𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 - 𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨

company

as we walk into the apartment, i grab the box of cigarettes on the side and fetch the lighter from my pocket.

"you don't mind do you?" i ask him, while taking off my necklace. i don't want him to get uncomfortable around me.

"of course not" george replies with a smile. we both head out to the balcony and sit on the crappy plastic patio chairs.

i light my cigarette and take a deep breath in, holding the smoke in my mouth to savour the moment. i breathe out, subconsciously stroking my necklace which lies in the palm of my hand.

"that's such a pretty necklace" george says, admiring the crystal in between my fingertips.

um well if i say it's made out of a dead person will it kill the mood orrrr?

"thank you, it's-" i start, then hesitate whether to carry on my sentence. i glance over at him sitting, waiting patiently for my answer. i can tell him right?

or will he just backstab me and leave me like the rest of them?

"it's actually really important to me." i stutter and look down at the necklace, still stroking the stone in my hand and holding my cigarette in the other.

"oh yeah, how come? if you don't mind me asking" he replies, i look up and realise he's still looking at me. don't hate me, i'm gonna lie a little bit.

"oh my brother gave it to me a couple of years ago" i say looking back down at the necklace. so it's basically the truth but he didn't give it to me because he is in the necklace.

"did your brother move here with you?" he queries. oh shit. this is where things are gonna get depressing.

"um no, he kinda passed away in 2016" i quietly mumble, as we make awkward eye contact. i can see the embarrassment seep into his face.

"shit, i'm so sorry dylan, that's really shitty" he says and puts a hand on mine which is leant on the arm rest of the chair.

i flinch and quickly pull my hand away from his, partly as a reflex and also because i didn't want any sympathy. it just felt wrong.

"no it's okay, really. i just don't want any sympathy" i start to explain, giving him a smile as i watch the hurt sink into his face.

he smiles back, "it's okay, that's understandable"

you can tell he meant it.

i finish my cigarette and flick it off the balcony, hoping george can't hear my increasing heartbeat. he turns to me and starts speaking.

"i appreciate you telling the truth to me you know, so i'll tell you something in return" he grins.

"gowan then" i smile at the thought of him actually opening up to me. i'm glad he respects that it took a lot to say those things. and george is so different from anyone else i've ever met.

i just know i can trust him with anything.

but fuck, can i actually? or is he just manipulating me into thinking that. he knows what he's doing surely. he knows he can wrap me around his finger with no repercussions, he knows i'm vulnerable and easy to control. fuck. stop it dylan. please shut the fuck up.

i'm snapped back into reality by george's eager and nervous voice.

"right, promise not to be weirded out or anything yeah?" he scratches his neck again. i think that's something he does when he's nervous.

i chuckle "of course not george, how bad can it be huh?"

he turns to look me dead in the eyes "so you know how i'm a social media influencer yeah"

i nod, encouraging him to carry on.

"well like, i'm kind of a youtuber" he says and looks down awkwardly.

"what's wrong with that? you gotta make money some way" i say confused as to why he thinks it's a bad thing. "wait, you're..."

oh my fucking god. plot twist??!?!?!!