ᴋʟᴜᴛᴢ | ʟʀʜ

𝟏𝟏. 𝐏𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?

A few days later found the roommates in their living room on a Saturday night. The three were waiting for Jada to arrive before they headed over to Ashton's apartment for pizza and a night of games.

As Alina lounged on the couch, her head in Nina's lap while the tall girl played with her hair, she thought back on the last couple of days. Days that were, besides her strenuous college classes, filled with awkward moments with Luke.

As a waitress and a busboy, they interacted quite frequently throughout their shifts but the shared desire to avoid each other was evident.

Alina wasn't exactly sure why Luke was only talking to her when needed; maybe he sensed her uneasiness and reciprocated the emotions, consciously or not.

His reasoning behind lying to Macy about how they first met left the short girl with an inexplicable emptiness or heaviness, as if her heart was in the pit of her stomach.

On the other hand, today a newfound embarrassment—from cracking this heart open and revealing to Luke her vulnerability and jealousy— filled the hollowness she had experienced before.

Despite the calming feeling of Nina gently braiding her hair, Alina dreaded seeing Luke tonight. Would he say anything to me or would we carry on as if we were indifferent strangers?

There was no doubt in her mind that Macy would be there as well. I swear if she pours something else on m-

A knock on their apartment door interrupted her raging thoughts, alerting them that Jada was there.

"Calum, get the door," Nina ordered, snapping her fingers to catch his attention.

"I'm not a dog," Calum hissed, scowling at her from the kitchen. "Why can't you get it?"

"But you're my bitch, aren't you?" Nina gave him a cheeky wink, wiggling her thin fingers at him. Calum's face portrayed pure disgust as he walked over to the door. "And I've got Alina on me," the dark-haired girl explained with a look that screamed 'duh.'

"Don't talk to me," he sighed, opening the door for the short-haired girl outside.

~ ~ ~

At 7:00, Ashton's shared apartment was filled with rambunctious laughter, large boxes of pizza, and beer.

"Grab some pizza and then let's head over to the couch to play some games," Ashton suggested to the group, taking a bite of his sausage pizza.

With two slices of pepperoni on her plate, Alina passed Macy who was sipping red wine pretentiously. One of her arms was resting on Luke's thigh, tracing patterns. Strangely, the girl's hazel eyes were narrowing on Alina's frown. Macy was not the brightest in the room but she wasn't stupid, despite the bimbo attitude she insisted on portraying as if it made her cuter.

"Alina, sit here. Don't be shy," Macy gushed, tapping the cushion on the other side of Luke. It wasn't like she wished for Alina to be closer to Luke, but the dark-haired girl had an inkling that the shorter girl held feelings for her boyfriend. If Macy saw any hesitation, nervousness, or clue to confirm these suspicions, she would not be happy, to say the least.

"Oh," Alina shot Nina a look that screamed 'help me.' "I was gonna sit next to Nin-"

"Nina can sit next to Michael. Right, Mikey?"

The blonde-haired boy cringed at the nickname but nodded as he smiled kindly at Nina. Rolling her greenish-blue eyes at Alina, Nina took a seat next to Michael.

"What's your favorite game?" Michael asked her.

"Trying not to kill a bitch," Nina grinned sweetly. Expecting him to grimace or end the conversation at her bluntness, she was surprised when Michael leaned over towards her to whisper in her ear: