Chapter 3

She drags you to the clothing store she was pointing at earlier. It's a somewhat dark room with loud music. The clothes seem to be pretty hipster. There are long sets of dark skinny jeans, colorful dresses and different types of hats. You find yourself looking through a row of light blue jeans jackets while Brittany takes off towards the other end of the store.

After picking out one that you like, you turn around to search for Brittany. You find her in front of a mirror, holding up a dress in front of her body.

You think it'd look magical on her but she scrunches her face up in a disliking grimace and puts the dress back to search for a new one.

You stand behind her awkwardly, holding the jacket tight to your body.

You stare at her back for a while, realizing how you never finished your conversation at the coffee place.

"You never told me your story," you say randomly, making her turn around to look at you questioningly.

"Huh?" She's wrinkling her nose and annoyingly you think it's cute.

"How you lost your virginity," you explain further and her face relaxes into an understanding smile.

She turns around again to search through more clothes and you have to strain your neck to hear what she says over the music. She pops her lips as she mumbles out a short "nope".

You roll your eyes. Of course she's not going to tell you. She makes you spill all of your beans while she's just gonna keep her story all to herself. Lame.

"You didn't really say that much about it anyway. Only your age, his name and how shitty he was." She's mumbling into the stand of colorful clothes and you almost can't hear what she says.

You arch your eyebrow at Brittany's back.

"So how much more do I need to tell you until you tell me your story?" You're challenging her with a raised eyebrow and when she turns around and gives you her usual smirk, you can't help but let your lips form into a playful smile too.

Brittany keeps looking at your face, smirk still in place. You begin to feel uneasy under her gaze but it also makes your chest flutter and your heart beat a little bit faster. She opens her mouth before quickly closing it again, and you hang on to every movement, waiting for her to tell you what to do.

Then she crosses her arms over her chest and says, "You need to tell me your favorite color."

You exhale the breath you were subconsciously holding and you can't believe this girl.

You want to laugh but you think she's being serious.

"I don't have one," you say instead as you cross your arms over your chest too, mirroring her position.

Brittany squints her eyes at you, as if she's trying to see if you're telling the truth or not.

"Bullshit," she says after a beat and you arch your eyebrows, challenging her again. She shakes her head, "Everyone has a favorite color."

"Okay, then." You're just about to reveal your favorite color when she interrupts you by holding up a finger.

"And don't say rainbow!"

You snort and you scold yourself for making such an unattractive sound but you can't help yourself around her.

"Wasn't going to," you singsong and Brittany just keeps looking at you, waiting for your truthful answer.

You take a deep breath and then put your hands up in surrender.

"It's pink."

A loud laugh erupts from your blonde friend's mouth and you stare at her like you can't believe she's laughing at you.

"Why is that funny?" You ask but Brittany just keeps chuckling at you.

When she calms down and you're still looking her waiting for an answer, she shrugs one shoulder and runs a hand through her hair. "Just wasn't expecting it," she explains while still smiling.

You huff but you're really not offended. If anything, you're proud that you got her to laugh.

"Come on," Brittany grabs you by the arm as if she needs to make sure you really come with her. As if you wouldn't follow her on your own accord anyway. "Let's go see a movie."

You're wrinkling your forehead as you leave the jacket on a stand next to you, you can buy that later. You bite your lip, "um, what movie?"

"Whatever movie you want," she says as she turns her head back to look at you. "I really want to see Frozen though."

You're a bit taken back by her choice of activity but you won't complain.

But as much as you'd love to be stuck in a dark room next to Brittany, you're not sure it's a good idea.

"Wait," you quickly whip your head towards Brittany and halt her quick steps by yanking at her arm. "You haven't seen Frozen?"

Brittany only quirks an eyebrow at you as you keep staring at her astonished.

You try to form a sentence that won't make her see you as a total nerd, but also makes her realize that the movie is a must-see.

"You kiddin' me?"

Out of all the sentences you could've said, that might not have been the smartest and less nerdy. But at this point, you don't really care.

"It's like the best movie of the year," you state and Brittany just keeps looking at you like she doesn't know what you're talking about. "We have to see it now, I'll watch it again, you have to see it."

Brittany slowly starts to crack a smile, and after a few seconds, she laughs loudly.

"I can't believe you actually believed that."

You furrow your eyebrows as she keeps laughing.

"Of course I've seen Frozen, who hasn't?" Brittany looks at you like you're the most gullible person on earth and you feel your cheeks heat up instantly.

"Funny," you deadpan.

Brittany shrugs, "it was only a test, now I know we can be friends."

You feel your heart flutter at her words. You're her friend. Even though it's only because you like the same movie, you feel flattered.

"Actually," Brittany taps your shoulder and starts walking again. "I really want to watch Spider-Man."

You exhale a breath you didn't realize you were holding and nod your head, "Spider-Man it is."

You gaze at her from the corner of your eye and you can see that a smile is forming on her lips.

