Just Friends

by Tiffany Pitcock

  “How is this a dare, again?” he asked after a moment of silence.

  “One wrong move and this whole thing could snap. We could be dead in seconds.”

  Chance doubted that. “You’re being overdramatic, Jenny.”

  They lay in silence for a while, watching the clouds pass by, until Chance’s eyelids felt heavy and he had to fight to keep them open. It had been almost two weeks since he’d had a decent night’s sleep, what with his parents and their screaming. Jenny’s head still rested on his shoulder, and he could feel her breath on his neck. It was warm, relaxing …

  * * *

  IT SEEMED LIKE only seconds had passed when he opened his eyes to find the sun was setting. Jenny’s head was on his chest, slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. He wondered if she could hear his heartbeat, slow and steady. Her eyes were shut, her eyelashes fluttering. They both must’ve dozed off. His hand rested on the small of her back, her warmth radiating through the fabric of her shirt.

  He reached up and pushed her hair from her face. He wanted to kiss her.

  “Jenny, wake up.” He carefully nudged her awake.

  She groggily opened her eyes.

  “Wha—?”

  “We dozed off,” he told her.

  She sat up, picking dried leaves off her shirt. “Oh, damn. I hope Jack’s taking care of Jessa.”

  He sat up, too, an idea forming. “It’s my turn, isn’t it?” he asked.

  “Huh?” She turned back to look at him, a few leaves still tangled in her brown hair.

  “The Day of Dares,” he reminded her. “It’s my turn to issue a dare.”

  “Oh, I suppose so.”

  “I’ve got a dare for you.” He leaned forward, blond hair tumbling into his eyes.

  “What kind?”

  He laughed at her eagerness. He reached out and grabbed her hands. “I dare you to kiss me.”

  Her face went blank for a moment, her large eyes blinking rapidly.

  “Wait, what?” She blushed. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Well, you said you’d never been kissed,” he began. A small part of him felt like he was tricking her. He had wanted to kiss her for weeks now. Maybe if he just did it, he’d get it out of his system, and they could go back to how they were supposed to be.

  She squirmed, looking down at their clasped hands. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t.… I mean, it is a dare.”

  Color stained her cheeks. She awkwardly shifted her weight.

  “Hey”—he smiled—“at least I know what I’m doing.”

  I sound like a tool. I need to rein it in.

  “True,” she laughed, relaxing a bit. “I mean, it’s just you, it’s not like it really counts.”

  He just smiled, deciding that he deserved that sting. “Yeah, it doesn’t count.” He pulled her closer, his hands sliding up her arms to her shoulders, just like he had been dreaming about. “You know how this works, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Chance.”

  “I’m just checking.” He laughed, hoping that she couldn’t tell how badly his voice shook. “Now, close your eyes.”

  She did as she was told. His heart beat frantically in his chest. He was glad that she couldn’t see his hand shake when he reached up to touch her face; he—Chance—who was never unsteady. He leaned in. He felt awful for trying to get her out of his system but oh, so excited to finally get there. His lips touched hers gently at first, sending electric currents pulsing through his body. After a few seconds, he pushed with more force, opening her mouth with his, moving to deepen the kiss. His hands lowered, finding her waist, and he thought he felt her sigh against his lips.

  “Jenny!” a shrill voice called out.

  Jenny jerked away as the sliding glass door flew open. Jack stuck his head out, looking annoyed. “Jenny, Jessa is crying! I don’t know what to do!”

  “Oh shoot,” Jenny mumbled. “We’ve got to take care of Jessa.”

  Chance watched her find her shoes and get off the trampoline, brushing off everything that had just happened. It was over. That meant she was out of his system now, right?

  Except she wasn’t. He was still thinking about kissing her—about holding her, about laying her down on the trampoline and kissing her thoroughly again.

