𝐵𝓁𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝐹𝑜𝓇 𝑀𝑒

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 17

I need to remind myself this won’t be a date. The only reason Jungkook is coming over tonight is that he wants to drink my blood, and as we agreed, we’re going to keep it professional. I have to keep it in mind.

“Yeah, no, it’s definitely a date.” My eyes dart up, meeting Solar’s amused gaze. She’s playing with a paper straw, repeatedly knotting it in the middle and creating a giant knot,which is devouring the straw itself.

“It’s not. I told you” I mumble, focusing on the melting ice in my drink. “We decided to keep it professional.”

“Professional my ass” Solar laughs, throwing her creation at me. “If you guys are actually mates, there’s no way in hell you’ll be able to keep your hands off each other for much longer.”

I’m starting to regret telling them the whole story, but I had to: I needed their opinions on the situation, I wanted them to reassure me I was doing the right thing, that Jungkook and I would be able to keep our word… My expectations were clearly wrong.

“You really had to put yourself into this situation, didn’t you?” Pilly’s stare on me is a mixture of irritation and worry. “You’re so stubborn.”

“Enough with the me talk” I say, before sipping my drink. “P, your birthday’s coming up. Are you planning to do something? Our traditional karaoke night?”

“Oh, uhm.” Pilly clears her throat and exchanges the quickest glace with Solar, who’s busy torturing another straw. “We haven’t told you.Right.”

“Tell me what?”

“We’re, huh…” She hesitates, wetting her chapped lips with the tip of her tongue. “It wasn’t…”

“We’re having a mini trip to New York to celebrate” Solar interrupts her. “A gift from her mom.”

“Oh! That’s… That’s great, guys.” I smile, slowly realizing why Pilly was so hesitant to tell me. We usually spend all of our birthdays together, doing karaoke, watching cheesy movies, getting drunk, doing each other’s nails. This is news. “I bet you’re going to have the best time there.”

“I’m so sorry, Y/N” Pilly says, grabbing my hand, her eyes wide. “We’re not trying to exclude you or anything. My mom had only enough money to pay for two plane tickets and a double hotel room.”

“Guys, no! Seriously, it’s fine. I wasn’t expecting to tag along!
You’re dating and it’s perfectly normal to do this kind of things together.” I laugh it off, but in reality, I’m a bit hurt.

We’ve known each other for almost five years now, and we usually do everything together, but them dating has changed a lot of things. I mean, I’m happy for them and I know it’s just how it works, but I miss how it used to be.

I guess I have my big share of responsibility for this slow yet inexorable shift: I’ve been growing distant, busy with Ben, work, my constantly empty pockets—I can’t blame them for how things are turning out. Sometimes I just wish I could go back in time, act differently.

“We can… If it’s fine with you, we can always celebrate when you come back.” I shrug with a small smile on my lips. “I know I’ve been a bad friend, but I’d like to make it up to you. I really don’t want to lose you guys.”

They exchange a long look, then Solar bursts out laughing, bending forward. “Oh my god, you should see your face!”

“My f… My face?” I stutter, giving Pilly a quick glance. She’s hitting Solar on the shoulder, barely keeping it together herself. “Why are you laughing?”

“It was a prank” Pilly explains, then she finally lets herself go, howling with laughter. “Of course my mom booked everything for the three of us, she loves you!”

“What?” I blink, unable to process her words. “I don’t… I don’t get it.”

“We were pranking you because you deserved it a little” Solar says, still laughing her ass off. “But do you really think we would exclude you like this?”

I hesitate, forcing back a smile. “I didn’t know, okay? You two are dating, so it would make sense!”

“Nothing makes sense if we’re not all together” Pilly says, reaching out to take my hands. “Solar is my girlfriend, but you’re my best friend,Y/N. I want to celebrate my twenty-third with the both of you.”

“Your face was honestly priceless” Solar snickers, rubbing her eyes. “You were hurt but trying so hard to hide it… God, I should’ve recorded it!”

“Yeah, I didn’t want to act like a bitch!” I laugh, throwing a crumpled napkin at her. “Of course I was trying to hide it!”

They got me. Who would’ve thought these two could pull off such a prank? They’re better actresses than I thought.
“You guys have no idea how grateful I am to have you” I mumble, my gaze jumping from Solar to Pilly. “You’re the two most important people in my life. Come here!”

Careful not to knock down the glasses and empty plates littering the table, I lean over and pull both of my friends into a messy hug, Pilly’s big curls tickling my face, Solar’s bony shoulder digging in my right arm. “I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you!”

“Well, at least you acknowledge it” Solar scoffs, but it’s blatant she’s holding back another laugh as she hugs me back.

“I love you too” Pilly sighs, patting my back. “That’s why I want you to rethink about this whole situation with the…” She pulls back to look around, making sure nobody in the pizza place is looking at us. “With the vampire” she hisses, as if it were a bad word.

“Who, the one who’s going to fuck her senseless in three days tops?” Solar wiggles her eyebrows. “Or another one?”

I stare at her, eyes wide, heart beating fast. “Excuse me?”

she simply shrugs. “It’s surprising you haven’t yet torn the clothes off each other. I’ve heard mates can’t quite control themselves when it comes to—”

“Look how late it is!” I interrupt her, pointing at the big wall clock hanging at the other end of the pizzeria, above the kitchen door. “We should totally start working on our project, or else we won’t be able to finish it today. Shall we?”

A lame excuse, I know, but they both drop the subject. Solar winks; Pilly gives me one last glance filled with worry, and then she starts rambling about how we should split the work to do.

I hide a sigh of relief.

Nothing will happen between me and Jungkook—nothing dangerous nor sexual, despite what they seem to be convinced of. That’s a matter of fact.

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