#plus one

“Sorry, we’re closed right now,” You groggily rub your eyes at the glowing screen sitting on the sheets next to you. “call back when it’s not three in the morning, Lix.”

“Okay well stay awake for actually five more seconds, this is important.”

“Get on with it then,” You mumble, while the ‘end call’ button stares up at you enticingly.

“This is going to sound so weird but please just hear me out okay?” Felix takes your silence as a go-ahead, and he takes a breath in preparation. Oh boy. “I need you as a plus-one to my sister’s wedding.”

Silence.

Quickly, he continues, “Like, not actually, obviously, just pretend. But yeah. I already told everyone I had someone so they would get off my ass about it.”

You’re positive your eyebrow raise can be heard over the phone. “You already told everyone? What if I say no?”

“Yeah, so, i’m really hoping you don’t. Because I already have your plane ticket booked.”

“FELIX.”

——

A destination wedding. In exactly a week.

To be honest, you’re usually a flexible person. You’ve learned over the years that Felix is impulsive to the nth degree. Last minute dinner plans, you can work with. But this? This is extreme even for him.

The burger king meal that Felix bought you as payback now sits as an empty bag on the coffee table, and you pinch your nose bridge before looking up at the bundle of nerves sitting on the couch across from you. His knee bounces up and down while he pulls his bottom lip through his teeth, looking out the window as if it holds all the answers.

“How the hell are we gonna pull this off?” You pick at a stray thread hanging off of Felix’s old couch, as his nose scrunches up in thought.

“I think it’ll be pretty easy actually. Just play the part while we’re in public.” Felix grins at the face you pull, “No, really! Plus, it could be fun,” He waggles his eyebrows at you, and you can’t help but feel the corners of your mouth twitch upwards. He’s ridiculous.

“Mhm,” you hum, unconvinced. “And what are we going to do after, break up?” Your arms remain crossed, as they have been for the majority of this ‘meeting’ (as Felix had called it). “There’s no way anyone is going to believe we’re dating. You just happen to have a girlfriend for the three days of the wedding?”

Felix grimaces a bit. “I may or may not have mentioned that you’ve been my girlfriend for a month. Or six.” He adds through his teeth.

It’s all you can do to keep yourself from flipping over his coffee table. He really does test your patience. Felix cuts you off before you can get a word in.

“Okay, okay, hear me out.” He waits until you’ve settled yourself before continuing, “We don’t ‘break up’ per say— hey shh, i’m not done.” He raises a finger at you, much to your offense, but you sit back anyways. “We just let it fizzle out slowly, and nobody will know the better! It’s fool-proof, really.”

Fool-proof sure, except for the fact that you have to act like you’re dating your best friend, who just so happens to be quite attractive and who just so happens to be the person you think quite non-platonic thoughts about on the daily.

Despite this, a weeks notice is definitely not enough time to fully think something like this through, and it’s safe to say you are stressing just the smallest bit.

“Ok, fine. But like— convincing people we’re in a relationship? That might be a little hard.” You watch with furrowed brows as Felix leans back in the chair, leg still bouncing.

“Not really. Some hand-holding, a kiss here and there, we should be all set,” Felix shrugs and then barks out a laugh at the horrified expression on your face. “What? Oh come on, it’s not like we haven’t kissed before,” he adds, a singsongy lilt to his tone.

You can feel your face turn at least two shades redder. “Lix, oh my god, don’t say it like that! We were fifteen. You know i don’t feel that way anymore!” A lie, of course, but a necessary one. Felix’s shoulders shake as he laughs into the palm of his hand, peeking at you from behind his fingers.

You remember it like it was yesterday. How could you forget? It hits you like a cool breeze, and suddenly you’re back on that beach, a fistful of shells still collected in your hand. He held you like you were the last precious thing in the world, and you have never felt a warmth like that since. It’s hazy, like a mix between sunrise and sunset. All you know is that he was glowing. A type of glow that radiates from the inside out.

What does that memory look like to Felix? Does he recall it as fondly as you do? Does he remember the way your eyes looked as clearly as you can picture his?

Awkwardly, you clear your throat. The silence had stretched on for far too long. Felix huffs a laugh and averts his eyes, taking a sudden interest in the floral curtains.