  CHAPTER 9

  Jenny

  Jenny had never had much interest in kissing. Sure, it looked fun on TV and, yeah, the best parts of books were when the official couple finally kissed, but she’d never actually wanted it in reality. She wasn’t one of those people who sat around daydreaming about her first kiss, hoping it would be with the high school quarterback in a sunlit garden the afternoon of the big game or something like that. She figured if it happened, it happened and if it didn’t, well then, it didn’t.

  That had been before. Before Chance kissed her. Before he awoke something inside her and opened her eyes to all that she was missing. She had wanted something to happen between them ever since the night at Their Spot. Then yesterday was the Trampoline Incident on the Day of Dares. It was all she could think about during first block the next day.

  She had spent all night obsessing over it. She wanted to kiss him. Again. She wanted to feel those emotions coursing through her veins. If this was what dating was like, then sign her up.

  Maybe, just maybe, she could have that with Chance? She had been there, had felt the way he kissed her. There was no way he wasn’t at least interested in something, right? She was the first person out of her class the moment the bell rang, bobbing and weaving her way down the crowded hall toward Oral Comm. Finally, she spotted him. He was just a few feet away, getting something out of his locker.

  There were only a few steps between them when a girl slipped through. Jenny faltered. She hung back, ducking behind a burly boy who was shoving books into his locker. She busied herself, pulling out a notebook and pretending to be engrossed in it.

  “Hello, Chance,” the girl said dreamily. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “You have?” Chance asked distractedly. Or at least Jenny thought he sounded distracted. She refused to look up from her notes, afraid of being caught eavesdropping.

  The girl giggled. “Yes, silly. I was wondering if you were going to Leslie’s Halloween party.”

  “I usually do,” Chance told her. Jenny heard his locker door slam. “It’s always pretty fun.”

  “Sooo…” The girl drew out the word. “Maybe I’ll see you there?”

  Jenny saw them walking away from the corner of her eye and—dear Lord, they were walking right in front of her. She scooted closer to the burly locker boy, who looked alarmed but said nothing as she buried herself even deeper in her notes.

  Chance stopped, causing a few passersby to swerve around him angrily. He turned back to the girl, looking surprised. “You want to go out again?”

  “Well, yeah, you’re Chance Masters. Who wouldn’t want to go out with you?”

  True, Jenny thought.

  “I don’t know.…” Chance shuffled from one foot to the other, not looking at the girl. “I don’t really do relationships, you know?” he told her. “I’m not the dating kind.”

  Jenny pushed herself from the locker, shoving her notebook back into her bag. She felt like crying, and she wasn’t exactly sure why. Chance hadn’t rejected her, at least not directly. It still hurt all the same. She rushed down the hall, her face hot, fighting tears.

  Jenny burst into the nearest girls’ bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror over the sink. She looked sad and pathetic. She slumped against the sink in front of her, her hands gripping the cool porcelain to keep herself steady. She felt so stupid. She had actually been considering going after Chance. The boy every girl in school hooked up with. She had fooled herself into thinking that stupid dare meant something. She had thought she was different. She knew now that he didn’t see anything in her and probably never would.

  The door opened, startling her. She didn’t want anyone to see her looking so
pathetic.

  Luckily, it was only Kelsey. She took one look at Jenny and said, “Okay, who do I need to beat up?”

  Jenny laughed. “It’s nothing, really.”

  “It’s not nothing. You look like your cat just died.”

  “I’m just … disappointed, I guess. I don’t know.” Jenny turned away from her reflection, focusing on Kelsey’s instead. “It’s Chance—”

  “Say no more,” Kelsey said. “I warned you about him, Wessler. I told you he wasn’t safe.”

  “No, it’s not like that.…” She trailed off. That wasn’t exactly true, though. It was like that … just not for him. “I mean, not really. He was upfront about things only being for fun and I got carried away thinking that maybe they meant something they didn’t.”

  Kelsey leaned against the sink next to Jenny. “Something happened between you two?”

  “Kind of,” Jenny said. “I mean, we kissed, but it was only a dare.”

