For Real? ✅

Chapter 21

LEAH

"He's all I've ever wanted a guy to be," I say dreamily.
Tess rolls her eyes, "Well, then he must be imaginary".

I frown at her, and she looks up at me from her novel. She's been immersed in it lately.

"No guy can be more perfect than a fictional one," Tess tells me seriously, but I know that she's pulling my leg.

"You have to believe me! We're actually dating..." I tell her, irritated with her attitude.

"Yeah right. And I'm breaking up with Greg," she replies sarcastically.

We're at lunch on Monday again, me telling Tess about Adam.

I don't know where Greg and Andy are, and I am glad for once that they are not here.

Tess is not though. She keeps looking up every five seconds to see if they have arrived. I guess she's not reading her novel after all.

"Anyway, Adam told me to be his secret girlfriend, because he doesn't want to share me with the world."
I sing out the words, giddy with the thought. Adam can be so romantic.

Tess looks like she's trying hard not to laugh.
"What kind of relationship is that? A guy should be secure enough to show the world who his girlfriend is."

"Maybe he doesn't want people to think that we move on too quick. You know, we both are fresh from a breakup," I guess, but Tess is not listening to me.

She points across the cafeteria, "Then why is he snuggling with Heather Waters?"

I look over to see a very pretty girl closely coveted with Adam. She's feeding him the pasta off his plate.

He looks happy. But I know he's not.

"That's his cover. He told me that girls never leave him alone. So he has to pretend before he tells the world that he's dating me." I explain, but Tess doesn't look convinced.

I glance back at the girl and the way she looked at Adam.
She seemed to glance lovingly at him.

If Adam left her for me, would it break her heart?

"Yeah, she looks familiar, doesn't she?" Tess asks, looking at her too.

"I wasn't... I mean yeah..." I falter.
At a closer look, she does look familiar. In fact, she looks almost like...

"Greyes's sister. That's who she is." Tess says, sipping on her soda.

"Oh yeah, she is Greyes's twin. They are not identical, but they do look similar." I state.

"Yup", Tess says, now casually glancing at the doorway.

"So that's Heather. Greyes hates her, they aren't even on speaking terms. Something about how Heather just sleeps with too many guys..." I tell her, but Tess just shrugs.

Then I realised that Tess wasn't even listening to me. She seemed to be in her own thoughts, twirling her spaghetti.

"Tess", I ask softly, "Are you alright?"

"No Leah. I'm not," she says dully. She drops her fork, looking defeated.

Then she goes on to describe the day she saw Will, and later the phone call with Andy.
She tells me her suspicions, doubts and overall hopelessness.

I give her a hug and feel her trembling. So much had been going on with Tess, and I've been too busy in my own world.

"I'm just waiting to see Greg. I want to know the truth. What Will has to do with all of this.", she repeats, over and over.

"Well, if anything, Will's a jerk," I reply. "You really shouldn't take his words seriously."

"Okay," Tess says, but she still looks worried.

I sit in silence, thinking of all the possibilities. Tess looks fixedly at the doorway.

"What if Greg's gay?" I ask her. That did seem plausible.

It had been my first impulse when I'd seen him. I'd thought that he was gay.

Of course, I didn't tell anyone this, as it was merely a gut feeling. It was the same way I felt about Andy creeping me out.

However, with past year, I had forgotten everything I had thought earlier. In fact, I'd urged Greg to ask Tess out, because she was crushing on him.
By the way, Tess doesn't know the part about me being the cupid.

"I don't know. Maybe... ", Tess replies carelessly.
"Does it even make a difference?"

Nevertheless, Tess turns paler, her hands fidgeting with the zipper on her windbreaker.

I look up to see Greg and Andy entering the cafeteria. Greg waves over at us.

Tess grips my hand hard, fighting to keep her emotions under control.

Once they reach our table, Greg looks at Tess with apprehension.
"You want to go for a walk, Tess?" He says carefully.

Tess gets up and takes a deep breath.
"Yes Greg," she replies, before grabbing her bag and leaving.

I watch the pair of them walking away, and feel the dread rising.

"Meanwhile, I've got a lot to explain to you too." Andy looks serious. "About Greg."

I find myself nodding to him, as he begins to talk.