"And the truth is I can't hardly wait" - Pull My Hair

-

"Spill it," Seth demanded, poking my forehead again. Sophia stood behind Seth with her arms crossed over her chest in an attempt to look tough. She looked exactly the opposite, adorable even. That didn't make me any less agitated though.

I'm still tied to a chair being poked in the forehead.

"For the last time Myers," I hissed, leaning forward as far as I could. "I'm not telling you anything because there's nothing to tell," I repeated, emphasizing every syllable. I've been saying the same thing for the past 20 minutes, yet it still hadn't gotten through his thick skull.

"Avery if you don't tell us, I -" Sophia cut herself off, her eyes glancing towards Seth. It was as if she was reminding herself who was here with us. Her eyes locked with mine as she shuffled nervously in her spot.

I rose an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to finish, which only made her blush. From her behavior, I could only assume that her threat involved feelings she hadn't mentioned to Seth yet. I'm sure this isn't how she saw herself outing herself to him.

She had a way out of this. There were plenty of things that could fill the blank that would keep her from coming out. I wouldn't even hold it against her if she chose to keep it a secret.

"You what?" I prompted with a smirk. Sophia's eyes narrowed at the challenge and stepped closer to me. Seth had sat down on the couch a long time ago and was now whipping his attention from me to Sophia. If it were possible, he'd have a bucket of popcorn in front of him.

With how close she was now, Sophia could finish her sentence at a volume low enough to where Seth wouldn't hear. At this point, she had a million ways out and plenty of time to consider them.

I could understand the hesitation. What fills the space will change everything.

It will decide whether all the maybe kisses became real kisses. Whether the ghost touches would materialize. There was no going back from this.

"That kiss that I promised in the car? It won't happen."

And even though I was tied to an extremely uncomfortable chair, an uncontrollable grin spread across my face. It wasn't just the words. The confidence they were carried on was more beautiful than anything. I may have also been amused by the way Seth fell off of the couch.

"I doubt that." I dismissed with a twinkle in my eyes. "I'm not going to tell you anything so you should probably just untie me."

Sophia's head tilted back as she let out a short laugh. I made an effort to sober my facial expression, but I could only get my grin to fall into a mild smirk. It didn't matter anyway because Sophia's hard look had dissipated into pure joy. The threats were pointless now.

"What is going on here? Seth, why are you on the floor?!"

"Really Ethan?!" I yelled, craning my head the best I could to glare at him. "I'm tied to a chair! A very uncomfortable chair! Can we worry about me first?!"

Ethan's mouth fell into an 'O' shape, and he immediately jogged over to where I was. Sophia stepped just enough to let Ethan by so he could start untying me. She looked down at me with a look that told me we'd be talking about this later.

"We found Monopoly!" Drake cheered as he flew down the stairs. Ethan undid the final knot just as Drake the last step which allowed me to get right up and stomp over to Drake.

"After a million years! Drake, they tied me to a chair and poked me for thirty minutes! Why on Earth did it take you both so long to find a board game?!" I asked, waving my arms around expressively.

"Well, you see here, we couldn't - Why is Seth on the floor?" Drake paused, noticing Seth behind me.

He walked around me to inspect the overly dramatic boy rolling around on the floor. Ethan was already kneeling beside Seth, trying to get him to explain what was wrong. Sophia was staring down at him with pursed lips, most likely agreeing that Seth was being melodramatic.

Seth pulled Ethan down by his collar so that his ear was level with his mouth.

"Avery and Sophia are like, a thing." Seth stage whispered loud enough for the entire room to hear.

Everyone's eyes snapped towards Sophia and me, waiting for an explanation. I didn't want to have the responsibility of confirming or denying, so I turned my attention towards Sophia as well.

"Traitor." She mouthed at me with a light glower. She didn't seem too inclined to explain either because she just stood with her arms crossed, staring right back at everyone.

"I say we tie her to the chair!" Seth suggested, rising up from his place on the floor. Sophia immediately shook her head, holding her hands up in defense.

"That will most definitely not be necessary. We can solve this in a vocal matter." She placated, plopping down on the couch.

"So you agree that you're little "game" is torture?" I clarified with the support of Drake's bobbing head.

Sophia waved her hand at us flippantly. "I said no such thing."

Drake and I stared at her, open-mouthed for a few moments. We both began to disagree, but Seth immediately shushed us.

"Let's let her talk about the relevant stuff." Seth insisted, crawling into the seat next to Sophia. Glad to know that my torture session isn't relevant Seth.

