Just Friends

by Tiffany Pitcock

  * * *

  THE BEST DAY of Chance’s life was the day he got his car. It was a lovely black 1999 Dodge Charger, and it was his pride and joy. Sure, it was secondhand (more like fourth-hand, to be honest), the passenger-side window didn’t work, and the upholstery was seriously ripped up, but it was his escape.

  It also meant he could drive himself to school. He didn’t have to rely on Levi or his parents.

  He was embarrassed to admit it, but he felt like he was in a music video whenever he drove it. One of those indie music videos with girls in knit caps and boys with ukuleles. The type that accompanies movies about manic pixie dream girls saving the boring male protagonist from himself. It was dumb, but he loved it.

  He thought about Jenny Wessler suddenly, her face flashing behind his eyes. The way she had looked seated next to him at lunch, lightly blushing. The way her brown hair curled in its ponytail, the ends just brushing her shoulders. She had seemed so nice.

  Chance could use some nice in his life.

  He knew their minor interlude was finished, however. It had burned bright for one hour, and then it had burned out. That was the way it was. It was the way it had to be. He couldn’t complicate his life any more than it already was. Besides, she seemed like the type who didn’t live in a constant state of yelling. He couldn’t drag her into his mess.

  Although he had to admit: Nothing had ever come as easily as their game of make-believe.

  He saw her the moment he pulled into the parking lot. He would’ve liked to swear that she wasn’t the reason he parked by the library, instead of behind the science building like he always did, but he knew the truth.

  She was walking from a maroon car, her messenger bag bulging at her side. What does she have in there, the whole damn library? Her hair was down today, and she wore a light-blue polo shirt. The color looked good on her; it went well with her pale complexion.

  He was out of his car and catching up to her before he even realized what he was doing. “Jenny!” he called, causing her to turn around. “Hey. I think we should continue to be friends.”

  She looked up at him. “We’re friends?”

  “Damn, Wessler, that’s cold. I thought we hit it off yesterday.”

  She blushed, turning away. “I only meant that I didn’t realize everything yesterday was real.”

  He hadn’t, either, not until he’d said it. “Of course it was real. You’re my oldest friend, Jenny.”

  She laughed, “Oh sure, the tree and Harry Potter and all that.”

  “You couldn’t have made me sound a little manlier in our origin story?”

  “You can’t rewrite the past, Chance.”

  Now it was his turn to laugh. “Oh, of course. I forgot that the past is set in stone.” They had reached the side entrance to the cafeteria now. That was where everyone hung out before the first bell rang.

  A few people looked at them curiously as they made their way across the room. Chance even caught a few people wearing what the hell? expressions. Which was odd. It wasn’t like it was unusual to see Chance with a girl. Most of his friends were girls, really, and it wasn’t like he didn’t date.

  “People are staring,” Jenny whispered to him, drawing herself closer.

  “We don’t have to walk together if it bothers you,” he told her.

  “Are you kidding? This is exciting.” But she didn’t sound wholly convincing.

  Kelsey came out of nowhere. One moment it was Chance and Jenny, the next they were almost on top of the blond. She was taller than Jenny—at least five-eleven—and her blond hair was in orderly curls. “Jens! I was wondering where you went.…” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Chance. “Oh, Masters, it’s you. I should’ve known.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Kelsey shrugged.

  She doesn’t like me. It was as if she was nearly trying to shield Jenny from him.

  “Sorry about that.” Jenny shrugged. “We got to talking.”

  “I see,” Kelsey said. “You left me at the mercy of Danny Jennings.”

  “Still?” Jenny asked in disbelief. “He hasn’t taken the hint?”

  “We were partners on one assignment. I mean, Lord, it doesn’t mean we’re freaking soul mates.”

  “Yeah,” Chance spoke up. “Letting an icebreaker assignment rule your relationships is just stupid.”

  “Exactly!” Kelsey exclaimed, blind to the sarcasm in his voice.

  He felt Jenny shake beside him and looked over to find her suppressing her laughter.

