PAINTED LOVE

SEVEN

loïse madden

.  .  .  .  .  .

I have to say, my 'relationship' with Sebastian Hayes has some... benefits. When I got home last night, around 1 in the morning, Luna and Crystal were still up, unlike Luna's usual earlier schedule. 

They squealed and screamed and jumped in the air, hugged me, kissed me, said: "Oops, your boyfriend won't be mad about this, right?", when I arrived in the dorm.

I laughed everything off. "It's not that big of a deal", I told them.

"Yes, it is!", Crystal jolted. "You have a boyfriend! And not just a boyfriend: freaking Sebastian Hayes!"

I laughed when Luna grabbed my hands and jumped with me and Crystal and we looked like demon-possessed beings but I didn't care because they were happy. 

I wasn't very. I felt even more lonely now, knowing that it was all fake. Sebastian had become my friend, yeah. But perhaps I wanted someone to really love me. 

Not Sebastian therefore, but just someone in general. 

"How'd you guys know about our relationship?", I asked them, when they cooled down. "I mean- I didn't tell you guys already because Sebastian wanted to keep our relationship private. Otherwise, the college paparazzi would be harrassing us constantly and we wanted to avoid that."

"Oh", Luna said. She grabbed her phone, unlocked it and scrolled down. She showed me the screen. 

"Well, you were seen and photographed at their game and at the party afterwards."

She swiped to another picture. I gasped. My jaw dropped. It was a picture of me and Sebastian kissing, his hands on my waist, hips, ass and my hands in his hair and on his neck. We weren't just kissing in the picture, we were actually making out. 

To make Dean jealous, had Sebastian said. I didn't really understand why he wanted to make his best friend jealous but oh well. 

Another picture, me and him standing in the dark corner of the house, where I had told him I was a virgin. I had drunk two margerita's and apparently, that didn't have the outcome I wished for. I had layed myself bare for him, even though I've only known him for a month or so. 

He, now, knows I never had sex with anyone. I worry that he will pity me. Because I'm a prude. 

"You gotta be more careful if you want to date privately", Crystal noticed. 

I nodded my head. "Yeah, guess we should."

.  .  .  .  .  .

I'm walking around on campus with Luna by my side. Crystal met up with her boyfriend and skipped skills lab. Something I'd personally, never do. Luna is a psychology major. She's the sweetest friend you could ask for. 

On our way to lunch, we're greeted by so many people. 

"Hey, Loïse! And...?"

"Luna."

"Right, how's it going?"

"Good, thank you. What about you?" 

"Fine. See ya around!"

That's how the average conversation goes with anyone we walk past. 

"You're popular", Luna tells me. I shake my head. 

"I'm not. Sebastian is popular. They like me now, but when we break-up, they will let me fall like a stone, too, Lu."

"When you break-up? Honey, you've only been dating him for a few weeks?"