Pretend (22 page)

             
"Being discreet never was
one of
your strong point
s
,"
 
a voice
 
said from behind me. I could he
ar 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 w
as 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 k
now.”

             
"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 lo
ng, 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 lon
g?
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 slight 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.

             
"Does anyone want a drink?" I asked as I walked towards the door.

             
"No thanks," they both answered as though I was becoming a nuisance.

             
"Ok, I'll be back in a bit," I added. They both ignored me of course.

             
As I stepped out of the door, I clos
ed it behind me and hit Aiden o
n the arm.

             
"What was that for?" He asked as he continued to laugh and rub his arm.

             
"It was for laughing and making me fall," I replied as a smile filled my lips.