Chapter sixteen | Winging both the ways

Chapter sixteen | Winging both the ways

Shock rippled through my body, bringing my thoughts to an abrupt halt. The heavyweight of his words silenced me to the core.

Finding that your best friend was bisexual was one thing, but discovering that she newly turned lesbian and dumped your other best friend was another.

I blinked into thin air, trying to grasp the threads of my thoughts but all in vain.

Connor's shoulders shook as he sobbed loudly, slumping over his knees. I opened my mouth, trying to form the words to console him.

"You will get over it, Connor."

I cringed when he turned and glared at me, telling me how wrong my words were. I am an idiot.

Never said otherwise. My brain added.

"You don't get over someone you love, Elias," He let out in a croaky voice. His voice was heavy with crying, and his tanned face looked pale.

Watching him being so vulnerable ripped my heart. I, for the very first time in my life, wanted that smug smile and cheeky remarks back.

Finally, coming to terms with the loss of comforting words, I asked the question itching me.

"What exactly happened?" I inquired, trying to understand the situation.

Connor had stopped crying but still resorted to leaning over his knees. He heaved a heavy sigh and gave me a long look.

It was as if he was staring right through me. His eyes had a faraway look, making me feel worried.

"She had been acting weird for the past few weeks, especially since the school started," he said as he moved his eyes to focus on the floor. "She was more distant, and when I tried talking about it, she would wave me off."

"So, last night, when we were playing the beer pong, she had quietly left for somewhere. I didn't even notice until the end of the game. You disappeared soon after that, making me feel worried about her." Connor paused and gulped.

"I called her, and she picked up on the first ring. She asked me to come out to the front as she felt suffocating inside. I did as she asked and soon found her gazing up in the sky, right outside in the front porch. Before I could ask where she had been, she blurted that some girl had kissed her."

A heavy pause followed, making me gulp. "Navya cheated on you?" The words tasted bitter on my tongue.

Connor shook his head vehemently, making me release a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"I got angry, but she rubbed my arms and calmed me down. She said that a girl kissed, most probably in the drunken stupor, but she didn't kiss her back. Before I could express relief and apologize, she pulled away from me. Navya said that she had thought about it for a long time, and the kiss the girl gave finalized her decision."

He paused, trying to gain his composure.

"She told me she was lesbian, looking straight into my eyes. It hurts, Elias. It hurts so much. I thought I would crumble right there. I pleaded with her to think about it again, for the sake of our love." Connor scoffed venomously.

"You know what she said, Elias? She said she never loved me. All these years, when I shared and bared myself to her, she didn't care about it. She left me just like that. I am so angry that I want to do something irrational, but I love her too much to do anything. More than anything, I am angry at myself for being so angry. I am so fucking confused!"

Connor looked up at me with angry eyes, already wet with a fresh set of tears.

"I am angry that I am blaming her for something she couldn't control. God, I feel so horrible," he groaned at the end and slumped against the couch.

I leaned away from him and sighed. His words were like secret confessions, sending my mind in a spiral of thoughts.

Connor didn't cry after that, making me relax a bit. It was near night when mom and dad returned.

They found us slumped between uneaten pizza, staring at the walls with interest. It just took them an instant to know that something was wrong but thankfully, they didn't push it.

Connor left, no matter how much I insisted that he should stay for the night.

Just before slipping into my bed, I got a text from Cynthia.

Cynthia: 'Is he feeling better now?'

She asked, referring to Connor. Sometime during the afternoon, she had asked me if I could show up at her place. I replied in negative, vaguely telling her about Connor not feeling great.

She accepted my twist of words as an answer, not bothering me further.

Elias: 'He is better. Sorry for the reschedule, though.'

A text arrived quickly.

Cynthia: 'Nah! I understand best friend duty calls.'

Her statement made me laugh a bit. Before I could type in a response, another text came in.

Cynthia: 'Can you come over?'

I was baffled by reading her text. My fingers moved quickly, typing the question in my mind.

Elias: 'Now?'

Just as the text showed read, my phone rang. I squinted my eyes in the darkness of my room, looking at the bright white letters.

I propped my head against the bedpost and picked the call up.

"Are you going to come or not?" Her voice was an annoyed whisper.

I chuckled at the question and shook my head. "Are you sure you want me to come over?"

I could almost hear her eyes roll on the other side of the phone, making me smile. She huffed before she hissed her response out.

"If you can't, I will call someone else to keep me company for the night."

My breath hitched, and my heart tensed at the threat. My hands clenched to fists, and jaw tightened. The sudden change in my emotions and the kiss from yesterday clouded my mind.

