Chapter 37: Third Wheel
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~~~ [START]
THUD! THUD!
It didn't even take a minute before the door flung open.
Bella grabbed Vlad's arm and pulled him inside. She closed the door, dragged him up the stairs into her room, then flung her room's door shut.
"Okay, stop!" he demanded, clearly stunned by her actions.
Yet she laughed, as though his expression brought her some type of amusement.
She dropped her body onto her seat, smiled, then just stared at him.
He felt a shiver run down his neck.
"What?" he questioned.
The reply seemed delayed.
"Nothing," she said, grinning. "I just thought you would ditch me."
"Me?" He pointed to himself dramatically. "Never."
She shook her head after his words, giggles coming after.
"Okay," he said, "what's this important thing we have to talk about?"
Confusion flooded her face as though his words didn't make sense.
"Bella?!" He brought her back to reality, flushing her thoughts in that instant. "Why did you call me?"
"Oh," she remembered. "So here is the thing." Her face hinted at surrender as she stood up from the seat. "Charlie has a friend."
"And?" Vlad asked.
"Well…" her words hesitated. "His friend has a son whom he likes bringing around, but the thing is, I feel awkward when it's only the two of us." She smiled slightly. "What better way to solve that problem than to just increase the number?"
"So, you want me to be the third wheel?" He looked visibly hurt, but he was only faking.
Bella nodded while smiling slightly. Vlad rubbed his eyebrows, feeling somewhat at a loss from her antics.
As though he had mindlessly refused to hang out with a beautiful, kinda weird-looking short corpse of a woman, just to become some third wheel.
"After this, I don't owe you anymore," he set the condition, which caused Bella to laugh after his words.
"Of course you don't," she giggled. Moved to her computer, turned it on, and inserted a CD that was lying near it. "Now… let's watch the new Batman."
"Batman?" Vlad questioned. "I have seen it already. Let's watch something else… like a romance." He grinned at his words. Bella only shook her head. She was too smart for those types of antics. Charlie had taught her well.
So, he gave up, let her play the movie, and wondered how it would go. He was too young, so anything could happen. Anything.
__________________________________________________________________________
"I AM BATMAN!" the vigilante announced, and Vlad had completely abandoned all feelings of lust.
Yes, he lied. He had never watched Batman before. He had just said that to Bella so he could try his luck, but this… the movie was just too peak.
THUD! THUD!
That was until someone knocked on the door. And without warning, the person opened it.
Charlie turned his eyes on Vlad, who was seated on the bed, and Bella, who had fallen asleep right next to him.
He smiled, which to Vlad came as a surprise.
"It's not what it looks like," Vlad wanted to announce, but Charlie quickly stole that right.
Charlie nodded his head toward Vlad, causing him to nod back.
And slowly, he closed the door.
THUD!
Vlad didn't understand what he was feeling at that moment.
Was it the relief that Charlie hadn't misunderstood?
Or was he offended that Charlie trusted him so much, that he left his daughter with Vlad in such a vulnerable position?
What was happening, he truly couldn't explain it.
Maybe that's why he quickly turned his attention to Bella.
He held her shoulder and nagged her with enough force to cause her sleep to fade.
She fell from the bed when she awoke.
She turned her tired eyes to Vlad and frowned.
"You forced me to watch a movie, then you fell asleep within the first 30 minutes." He laughed. "That was simply payback."
She stood up, clearly annoyed by his actions.
"Is he back?" she asked.
"Yep," he replied. "You should have seen him when he entered." He was giggling. "He basically gave me permission to do with you as I please."
She clicked her tongue as he said it. She stood up, made her way to her PC, then rewound the whole movie.
NANI?
Vlad was Starstruck when he witnessed the audacity of her actions. How could she?
"Since I fell asleep," she said, moving back to the bed and sitting down, "let's rewatch from where I left off."
_________________________________________________________________________
Charlie walked down the stairs with an amused expression. Not overthinking, just curious as to what the game's results would yield.
He had placed a bet earlier that morning, and in a couple of hours, he would know what they would eat for dinner. Pizza felt like an option, but it was the middle of the month, and at that moment he wasn't liquid.
He moved to the living room, where both Billy and Jacob were seated.
This was the millionth time he was seeing it, but Jacob's long hair always seemed to bring him some type of distant envy.
"She's with her friend," he said, as he dropped his body on the one-seater sofa he considered his own. "When is it starting?"
"In 10 minutes," Billy answered, leaning to the table between them and grabbing a can from the 8-case beer that was set there.
"You don't have to sit with us… you know." Charlie turned his head to Jacob, who nodded. "It's the first room on the left," he said. "I think she's asleep, but her friend is watching a movie."
Jacob made his way up the stairs without asking questions.
"And make sure you knock," he heard Charlie say as he ascended. "She will hate you if you don't."
"Noted," Jacob smiled with his whisper.
"A friend," Billy couldn't help but ask. "She seems to be adjusting quickly."
His words made Charlie giggle.
"Yeah," Charlie said, "they go to the same school."
He also reached out, took a can from the case, opened it, then had a chug.
"They both came from Phoenix," he continued. "On the same day, can you believe that?"
Billy giggled after he spoke.
"I'm Native Indian," he said. "We believe in a lot of things."
Charlie sighed slightly after the words.
"You probably do," he said, leaning deeper into the sofa. "But… he's a good kid."
"He?" Billy raised a brow as he listened, surprise flashing through his eyes.
________________________________________________________________________
Jacob walked through the hallway after ascending the stairs. He clearly heard laughter coming from within Bella's room.
"She's awake," he thought, a smile flashing on his face.
But the more he neared, the more uncomfortable the laughter grew.
It sounded too manly. Which came as a surprise, because for all he knew, Bella's friend was the one the laughter belonged to.
As long as he could get to speak to her, he didn't mind sitting with someone who had a manly voice. So he shrugged his shoulders and made his way to her door.
THUD! THUD!
The laughter was broken. Bella stood up, making her way to the door.
Vlad sighed when he saw her rise.
"I was almost there," he cried. "I almost kissed you."
Bella giggled at his words, then moved to the door to open it.
Jacob, who heard everything from the other side, remained locked in his position. Misbelief flashed across his face. "Almost kissed her?" he thought. He heard them properly. The voice was unmistakable.
THUD!
The moment Bella opened the door, a nightmare became reality.
Right there, seated on Bella's bed, looking in his direction.
A short, beautiful teen was watching a movie.
And at that moment, at that very second.
Jacob realized something that might not have been true.
He was the third wheel.
~~~ [END]
Join my PT for extra Chapters ~ p*tr-eon name is DUSK_IS_MEE
. Extra chapters available.