Well, I was me
“You’re fucking what?” Lizzie’s voice cannot be anymore shocked. She clears her throat then speaks calmer. “I’m sorry. Let me rephrase. You’re fucking who?”
It always makes me extremely nervous whenever she does that voice.
“Will.” I sit down at the edge of her bed.
“Right.” She breathes like anxiety is cussing through her body, then Lizzie busts out laughing. “Our Will?”
“No. My Will. We’re official.”
“You’re what now?” Lizzie laughs louder.
What was I thinking bringing this up to my big sister? Of course she’ll laugh at me. Although I’m not sure if she’s surprised that I got it going with Will, and that it took me this long to get it going.
“I’m serious, Lizzie! I thought I’ll talk to you first, because you know the whole thing between you and him.” I force myself to tell her the truth.
Lizzie stops laughing almost immediately. “Oh. That’s what you’re worried about? There is no thing between me and Will, Maddy.”
“I don’t want you to be weird about it.”
Lizzie stands up from her desk and walks over to the bed and sits down next to me. “Maddy. I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.”
“Really?” My head perks up.
“Frustrated. Constantly anxious. Shocked—”
“LIZZIE!!!!” I scream. “What the hell does it mean???” I groan in exasperation.
Her laugh comes back louder and sharper. “Maddy. You had sex in this house and actually thought I wouldn’t know?”
Oh no. Panic arrives to my face all at once.
“You know?”
Lizzie pads my knees. “You’ve been wearing his clothes for three weeks. And you bullied my boyfriend with the word period to cover you leaving Will’s room. You think I’ll let it go?”
“Ah. So that what this is?”
“No. You’re so obvious even DJ knows.”
“Wait.” My mouth opens. Then closes again. “Does Nate know?”
“Nate and DJ owe me twenty dollars each. We bet on when you two would finally come clean.” She announces deadpan. “About hooking up. But you’re dating-dating now?”
I look beyond startled. These people that I live with, are the actual menaces. Not me.
“Is that why Nate been teasing Will in front of me?” I snort.
Lizzie ignores me. “Does Will know he’s your boyfriend, or have you simply declared him one in your head?”
“He does.” My voice goes up a little. “We’re compatible.” I declare firmly. Then hesitate. “Astrologically.”
“No, you’re not. You’re a Libra. He’s a Capricorn.” Her eyebrows go up.
Of course Lizzie knows Will’s a Capricorn.
I showed up two weeks ago with a donut and a tiny candle because he told everyone he doesn’t celebrate.
I took that as athletes don’t eat sugar and ate most of the delicious donut myself after singing the best Happy Birthday tune the house has ever witnessed.
Most of the donut, because Will glared at me just before I finished. And because I am an angel, the birthday boy got the sweet little special last bite himself.
“Anyway,” I look away first, “the Capricorn thing is mostly surface-level. He’s a Scorpio Moon. He looks calm, but inside he’s basically a very polite explosion.”
Oh God. Whatever the fuck that means, really.
That is when Lizzie slowly turns back to look at me. “How do you know Will’s moon sign?”
“I ran his chart.” I shrug. “I need to know if we’re compatible before I commit.”
“But you’re committed anyway even though the stars say you’re not compatible.”
“Well, technically, he’s a Scorpio Moon.” I protest. My voice rises a little.
“Hold on.” Lizzie narrows her eyes. “Did you ask Will what time he was born?”
“No.” A beat. “I asked him what time his mother gave birth to him.”
Damn it. This is more embarrassing out loud. I’m dying inside. And half wish I could lie to my sister but she has this magic power that just gets everything out of me if she asks the right questions.
Lizzie laughs so loudly I’d say anything for her to shut up.
Turns out anything is crazy. “For your information, Libra and Capricorn are both cardinal signs.”
“I don’t know what that means.” She whizzes.
“Neither did I six weeks ago.” I admit. That only makes her laugh harder.
Lizzie pokes my arm, and pulls out her phone too quickly. “I need to let Collins know. He’ll be so pissed.”
“Why are you letting Collins know?” My voice rises to an impossible pitch.
My brother hated my last boyfriend, or every other guy I ever had a crush on. Everyone was ‘Meh’, ‘Bad hands’ or ‘He looks clueless’.
“Col!!! Guess what?” Lizzie’s cheerful voice comes as soon as Collins picks up. “Maddy’s got a boyfriend. And it’s Will.”
I nervously look at the phone on Lizzie’s lap.
A pause of confusion over the line. Then. “Which Will?” Collins asks calmly.
Lizzie answers for me. “You’re on speaker by the way. Maddy’s here. Will Mercer.”
“My Will?” Collins yelps. He is clearly surprised. “You had an entire Princeton and you chose my friend, Maddy?”
“MY Will.” I exclaim, standing up from the bed now, already pacing near the bed. Then quieter. “It just happened.” Truth.
“MADDY—” A sigh over the line. “There are rules. You’re not touching a teammate’s sister.”
Right. I remember Collins mentioned it once. The basketball team’s bro code is strict about no exes, no siblings involved. Cousins, maybe. But they have to ask first. For fuck’s sake.
What a stupid rule. It’s not like feelings follow fucking rules.
I figured if I tell them first, it’ll contain any potential awkwardness or wrath that the Fairfax family can manage to unleash without a blink.
“Collins, you graduated!” I protest in a pitch even higher than Lizzie’s.
“Once teammates, forever teammates, Maddy. That fucker—”
“No.” I scream at the phone. “You dated three teammates’ sisters.”
That was how the rules were created in the first place.
“Those circumstances were completely different.” Collins pauses.
“How?” I cut in. Voice control is no longer a thing. One must think I am fighting a raccoon, not my brother.
“I was me.” He hisses.
“Collins!!!!!” I press my face into my palm while Lizzie is trying to control her laugh.
“Out of everyone, Maddy? I’ve literally watched Will leave parties with two girls.” Collins keeps on talking anyways.
“That was years ago,” I tell my womaniser brother bluntly, without hesitation.
“Seriously, I know things about him that no brother should know about his sister’s boyfriend.” Collins sounds genuinely offended now. “What is it about my friends that you two cannot get enough of?”
I can feel his smugness all over the line.
“You better punch Will too Collins.” Lizzie speaks loudly to the phone. “If DJ got punched, it’s only fair.”
My eyes snap at Lizzie. “No fucking way. You guys are animals.” I squeak.
“I need to talk to the fucker. Call you back in a minute.” Then my brother hangs up abruptly.
Isn’t Collins supposed to have some very busy and serious life with his new company? Why is he so nosy into my business?
Three minutes later, my phone buzzes.
Will: Babe what did u say to Collins?