So maybe Selene liked kissing Declan.
His lips were soft and he knew exactly how to kiss her to elicit just the right sounds from her mouth and right reactions from her body.
So it made sense that they were kissing now, in Declan's empty house on the first Friday of May after school. Selene straddled firmly on his lap, his shirt off, the top button of her pants undone, his hand under her shirt as they made out.
She ran his fingers through his hair. "Homework," she mumbled. The real reason they were supposed to be there.
The word seemed to inspire Declan as he kissed her harder, pulling their bodies closer.
Selene sighed into the kiss, knowing it was a lost cause and just as she was getting back into it, Declan pulled away. Maybe it wasn't so much of a lost cause.
"You look beautiful," he said.
She probably looked almost the same as Declan; messy hair, blow out pupils, puffy, swollen lips, heaving chest.
She pushed her hair over her shoulder. Though she had long since realized that she didn't need a boy to validate her appearance, Declan's words still made her heart flutter the tiniest bit.
"I want to take a photo of you."
She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously, Declan?"
She learned that neither she nor Declan liked having cute pet names so they usually called each other by their names.
He pouted. "Just once," he begged. "I'm not going to post it or anything. I just want a photo of you."
They both knew that they had plenty of photos of each other. A photo of her kissing Declan's cheek greeted her every time she picked up her phone. And with every date, or hang out they had, they created more photos.
She groaned as she realized that despite the facts, she was a sucker for Declan's pout. "Fine."
He quickly put in his passcode and Selene didn't bother to smile as he took the photo of her. He smiled at his screen before his expression changed to neutral as his phone buzzed. He tapped on the screen as Selene looked up at the ceiling.
Had she eaten her lunch today? Staring at the ceiling had made her light headed. She turned back to Declan.
He let in a sharp breath, his eyes wide and then pulled away, pushing Selene off his lap and onto the other side of the couch.
"Something wrong?" she asked, buttoning her pants once again.
"No," he said too quickly.
"Who is that?" she asked.
"No one."
She raised an eyebrow before getting off of the couch and pulling down her shirt.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Going home since you want to keep secrets from me." She reached for her bag but he quickly pushed it out of her reach. She turned her head quickly to glare at him.
He sighed. "Don't get mad."
She crossed her arms.
He nodded towards the couch and she sat down once again.
"It's Nyx."
"Give me your phone."
She pulled out her own phone.
"What are you doing?"
"Give me your phone," she repeated.
He passed her the phone, unlocked.
Him and Nyx's snapchat conversation was there. None of the messages were saved and they had no streak but Selene could see they sometimes sent photos or videoes--Nyx more than him. A snapchat had been sent from Nyx almost twenty minutes ago to no response from Declan.
Selene replayed the last snapchat Nyx had sent Declan and came face to face with Nyx posing in a mirror akin to those nude photos Kim Kardashian had posted with peach emojis over every part of her body that could have made the photo rated R.
Selene quickly used her phone to take a photo of Declan's screen and handed his phone back to him.
"Where's Nyx now?" she asked.
"What are you going to do?"
"Well, she obviously doesn't understand those 'boundaries' you told her about so I'm going to make sure she does."
Declan checked the time. "Fencing by now." Selene stood. "Wait, Selene, it's not that big of a deal."
"If my ex was sending me nudes, you'd be doing the exact same thing and you can't even lie and say you wouldn't."
His eyebrows furrowed. "You have an ex?"
"Yeah, and?"
"I just thought..." that I was your first boyfriend.
"I'm leaving." She reached for her bag again. "Text me the address."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you've clearly chosen what side you want to be on."
Declan groaned. "Why can't I just have my girlfriend and my best friend?"
She shook her head as she put on her shoes. "Carlos is your best friend; Nyx is someone you used to fuck who is sending you nudes while fully aware that you're in a new relationship."
Declan went silent as he stared at the ceiling.
"Send me the address," she said as she opened the front door and walked out.
»
Selene walked into the building. It smelled like sweat in the fencing studio and bright lights glared down at Selene.
Her head pounded and she reminded herself to take an Advil on the way home.
Nyx sat on a bench in her all-white fencing armour, watching two other girls fence, her eyes narrowed as she observed their every movement.
Selene guessed that whoever won would go against Nyx and she was making sure to memorize their movements to secure a win as she marched towards Nyx.
"Zoë," Nyx said when Selene stopped in front of her, blocking her view of the match. "Oops, I meant Selene. How are you doing?"
"You need to back the fuck up from Declan."
Nyx scoffed, playing coy. "I have no interest in your boyfriend. Maybe you're just insecure in how close we are?"
"I'm not."
"Really?" Nyx said. "Because you just approached me randomly and told me to back away from my best friend, sounds like insecurity."
Selene pulled her phone out of her back pocket and thrust it in Nyx's face.
Nyx's face dropped and she quickly reached for Selene's phone but she yanked it out of reach. "Delete it," she hissed.
Selene shook her head. "I think your parents would enjoy knowing exactly what their innocent daughter is doing." She put away her phone.
"Nyx!" A man called.
The match had ended and now Nyx had to go up against an opponent she hadn't properly studied. "One minute," she said, sugary sweet before turning towards Selene. "What do you want from me?"
Selene crossed her arms. "I don't care if you and Declan are friends like you claim you actually are, and nothing more. Just know your place and stay there," she said.
"And you'll delete the picture?"
"No. I'm not stupid. I delete it, I lose my leverage. I have the photo, and I can make you do anything I want. The latter is much more desirable."
"Okay, I'll back up from Declan."
"As long as you do that, we won't have a problem." She smiled mockingly. "Have fun with your match." She turned on her heel and walked away, ignoring the ache in her head that pounded in her ears.