"Hello? You there, Eli?" she asked, sounding confused and worried when she didn't receive any answer from me.

I cleared my throat and pushed the daze away from my mind. "Yeah, sorry. I got a bit distracted," I muttered, not revealing even a pinch of my emotions.

She made a sound at the back of her throat. "So, are you coming over or not?"

Releasing a heavy breath, I stood up from my bed. "Yeah, just give me a sec," I said as I pulled my shoes on.

She squealed from the other side, making me shake my head with amusement.

Quietly I made my way down the stairs, trying not to wake my parents up. I closed the door behind me, making sure to grab my keys. In quick steps through the icy night air, I was outside her door. She was leaning against the door frame, waiting for me.

Dressed in white shorts and loose white lace top, she shone under the shine of the moon. Her skin had a soft glow. The usually dark tumble of hair was pulled away from her face in a side plait, enhancing her features.

Her face lit up with glee as she registered my presence.

"Hey," she whispered as I moved closer to her.

Mirroring her smile, I returned the gesture. "Hey."

For a moment, both of us spoke nothing. Lost in each other's gaze, we moved closer to each other. Cynthia's eyes for a moment flickered to my lips, making me relive the events from last night.

I ran my tongue over my lips as I could remember the raspberry taste of her lipstick as I sucked on her lips. A small gasp escaped her lips, making me avert my eyes. Clearing my throat with a warm blush dusting my cheeks pink, I stepped away from her.

"Can I come inside?" I asked, trying to divert the topic and sound amused.

She said nothing, just nodded and stepped aside.

I followed her to the living room she guided me to and settled on the couch. Taking a seat next to her, I turned my head in her direction.

"So, what do you want to do now?" I questioned.

She picked up a remote turned to Netflix on. "I was bored. Let's watch a movie." She said, browsing through the menu.

I cracked a smile at her words. "You want to Netflix and chill?"

Her impassive face gave way to a smile, making her shake her head.

"Only if you were that lucky," she mocked, meeting my eyes for a moment. I gave a wounded look at her words, which she easily ignored.

But somewhere deep down inside me, I did feel wounded by her words. If only, I was that lucky.

She browsed for a few seconds and then groaned. Changing to the mirroring mode, she played something from her phone. A few seconds later, the screen lit up with a familiar title.

"Let's watch Aquaman," she said, sounding excited.

I gave her an odd look.

Is she serious?

Should I just leave? Abort? Abandon?

"First, are you making me watch a pirated movie, and second, are you making a Marvel fan watch a DC movie?" I asked incredulously.

She just grinned in response, forcing me to roll my eyes. "Maybe, I am. You will not kill me for it, right?" she asked rhetorically.

We sat and watched the movie in silence. A few minutes into the movie Cynthia shuffled slightly towards me and leaned against my shoulder. Her feet were dangling over the edge of the sofa while her head leaned on my shoulder.

She was deeply engrossed in the film, following the plotline with great intrigue.

I made sure to keep my eyes away from her form as the shorts she wore rose on her thighs, and her shirt clung around her chest. Her pink lips were open, making them seem fuller.

I gulped and moved my eyes towards the screen, bringing a halt to my critical analysis.

After a few minutes, I noticed that more than the plotline, she focused her eyes on the bulging muscles of the lead actor. She was almost drooling at the sight of him.

"You find him hot?" I asked, feeling a bit nervous. When compared to the mass of muscle, I was seriously a twig. I felt a twinge of other emotions at the thought, but I ignored it.

She rolled her eyes and turned her face towards me. "Jason Momoa is just perfect!" she said as if it were a fact like, hydrogen was the first element of the periodic table.

"I mean he has that bad boy look all to the point. I mean, look at those muscles and tattoos..." She added as an afterthought but trailed off at the end.

A pause followed soon after her words as a weird feeling brewing in my stomach. I knew this silence. This was her, I am planning silence.

"What are you planning?" I asked, feeling cautious.

She gave me a calculative smile.

"Eli, what do you think about some ink on your skin?" she asked with a cheeky smile on her face as I groaned at her words, feeling horrified with her suggestion.

"You are not serious, are you?"

Before she could respond to my statement in any way, our phones pinged together.

Our eyes met for a moment as we knew something wasn't right. As if agreeing with my assessment, my gut clenched in a warning.

The pop on our school's unofficial page led us to a video.

'Oh! The drama!'

The caption read as I pressed the button. As the video played, the words were barely audible over the giggles of the cameraperson.

For a moment, I froze in shock, blinking rapidly.

"Fuck!" I muttered, coming out of my shock.