Chapter Text
Zoé POV:
I had forgotten how hurtful Chris could be; he never thinks before he speaks, and that's been the case since we were kids. I can't count how many times Chris and I would argue over toys when we were little, but I didn't think it would continue as we grew up.
Seriously, what's his problem? If he were truly my friend, he should be happy that I've found the love of my life instead of constantly criticizing him as he does.
Leaving his room after our argument, I ran into Matt in the living room.
"Zoé? Are you okay?" he said upon seeing me.
"Yeah, I have some things to do at home. I'll see you later," I said, wiping away my tears before smiling at him.
"Um, okay, but are you sure you don't want to stay with us today? The girls will be back in the afternoon," he asked, confused.
"No, sorry," I said before leaving the house.
I took my car, even though my house was literally two minutes away, because I didn't want to have to walk to retrieve it later.
Once at home, I couldn't help but cry. I was sad that Chris didn't even try to understand me. This situation was frustrating; he had judged me as if I knew nothing about life. Just because he's two years older doesn't mean he knows better than me.
My phone rang; it was Dad, probably wanting to check in since we couldn't talk yesterday.
"How's my amazing daughter?" he said cheerfully.
"Hello, Dad..." I replied in a low voice.
"Is everything okay, sweetheart? What's going on?" he asked, concerned.
"No, everything's fine, Dad, don't worry," I said, sniffing.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't lie to your old dad!" he insisted.
"Dad!" I said, laughing.
"Is it about Kyle? Do you miss home? Do you want to come back? Because if that's the case, my angel, I'll book you a ticket right away; you don't have to move in alone now," he said.
"No, it's not that. Everything is fine with Kyle, and of course, I miss home, but I'm not sad because of that," I confessed.
"So, what is it, sweetheart?" he asked.
"Chris and I had a stupid argument, and now we're not talking to each other," I eventually told him.
He just burst out laughing on the other end of the line, and I didn't understand why.
"What's so funny about that, Dad?" I asked, confused.
"Nothing at all, sweetheart. I just thought it was something much more serious when I heard your little voice," he said, still laughing.
"Dad, of course it's serious. Chris is acting like a jerk with me, making me out to be a carefree little girl who doesn't know how to handle her love life," I told him, feeling hurt.
"Oh, so it's about Kyle?" he said.
"Yes, among other things. Chris says he's not a good guy for me and that I'm blinded by my feelings, but that's completely untrue! And I feel like he couldn't care less about hurting me, given the way he talks to me," I replied.
"Do you remember when you were little, and your mom and I used to take you to Grandma Biscuit's every early summer?" he asked.
"Uh, yes, but I really don't see the connection with Grandma Biscuit!" I said, confused.
"Chris and you used to argue about that darn monkey-shaped plushie," he added, laughing.
"Mister Chubby!" I said, smiling.
"Exactly, Mister Chubby. That plushie Grandma Biscuit gave you both to teach you to share your belongings," he said.
"I remember; I loved that plushie," I said, still smiling.
"One day, after fighting over Mister Chubby, you ended up tearing one of its arms, and you were furious. I had never seen you like that!" he said with a voice full of emotion.
I laughed hearing that. It warmed my heart that he was telling me this forgotten story.
"Do you remember what you said to Chris that day?" he asked, chuckling.
"I told him I hated him and that I never wanted to be his friend again, and now he had to play alone," I said, shaking my head.
"Exactly, and after that, you locked yourself in your room for the rest of the day, and Chris ended up playing alone with Mister Chubby," he continued.
"Okay, but I still don't see where you're going with this. After that story, Grandma Biscuit sewed up Mister Chubby and gave it to me, saying that Chris wasn't allowed to play with it anymore because he didn't take care of his things," I said, confused.
"That's what Grandma Biscuit told you, sweetheart. The truth is, Chris was so sad that you didn't want to play with him anymore that he went to Grandma Biscuit and confessed that he was the one who broke Mister Chubby and that he didn't deserve to play with it anymore," he confessed.
"Huh? How do you know that?" I asked.
"Grandma Biscuit told me, and when she asked him why he confessed, he told her that even though he loved playing with Mister Chubby, he'd rather never play with it again than never play with his best friend Zoé," he said.
"Why has Chris never told me anything about this?" I asked.
"Because Chris never wanted to show you how much he cared about you. You know, of all the boys in the world, I think none wants your happiness more than him, my dear. Maybe if he acts like this, it's because he wants to protect you. I know he hurt you, sweetheart, but I think it hurts him even more to imagine that you hate him now," Dad said.
"And what am I supposed to do then? Forgive him and not be angry anymore?" I said, feeling upset.
"No, I think you should make him understand that he hurt you by talking to you that way," he simply replied.
Dad was right, as always. Maybe Chris was just afraid that I would be sad because of Kyle. In the end, maybe all this wasn't just about him hating my boyfriend.
"Thanks, Dad," I said, reassured.
"I love you more than anything; you're the most precious thing I have in the world, sweetheart. If things don't get better, call me, okay?" he said.
"Yes, Dad, I love you too. I have some things to do; I'll call you later," I said before hanging up.
Dad always had the right words for me. I was too frustrated and annoyed to understand that this argument was simply because Chris wanted to protect me.
Sometimes I forget that some people love and care about me, and often I start thinking that they do certain things just to hurt me.
I didn't really know how I was supposed to talk to Chris about it, so I spent my day rearranging my entire apartment to keep my mind busy. Once night fell, I called Kyle to give him a rundown of my day, making sure not to mention Chris.
When our call ended, it was around 12:30 a.m. I wanted to go to bed, but the argument with Chris still bothered me, so I decided to send him a message.
