Enemy 000

37 Fairytale

"Can I punch him now?" My best friend hisses from the side but I barely react to that. I'm in a situation where I'm speechless but I know I should say something.

"What- What do you expect me to do?" I raise an eyebrow at the boy in front of me.

"Come back to me." He pulls me closer, his lips threateningly grazing mine. The butterflies inside of me erupt but my face is stoic as usual.

"Are you insane? How do you think that would work out?" I furrow my eyebrows, leaning away from him.

"It would." He simply answers and I roll my eyes.

"No, it wouldn't. Didn't we go through this? Those kind of things don't work for either of us."

"Dammit, Katherine." He grumbles. "Stop being so stubborn and so cold. Don't lie to yourself."

"What?" I ask. "What am I lying about?"

"That you don't want me." His egoistic side comes out and he seems quite confident of what he's saying.

"Oh, get over yourself, Wes." I scoff and he snickers. He actually has the nerve to laugh at me.

"Fine." He lets go and I just stay still.

"I said what I wanted to say." He raises his hands in surrender and backs away from me, tucking his hands in his pockets. "I'm not gonna force you but at least now you know how I feel about you. It's all on you."

"I think you should leave." Alex glares at him and I'm glad for her intrusion.

"Whatever. I have a wedding to go back to." Wes glances at her before looking back at me. He starts walking past me, towards the door, and passes me a brief smirk, looking me up and down. "I'll see you around."

With that, he steps out the door and Alex shuts it behind him. In slow motion, she turns to me, her eyes narrowed and her lips in a tight line. I shake my head and trudge up the stairs, my best friend hot on my heels. I throw myself on the bed and grab my knees. Alex sits beside me and looks down at me.

"I don't even wanna hear why you didn't tell me about this, but being your best friend, I know there's something wrong. You didn't fight him the way I expected you to, so please tell me you didn't -"

"I did." I say and sit up, already disappointed in myself. "I did catch feelings."

"Kat, what the hell?!" She looks at me frustratedly.

"I know, God, I know." I fall on my back and place my hands on my face. "I don't know how it got to this and if I could, I'd change it."

I am discouraged by this situation. I am beyond annoyed and right now all I wish is to go back in time and change the decisions I have made.

Then again, this is what I get for making deals with the devil.

"How bad are they? The feelings?"

"I don't know. It's not like we've connected or something. I just want to be with him and that's scaring me." I reply, huffing at my own answer. I can see Alex is thinking this through as she pinches the bridge of her nose and stares at the ceiling.

"What's he like?" She asks me carefully and I furrow my eyebrows. "When he's with you."

I think throughly, squinting my eyes at the sheets underneath me. I remember all the talks we had and every joke of his that would make me laugh, or the small innuendos he would throw when being around our friends. Unfortunately, that creates a smile that creeps up on my lips and my best friend groans. She mumbles a couple of swear words and I stop her by speaking.

"Look, he's definitely not like you know him. Or like I knew him. He's calmer and more gentle, I guess. Maybe it's just in my head, but he was good to me, even if it was just for a short period of time."

"Are you serious?" Alex raises her eyebrow but this time she's not asking me if I'm crazy, but if I'm telling the truth.

"Yes. I know it's hard to beileve but -"

"Damn right it's hard to beileve. His biggest hobby is being an asshole and you expect me to suddenly think of him as a bowl of sunshine and unicorns?" She twists her mouth in confusion. I stare at her, trying to tell her she's not being serious about this.

"No. That's not what I want you to think." I tell her. "But I'm not stupid, Alex."

She gives me a 'who are you kidding?' look and I just roll my eyes, pushing a piece of my hair behind my ear.

"I meant, I saw how he acted during that time. He wasn't the same. He was different." My voice softens. Maybe I was just imagining it and maybe I really am lying to myself.

"Kat, girl, I love you. But you shouldn't live in a fairytale."

"I'm not!" I demand, suddenly becoming guarded.

"You said it yourself! Nobody limits your thoughts but yourself." She quotes my own words before continuing. "You gotta have an open mind and think of other things, not just his behavior towards you. I'm sorry, but that was the time when he was getting into your pants."

"Alex!"

"What?!" She fights back. "We've all done that. Luring people in to hook up with them. I've done that. You've done that. He's done that."

"I know." I say, my voice sure and stern. "I don't know what you're even fighting me on. I'm done with him and whichever game he wants to play."

"I'm not fighting you." My best friend frowns. "I just know you and I know this isn't something you're familiar with. You choose to avoid feelings because when you catch them, you become vulnerable."

She's saying everything I already know. Before I went into this emotionless zone I had failure relationships and those were all reasons for me to give up on committing.

"I know." I drag out the sentence and flip so I'm laying on my stomach.

"I only have one question." Alex lays beside me and her eyes twinkle devilishly.

"Is he as good as they say he is?"