"You're making a very cute nerd," she says swiftly as she winks at you. You almost lose your breath just by watching that wink and hearing those words but you bring yourself together and give her a teasing smile back, like her words didn't affect you at all.

"Thanks."

OoOo

You get your tickets to the Spider-Man movie and this time Brittany manages to pay before you get your card up. She smiles smugly and you can't help but roll your eyes playfully.

"You can choose our seats," Brittany whispers in your ear as soon as you enter the theater.

You point at the end row and Brittany smiles smugly as you make your way over there.

As you sit down in the middle of the row, Brittany leans into your side. She glances down to your lips before she meets your gaze. "You know, if you weren't already dating my brother, I'd think your intentions of picking these seats were to get your mack on." Her breath tickles your skin and you feel an involuntary shudder through your body.

You lick your lips as you look into her eyes. "N-no-"

You don't have time to finish the sentence before Brittany cracks a smile and winks at you.

"I'm joking with you, babe."

She bumps her shoulder against your own and the butterflies in your stomach only intensify.

You can't stand her.

But in a good way. It's like she's intoxicating. She's dangerous but you can't get enough of her.

Throughout the movie, she keeps whispering funny comments in your ear. She sits close, almost leaning into you the whole time. Her words make you laugh and her presence makes your head spin and you know for sure you're attracted to her.

You love the way her nose scrunches up when she doesn't understand the plot, or when a character says something weird. You keep watching the few freckles on her nose, and the way her blue eyes watch the screen with excitement.

You watch the way her mouth forms words, and the way her lips curl up whenever she looks over at you.

When the movie is over, she offers to drive you home again. You feel like this whole day has been like a date but you've enjoyed it. And you'll love to have more days like these with her.

Before she drops you off at your dorm room, she leans in for a hug. You're both still wearing seatbelts and it's awkward but she still manages to take your breath away. You catch yourself smelling her neck and you cough lamely to try to cover it up. She smells nice though. Really nice. Before she leans away completely, she kisses your cheek. Her lips barely graze your skin but you still feel your whole face tingling as you leave her car.

OoOo

Monday morning comes way too fast and you wake up feeling hung-over even though you didn't drink anything since Friday.

You text Jeremy, asking if he's up for some breakfast at Starbucks. He texts back immediately telling you he'll kill for a coffee. You feel like you're not the only one having a bad first impression of this Monday.

You order your coffee and sit down outside where the chairs are set up in a line against the wall. It doesn't take long until Jeremy emerges from the coffee shop too and waves at you as he gets closer.

"Hey girlfriend," Jeremy says in the gayest way ever and you can't hold back your laughter.

"How do people still think you're a heterosexual?" You ask as he sits down next to you while shrugging his shoulders.

"Obviously it's not because I'm so macho," he says with a wink.

You roll your eyes smiling, "Obviously."

Jeremy takes a sip from his coffee and looks at you more seriously, "Honestly, I think it's because girls love me and people think I'm sleeping with them."

You bob your head up and down, understanding how that could work.

There's something you've been wondering for a while but have yet to ask. You know his dad is closed-minded and Jeremy doesn't want Rufus to know he's gay. But what about his friends? Do they know?

"How closeted are you?" You watch as he arches his eyebrows, but you don't explain further because you know he understands.

He runs a hand through his curly locks and looks at you. "Pretty closeted." You keep looking at the side of his face as he turns his head towards the entrance of the coffee shop. "Only two people know."

"In the entire world?" you ask and he gives you a fleeting smile.

"Yep," he takes a deep breath, "you and my friend Quinn."

You bite your lip, "Have you been fake-dating her too?"

You try getting him to smile because you don't feel like taking the conversation too deep. You don't think Jeremy wants to go too deep either.

"Nope, that's only you," he winks and you weirdly feel a little special.

You smile at each other and you feel like you have this kind of mutual connection with each other. It's like you understand him even though you've only known him for a couple of days. You think you could probably just look at him and he'll understand what you mean. Like a soul mate, a platonic soul mate.

"What about you?" Jeremy rests his cheek in the palm of his hand. "How closeted are you?"

You look down at the table, drawing an invincible pattern on the surface with your fingertip.

"Nobody knows," you mumble.

As if sensing your awkwardness, he reaches his hand out and pats your hand on the table. "That's okay," he says and if it was anyone else, you wouldn't feel very reassured, but you think he really means what he says. That it's okay. He understands.

Jeremy quickly leans back against his seat again and starts searching through his jacket's pocket. After a few seconds he hauls up a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and you arch your eyebrow as he lights one up and inhales his first draw.

When you keep looking at him like he's doing something wrong, he reaches the package towards you and offers you a cigarette too.

You shake your head, "Smoking is bad for you," you say, as if reading off an advertisement about lung cancer.

He huffs and pulls the cigarettes back.