Sophia cleared her throat and crossed her legs before beginning.

"Technically Avery and I aren't "a thing" because I'm still with Chris." Sophia corrected, and I nodded in agreement. Chris is an obstacle that can never be cleared safely. Therefore, Sophia and I will never be able to be "a thing." I can't really have a problem with that because it means I keep my life.

"Which is why I'm breaking up with Chris tomorrow." She declared with a proud smile.

My body went cold, and I immediately began to shake my head.

"Sophia, I don't think -"

"No Avery," She interrupted, showing me the palm of her hand. "Save your breath. You can't talk me out of this."

And unfortunately, she was right. No one has ever been able to talk Sophia out of something she's put her mind to. They may think they have, but Sophia just ends up doing it behind their back.

Maybe if I tell her that her boyfriend will murder me, she'll reconsider.

I glanced over at Drake, the only other person I thought knew. He gave me a comforting smile from behind Sophia's head and mouthed, "Don't worry, I have a plan."

"I think that's a wonderful idea!" Seth exclaimed. Scratch that. Drake is the only person who knows. Unless Seth secretly wants Chris to kill me. "I've never quite liked Chris anyway."

Yeah, neither have my ribs.

Sophia shrugged. "He was getting pretty annoying. Plus, there are better things now." She explained, smirking at me when she spoke the last half.

For a moment, my panic and worries lifted and I allowed myself to think about how getting to be with Sophia would feel. The dream I've had for years would finally be coming true. I'd finally get to call her mine. Assuming that Chris doesn't break my windpipe.

"That's so beautiful." Seth sighed dreamily, resting his chin on his hands. Who knew Seth Meyers was such a romantic?

"Drake, will you please stop being so weird?" Ethan scolded, shoving his brother's arm.

Drake frowned at his brother with crossed arms. "Don't be mad at me because I believe in true love." He retorted.

This sparked a yelling match between the two over absolutely nothing at all. It started with Ethan defending himself and his belief in love. Somehow it moved on a firetruck Seth allegedly broke when the two were six. Sophia eventually had the sense to move from between the two and squeeze out of the war zone.

We watched the two devolve for a while longer, not knowing whether to wince or laugh at the insults being thrown. It finally ended when Drake walked over, grabbed their collars, and pulled them apart.

"Alright, that's enough," Drake announced, holding them up. "I think you two are just a little hungry and are taking it out on each other. Right?"

Drake didn't wait for an answer before carrying them in the direction of the kitchen. Sophia and I stayed in our spots, letting the comfortable silence fall over us.

There was too much to talk about all at one time. A piece of me wanted to at least attempt and talk Sophia out of breaking up with Chris. It would save Drake the trouble of going through with whatever crazy plan he had.

But I would lose that conversation. It'd be a waste of the little time we had alone right now.

We could talk about what would happen after the break-up. Would there be dates or would we bypass that entire section? You date someone to get to know them, but I already understand Sophia better than anyone else.

Still, I didn't want to have that conversation because there was still a chance that it'd never happen. Sophia could go to sleep tonight, and wake up not wanting to leave Chris anymore. I didn't want to get my hopes up.

And then there was the kiss. It had nothing to do with the past or future. It was here and had been thrown around so brazenly by the both of us. I couldn't think of a reason to not let myself have this.

And just as the kiss popped into my head, Sophia and I began to gravitate towards each other. She checked behind her to make sure we were alone, before moving close enough to link her arms around my neck. I smiled down at her, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"So you don't think I can hold out?" She whispered coyly, playing with the stray hairs at the nape of my head.

I hummed contently. "You're used to getting what you want. And I think you want this." I coaxed, drawing a finger up her spine.

"Oh trust me. There's no debate about that." She grinned, pressing her forehead against mine.

My ears turned pink at the admission. Sophia chuckled and moved her lips up to my ear.

"But I'm not kissing you until I break up with Chris, so you better get on board with that." She teased in a breathy whisper.

My smile turned into a grin that matched hers, and I rolled my eyes. "That's fair, but there's no way I'm supporting you on that."

"And why is that?" She asked quietly with a tilt of her head.

I froze for a moment, trying to think of an excuse. Luckily I didn't have to because Seth came running through the living room squealing.

"Ethan look how cute they are!" Seth cooed happily. Ethan came right behind his brother and leaped onto his back.

Seth screamed in frustration as he tried to wrestle his brother off of him. Sophia and I pulled away from each other to watch the scene in amusement. Eventually, Drake came in trying to pull Ethan off of Seth.

I could get used to this.