𝐞𝐮𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚

4. the ballad of me and my brain

matty

gabby and i had a small argument when i went to pick her up. she was acting like a bitch, but what else is new?

she was crying over what to wear tonight and i told her it didn't really matter and she would look fine anyways, which honestly was the truth, but i guess she took it the wrong way and started yelling at me.

i believe she's calmed down, now that we're outside the restaurant waiting for val and her boyfriend. we're standing near the door and i light a cigarette which makes gabby groan.

"i thought you were going to stop these unhealthy habits." she says, picking at her nails.

"see, that's what you thought, not me." i chuckle.

she grabs the cigarette from my lips and throws it on the ground, stepping on it. i look at her and she's looking at me with a fake smile.

"for fucks sake, gabby." i grab my hair out of frustration. "can you not make a scene for once?"

"these things kill, matty. what do you not understand?" she raises her voice.

i see from the corner of my eye val and her boyfriend approaching us. fuck, she looks good. she's wearing a tight black dress that fits her body perfect and goes right above her knees and her hair is straight and tucked behind her ears.

she looks fucking beautiful and i turn to look at my girlfriend who also looks beautiful and i'm so fucking confused.

"please act fucking normal tonight." i say and she sighs and rolls her eyes.

they approach us and val smiles at me before introducing her boyfriend to us.

"christopher, this is my friend matty. matty, this is my boyfriend christopher." she says.

"nice to meet you, mate. this is my girlfriend gabriella." i say and to my surprise, gabby hugs val.

"let's go inside, shall we?" christopher says, moving his hand to val's lower back as we walk inside.

a waiter takes us to our table and we sit down. we're about 20 minutes in and i think everything is going fine until val and gabby start talking. i don't think anything of it until gabby turns to me and says, "im so glad i have a boyfriend who doesn't let me go out dressed like a whore."

i nearly spat my drink.

"excuse me?" val says, raising her voice. "what the fuck did you just say?"

gabby shrugged her shoulders as if it were nothing. "just speaking to my boyfriend, that's all."

"oh, if only you knew your boyfriend only uses you for sex." val says, pouting her face sarcastically.

we're all speechless and val opens her mouth to say something until gabby grabs her glass of water and spills it on val.

val looks at her and laughs. "you're pretty fucking stupid. spilling water on a black dress like that's going to do something."

she grabs her glass of wine and spills it on gabby, who gasps loudly and says, "what the hell is your problem?"

i try to hold in my laughter, because this whole scene was pretty fucking hilarious, and i look at val's boyfriend to see his reaction and his eyes are wide and he looks shocked.

"i think we should go." christopher gets up from his seat. "i'll pay for dinner."

i don't say anything and try to calm down gabby, who is wiping a napkin aggressively on her pink dress. i turn to val who is looking at me with a smirk on her lips.

"i'm going home, i need to get this dry cleaned. ruin my favourite pink dress, why don't you?" she mumbles the last part to herself. "matthew, are you coming?"

"you catch a cab, i'm going home a bit later." i say, because i really don't want to deal with her right now.

"of course," she rolls her eyes. "stay with her and not your girlfriend."

she walks outside and i don't even try to fight it because i cannot stand to be with her. especially not right now.

val's boyfriend already left which left val and i alone outside the restaurant.

"if i had known the night would've turned like this, i wouldn't have invited you. i truly am sorry." i say while lighting a cigarette.

"you don't have to apologize, matty. you warned me that she was crazy and i didn't want to believe you, but now i do." she says laughing.

for a moment theres a comfortable silence between us. just two friends sitting on a bench outside a restaurant thinking about what just happened.

"i think i've gone mad, val." i finally say. i say it as a joke but i think she knows there's a hint of truth in there.

"that's sad." she says as she takes the cigarette from my fingers.

"isn't it?" i chuckle.

i turn to look at her and i watch her blow smoke out of her lips. she notices me looking at her and smirks. "like what you see?"

i chuckle and get closer to her and put my arm around her shoulder. she leans her head on my shoulder and we sit there for 5 minutes, listening to the sounds of cars on the streets.

but the moment is gone when she gets up. "i should get going."

"are you sure you don't want a ride home?" i ask.

"i'm sure. i'll be fine." she assures me. she embraces me in a hug and kisses my cheek.

maybe it was the wine or the fact that we were alone together. i'm not quite sure what it was. but i had the sudden urge to kiss her. she pulled away and smiled at me.

i found myself leaning in and pressing my lips against hers. i quickly pull away though and i can't read the expression on her face.

"i'm sorry, i shouldn't have done that." i stutter.

"no, it's fine. i should go." she looks down and walks down the sidewalk.

i'm left alone with my thoughts and i immediately regret what i had just done. not that i didn't want to do it but because now i'm even more fucking confused.

fuck.