My Art Freak

Chapter Thirteen

Janis' POV

I woke up to the smell of food, probably being prepared by Mrs. Hubbard. I looked around tiredly, spotting Damien looking down at his phone.

"Hey, sleeping beauty. How's it goin'?" He asked once he spotted me.

I shrugged.

"Are Caddy and (y/n) downstairs already with your mom?" I asked, running my fingers through my knotted hair.

"My mom said that she was just gonna leave us donuts, since she got called into the office this morning. They're cooking down there," Dame answered.

"Alright, well should we go down there then? They've been up for ages, it's probably ready. What time is it, by the way?" I asked, standing up. He glanced behind him to his alarm clock, before getting his answer and turning back.

"It's 7:49, so they've had 2 and a half hours at the least. Let's see what they've made us, and eat like the kings we are!" He announced, getting up off of his bed.

We made our way down the stairs, and the amazing smell just intensified with the close proximity.

"What's goin' on over here?" I called out with a grin, seeing Cady gently but clearly purposely bump (y/n)'s shoulder. The action made me pause.

Why did she do that? Were they a thing? Or did it even mean anything? It couldn't, it had to be just friendly affection so I brushed it off as nothing.

"We've got three varieties of pancakes, some fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs!" (y/n) responded with a grin, looking up at us as she finished setting the table. I took a seat next to her and Damien sat at my other side.

There was a big bowl of strawberries, and a couple bananas next to it, alongside another bowl filled with cheesy scrambled eggs. There was also a plate with three stacks of pancakes. One was plain, one had blueberries, and the other seemingly had chocolate chips.

Caddy then sat down, giving us all a proud smile, as if to say "Look at this thing that I worked super hard on!". Normally I would have found it endearing and cute, but it was a tad annoying right now thanks to my newly bitter and still rather cranky mood.

We all began to serve ourselves and started making small talk. About college, about the weather, about dramatic past relationships. We were bored and fueled by chocolate filled pancakes, so obviously the conversation would either be deathly boring or the most exciting discussion ever.

Some people got seconds, I got thirds, and all was well besides my bad feeling about Caddy and (y/n). Were they a thing? I dunno, maybe I was just super jealous and needed to chill out.

Or maybe I was onto something.

"So Caddy, have you had your peepers on anyone recently?" I asked casually, she looked up, still chewing a bite of pancake. I noted the little bit of pink flushing cheeks as she looked at me, eyes wide like she was a deer in headlights.

That was when I knew that I got her, whether it had anything to do with (y/n) or not.

"Why do you ask?" She asked casually after swallowing her mouthful of food. Bogus, she was avoiding the question.

"Just looking for some tea to be spilled. So again I ask, ya got someone on your mind?" I asked, a bit more forceful this time. She squirmed awkwardly, while I saw the other two look at her in anticipation. Crushes were a fun gossip topic in our big happy family, so I wasn't exactly surprised.

"No one really, no. Just people who pop up for a week or so and then it goes away," she shrugged. I'd seen enough when her eyes darted to (y/n) just before a moment before returning back to me. It was subtle enough that Damien might not have noticed, but visible enough that (y/n) and I sure did. She was practically transparent right now.

She liked (y/n), but it was probably a small and passing crush. That was good.

But she still liked (y/n), and the thought made me feel sick and uneasy. I excused myself from the table, walking to Damien's room while undoubtedly leaving everyone, besides maybe Cady, confused.

I really just had to be alone right now and think about my life. I was sure I'd be cool in a couple minutes.

(742 words)