  “He kissed you on a dare?”

  Jenny shook her head. “I kissed him.”

  “Who dared you?”

  “He did. And I got it in my head that it meant something.”

  “You don’t think it did?”

  “I just overheard him turn down a girl because he doesn’t ‘do relationships,’” Jenny said. “I don’t know why I’m surprised; he is Chance Masters, after all. I just need to collect myself.”

  Kelsey placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay to be disappointed, you know. Even if he has a reputation, it’s understandable that it still hurts.”

  The bell rang.

  “Crap, we’re late!” Jenny exclaimed. She picked up her backpack. This is not my day, she thought bitterly.

  “Look at you, Wessler, getting me in trouble,” Kelsey joked. “You’re ruining my spotless record.”

  “I’m just being stupid, aren’t I?” Jenny asked distractedly.

  Kelsey shook her head. “Of course not. Your feelings are valid. You’re allowed to want more, and you’re allowed to be upset that things aren’t happening that way. You should take some time away from him to figure yourself out.”

  She knew Kelsey was right. She’d never move past this thing for Chance if things continued the way they were. She was not going to be the girl pining after her playboy best friend as he dated his way through the school, praying for him to one day turn around and notice her. She was not living that cliché.

  She made a promise to herself that day to be his friend only and nothing more. It wasn’t in the cards, and she had to let it go. He was in the friendship box, now and forever, and that was where he had to stay.

  Squaring her shoulders and holding her head high, Jenny left the bathroom and marched straight to second block.

  CHAPTER 10

  Chance

  Chance couldn’t believe he beat Jenny to class. He looked around, waiting for her to burst through the door any second. He had meant to find her before, to talk to her about everything that had happened, but he’d gotten distracted by some girl. God, of all the days for a random girl to throw herself at me. He had tried his best not to let his annoyance show on his face, but inside he had been seething. He didn’t have time for all that. He had wanted to find Jenny.

  Now he would just have to talk to her after class. He had it all planned out. He was going to pull her aside before lunch and ask her if she wanted to try going out sometime. Or he was just going to go ahead and kiss her again. He still wasn’t exactly sure which.

  He smiled at her as she ducked into class, but her eyes cut away. She didn’t even look at him as she sat down beside him. She steadfastly stared forward the entire class, not even sparing him a glance.

  Was she angry? Did this mean that she wasn’t cool with the kiss? Had he misread everything?

  He couldn’t focus in class; his nerves were shot. I’ll talk to her after class. I will straight up ask her if things are all right. All thoughts of kissing her flew away. He had to focus on making sure they were even still friends. The bell finally rang after what felt like three hours. Chance nearly leapt from his seat in his haste, but Jenny was already at the door with Kelsey.

  “Jenny,” he said. She didn’t even look over. “About yesterday—”

  “That?” she said a little too loudly, causing Kelsey to pause, turning back curiously. “It meant nothing, I know that. I’m glad we’re close enough to not let something as silly as a dare get between us.” Then she was speeding away from him, shouldering her bag, practically running away with Kelsey hot on her heels.

  Chance stood there, watching after her, the classroom emptying around him. I ruined everything, he realized. He had been afraid of it, but he went and did it anyway. I never should have kissed her.

  He was surprised to find Jenny and Kelsey still at their table at lunch. He half expected them to eat somewhere else. He took his seat beside her, but she still hardly looked at him. Instead, she was engrossed in a conversation with Drake about his band again.

  “I think we really have a chance, but then again I’m in the band,” Drake was saying.

  “True,” Jenny told him. “You may be a bit biased.”

  “Only a bit,” Drake agreed with a laugh. He reached out then, his fingers sweeping Jenny’s hair out of her eyes. Chance bristled as she blushed.

  Panic overtook him—had Drake asked her out yet? Had she said yes? Why wouldn’t she look at Chance?

