Page 57 of Our Forever Starts Tonight

And just like that, reality had come back to smack me in the face. “O-okay. Thanks.”

I couldn’t really blame my coworkers. As far as any of them knew, Lucky and I were best friends who enjoyed going on our breaks together. I hadn’t made it clear to Dani thathewas the friend who liked me that I didn’t reciprocate the feelings.

But Dani had helped me enough, and as long as Lucky and I both still worked there, I didn’t want there to be gossip or drama, so I didn’t mention it. It was time to get it over with anyway, and with Dani’s advice under me, my confidence to do so had certainly been bolstered. It was going to be hard for Lucky to hear, but if he actually cared about me as a friend, not just as a potential romance, then we could get through it.

I just hoped I wasn’t about to lose my best friend.

“Hi,” he greeted me as soon as I walked into the break room. “Are you on break?”

“Yeah,” I said, trying to seem as serious as possible.

“Can we have that talk now, then?” he asked.

I nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”

Rather than going for my lunch, I sat down at the break table across from where Lucky was sitting. There was still hope coloring his gaze, but I didn’t let myself get sucked in. I just kept telling myself it would be better once he knew the truth. Lucky was my friend and he would understand. Those things were true, I had to believe it.

“Lucky, listen…” I started. “I was flattered by what you said last week, obviously, but um… I don’t feel that way about you. We’ve been so close for so long, and I think of you more like family. I think you’re incredible and are going to make some woman really happy one day, but I am not that person.”

Lucky stared back at me in total silence. I studied his expression, trying to see which way he was going, but for a while it was just ghostly and plain. He watched me and I waited, unsure of if I should say something or not to break the silence, until finally, Lucky shook his head.

“No,” he said. “I don’t accept that.”

My heart started to pound. “What?”

“I don’t accept that answer,” Lucky said. “I’ve been there for you through all of this shit. We’ve been together forever. Is it because of Tristan? Even though he treats you like that? I’ve been nothing but wonderful to you. How can that be your answer?”

I gulped, hearing Dani’s words in my mind. “It’s not like you’ve shown any romantic interest in me before. For me, this flew in out of left field.”

“I just assumed that one day we’d get there,” Lucky said. “We were halfway there already. I’m a guy and you’re a girl. People joke that we’d be great together all of the time. What has all this been for if it wasn’t headed anywhere?”

That question broke my heart. “So… that’s all our friendship has been for you? A trajectory towards romance or nothing at all? I thought I meant more than that to you.” Tears filled my eyes and I tried to blink them back, though it wasn’t going all that well. “I thought you actually cared about me.”

“N-no. Of course I care about you. You mean the world to me.” He blinked a few times, then frowned and looked away from me. “I do just want you to be happy, even if that’s not with me. It’s just hard for me to hear is all.”

That would make more sense to me if it hadn’t been for the outburst. “I really hope that’s true, because you’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you.”

“It’s true,” Lucky said. “I just need some time to recover from this, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Whether he was telling the truth or not, I wasn’t sure, but a person was only so strong. I let the conversation die there, because just like Dani had said about Tristan, I was afraid. Everything in my life was changing so fast, and I didn’t want to keep going and lose my best friend forever, too.

23

Tristan

The week of the dance, the entire school was buzzing. Teachers were smart enough to know that students were more excited about the dance and the following partial week for Thanksgiving break, so a lot of classes were working on big end of the semester projects that would be due not long after the break was over, and studying for major tests. For seniors specifically, a lot of teachers opened their doors and allowed students to go deal with other tasks if that was what they needed, like speaking to counselors, or studying in subjects where they needed more help.

Or if you were friends with Ceradi, it meant moving into the cafeteria at the beginning of the day, and not leaving until the end. Hannah and I did better in our courses than the rest of our friends, so I actually felt bad for them. They should have been using the time to their benefit, rather than sitting around listening to Ceradi talk about nothing and take pics for her social media.

The only good thing it did for me, was keep me out of classes where I’d have to stare at Aria all day and wallow in my own heartbreak. If I felt like it would do any good, I’d tell Ceradi to fuck off, but Aria wouldn’t talk to me even if I did, so what was the point?

“You okay?” Hannah asked, noticing the slump I was in.

“I will be.” I looked at her and frowned. “It’s just hard, and I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep. I’m tired.”

“Tris!” Ceradi slid up next to me and held out her phone for a selfie. I smiled and let her snap the pick, and then my face immediately went neutral again as Ceradi reviewed the picture. “Oh, you look exhausted in this. You need to start doing my face cream regimen.”

“I’ll think about it,” I replied flatly.

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