The Best Friend's Brother

SOTC: she will be loved (maroon 5)

Mia thought she had done a good job in keeping her tryst with him a secret. She knew none of her friends would approve of the fact that she had let Chip Altridge back into her life. Again.

It was something that had seemingly sprung up over the course of the summer.

She had woken up to a series of light knocks on her window, letting out a small scream upon seeing a face behind the window. After quickly recognising Chip, Mia opened her window, letting him in.

Mia had thought that overtime she would have found Chip's cheesy romantic moves to be forced and embarrassing, but she couldn't deny the feelings and the memories that came rushing back upon having Chip climb through her window once more.

Chip Altridge was back in town for the summer break. He would leave for university once Autumn came, but they had decided to rekindle their relationship for those few months of bliss. And bliss it was. Everything had been the way it had been those few years ago, only better. If that were possible. But with each passing day, Mia was reminded that this wasn't forever.

Chip was set to leave town in a matter of weeks from now, his semester beginning later than the high school term. It had been difficult manoeuvring their outings and dates without the risk of running into anyone. It was a small town and word spread like fire. It didn't help that Chip had not informed his family that he was back in town.

But Mia wanted to bring him to Devon's party. However with Constance being the only reason for being Mia invited...it was impossible. Perhaps, she could find an excuse to skip the party and have a nice dinner with Chip instead whilst everyone was getting shit-faced down at the beach.

It had taken a lot of pacing around the room before Mia brought up the matter of the party to Chip one evening.

"Devon Hyunh? He used to be that dorky kid right?"

"You should see him now."

Chip raised a brow at her.

"Should I be worried?"

"Oh definitely. I am so attracted to the testosterone maniac that is Devon Hyunh. The fact that he's best friends with the other big egomaniac Julian Preston is just so hot."

A sock hit her in the head. Chip laughed, "I can't believe you guys are still feuding."

"At this point, it'd be weird if we weren't feuding."

"You never know. If you took the time to ge-"

"Get to know him better and realise that he's far worse than I imagined?"

"Quite the optimist aren't you?"

Mia threw him a suspicious glance. "Since when were you Team Preston?"

Her boyfriend threw himself down onto the bed, beside her. "Never my love. I always thought he harboured a crush on you though."

Mia scoffed in response. "The whole 'boys pick on girls when they secretly like them' is so old. And quite sexist. Why are we giving men a pass for not being able to process their feelings properly?"

Even though he refrained from doing so, Mia could practically see Chip suppress the urge to roll his eyes. On another other day, she would have chosen to have a discussion (it would have been a heated argument if she were being honest) about how wrong it was. But once again, a blaring sign in her head reminded her that she wouldn't have Chip around all the time to argue with. Mia held her tongue. She put her hand through Chip's hair instead.

Chip immediately recoiled. "What's gotten into you? I was wholeheartedly expecting some witty comeback. I know you saw me want to roll my eyes."

Sure, Chip Altridge was very attractive. Pleasing to the eye. But so were many people in the world. Chip just so happened to also be incredibly witty. How often do you find both in a person?

"Shut uppp. I just didn't want to waste our night with that." Mia immediately felt bashful upon meeting Chip's intense gaze. He had a way of making her feel flustered just with a look. Even after knowing him for five years.

"Aw, be still my heart. Aren't you sweet?"

She wasn't sure of what had brought about the confidence she had, but Mia soon heard the words slip out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Did you want to come to Devon's party with me?"

Mia immediately recoiled and looked away in embarrassment. Why did she just say that?

"Not entirely sure how excited my sister will be about seeing me there."

"Well. What if you told her you're here?"

If Mia was embarrassed before, she could fry an egg on the heat radiating off her face now. She couldn't read Chip's face, which was currently lying on top of her stomach. He could definitely hear how fast her heart was beating. After what felt like an hour of silence, Chip lifted his head to look over at Mia.

"I'll think about it. I promise." Chip placed a kiss on her cheek. A beat passed before he began to lean in, kissing her. Minutes had passed by when the bed began to vibrate, interrupting the two's make-out. Giving Chip an apologetic smile, Mia grabbed her phone.

Constance was calling. Mia noticed the five unread texts that had been sent in the last ten minutes. Showing Chip the phone, Mia answered. Almost immediately, Constance bounded into conversation.

"Oh thank god. I could see your lights were on so I got worried for a second."

"My lights?"

"Yeah, I'm outside."

Mia's blood ran cold. She figured Chip had overheard their conversation, seeing that he was attempting to peek out of the window. There wasn't anything Mia could do at this point to prevent Constance from seeing the car that was parked in front of her house, so she tried her best to distract her.

"You alright? Did you want to come in?"

"I grabbed some food on my way home from work, I got extra. Figured we could eat while I tell you the biggest piece of information I've ever..."

Constance's voice trailed off.

"Con?"

Mia knew what was coming before her friend had even begun to speak.

"Mia, why is my brother's car here?"