Let's Ignore My Nonexistent Love and Hatred

"Do you guys wanna have a sleepover in Jeremiah's dorm? It'll be fun with my big bros!"

"I'm down- but it's not just my dorm. What do you think, Max?"

"Sure…"

Soft blankets are hauled into our dorm, and we all sit down in the main area. Zachary clears his throat.

"So, which one of you guys already has a secret girlfriend the fans can't find out about?"

A chuckle leaves my mouth, since that seems so unlikely. But two of them actually raise their hands!

"Damn, Luke and Elias fold too easily!"

Jeremiah teases, and I realize that he does that with everyone. I'm not sure why I thought I was special.

Luke pats his back too, and I hope he feels the same sting I did.

"As if! I've been dating her since middle school, and she's the kindest person I know."

Gabriel seems dumbfounded, and raises a suspecting eyebrow.

"Dude… we're in college. You've never, like, thought to expand your horizons a little?"

"Uh, no! There's this thing called loyalty, you should try it."

Elias smirks, and pulls out his phone. It's a selfie with a girl that went to our meet-and-greet.

"See this? I met her a few weeks ago and we hooked up right after, so now-"

"Big bro, nobody wants to hear that…"

After sharing some secrets and inside jokes, we're exhausted and I stand up to go back to my room.

"Hey, why don't you sleep on the floor like everyone else? It makes for great bonding time."

"We'll be sleeping though-"

But everyone agrees with Zachary, so I plop down next to Jeremiah. The light goes out, and I close my eyes.

They open, and I can't see any numbers in my vision. What time is it..? I don't really feel like myself, so I must be dreaming.

Another pair of eyes meets mine. My bones feel too heavy to move.

"Are you my sleep paralysis demon?"

"Haha… no."

"Then why do you hate me?"

"I don't though."

"Dislike?"

"Not quite."

"I don't understand… I like you."

"I do too. You work your hardest to make our group even better."

"Not like that, I-"

"Hmm?"

"I only joined Genesis7 to be closer to you."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?"

"For me, yeah."

My blinks slow down, and I hear a quiet chuckle from the demon.

"You're cute when you're incoherent. Go to sleep, Max."

"I'm not cute…"

I wish I had a better retort, but the next thing I see is the light coming through the curtains. My arms extend in a stretch, and I poke Asher's cheek to wake him up.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. Do you want me to make pancakes?"

"Mmm, five more minutes big bro… it was hard to sleep with you and Jeremiah talking in the middle of the night."

"What?"

My hand freezes in place, and as my gaze sneaks to the mentioned person, he stares directly at me. I pat Asher gently on the head.

"Sorry…"

We eat in a circle on the floor like some sort of cult. Elias stares at his phone, before doing that stupid smirk again. He looks straight at me.

"Hooking up with the manager now, are we? I didn't think older women were your type-"

"What?! That's not even what happened!"

"So what did happen, then?"

Dang it, Elias. I've seen the photo myself. Clarissa handing me a handkerchief and me blushing like an idiot.

"I didn't take my allergy medicine that day, so my face looked flush…"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I would've believed you if you said you were wearing makeup."

"Well, I-"

"I can vouch for him. He sometimes leaves the bottle around the dorm, and gets upset when he forgets where he put it. And I'm like, "just keep it in the damn cabinet"."

The guys start to laugh, and so do I, because I'm really not that disorganized. But Jeremiah did me a favor, and I'm grateful.

"Yeah, that's true… I don't like Clarissa in that way, but I think she has a crush on me."

"I'm betting twenty bucks that you guys will be a thing in less than a year."

"Same here."

I huff at the ridiculousness of what I've gotten myself into. Yet, what I saw last night remains in my mind- was she really trying to get a blessing from my dad?

She's weird. So blunt it almost seems as if everything she says is the truth. Though she doesn't overwork us, and is actually relatable at times.

But it's not nice to reciprocate someone's feelings when I know I'll always be looking over my shoulder if I do.

"You guys had a sleepover?"

"More like a hangout, where we just ended up sleeping in my dorm."

"That's what a sleepover is, Max."

Dylan makes me chuckle. It sounds a little uncool to say that, but yeah- he's right.

"Did you draw a mustache on the last person to wake up?"

"No, he was pretty tired because some of us were still talking after going to sleep, so I felt bad."

"By "us", does that include yourself?"

"Yeah, I didn't think I was, though. It felt like a weird dream."

He looks at me like he wants me to expand, but I'm reluctant. So something else takes my attention.

"But you know what's weird? You going out with Clarissa to a seafood place!"

"You know about that?"

"I have my ways."

"Do you wanna hear what happened?"

"Clearly."

"So, she actually wants to get to know me more, go on dates and things like that."

"What?"

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. I thought she was interested in you."

"That's what everyone's been thinking!"

"Do you… like her? Even after that letter?"

"No, my type's a little different."

"Are you okay with this?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I think she's normally pretty chill."

"Thanks, I thought you wouldn't want me to make it awkward between you two or anything."

"Dylan, I've been with you through countless breakups. You're stronger after each one, and you've been single for a while. You have my support to go for it."

Someone walks up to us, and I give a slight smile.

"Hello, Jeremiah's dad…"

"Oh, you can call me Alphonse."

"Okay."

That's a unique name. He has an indifferent vibe, yet it also seems familiar. Like a distant relative I should know but only saw so long ago that I've forgotten.

"I hope you don't mind that I invited a few parents to hang out with. Are you going back to the building?"

"Yeah, I'll text you later- Bye, Dylan. Bye, Alphonse…"