Page 20 of Subscriber Wars

Oh no. Sebastian is not coming over here in a bad mood and taking it out on me. “Go home, Sebastian. You need a nap.” And a swift kick in the ass, but I leave that part out. I don’t need more drama from the diva next door.

He rears back, and I know that Malcolm’s taunting got to him. I don’t know who I hate more right now. “I need a nap?” he says aghast, like he can’t believe I would suggest such a thing. “You need some fucking clothes! What is this?” He waves down at my body, and I hear Aspen snicker.

“Uh, a bathing suit?” I say for the man who isn’t thinking clearly. “You saw me in it earlier,” I remind him. When he was texting me. Why wasn’t he upset then?

“Uh oh,” Aspen chides, tugging me away from a red-faced Sebastian. “Looks like you might need to find a t-shirt too.”

She pulls us away from the guys and sends them a little wave. “Have a drink, boys, and settle down. We’ll be back.”

When we’re inside and tucked away in Drew’s room, Aspen pulls out a shirt from his dresser. “Here,” she says handing it over.

I grab it and eye the mischievous look in her eye. “You knew this would happen,” I accuse her.

“That Malcolm would crash the party and spew his drama?”

I cock my head to the side. “You know what I’m talking about.” I finger my top. “The bathing suit…”

She puts her hand to her chest in mock innocence. “How would I know that Sebastian would come over all growly and jealous?”

True, but…

“He likes you,” she says out of the blue, digging through Drew’s top drawer where he keeps all the condoms and begins stacking them.

“Who?” I ask, slipping Drew’s oversized t-shirt over my head. “Vance?”

She turns and catches my eye. “The neighbor.”

I scoff. “How much have you had to drink?”

Shutting the drawer, she jumps on the bed next to me. “I think you have a secret.”

I laugh and push my arms through the shirt. “Trust me, I don’t have a secret.”

“You have a secret,” she challenges. “I just don’t understand why you won’t tell me.” Her voice is soft and a little sad. It makes me feel like complete dog shit.

“Come on, Asp. Don’t force me to tell you.”

Aspen has been my big sister all my life. I can’t stand to withhold something from her, but I just can’t tell her about me and Sebastian. She thinks we were secretly dating, but we weren’t. He didn’t get mad at my bathing suit because he was jealous. He was lashing out at me because of what Malcolm said about his video. Sebastian hates me. I’m the reason his videos aren’t doing well. Granted, I never aired the last prank, so no one really knows why we stopped pranking each other, but we became internet famous together because of those pranks. We lived our fifteen minutes of fame and now it’s over. He just hasn’t accepted it yet.

Aspen sighs, and after a moment, lies back on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. I follow suit. “Do you think we’ll ever be able to move on?” she says softly.

“From what?” I roll over and face her. She’s still looking at the ceiling.

“Loving them.”

Oh.

I roll back over and join her in staring at the ceiling. “I don’t love Sebastian,” I admit. “Our situation isn’t the same as yours and Bennett’s.”

We’re quiet for a moment as the party rages on outside. And then finally, she whispers, “Maintaining the denial is the hardest part.”

University CamFlix Competition Submission

Entry Number: 75

Sebastian and Valentina

First Interview Continued, also known as another fifteen minutes of torture

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