Pretend

by Charlene Antrobus

  Ok, so now I get how it feels on those TV shows when a criminal is under interrogation. I had no idea that this was coming or that it was coming my way, more importantly. I hadn't even noticed that Crystal had been watching me so much lately.

  What had she seen?

  What did she suspect?

  If she knew anything about Aiden surely she would be mad, wouldn't she? Or would she just do what she's doing now, force me to confess. Maybe I should, maybe I should just confess. Maybe that's why she was doing this, to test me.

  "So?" She said, peering into my eyes.

  "Erm...I...erm..." I began to stumble, I couldn't lie, I was nervous.

  "Look, Crystal...I'm sorry. It's Aiden," I said.

  What the hell did I just do?

  Why did I just say that?

  I wanted to cover my mouth but it was too late, the words were out.

  How was I going to explain this?

  What would I say?

  Oh yeah, I know that we're best friends but I'm totally into your brother. I have dreams about him and think about him all the time.

  Wait! I have dreams about him?

  Is Aiden the mysterious guy from my dreams?

  Suddenly my thoughts were interrupted.

  "Aiden?" She asked, raising one eyebrow at me and scrunching up her nose.

  "Yes," I whispered.

  "I don't understand," she said, her voice now a little higher than usual.

  Was it too late to save myself from this situation? Think April, think!

  "Yeah," I said, trying to sound casual.

  "He, erm...wants to go on a double date. Him and me, and Jake and Cayce. I mean the other way round," I said, trying to prevent my smile from cracking.

  "What!" She screamed.

  She was mad. Oh dear, she didn't believe me.

  "He is being such a jerk lately! Why does he have to ruin your perfectly wonderful date with Jake and bring along 'miss free ride for all'! No wonder you're so distracted, having to worry about the double date from hell. You could just tell him that he can't come you know, don't worry about being nice," she said sympathetically.

  You have got to be kidding me, she really bought it. I should be ashamed to say this but my lies were getting better by the day. Either that or I was just getting good at making people believe them.

  "It's ok, really. I think he just wanted to give Jake a little moral support. I think Jake's just nervous," I lied, again.

  "I suppose," she finally said.

  "Yeah," I said as a sigh of relief escaped my lips. I really must learn to just keep my mouth shut in the future, it would prevent situations such as these.

  "Come on, let's go and watch a movie," she said as she dragged me towards the living room.

  "Erm, I thought that you were going out?" She said as we opened the living room door.

  "Nope, change of plan," Aiden replied as he carried on watching the TV.

  "Well we want to watch a movie, so you need to go to your room or something," she said as she grabbed the remote off of the side and switched over the channel.

  "Seriously, do you live to be a moron?" He asked in a frustrated tone.

  "Only when you're concerned," she replied with a smile on her face.

  As they continued to argue, I heard the doorbell ring.

  "Hey, guys it's the door," I tried shouting over them.

  "Hello," I continued as they ignored me.

  "Ok, I guess I'll just get it then shall I," I said sarcastically as I walked out of the door.

  I closed the living room door to drown out their ridiculously loud argument and headed down the hall towards the front door. As I opened it, my jaw almost hit the floor.

  "Hey, Amy!" She said in a high pitched and rather annoying voice.

  "It's April and hi," I said in a sarcastic tone as I looked Cayce up and down. I would love to describe her outfit but I have no idea where to start.

  "Whoops, silly me," she said, trying to sound convincing.

  Just as I thought that things couldn't get any worse, I caught a glimpse of Jake walking up the path with Anthony following closely behind him.

  "Who was it?" Crystal asked as she opened the living room door. Her face suddenly displayed exactly what I was thinking as she caught a glimpse of Cayce.

  "This is your change of plans?" She shouted at Aiden as he appeared in the doorway with a smirk on his face.

  "Yup," he replied.

  "I thought you were going to Jake's house so why is everyone at ours?" She asked as she gave him the death glare.

