‘Wow,’ Claire says, her eyes widening with surprise. ‘This room is so large, and you even have your own bathroom. Please, don’t tell me that is a walk-in wardrobe over there?’ she asks excitedly.
‘Yeah, it’s no big deal,’ I shrug, downplaying the significance of my living space.
‘Magnus, it’s a big deal!’ she insists, entering the wardrobe.
Instead of following her, I make myself comfortable and lie on my bed, hoping she will become bored and go home. Moments later, she exits the wardrobe with black jeans, a belt with a silver wolf’s head as the buckle, and five different coloured shirts.
‘You must try this one on first, Boo-boo,’ Claire smiles and hands me a silver-grey shirt.
‘Can’t you just pick one? Then I don’t have to try it on?’ I ask, my tone expressing a desire to cut this short.
‘This will be more fun, Magnus,’ she says, looking me up and down. I roll my eyes, indicating my reluctance, but I sit on the bed and remove my shirt.
‘Magnus, my-my, you're so much more masculine than I even imagined,’ she blushes and bites her lip, giving me a seductive stare.
‘You’ve imagined me shirtless?’ I ask, feeling awkward.
Claire slowly approaches the bed, her hips swinging, and crawls up towards me, sitting on my lap and pinning me down.
‘Oh, Boo-boo, I’ve imagined you with far less clothing on,’ she says, staring deeply into my eyes and smashing her lips to mine just as Josie enters my room with Nina.
‘Magnus!’ Josie shrieks angrily.
In the utter shock of Claire kissing me, I push her away while I hear Josie angrily yell my name. Nina and I make eye contact, and I can see the hurt in her eyes. She pivots and runs off down the corridor without saying a word.
‘What the hell, Magnus?’ Josie says, her tone a mix of anger and disbelief.
‘Oh, sorry about that, Josie,’ Claire giggles. ‘I get how gross it can look when your brother is making out with his girlfriend. Next time, we will try to be more discreet,’ Claire laughs.
‘Discreet, are you serious?’ Josie yells, then lets out a frustrated growl and slams my door shut, leaving Claire and me alone again.
‘What the hell, Claire?’ I ask her, annoyed.
Claire tilts her head, feigning innocence. ‘What’s wrong, Boo-boo?’ She says it with an innocent tone and tries to cup my face. I instinctively lean back, avoiding her touch.
‘You can’t just kiss me like that,’ I tell her with frustration.
‘Why not?’ She pouts, seemingly oblivious.
‘Because you just can’t,’ I reply, my frustration becoming a clear demand.
‘Oh, I see, too soon?’ She asks, adopting a faux realization.
‘It was just unexpected, Claire. We haven’t even been on a date yet,’ I tell her.
‘Oh, I’m sorry, Boo-boo,’ she replies, giving me a faux-sympathetic look.
‘I’d appreciate that,’ I tell her with a raised eyebrow.
‘Now, are you going to try this shirt on?’ She asks impatiently, attempting to shift the focus.
I begrudgingly take the shirt and put it on, my body language clearly expressing my lack of enthusiasm. I shoot Claire a bored look, hoping she'd get the message.
‘Oh, very smooth, but try this one on,’ she says, handing me a black shirt. I press my lips together in a thin line, signalling my resistance.
‘This one is fine, Claire. What I’m wearing now will do. Besides, it’s time I take you home,’ I tell her, my tone indicating a desire for this ordeal to end.
‘So soon?’ She says with disappointment, her body slumping slightly.
I scratch the back of my head, another non-verbal cue that I'm uneasy. ‘Yeah, I forgot I have an um… assignment.’ I offer a weak excuse.
‘Oh, okay then,’ she sulks, her body language reflecting her disappointment.
Descending the stairs, I run into Seth as he leaves. ‘Hey Magnus, where are you off to?’ Seth asks.
‘I’m taking Claire home. She lives near the school,’ I tell him. Seth smiles.
‘I’m about to drive past the school. I can drop Claire home if you like?’ He offers.
‘Oh, could you?’ I say it a little too excitedly, Claire’s dismay evident in her expression.
‘Sure,’ he replies. ‘Great!’ I take Claire’s hand and help her into the car, shutting the door before she can kiss me on the cheek and say goodbye.
I had never been so happy to see the back of Seth’s car driving away into the distance.
I rush back inside, the echoes of my footsteps clashing with the racing beat of my heart. Halfway up the staircase, Josie storms toward me, her eyes ablaze with anger.
‘What is wrong with you?’ She says, her words like fiery darts, each punctuating with a jab of her finger against my chest. ‘You said you wanted to make things right with Nina. Minutes later, you are making out with Claire!’
I attempt to defend myself, desperation in my voice, ‘Look, it wasn’t what it looked like, I swear.’
Josie scoffs, a harsh sound filled with disbelief. ‘Are you serious? It wasn’t what it looked like?’
‘Yes, Claire gave me shirts to try on for the stupid party. As soon as I removed my shirt, she climbed onto me and kissed me just as you walked in. I swear I didn’t know she was going to do that. I didn’t even want her to kiss me. She caught me off guard, okay,’ I explain.
Josie takes a moment, her anger slowly subsiding. ‘You need to fix this, Magnus. You need to make things right with Nina after what transpired between you and Claire. Let’s just say it will take more than grovelling and apologies to fix this,’ she states adamantly, arms crossed tightly over her chest.
My shoulders slump. ‘I know, Josie. I’m going to see Nina now,’ I state, my tone a mix of defeat and determination, and walk around her, ascending the stairs.
‘Nina?’ I say gently, knocking on her door. ‘Nina?’
The door suddenly opens abruptly. Nina holds the door open with one hand, her other on her hip. Her face shows no emotion, but her body language tells me she is furious.
‘What do you want, Magnus?’ She asks, sending a hot shiver down my spine as she says my name.
‘I wanted to come to apologize to you,’ I confess, my eyes pleading for understanding.
‘For what exactly?’ She asks, her eyebrow raised challengingly.
‘For what you just saw between Claire and me,’ I tell her, my voice softer now, laced with remorse.
‘Why are you apologizing for something that’s not my business?’ Her gaze pierces through me.
I stare at her, stunned. ‘You ran off upset when you saw Claire kissing me, I thought?’