"You were smoking outside that night club," he reminds you but you only roll your eyes at his try to defend his actions.

"I only smoke at parties," you say, matter-of-factly. "Or clubs," you add, just to be clear.

It's Jeremy's turn to roll his eyes. And then he takes one more draw.

"We'll all die someday anyway," he states as if it doesn't matter.

You cross one leg over the other and smile smugly, "And you'll die twenty years before everyone else your age."

"Piss off," he says through a half smile and you can't help but breathe out a laugh.

You resolve to let him decide for himself how to treat his lungs and so you change the subject back to his friend.

"So, what's Quinn like?" You ask. You kind of want to know what made him choose her, out of everyone.

Jeremy shrugs as he inhales the last draw of his cigarette and puts it out in the ashtray. "She's blonde, very kind," he pauses, as if trying to find one last fitting word, and then he nods his head subtly, "and very hot."

You wiggle your eyebrows and Jeremy rolls his eyes.

"Don't even think about it," he warns trough a smile.

"I wasn't," you say but continue to wiggle your eyebrows. "When can I meet her?"

Jeremy laughs, "Probably soon." He looks over at you with a genuine smile. "I don't need to introduce you as my girlfriend to her though."

"Yeah," you hum in recognition. "That'll be nice."

You sit quietly for a while, just enjoying the morning sun in the otherwise cold air.

You're supposed to be in school in a few hours, so you still have some time to kill.

You're in the psychology program and it's quite an ambitious school but you just had an exam so right now it's mostly just lectures to attend and not so much studying that needs to be done. And it's not like you'd do more than necessary.

"Do you have class today?" You ask Jeremy as he sips on his black coffee.

You remember him mentioning college in the car to the brunch in a conversation with Brittany.

"Nope," he smiles. "But I do have to go to the library to finish a project I'm working on."

A cold breeze hits your face and Jeremy quickly zips up his jacket as you shudder in complaint.

"What kind of project?" You feel like you should know this about your boyfriend.

"A music thingy," he says. "We're making our own vocals to famous beats." Jeremy then rolls his eyes and chances a glance at you. "I'm still trying to find some beats."

You smile, knowing the feeling of getting stuck somewhere in a project.

"So you're in the music program?" You're kind of impressed, and also a bit jealous. You wanted to attend a music school in California but your dad wouldn't let you. Or you did make the final choice but he threatened to let you pay the whole tuition yourself and simultaneously cut off your relationship. He can be quite dramatic. You don't even think he would last a week without calling you.

Jeremy nods his head, "What school are you in?"

You tell the name of your school and he raises his eyebrows.

"That's not far from ours," he states and you look at him quizzically.

"Ours?"

Jeremy runs a hand through his hair, "Yeah, me and Brittany's."

You gulp, suddenly feeling your heart rate pick up.

"You go to the same school?" You say, a bit teasingly, trying to make it seem like your heart doesn't start beating faster every time you hear that name.

He rolls his eyes, but nods his head again. "Yeah, but she's in the dance program."

Your mind quickly makes up images of Brittany dancing and you have to shake your head to rid yourself of the internal struggle to keep yourself out of the gutter.

"So do you live in a dorm room?"

You clear your throat and readjust yourself in your seat. "Y-yeah," you stutter. "Dorm room."

"Fancy," he winks, and you snort.

"It works," you say. "It's more of an apartment I share with two others."

Jeremy lights up and wiggles his eyebrows. "I'll have to meet your roomies!"

You roll your eyes, "yeah, someday."

OoOo

You're sitting in class, drawing weird creatures on a paper. It's only after a few minutes that you realize you just drew a pair of thick sunglasses over the part of the paper where your professor wrote about your upcoming assignment and now you don't know what to do. Though you guess you could just copy someone in your class later.

As your professor starts showing a PowerPoint about famous psychologists, your phone chimes quietly in your pocket. You pick it up and see a text from Brittany. You saved her phone number immediately after she called you on Saturday night.

Party at our house tomorrow, you in? ;)

Your stomach does a summersault. You've gotten used to your body acting stupid in situations where Brittany is involved. You're not going to say no to her, you already know that. You love spending time with her. And you'll never decline an invitation to a party. You and alcohol and Brittany in the same room though, could only end badly. You and alcohol in any room with any people usually end badly. You'll embarrass yourself in front of her and she'll think you're weird. Last time you got drunk you got yourself a fake boyfriend and your life pretty much took a completely different turn since then. You probably shouldn't attend a party where both Brittany and your fake boyfriend will be the hosts.

Your eyes widen as you suddenly remember what Brittany told everyone at brunch. That she has a boyfriend. He'll probably be there too. What was his name again? Adam..? Whatever.

You close your eyes and type out a reply.

I'll be there.

OoOo

Thanks for reading and reviewing! If you have any ideas about situations you think would be funny or so, please feel free to tell me about them in a review. It would really help. Have a fantastic day/night/morning/afternoon!