  “The boy shaves his head!” Kelsey went on. “Like I could ever date someone with a buzz cut. I mean, my gosh, I have standards!”

  Jenny snickered.

  Note to self: Stay away from buzz cuts.

  The bell rang then, cutting Kelsey off mid-rant. “If he waits outside my first block class, I am telling the counselor,” she muttered as she walked away. “Oh, and Jenny?” she called over her shoulder. “The Student Advisory Board is voting on their president this afternoon. See you there!”

  Then there were two.

  “So…” Jenny said, tugging on the strap of her messenger bag. “I have American Lit.”

  “Oh, I have Geometry A. I guess we should”—he opened the door in a sweeping gesture—“go to class?”

  She gave him a small wave good-bye and pushed past him, making her way out the door. She paused, turning to look at him. “It’ll be fun,” she told him.

  He quirked an eyebrow. “What will be fun?”

  She smiled, big and wide. “Being your friend.” Then she was gone. Chance watched her leave, unsure of the feeling building in his chest. She was right; of course, this was going to be fun. Now that he was sure this was what he wanted, he was dedicated.

  Jenny Wessler was going to be his new best friend.

  CHAPTER 3

  Jenny

  “I don’t understand why we’re reading Hamlet in American Lit. I mean, I just do not get it,” Jenny said to Kelsey as they made their way down the English hall. “Huck Finn I get. Walden I get. But Hamlet?”

  “Mrs. Princeton says it’s because she believes that every English novel can be linked back to Shakespeare,” Kelsey told her. “That’s not it, though. They require the English department to teach a Shakespeare play every year.”

  Jenny snorted. “They do not. I would’ve noticed if we read one every year.”

  “Really, think about it. Which have you read and when?”

  Jenny thought about it. “Freshman year was Romeo and Juliet, then we read Julius Caesar and that was sophomore year … now Hamlet … everyone knows the seniors read Macbeth … and crap, you’re right!”

  Kelsey shrugged. “I know the inner workings of the school like the back of my hand.”

  Jenny moved over just in time to dodge a couple barreling through the crowded hallway, their hands clasped. She looked over her shoulder, watching the two until they disappeared around a corner.

  “Don’t you just hate hallway PDA?” Kelsey asked, glaring after the couple.

  The only boy Jenny had ever held hands with was her brother, back when he was too young to walk alone in a store. What would it be like to hold hands with a boy she liked? To want to be together so badly they’d hold on to each other in a crowd just because they didn’t want to lose a second of contact? She finally turned away, only to spot another couple up ahead, leaning against the lockers, talking so closely their noses were practically touching. When did everyone pair off? she wondered as she looked away.

  “It’s not too bad,” she told Kelsey as she spotted two girls holding hands by the water fountain. “I like PDA. The idea that they like each other so much that they…” She trailed off as Kelsey’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What?”

  “This doesn’t sound like you,” Kelsey said. “What gives?”

  To be honest, Jenny had been thinking about dating ever since she found out her mother was doing it. It was like a wake-up call, and now suddenly she was so aware t
hat everyone seemed to be dating except her. “It’s nothing,” she told Kelsey. She didn’t want to bother her friend with her family drama. Jenny hated being a burden.

  “Ah,” Kelsey said knowingly. “I know what this is about. Or, rather, who it’s about.”

  “What?” Kelsey knows my mom is dating?

  “It’s Masters, right?” Kelsey ignored her protests, continuing on. “Look, you’ve known him for a long time, so I don’t have to tell you about his reputation. It’s bad, Jens. I wouldn’t do it if I were you. That isn’t a frontier worth exploring.”

  “This isn’t about him.”

  “Suuuure,” Kelsey laughed. “It’s okay, we’ve all been there at least once in our lives. He’s attractive, but he’s not boyfriend material. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

  Jenny stopped walking, causing the person behind her to mutter angrily as they stepped around her. “I’m not talking about Chance,” she insisted. She hated when people told her what she was thinking or feeling. “I wasn’t even talking about myself.”

