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messages, irl______________________________________

kaiahey jamesi just wanted to text you before anything like last time lolsooo smth kinda happened and im not having the greatest day so i skipped school w chloeim not rly up to hanging out with the group at all tdy trust me im not lying about thatbut i'm absolutely still down for the date tmrw

jamesoh okay thats chill dwthanks for letting me knowanything you wanna talk ab? i'll listen

kaianah not rly sorryits kinda personal and id rather that not be our first real convo loli wanna get to know you better first then we can shit talk ppl

jamesmakes sense hahaso i'm thinking ab taking you to a sit down restaurant so dress a little fancy but not too much

kaiawill doam i gonna see u in a suit 🙈

jamesyou mighti'm really glad we're doing this i enjoy ur company

kaiame tooi gtg chloe and i just finished brunch we're gonna go shopping for a biti'll ttyl

jamessee you tomorrowread 11:19am

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"see? he wasn't even mad. enough of this "matt is the one" nonsense, james is right here." kaia looks at chloe.

"still. he's a very new person in your life and you don't know what he's like yet. and hey, i'm all for it, but just be careful because you never know someone's true intentions right away." chloe warns her.

"i know, chlo. i can handle myself, i'm a big girl." she laughs.

"to the mall?" chloe asks.

"to the mall." kaia agrees.

they keep walking downtown and head into the mall. it's relatively busy, as much as it can be on a tuesday at noon. they buy smoothies in the food court and walk around looking at all the stores.

*5 texts from matty💕*

"what the fuck?" kaia stares at her phone.

"what? what happened?" chloe looks at her.

kaia stops in her tracks and holds her heart with her hand.

"matt texted me." she says.

"i'm gonna be sick." kaia runs to the bathroom, chloe following after her.

she bursts into the big stall and gets on her knees, chloe holds her hair in a makeshift ponytail while kaia throws up.

"hey, it's okay. get it all out." chloe rubs her back.

"ugh. that was gross." kaia stands up and walks over to the sinks to wash off her face.

"what did he say?" chloe asks while kaia's face is in the sink.

"i don't know. and i'm not gonna read it." she huffs, turning the water off and searching for gum in her bag.

"i never just throw up like that, that's so weird." kaia groans as they leave the bathroom together.

"he really has an effect on you." chloe says.

"yeah, clearly a bad one. i can't believe everything changed so quickly. i really hate this." she rolls her eyes.

"well, don't you think you should atleast read it? even if you don't respond. what if it's really important? you can't just wipe your friendship clean away after 12 years." chloe asks.

"i know, i know. i will later. i kinda wanna go home and sleep." kaia answers.

"want me to come with you? if not, that's okay. you might need alone time, it's been a long day." chloe offers.

"i think i just wanna go home alone. if i cry again, i don't need you to witness it." kaia laughs.

"i've seen you do way worse. but that's fine, i'll walk home and you should too, it's a nice day out." chloe smiles.

"thank you for being so understanding. you're the best friend i could ever ask for." kaia hugs chloe.

the girls stand there, soaking in the hug for a few seconds.

"let me know if you need me, we can hangout later if you're sick of being alone." chloe says.

"i'll let you know." she smiles, the girls walking opposite directions home.

kaia opens her front door, and closes it, exhausted from the walk. she slumps her way up the stairs and manages to get to her room. she drops her bag on the ground and flops down on her bed.

she turns on the tv and gets comfy under her covers. as she's watching, she plugs in her phone and when it turns on, she sees the texts from matt again.

"i thought he hated me. why is he texting me?" she thinks.

she begins to tear up thinking about him, and puts on her headphones to fall asleep.

and if i'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? cursing my name, wishing i stayed, look at how my tears ricochet. and i can go anywhere i want, anywhere i want, just not home. and you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones.

