, signifying a text from someone. She put down the scooper and quickly grasped her phone desperate to distract herself from her responsibilities.

She quietly mumbled the message from Rhea to herself. Her eyes widened and without any hesitation, she dialed Catherine on the phone. "Come on, come on, pick up"! Nicole whispered.  "Hello?" Catherine asked questionably through the phone. The sound of Catherine's voice made Nicole feel more frantic and desperate to tell Catherine what was going on with her friend and roommate.

"L-listen Rhea went to the uh b-band thing!" She yelled through the phone desperately. "So what?" Catherine said sounding bored. "No one else came! It's just her and Kyle!" Through the phone, a small gasp was heard from Catherine. "W-we have to see them! What if something happens with them, we have to see it!" After hearing this, Nicole thought about what they could do. "Do you still have that old man costume from Halloween?" Nicole said with a smirk. Catherine caught onto Nicole's scheme as they both got ready to check in on their friend.

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All through their encounter, it was filled with talking and laughing. "They both liked me? I never would have thought that." Kyle said in disbelief of hearing the story about there old classmates from middle school. "How did you find out anyway? I know that you three weren't exactly friends." Most people in their schools hadn't liked Rhea much for different reasons. "You'd be surprised how much you can learn from gossip."

Since they couldn't be here, Kyle told Rhea about her fellow band members. "Rosanne is the lead singer and Pierce is back up, by the way, don't mess with Rosanne; she's really sassy and if I'm honest, kind of scary." A small laugh broke through Rhea's covered mouth at the thought of someone scaring Kyle. "Anyway, James is the guitarist; he's also a very emotional person so you'll love him, and that's all of them!" As the two talked, they didn't seem to notice the pair that had been staring at them for quite some time.

"Look at them! They're so cute together!" Catherine squealed to Nicole, who sat next to her in a booth. "I know right! I told you they would be together, pay up." Nicole said back to Catherine as she gave up the money they bet on. "Whatever, I'm just happy for her." Smiles broke out onto both their faces, seeing their friend like this after so long was the best for both of them.

☆☆☆

After the nights' end, the two parted ways with a quick glance. All the worries that clouded her mind had left as soon as she saw him. She didn't want to feel this way, she had before and she was happy with where she was right now. But even the smallest things would remind her of him, and she would want him to be wherever she was. She let out a small frown as she walked in the darkness of night towards her home.
When she got there, she quickly saw her sister and roommate dressed as an elder man and his wife. "Do I even want to know?" Rhea questioned with a stunned face. The two shared a glance before giggling. "We followed you and Kyle! We were there the whole time and you guys never saw us!" The two girls let out a teasing laugh before falling to the floor. She knew that two wanted her and Kyle to be together but, that just couldn't happen. What needed to happen was, for Rhea to finally tell her family her secret.

"Hey guys, I know you want us together but, that can't happen. You see......I'm engaged. His name is Jonah Anderson. We met a year ago when you both set me up on a blind date. It was great so, we didn't want to tell anyone until it was serious. He already told his family, but I still haven't told mine, yet. He proposed to me a couple months ago and I said yes. " Everything grew silent as her words sank into the two's heads. Their sister and friend was with someone, and they hadn't noticed? They thought that Rhea was always predictable and a bad lier. What else had their friend lied about?

After the confession, Rhea couldn't think of words to say in her defense. She wanted to know what her friend and sister were thinking. However they would react, she knew that her parents would act so much worse. She needed to know so that she could be papered for their outburst. For Nicole, she wanted Kyle and Rhea together since she first met the two in elementary school. Now, she could only hope that her friend knew what she was doing and that she was happy, whatever that intaled. "Um..w-what do you plan to do?" Catherine asked, feeling somewhat betrayed that her sister hadn't told her one of the most important moments in her life. "Forget that, when are you going to tell Kyle?" Nicole challenged making Rhea stare at her friend in disbelief. "Why should he know? We're just going to work together." Rhea's response made Nicole's eyes pop out slightly in anger. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you like him, again! When it comes to Kyle we can easily tell when you like him. And besides, he probably likes you too." The shock was written all over Rhea's face as she thought about what she should do. She wouldn't let herself like him, not again.

"First of all, I don't like him. And second, he doesn't like me! And it's my life so I'll decide what to do. I don't need your help with this."