  "Like I said, change of plans. Come on in guys, make yourself at home," he said as he looked at me and smirked.

  As I took in the whole situation that had currently been laid before me, I felt sick.

  What the hell was he playing at?

  I mean, if he wanted to add an element of surprise then he’d definitely achieved it.

  Was someone actually out to ruin my life right now? Seriously, this cannot be happening. The double date, I could have prepared for but this had caught me totally off guard.

  "Hey," Jake said as he walked in.

  "Hi," I replied in a low tone.

  "Hey, Kiddo," Anthony said as he ruffled my hair and stepped inside of the house. I couldn't help but laugh, especially since Anthony still enjoyed calling me kiddo.

  "Hey, Ant," I said as I punched him in the arm and fixed my hair.

  As Jake, Anthony and Cayce started to walk towards the living room door, Crystal placed both her hands on the frame, preventing them from entering.

  "I don't think so somehow, we are about to watch a movie, you guys can go and entertain yourselves elsewhere," she said whilst looking in Aiden's direction.

  "Ok, you're right," Aiden said with a smirk on his face.

  Why did I feel like he had some sort of plan?

  "Guys, let's go. We'll leave the girls to watch their movie," he said as he turned to walk up the stairs.

  "What!" Crystal shrieked.

  "Erm baby, what about me?" Cayce said as she ran towards Aiden.

  This girl was really going to annoy me tonight, I could feel it.

  "You stay here with the girls. They won't bite, I promise," he said before winking at her and then leaping up the stairs with Jake and Anthony following closely behind.

  To describe this moment as awkward would be an understatement.

  "So, what are we watching?" Cayce asked as she walked into the living room and sat on the arm chair.

  "We are watching She's the man and you are sat in my chair," Crystal said in a straight voice.

  "Oh, sorry," she replied before moving seats.

  "We're watching She's the man? I love that movie!" I shrieked as I jumped into the chair.

  "I know, that's why I picked it," Crystal replied as she threw me a smile.

  The room fell kind of silent as we sat, watching Crystal put the DVD into the player. Finally the film began. Phew.

  * * *

  The movie had been on for about an hour and twenty minutes and Cayce had already cried at least three times. I have no idea what is wrong with this chick, seriously!

  Wait, did I just call her a chick?

  She's so girly that she's making me start to speak like a guy! I can't believe it though, I mean, she cried when the tarantula got free in the dorm because she was scared that it was going to hurt Duke! Then she cried when Viola didn't want to wear a dress because she felt sorry for her not being 'in touch' with her feminine side! And now she was crying because Duke and Viola were about to kiss! If I miss Channing Tatum's hotness because I have to tell her to be quiet one more time, I may actually strangle her.

  "Oh my gosh, it's so sad," she said as she wiped the tears from her face.

  "They're confessing their love for one another, why is that sad?" I asked in a frustrated tone.

  "Because it's so beautiful," she said as she let out a loud cry, blowing her nose in the tissue that Crystal had gotten her earlier.

  Crystal tur
ned to me and rolled her finger in the air, beside her head to show that she thought that Cayce was crazy.

  "I know," I mouthed back to her.

  "Kiss her Luke, kiss her!" She screamed at the screen.

  "It's Duke," Crystal corrected.

  "Oh sorry! They are so cute! This is so like me and Aiden," she said as Crystal put her two fingers in her mouth, pretending to throw up.

  You have got to be kidding me. I cannot bare another minute of this torture.

  "I'm going to the bathroom, back in a minute," I said as I stood up and walked towards the door.

  "Don't leave me," Crystal mouthed behind Cayce's back.

  "Sorry, bye," I mouthed back as a smirk filled my face.

  As I walked out of the room, I let my back rest against the door as I let out a sigh of relief. That girl was so not right in the head. I quietly walked up the stairs. As I went to walk into the bathroom, I suddenly stopped in my tracks as I heard Aiden and the guys talking about something in his room. I quietly crept up to his door and pressed my ear, against it. I know, I know I'm nosey, but who isn't?