  This brought Kelsey up short. “Oh. Um, I’m sorry, I just assumed … Who were you talking about, then?”

  “Never mind,” Jenny said, looking at one of the digital clocks posted in the hall. “We’re going to be late for class. C’mon.”

  Jenny marched into Oral Comm just as the bell rang, Kelsey trailing behind her. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with class right now. Kelsey’s warning still rang in her head.

  Sure, she knew that Chance was dangerous. A person doesn’t earn a rep like his without being a little wild, but Kelsey’s warning was ridiculous. From what Jenny could tell, Chance was a good person, and he was definitely fun to be around. It wasn’t like Jenny was going to marry him; they were just hanging out. Besides, they weren’t like that.

  Okay, true, the thought of hanging out with him after school sent her nerves into overdrive, but that was because he was still new. It wasn’t because of his reputation—though now that Kelsey had brought it up, Jenny couldn’t help but think about it. She tried her best to calm her frazzled nerves as she thought of a hundred and fifty ways in which being Chance Masters’s friend could go wrong, but she must not have been as composed as she thought, because not even five minutes into class she found a note fluttering onto her desk.

  What’s wrong with you? the note read in unfamiliar scrawl. It took her a moment to realize it must be from Chance.

  Nothing, she wrote back.

  The note was back in seconds. Bullshit.

  I was talking to Kelsey. She stared down at the words, afraid to pass it back. She didn’t want him to think something was wrong with her. Finally she marked it out, the lead of her pencil making indents on the paper. It’s seriously nothing.

  She surreptitiously watched him as he opened the note, taking stock of his reaction. He didn’t believe her, it was obvious. He sat there, pencil poised over the paper, but he didn’t write anything. He eventually wadded up the note and shoved it in his bag. That was the end of that.

  She half expected him to get up and leave without a word when the bell rang, but he didn’t. He loaded up his backpack and waited by her desk for her to do the same. “Ready for lunch?” he asked.

  “Um, yeah.” She trailed him as he left the classroom. She couldn’t help but notice the way his shoulders filled out his faded green T-shirt or the way his blond hair slightly curled at his collar. “I’m sorry about that with the note—”

  He turned back to look at her, confused. “What? Oh, you don’t have to be sorry about that. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

  “Oh.” She felt relief wash through her. After Kelsey speaking for her, she found it refreshing that Chance let her speak for herself.

  He didn’t ask her again what was bothering her. They went through lunch at his table, and they talked energetically, but he never brought it up. It was like … like he didn’t expect anything from her, and as a result she didn’t have to try. Like the day before, talking to him came easily. Her words flowed off her tongue and her smiles were easy and frequent. Chance made her feel relaxed and, well, she rather liked that.

  “Earth to Jenny,” Chance said, waving his hand in front of her face. She had paused, halfway through the cafeteria door. People behind her were making impatient noises. “C’mon, Little Miss Really-Likes-Having-As.”

  Then Chance grabbed her hand and dragged her through.

  CHAPTER 4

  Chance

  “We should have a secret handshake. Everyone who has been friends since elementary school has a secret handshake.”

  Jenny rolled her eyes. “That’s ridiculous. We don’t need a secret handshake. That’s too much trouble. I thought the point of this was to make up things on the fly.”

  “It is, but say that someone came up to us and was like, ‘Do you guys have a secret handshake?’ And we tell them yes and try to make it up on the fly, then we’ll only embarrass ourselves.”

  “No one is going to ask us if we have a secret handshake.”

  He looked at her seriously. “You don’t know that.”

  “And if anyone ever asks our secret handshake, then making it up on the fly will be fun.” She led Chance to his table now, not even pausing to contemplate going to her old one. Jenny had assimilated so fast, Chance was impressed. She took her seat between him and Drake with ease.

  Honestly, she looked like she belonged there.

  “So, Drake,” Jenny began, turning to the tall boy to her right. “How’s your band doing?”