  When the bell rang signaling the end of lunch, Chance reached out to grab Jenny’s arm, her name on his lips, but Drake got there first.

  “Jenny, can I talk to you?” the taller boy asked, his hair tumbling into his face as he looked down at her.

  “Sure.”

  The two stepped away, leaving Chance at the table, his stomach sick. Drake is asking her out right now. I never even had a chance. He was so busy worrying that it took him a bit to realize that Kelsey was also still at the table, glaring at him.

  “What exactly is going on with you?” she asked when he noticed her.

  He shrugged. “I honestly have no clue.”

  “What about what’s going on over there?” She pointed to where Drake and Jenny stood. Jenny’s face was bright red as she stammered something to Drake, who laughed.

  “I think it’s obvious what’s going on over there,” he said, each word feeling like a slap to the face.

  Kelsey pursed her lips, looking from the new couple to Chance. “Funny, I thought it’d be you. But I guess not.”

  Me too. “No, it’s not like that with us.”

  Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I’m just warning you. I’m president of, like, every club. People listen to me, and they fear me. It’s quite nice.”

  “I highly doubt anyone fears you,” Chance said, finally turning away from Drake and Jenny. He grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder.

  “They do, I assure you. I made a freshman council member cry the other day because they ordered the wrong color streamers for the fall dance. I’m ruthless. This whole mess is throwing me off.” She vaguely gestured from Chance to Drake. “It came out of nowhere. I mean, how many more best friends is she hiding? What else don’t I know about her?”

  Chance watched Jenny and Drake walk off together, Drake carrying Jenny’s messenger bag.

  “I’m wondering the same thing,” he said.

  * * *

  HE COULD BARELY even process what had happened.

  He wasn’t sure where he’d messed up or why Jenny was being weird and … and … My life is shit. He needed someone to talk to. He had his phone out, finger poised over Jenny’s name, when he froze. She had been so standoffish with him at school. She agreed to go out with Drake. Would she even want to hear from him right now?

  How could a day that started out so wonderful end so badly? He walked into the barn, phone still in his hand.

  He could always call Levi, he realized. He could explain about their parents getting worse and ask Levi to come visit sometime soon. It had been years, after
all. He had to come home eventually. What was he even doing with his life nowadays, anyway?

  Maybe Chance could even explain about Jenny. After all, his brother had an even worse reputation than Chance did. He had to at least know something about this kind of situation. He dialed his brother’s number and waited, listening to the phone ring.

  And ring. And ring. And ring.

  Frustrated, he hung up and tried again. Still no answer. Same thing with the third and fourth tries, too.

  “Fuck it,” Chance said quietly, the sound echoing in the empty barn. He wanted his brother to answer his fucking phone. He didn’t want to be so alone. He sank to the ground, wrapping himself in the blankets he and Jenny had left there. He didn’t even care that a few of them were sticky with spilt beer.

  He lay there for hours, stewing in his anger and despair. He kept replaying the damned day again and again, his phone still in his hand. Why won’t Levi call me back?

  The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Levi was the smart one. He wasn’t the one lying in a barn, wrapped like a burrito in a beer-stained blanket and suffocating on the scent of straw. No, he was far away. Far away from their parents and Chance and everything else that had brought him pain.

  Levi was lucky. Levi had escaped. He had abandoned Chance.

  CHAPTER 11

  Jenny

  Jenny Wessler had a date.

  It had happened so suddenly. She’d gone from the heartbreak of realizing things would never work with Chance to being asked out by Drake Sellers in a matter of hours. She hadn’t seen it coming at all, but she tended to be oblivious to those types of things. Her pulse hadn’t quickened and her heart hadn’t skipped a beat, but she’d smiled and said yes all the same. She hadn’t even pointed out that the way Drake took her bags was a little overconfident. He was talented and cute. He was tall, he was nice, and he liked her. That was enough. There were plenty of girls who would kill to be in her shoes, and even accepting a date was a big step for her socially, so why not?