Royally Falling

~ 18 ~

"You and I
We don't wanna be like them
We can make it 'til the end
Nothing can come between
You and I"
You and I - One Direction

oOoOo

On Saturday, Blair, Marc, and I spend most of the morning cleaning the apartment. We haven't done a deep clean since we moved in, so it's gotten a little messy.

We busy ourselves with vacuuming, washing the floors, and cleaning bathrooms. Blair also meticulously sets up the materials for cookie decorating in the kitchen. She takes her decorating very seriously, as one should.

At 2:30, Grace shows up with her gifts. Chase and Kaden aren't supposed to be here until three, so I instantly know something is up. Grace is never early; she loves to show up "fashionably late" to everything.

"Great, you're here!" Blair exclaims giving her a hug.

"I love your sweater," I laugh. It says 'Santa's favorite ho.'

We told everyone to wear an ugly-Christmas sweater, so we can get cute pictures. Blair and I are wearing matching sweaters with reindeer on them. I haven't seen what Marc has on yet.

"Thanks, girl." She walks into the living room to set her presents under the tree.

"I know I'm early, but Blair said that we need to have a little chat," she says when she returns. I get sent a pointed look.

"Okay, just get on with it," I sigh, already knowing where this is going.

Harassing Kate seems to be a favorite pastime of my friends and family these days.

"Great!" She claps her hands together. "So where should I start?" She pretends to think really hard.

"Maybe with the fact that someone is going to end up getting hurt?" Blair supplies.

"Oh, yeah. That someone is going to be Kaden. I know you think you are sparing his feelings by not rejecting him, but you are just using a band-aid solution! You are temporarily making things better, but it'll be so much worse in the long term!"

"That's what I've been saying," Blair comments wryly.

"See, Blair agrees. I think everyone else on Earth would agree too."

"About that, Blair, I thought you wanted me to be with Kaden," I point out.

"Yes, I do, but you need to tell him what's going on. Maybe you can work something out with him. I don't approve of keeping him in the dark. A strong relationship isn't built on lies."

"Well, how do I even bring it up? Merely say 'hey, so I've been lying to you for the past three months? Oh, I'm cheating on you too."

"We can help you bring it up in a conversation. Just give a signal, and we can think of something," Grace suggests.

"Yeah, I'm good at thinking on my feet," Blair says.

"Okay fine, but-" I start, but get interrupted before finishing.

"Yes!" Grace and Blair shout simultaneously. They turn and high five each other dramatically.

"I'm not saying anything today," I finish when they're done.

Their joyous expressions turn into glares in my direction.

"Why not? He's coming over today. You won't see him until the end of January. It's your last opportunity for the next month. Would you rather do this over text?" She scoffs.