  "No but seriously dude, Cayce is hot!" Anthony said as I rolled my eyes.

  "Yeah but she's an air head," Jake added as they all burst into a fit of laughter. I always knew that Jake was the sensible one.

  "What about you?" Aiden asked.

  "Nothing dude, you know me, I don't do relationships. Anthony has plenty of love for all the ladies!" Anthony replied as they all burst out laughing.

  Guys.

  "What about you and April? You know that she's like a sister to me, right? No messing around," Anthony said in a more serious tone.

  "Well, April's different, isn't she," Jake replied.

  Different? What does he mean I'm different?

  "Yeah, she's a keeper. She's special," Anthony added.

  "Yeah, she sure is," Jake replied.

  How sweet.

  "Ain't that right Aiden?" Anthony asked.

  "Yeah but she's feisty when she wants to be, you know," Aiden added.

  "I am not," I said without thinking.

  I quickly slapped my hands over my mouth. Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I just said that out loud. I quickly tiptoed over to the bathroom, shut the door behind me and stood in silence. Please, say that they didn't hear me.

  I waited for a few seconds and when I heard that there was no noise, I flushed the toilet, washed my hands and dried them, even though I didn't really use the toilet. When I was done, I gently pushed the door open and walked out of it. The butterflies left my stomach when I realised that Aiden's door was still closed. The coast was clear and I could hear Jake and Anthony still talking loudly in the room. Either I was really lucky or an angel was watching over me.

  I silently crept towards the stairs and started to make my way down when I was interrupted by a low tone.

  "Being discreet never was one of your strong points," a voice said from behind me. I could hear the stupid smirk in his tone.

  I knew that it was too good to be true!

  "Pardon?" I asked as though I had no idea what he was talking about.

  He let out a laugh and took a step closer to me.

  "I know that you was listening to us through the door," he said as the smile on his face tripled in size.

  "No I wasn't," I lied.

  "April, you never were good at lying either," he replied.

  "I'm not lying," I said angrily.

  "Oh, sorry I thought that I heard you. Maybe I was wrong.”

  "You were," I said defensively.

  "Oh ok, I thought that you overheard Anthony saying how weird you were," he said.

  "No he didn't, he said that I was special!"

  Damn! It was a trap. Me and my big mouth. I really need to spend less time with Crystal, she was seriously starting to rub off on me.

  "I mean..." There was no point, I'd been caught out and from the smile on his face he was enjoying every minute of it.

  "It's kind of rude to listen in on other people's conversations you know.”

  "It was an accident, I didn't mean to listen," I quickly defended myself.

  "Ok, whatever you say. So, how's the film?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

  "I don't know, I can't hear it past your girlfriend's snivelling," I moaned.

  "Girlfriend? Is that what we're calling her now?" He said as his smirk increased.

  "Well, she seems to think so," I spat back at him.

  "Does that bother you?" He said with a smile on his face.

  "No!" I shrieked. It was unconvincing, I know but at least I tried.

  "Did I mention that you weren't good at lying?" He asked with a smug look on his face.

  "And did I mention that I wasn't lying," I replied, sarcastically.

  "Yeah, sure. Anyway, the guys will be wondering what's taking me so long, so I'm going to have to go now," he said, heading back towards the room.

  "Yeah, same here. Well not the guys but, you know what I mean," I said, feeling rather confused by my own words.

  "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said as he laughed and headed towards his bedroom door.

  I started to walk down the stairs when his voice stopped me.

  "April," he whispered.

  "Yes?" I asked as I turned back around to face him.

  "I didn't do anything, you know, the other night with Cayce. I couldn't," he said, now in a more gentle tone.

  "Why?" I asked as my heart began to race at a speed that I can't even begin to describe.

