Hai, lovely people! You guys are the absolute, utter best. Thanks a lot for the 2K reads! I'm so glad to have such amazing readers like you, all.

This one's dedicated to bookwormSarah ! Thanks for reading, love. x

Anywaaaays, enjoy reading! :)

|Chapter 25|

   Justin and Eleanor started laughing. Their hands held their stomachs tightly as they gasped for air, trying to hold on to dear life. Tears fell out of their eyes like a small, flowing rivulet. They're trying so hard to stop laughing in order to breathe, but they couldn't do it. The way they laughed made me cringe, for it planted a bad feeling in me that they're laughing at my being.

   Sophia and I sat there, confused. Why would a question so simple make them laugh so hard? I mean, what could they possibly be laughing at?

Oh, come on. Your question came out of the blue. Not to mention how nosy asking it was, my conscience mocked me.

   She's right, actually. They're probably laughing at me. They're probably making fun of me in their heads. Or maybe they were laughing at something else. I was so puzzled and utterly clueless of what's going on. And I hated it. I hated the feeling of not knowing anything. I strongly disliked the feeling of confusion and bafflement.

   Sophia and I waited patiently for them to sober up, and I sighed in relief when two minutes later, they did.

"Me? Dating him? Oh my God," Eleanor chuckled at my ridiculous postulation.

   Her reaction left me even more bewildered that before. I was feeling extremely out of place. And I was feeling very embarrassed, especially when they both looked at each other once again before they started laughing once more.

   I tried to recall all the reasons they made me think they were dating. They were all very convincing. I was almost sure they were in a relationship. A strong one, too.

   The first day I was going to Eleanor's house, Justin called out for her and told her he wasn't going to go home with her since he was leaving with his friend or something of that sort. The day I "invaded" Justin's thinking place, he told me all his life was changed and brightened ever since a girl, which I assumed was Eleanor, came into his life. The day Eleanor bombarded me with questions, which was also the first day I came over, he was in the house a few hours into my visit and he asked me if I wanted to stay for dinner.

   He was always with her, at least most of the time. He took her home. They laughed together all the time. And today, was the most convincing day of all. They both whispered in each other's ears and Justin kept blushing whenever she did. I was a hundred and fifteen percent sure they were in an indestructible relationship.

"We're most definitely not in a relationship. Not now, not in a million years," Justin affirmed. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Then why were you acting all lovey dovey every single day?

   Questions. Question marks swam in the flood of questions in my head. A bunch of what's, why's, where's and how's crowded my brain and I felt like my enormous head was about to explode. A massive headache kicked in and I felt like the world's weight was placed on my head.

   I didn't know what to exactly feel. My emotions were messed up and I couldn't make out which is which. I felt overwhelmed in a really terrible way. A titanic feeling of confusion, a tad one of embarrassment, a pinch of exhaustion, and a hint of happiness that Justin isn't actually dating Eleanor swarmed me everywhere.

What?

   I'm terrified. I'm scared of my happiness. Why am I happy that they're not together? I'm trying my best to seek for reasons other than the fact that I might actually like Justin. But I can't find any. I hate that.

I don't want to fall in love. I don't want to feel anything of that sort. It never works out. It's never what people say it is. It's painful. It's deceiving and beguiling. It's atrocious. And I don't need it to ruin life. My life's already messed up as it is.

   I felt slightly bad for Sophia, who still had no clue of what's going on. She sat there, legs crossed, ever so silently.

"But you've been blushing all day. What was that about?" I asked, one of my eyebrows arching up.

   Justin was stunned, and Eleanor was laughing again. Justin's cheeks were tinted in a deep shade of pink and he started stuttering like a kid who's been caught doing something he shouldn't. It was hilarious, so I started laughing along with Eleanor, even though I had no clue of why he's stuttering so nervously or why he's blushing, yet again.

   A few laughs later, Eleanor spoke up. "Justin, over here, was blushing at the mention of a special someone."

   My heart clenched at the thought of Justin liking someone else. However, I liked that fact just a little bit. Knowing that there's no chance that Justin would like me and that he already likes someone else will make me get over him pretty fast. If I really do like him, that is.

Hopefully, I don't and it's just a game my head is playing with me.

   I realized that maybe the girl Justin liked was Jennifer. I mean, since it was not Eleanor, it probably was the bully. I was slightly agitated by that discovery. Yes, Justin may be a jerk at times, but Jennifer definitely doesn't deserve him. She's ruthless. She's mean.

   I always believed that everyone has a reason to act a certain way. But nevertheless the hardships she's been going through, she's got no right to take out her frustration on other people. Not her, not anyone else.

"Lizzy, I'm going to Mom, okay?" Sophia asked me. I nodded, smiling at her. She bid Justin and Eleanor a goodbye and hopped towards the exit of the room and disappeared into the hallway. That kid is an innocent sweetheart.

"But if you aren't dating, then... what? Are you best friends?" I asked, my head tilting to the side. Justin shook his head.

"Not quite," he replied. His answer wasn't satisfying to me. It made me even more confused and curious than I actually was. If they weren't dating and they weren't "quite" best friends, then what were they?

   Eleanor gave me a sweet grin before she took in a deep breath and announced, "we're family."