"she hates me." matt thinks to himself.

he thought that maybe after their years of friendship, she would be able to forgive him if he just talked to her.

almost all of kaia's relationships ended because the guy wouldn't pick up his phone and fucking talk to her. men hate communication, they just want to avoid any situation that makes them slightly uncomfortable.

matt swore to her he would be different. they always talked about never pushing boundaries, but NEVER leaving, and always communicating. always talking to eachother.

kaia and matt even got matching tattoos that say "i promise" to show they would never ignore eachother and always love the other in friendship no matter what. chloe was too scared to get one.

matt lays in bed and looks at his tattoo. he wishes she would just talk to him already, is she really gonna hate him forever? after everything?

he almost wishes he just went to school so he'd have a real distraction.

"matt! we're home!" nick and chris shout from downstairs.

finally.

"i'm in my room!" he shouts back.

nick and chris run up the stairs to see matt.

chris opens the door and matt is spinning around in his computer chair.

"hey, man." chris says as the two walk in.

"hey." matt looks at the ground.

"so." nick says awkwardly.

"wanna tell us what happened? we already talked to her but we wanna know from your point of view." nick asks.

"i mean, there's not much to tell. she has a date, i got upset, we argued, i tried to kiss her, then she kicked me out. that's it. our friendship is over." matt sighs.

"matt, it's not over. if you give up, it is. but if you keep trying, you might get to her." chris says.

"bro, she literally has a date with james. and trust me, i've tried to text her like 5 times already, she's been ignoring me all day." matt groans.

"okay? so what if they have a date? you can still try." nick looks at him.

"she rejected me once, i'm not trying again. it's time i give up. she hates me." matt says.

"so we're finally at the point where you admit you're in love with her. atleast that's progress." nick shrugs.

"nick, i'm not in love with her." matt crosses his arms.

"then what are you, huh?" chris asks.

"mildly intrigued." matt looks at them defiantly.

nick and chris both laugh.

"be so for real. if she said i love you right now, would you say it back?" nick asks.

"first of all, we used to say it all the time, AS FRIENDS. and second, she's not gonna. we're not talking." he answers.

"hypothetically, matt." nick rolls his eyes.

"then, i don't know. i guess so, yeah. sure." matt looks at his brothers.

"like, what's the point in trying anymore?" nick asks chris.

"helpless. truly." chris agrees.

"give it time. i promise she'll talk to you eventually. she literally told us she wanted to-" chris starts.

"CHRIS." nick slaps a hand over his mouth.

"not our place, dumbass!" nick shouts at him.

"no, tell me!" matt begs.

"no. fuck you, chris. c'mon, think before you speak." nick lectures him.

"whatever." chris crosses his arms.

"we're just gonna let them think the other one hates them?" chris whispers to nick.

"for now, yes. just wait." nick whispers back.

"stop whispering. tell me what she said." matt begs again.

"no. we gotta go." nick stands up.

"where are you going?" matt asks.

"downstairs." chris answers.

"oh, also chloe brought your car back then her and kaia left." nick says as he runs out of the room.

"SHE WAS HERE??!!" matt screams and chases nick and chris.

"IT'S NOT OUR FAULT! SHE WENT FOR A WALK WITH CHLOE!" chris yells as he runs away from matt.

"IT IS YOUR FAULT! YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD ME SHE WAS HERE SO I COULD TALK TO HER!" matt shouts, shoving chris onto the couch.

"MATT, GET OFF ME!" chris wriggles around like a worm.

"fuck you." matt gets off chris.

"you're not actually mad." nick laughs.

"a little bit! she's not gonna talk to me, you two have to help!" matt raises his voice.

"nuh uh." chris laughs.

matt raises his hand like he's about to hit chris and he flinches.

"matt, c'mon. chill out." chris laughs.

"you're a little bitch. you too, nick." matt walks into the kitchen.

"that was a lot." justin laughs from the other couch, just watching.

"screw you." chris responds.

*6 hours later*

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betty 🐻changed my mindcan you pls sleep over so i dont have to go to school alone tmrw

chlorine 💕haha yesomw babe

betty 🐻k see u soon ily

chlorine 💕ilymread 6:28pm

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