  "Because it wasn't what I wanted," he replied.

  "Well what did you want?" I asked as I cleared my throat.

  He went to say something when his bedroom door suddenly swung open.

  "Hey dude, what's taking so long? Oh, hey April," Anthony said as he realised that I was stood there.

  "Hey," I replied.

  "Come on man, I'm about to destroy Jake again on this game!"

  "Ok, ok I'm coming man," he said as he looked back at me and walked into the room.

  As I walked down the stairs, I was left wondering what he was going to say, I guess I'll never know.

  "What took you so long?" Crystal questioned as soon as I walked through the door.

  "We thought that you were dead," Cayce said as they both continued to watch the TV screen.

  "Well it’s good to know that if I really was dead that you two would have come searching for me, isn't it," I said, sarcastically as I sat back down in the chair.

  "Sssssh," they both sang in unison.

  "Sorry. What's this?" I asked.

  "A Cinderella story, it's so sweet," Crystal said as she hugged the cushion on her lap.

  "Crystal, have you been crying?" I asked as I examined the tear in the corner of her eye.

  "I couldn't help it," she said as she wiped the corner of her eye with her hand.

  "You don't understand how emotional it can get," she continued.

  "I know, right?" Cayce added.

  Oh great, I leave them alone for two minutes and they've both gone crazy.

  Suddenly I felt a buzz in my pocket, which of course made me jump. I pulled my phone out and looked at the screen. I wondered if it was Kyle, with news on Mimi.

  As I examined the screen and unlocked my phone, I was a little surprised. It was a text from Aiden.

  Why would he be texting me?

  Ask me again...

  As I stared down at the screen in confusion I began to type a message back.

  Ask you what?

  As soon as I had sent my message about twenty seconds later I received another reply.

  Upstairs, before Anthony interrupted us you asked me what I wanted. Ask me again?

  At this point I was completely confused by Aiden’s sudden string of texts that made no sense what so ever.

  Ok, what do you want?

  A minute passed as I kept my phone in my hand and waited for the familiar vibration. When I felt it, I quickly opened up the message from Aiden. I let out a sligh
t gasp as I read his text.

  You.

  As I stared down at the text on my phone, all I could do was smile. Maybe this night would be better than I thought after all.

  I sat, staring at the screen for about twenty five minutes, wondering whether I should say anything back.

  Did I even need to say anything back?

  I don't know, but reading it over and over again was putting the biggest smile on my face.

  I couldn't begin to explain why but with Aiden my stomach just did back flips. Even just hearing his name excites me. He can make me so mad and then completely turn it around in just a second. It sounds cheesy but he made me so happy. As I continued to get lost in my thoughts, my phone suddenly vibrated in my hand.

  Are you just going to sit there smiling at the screen or actually reply? :)

  I burst out laughing.

  "What are you laughing at?" Crystal questioned.

  Damn, I forgot that they were still in the room.

  "Oh, just a joke message that someone sent me," I replied.

  "Oh, ok," she said without taking her eyes off of the TV.

  I would be forever in debt to A Cinderella Story for distracting her so much, that I actually managed to get away with that lie. Realising that both her eyes were still glued to the TV, I quickly began to type.

  Who said that I was smiling?

  I quickly clicked send and kept my eyes on the screen, excitedly waiting for a reply.

  The gap in the living room door

  Huh?

  I quickly swung my head around and spotted Aiden watching me through the gap of the living room door. Unfortunately in my speed, I had slipped off of the edge of the chair and fell straight onto my butt.

  "Ouch," I yelped as I watched Aiden, throw his hand over his mouth in a bid not to laugh.

  "Oh gosh, are you ok?" Cayce asked as I gave Aiden a sarcastic smile.

  "Yeah I'm fine," I said as I quickly lifted myself up, off of the floor.

  "Good," she said before turning her attention back to the TV screen. Aiden gestured for me to come out of the room with his hand.