You:
Are you asleep?
Chris:
No
You:
Can we talk?
Chris:
Idk what u wanna talk about?
You:
About our argument.
Chris:
Yeah no I don't rly feel like telking about that.
You:
Are you serious?
Chris:
'm a bit busy rn.
You:
Chris, it's midnight.
Chris:
Yep gn peanut.
After this message, Chris didn't respond and just kept ignoring me. I just wanted to fix things between us, and this is the reaction I get?
If he wants to act like a baby, that's his problem. I want to have a discussion.
I went to his place; I had a spare key that Matt had given me just in case, so getting in wasn't a problem.
Once in front of his room, I could smell weed and hear music from the other side of the door.
Is this what he's too busy with for us to have a conversation? Too busy getting high? What an idiot.
Without knocking, I opened the door, and the first thing I saw was Chris shirtless, leaning against his headboard, with a girl I didn't know at all on top of him, kissing him in underwear.
"Oh my god," I said, averting my eyes when I understood what was happening.
"Zoé, what the f*ck?!" Chris said, jumping when he saw me.
"f*ck, I didn't know," I said, turning around, feeling embarrassment wash over me.
"Who's this bitch, Chris? I thought you stopped hanging out with other girls?!" the girl said, detaching herself from Chris.
"Are you calling me a bitch??" I said, turning back around.
"Okay, stop, Emma, don't call her a bitch. She's my best friend; I don't know what she's doing here," he said, trying to calm down his conquest.
"I'm here because you're not answering my f*cking messages, you asshole!" I said, getting annoyed.
"Because I was busy, Zoé, damn it! You can't just barge into my room in the middle of the night!" he said, raising his voice.
"This is too much for me; I'm out," the other girl said, finishing getting dressed before leaving the room.
"Emma, it's not what you think!" Chris said, trying to catch up to her in vain.
"Very charming your girlfriend," I said ironically.
"Zoé, you just screwed up my thing; it's not funny," he said, annoyed.
"If you had answered my messages, this wouldn't have happened," I replied, shrugging.
"I'm not in the mood to discuss this now, Zoé," he said, heading to his desk to roll a joint.
"Of course, if you roll another joint, we won't be able to discuss it," I said, rolling my eyes.
"It helps me sleep; you just ruined my only distraction of the night," he replied nonchalantly.
"You should thank me; your distraction seemed completely crazy," I said, looking at him sideways.
"Yeah, maybe, but she gives good head," he said, turning back to me with a fake smile.
"Chris! That's disgusting; I don't need to know that!" I replied, disgusted.
"So get out of my room and go home," he said, putting the joint in his mouth.
"No, not before we've talked," I said, taking it out of his mouth.
"Zoééé," he said in a sigh of annoyance, letting his head fall back.
"Just 5 minutes is all I'm asking for," I said, annoyed by his behavior, putting his joint in the back pocket of my pants.
"I'm listening," he said, raising his eyes to me and crossing his arms.
"I talked to Dad about our argument, and he helped me understand some things I couldn't grasp on my own. Listen, I know you don't like Kyle, and you think he's not the right guy for me, but it's my choice, I love him, and that's how it is. I'm not asking you to understand, just to stop giving me a hard time about it. Chris, you're by far my best friend, and I don't want our relationship to deteriorate because of this. Please, I just want you to make a little effort. What you said to me earlier really hurt me," I said, a bit nervous because of his intense gaze.
"I'm sorry for hurting you; that wasn't my intention," he said, running his hand through his hair.
"I know," I replied simply, crossing my arms.
"I'll try to make an effort for you, but I don't want Kyle to come between us like in high school," he said, getting up to face me.
"That won't happen, Chris," I told him, looking him in the eyes.
Something was different; I felt like I was sensing something different when I looked into his eyes.
"Truce?" he said, smiling with his eyes squinted due to the weed, and opening his arms for a hug.
I stepped toward him, and we embraced for a few seconds before he slid his hand into my pocket to retrieve his joint.
Unintentionally, he brushed against my backside, and I felt something in my lower abdomen that immediately made me blush.
"Hey, thief!" I said, stepping back.
"Statistically, it's not theft, since it belongs to me," he said with a smirk.
"You're blushing again; what's happening to you?" he added, confused, lighting his joint.
"Um, nothing, it's hot in here; you should think about airing your room more often," I replied, clearing my throat.
"Nothing holds you here," he said, taking a puff.
"We made peace, I remind you; you're not allowed to be mean to me," I said, giving him a sideways glance.
"We made peace for our morning argument, but now I'm mad at you for scaring away my hookup," he said, sitting at the edge of his bed without taking his eyes off me.
I don't know why, but something in his gaze made me really nervous.
"You'll get over it; it's just a hookup," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I've been horny all day; it would have been helpful if she were still here," he said suddenly.
Wow, um, I didn't expect that response. Okay, Chris is very unpredictable, but it seems like he's even more so when he smokes.
"Can I try?" I said, trying to change the subject.
"Try what?" he asked, looking confused.
And that's when I realized that my sentence could have a big innuendo. Oh my god, what an idiot!
"The joint!" I said, feeling embarrassed.
He started laughing, and I came to sit next to him.
"Can I?" I asked, insisting.
"No, you don't deserve it," he said with a smirk.
"Chris, come on!" I asked again.
"You should have thought about it before barging in here unannounced," he said, shrugging.
"You're too annoying," I said, sighing before getting up.
"What are you doing?" he asked, watching me go toward his desk to get my phone.
"I'm leaving!" I replied, annoyed.
"Fine, but don't forget to lock the door behind you," he said, finishing his joint.
"Screw you!" I said, leaving his room and giving him the middle finger.