  Kelsey, who had just approached the table, groaned as she set her tray down. She had slipped into their lunch group as easily as Jenny had, but seemed to hate Drake’s band. Chance liked that about her.

  “Oh God, don’t ask about his band,” Kelsey complained. “I’m sure you’re trying your best, Drake, but you sound like every other pseudo-intellectual rich boy with a guitar.”

  Drake brought his hand to his chest in mock pain. “You wound me.”

  She shrugged. “It’s true.”

  It was true. Chance had been to enough of their shows to know.

  “I’m sure that’s not true,” Jenny defended. “Everyone’s always talking about how great your shows are.”

  “That’s because you haven’t heard them yet,” Chance assured her.

  Drake glared at him. “Don’t listen to Jackass over there. You should come to practice sometime and check us out.”

  Chance didn’t like the way Drake was looking at Jenny, his eyes skimming over her hungrily.

  Jenny thought about it, biting her lip. “That would be fun,” she told him, before turning to Chance. “What do you think, wanna go to band practice sometime?”

  That’s my girl, Chance thought as Drake’s face fell.

  Leslie plopped down at the table then, her chair dangerously close to Chance’s. He nearly choked on her perfume as she reached past him to steal a few fries from Drake’s tray. “Don’t worry, Jenny. You’ll have a chance to see them live. Drake is playing my Halloween party.”

  “No, I’m not,” Drake said. His eyes slid from Leslie to Jenny, lingering on her as she took a sip of her water.

  Leslie sank back into her seat. “You’ve gotta do it,” she said before popping a fry into her mouth.

  “Are you gonna pay me?” Drake asked.

  From there the conversation switched to The Deplorable State of Modern Music and The Act of Doing It for the Art. Chance tuned most of it out. He had very few opinions on music. If it was catchy, he liked it. If it was annoying, he hated it.

  The bell rang suddenly, loud and shrill, making him jump. It was time for third block already. The day was going by too damn fast. Soon, he knew, he’d have no choice but to head home, where things were only getting worse.

  He didn’t want to go home.

  “Hey, Jenny?” he said, stopping her before she could leave the table.

  “Yes?”

  “Wanna go to the park after school?”

&n
bsp; She didn’t even hesitate. “Sure, if you’ll give me a ride home afterward.” And just like that, he had plans with Jenny.

  * * *

  “CHANCE!” JENNY’S VOICE rang out, breaking him from his thoughts. She half jogged across the parking lot to meet him. “Sorry I’m late. I had to catch up with Kelsey and tell her to head home without me.”

  His face lit up at the sight of her—he couldn’t help it. “No problem. You ready?”

  The two crossed the street, chatting idly about their last two classes. Chance barely even noticed his feet carrying him to the rusted red swing set that sat to the right of the amphitheater. Back when he was a child, the swings used to sit in a pit of rocks, but over time the rocks had been replaced with chunks of rubber. He guessed that was safer. He took the right swing, the one that some high schoolers had repeatedly tossed over the top to make the chains shorter. Jenny took the one next to him.

  It was a beautiful, if small, park. It had a giant walking track that wrapped around it, and it was cut in half by a small creek that was running low from lack of rain. It only had a few bits of playground equipment: a jungle gym, the swing set, and a giant fake climbing rock. It was simple, but Chance enjoyed it.

  “These swings used to seem a whole lot bigger when I was younger,” Jenny remarked, kicking off with her feet.

  “I remember I used to come here after school sometimes back in fourth grade because my parents were always late picking me up,” Chance told her, slightly pushing himself forward with the toes of his shoes. “I would section the place up and pretend it was Neverland.”

  He wasn’t sure why he was telling her this. He had never told anyone about this before, but somehow within minutes of being near Jenny it was all pouring out.

  Jenny stopped swinging to look at him curiously. “Neverland?”

  “Yeah.” Chance nodded. He pointed straight ahead of them, to the awning-covered picnic tables used for children’s birthday parties. “That over there was Pirate’s Cove because that’s where the birthdays happen, and—”