Possessive crush

I feel really strange when, walking and exploring the city with the whole group, Felix holds my hand the whole time. I'm like a dog on a leash whose owner is afraid to let his eyes off, thinking he'll escape.

It's strange, but I can't even approach my friend because my boyfriend throws me a warning look.

- Aren't you exaggerating? I just want to ask her something," I finally turn to him as his embrace intensifies once again. In this way, he gives me a sign to stay by his side.

- I don't like your friend. She's a witch who would enjoy our breakup," he says plainly.

- Excuse me? Eve would never say something like that. She supports us.

- Words versus thoughts can be clearly different. Her gaze when she looks at me is a sufficient signal of what she thinks of me.

I get the impression that Felix has been getting some kind of paranoia lately.

- You think too much," I mutter in response.

- You defend her because she is your friend, but eventually, you will find out what her true nature is. I know this from my experience. - No doubt he is referring to the case with Mike.

I don't feel like getting into a discussion with him. After last night, I understand that there is no point. Felix is irritable, and I won't get through to him in any way. Certainly, not anytime soon.

I smile under my breath as Eve catches up to a sad Mike and puts her arm around him. It looks quite funny when her boyfriend is holding her hand and leading her soulmate with the other.

I get serious rather quickly as I feel Felix's gaze on me.

- What do you mean? - I ask in a whisper.

- Maybe you should join them if I'm not making you happy enough.

He lets go of my hand and steps aside, and I stop in place, looking at him with shocked eyes.

It's scary, but so far, I haven't seen this side of Felix. On the trip, I get to know his true nature, and this causes things to start getting worse between us. I thought that this time would allow us to deepen our relationship and become even closer, but for now, we are moving away from each other.

That's not what I meant.

Eve turns back and notices that I am nailed. Tears appear in my eyes, and then she shifts her gaze to Felix. Her gaze is furious as hell.

She leaves the boys and walks over to me.

- What's going on? - she asks.

- I have a bad feeling that after the trip I will be single again. I would rather not say it out loud, but bad things are happening, Eve.

The blonde catches me under the arm, and we are the last to follow the group. Felix does not turn around even for a moment to look at me. He entirely ignores me, acting as if he is offended by the whole world.

He is completely unlike the boy I crushed on. This is not the man I fell madly in love with.

*

This is the worst trip I've ever been on. On the bus ride home, I sit next to my best friend, and her boyfriend takes the seat next to Mike. Felix is at the very back, staring out the window and listening to music through headphones.

Since we went exploring the city, he just stopped talking to me like that. I wanted to talk to him and talk to him from the heart, but he ignored me and walked away. We haven't spoken a word to each other since then.

- Don't be sad, Selena. When I look at you in this state, it breaks my heart.

- I just want things to be good between me and Felix. I'm worried that it won't be like that anymore. How can I not grieve? - I turn toward the window to hide the tears coming to my eyes. - I care about him so much that I just want things to be the same between us again as before.

Eve strokes my hair, and I feel like bursting out crying.

- My mother always told me that there is no point in shedding tears by guys. Crying damages beauty, and that's precisely what these bastards are after. They want to suck all the beauty out of us and then abandon us so no one wants us anymore.

I don't understand why her words make me start laughing through tears. Perhaps it's because I immediately picture her as a horrible, wrinkled under-eye ninny who is disgusted with Sebastian.

- How do you do it that you can make me laugh even at a time like this? - I ask, wiping tears from my cheeks.

- I'm your best friend, so who should do it if not me?

Eve hugs me, resting her head on my shoulder.

- I'm glad to have you," I say in a whisper, closing my eyelids.

- You finally appreciate me. That's how it should have been from the very beginning, if you count on your fingers how much I've done for you.

It's true. I am grateful to her for appearing in my life. She's like a sibling to me, and I can't imagine that the day could come when our paths will part.

- Should we pop out for hot chocolate when we get home? I think I need to improve my mood, and this is the best way.

- Witch, you know very well that chocolate I will never refuse, and because of it, I'm getting fat like a monster.

- No worries. You're already in a relationship, so you don't need to care about your figure.

- Are you crazy? All the more reason for me to go, because the cutie will leave me if I look like a spilled toad.

- You already look like this, and he agreed to be your boyfriend. You have no reason to worry. - I start laughing under my breath when out of the corner of my eye I see her angry face.

- Excuse me? Are you saying that I look like a sprawling toad? - Her eyes widen in disbelief. I'm sure she'll do something crazy shortly. - Sebastian! - she shouts unexpectedly, and everyone on the bus falls silent. Everyone's gaze focuses on the blonde as she gets up from her seat and walks over to her boyfriend. - Do I really look like a sloshed toad?

The boy turns red in the face, clearly embarrassed by her question. With panic in his eyes, he looks at his older colleague, as if looking to him for rescue.

- He looks confused, so I'm betting he thinks so, although he's afraid to say it out loud so as not to offend you," Mike says.

- No, it's not like that," defends Sebastian. - You just surprised me with this question, because I think you look perfect," he says in an embarrassed voice, blushing up to his ears.

- Ooo, how cute," announces Mike, further embarrassing his younger colleague.

Eve, on the other hand, looks happy.

- It's nice that you think I'm perfect.

I glance back, and my gaze meets Felix's. I can see the pain in his eyes, but he rapidly turns his gaze back toward the window, still pretending to be offended at the whole world.

What can I do to make things good again between us?

*

Everywhere is good, but home is best. This comes true when I enter my room and lie down on my bed with a sigh. I stare at the ceiling, thinking about my situation with Felix.

Even when we got off the bus, he just went his way, entirely ignoring me. I can't understand what hurt him so much that he doesn't want to know me. Is it that I was smiling at the sight of my friends while walking by his side? Is he exaggerating too much? It seems to me as if in recent times he thinks that I belong exclusively to him and have no right to be in the company of others, even friends.

I take the phone in my hand and stare at Felix's number for a long moment, wondering if I should call him first. I don't even know if he will answer, and besides, after all, I haven't done anything wrong to apologize to him. He should be the one who extends his hand in agreement.

I massage my forehead, feeling my head start to hurt from all this, and just then my phone starts ringing. My heart beats harder as I notice on the display that it's my boyfriend.

- Hello?

- I don't want our relationship to be like this. - I hear his sad voice. I feel like bursting out and telling him that he is the one causing turmoil in our relationship, but I bite my tongue at the last moment.

- Do you think I want that, Felix? It hurts me the way you treated me for the rest of the trip. I thought it would be the best time for us, and now I just want to forget those days.

- I exaggerated. I'm sorry. This is my fault.

I feel relief in my heart when he says these words. I'm glad he finally understood it.

- I won't deny it. You have indeed exaggerated.

- On the way home I thought about all this, and I am terribly stupid now. I acted like an idiot. I hurt you.

Tears flow from the outer corners of my eyes.

- Yes, Felix, you hurt me. You acted as if you were not yourself, as if you had lost your mind.

- Will you forgive me, Selena? I promise it will never happen again. I think I got some kind of paranoia after the whole Mike thing.

I feel like telling him that he shouldn't be angry with his best friend, but I restrain myself at the last minute, because I know that this could reignite the fire between us once again. It seems to me that they themselves should come to an agreement, however. I shouldn't interfere. It's already my fault that they don't talk to each other anyway.

- I can't be angry with you, Felix, so I forgive you. However, I hope it won't happen again.

- Promise.

However, words have no meaning, so they should not be trusted. I will understand this later.