Sunday morning is always the best. My parents go to church together. I stopped going when my cancer had become a major problem. Standing in the same place for a while wasn't good for me. When they get home they pick me up and we go to IHOP, as I've been in love with that place forever. But, today is different. Little did I know what today held.

After we got home from breakfast, I called over my group. We decided to go out, on a mall trip. It was great, I bought a few things, we stayed out until 12, then we got lunch and everything was great. Then I saw it.

Jack was with a girl. They were together, being a couple. He had his arm around her back, showing her off like a trophy. Why didn't he tell me? That was our deal... when he got his girlfriends back we stopped and I went back to my normal life. So, why is he dragging this out longer? To play me? Fuck with my head? No, I'm not allowing it.

I turned around, and the gang saw it too.

"I thought you were still pretending?" Emilia looks sad.

"I did too, I had no clue he started seeing a girl. Why didn't he just tell me, so we can get this over with? Does he ever think? Why didn't his friends tell me? They think we are genuinely together."

Rain grabs my hand, and Tim gives me a serious look.

"Did you catch feelings for him," he asks.

I pause and then sit down. "They never went away."

Pat hugs me, and Rain never lets go of my hand.

"I think it's best if we leave," Sara suggests.

"No, I'm okay. We were just playing, right? Who cares, it's all that he does. Take one and leave, right?"

The group didn't look okay with my answer, but I got up and walked over to the van's shoe store. They follow after. If I'm going to get played I'll play too. So, I had fun with my group, I helped Rain buy some shoes she'd wanted for a while. I convinced them I was okay, and we headed up to the third floor. Patrica and Sara head straight to Hot Topic, so we follow behind. Rain bought me a pride pin in return for the shoes, and I laughed. Things were turning back around for the good. We all decide to go home, but I go over to Tim's place. My mom meets us there, and we hang out at Tim's all night.

I love Tim's room. It's very edgy but at the same time trendy. He has one wall painted black, which has LED lights at the top. He has wires against that black wall holding Polaroid pictures of all of us. The gang, his family, me and him, his pets. I've been trying to convince my parents to let me do something similar.

He has multiple paintings around, ones that make you question your soul and life. He's always been artistic, he's going to a college not that far away, it has an amazing art department and they wanted him. Of course, he said yes, everyone was so happy for him. He'll be leaving for a while though, which is sad but we can manage holidays with him. He wanted to live on campus, in a dorm, and he already knew who he was rooming with. I'm so excited for him, he's wanted this for so long. My family has some of his paintings around too. He's amazing.

"Have you made anything new for me?" I ask looking at them.

"Nope, you don't deserve one," he jokes. "Only special people get my million 'dallo' artwork."

I look over with a gasp, playing along. "I will have you know, I am worth millions. Literally."

He smiles. "Still not enough, more money shall be received for my masterpieces. Besides, you don't have that money."

"Oh, indeed I do. It's all inside my body."

"So in trade for my art, I shall have your body?"

"Yes, you shall," I open my arms and fall backward into him.

He catches me and we burst out laughing. This is what my brother and I do if I need to be cheered up, he makes me a child. I can't imagine life without my brother.

--

"So, are you going to talk about earlier?" He starts, and I try to ignore him. "I know it's eating away at you."

I'm sitting at his desk, using his computer. He's sitting in a beanbag across the room with a sketchbook and pencil in his hand. I put the computer in sleep mode and turned in my chair to face him.

"Yes, it's bothering me," I stand and pace the room as I talk. "A lot, much more than I want it to. I've gotten so close with him, mentally and emotionally. I'm- I don't know how to describe it- addicted to his presence. His skin, his hair, his eyes, his voice, his thoughts. His feelings and compassion are captivating," I plop on the other beanbag next to Tim. "I'm trapped by all of him."

"I can see that... and I worry about you because of that. He's not good for anyone, especially you. You have a good and pure heart, and he's... an asshole," I chuckle. "Well, there's no other way for me to explain it. He's not right for you, you're way too out of his league. Unless he does a complete one-eighty, I say no."

"Maybe. But, I love him still," I say and surprise both of us. "Yeah, I guess I do love him."

Tim slides onto my beanbag and then pulls me into him. I realize my eyes sting like I need to cry. So I do. I cry on Tim for a solid 10 minutes, wishing I'd never agreed to this game, and wishing I'd never fallen for the Jack-ass.