Just Friends

by Tiffany Pitcock

  Jenny couldn’t read his expression as he sat down, couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or annoyed. She reached up to where her hair was pulled back at the nape of her neck, twisting the ends around her fingers. “Well,” she said after a beat, “I heard that you’ve been busy.”

  He didn’t even look at her. “I’m sure the rumors of my promiscuity have been vastly exaggerated.”

  Drake let out a snort. “So the librarian didn’t catch you going down on Leslie by the computer desk?”

  Chance made a face. “They never clean the computer stations.”

  Emelia leaned forward, eyes on Chance. “We know you were caught making out by the locker during first block.”

  Jenny glared at him. “You skipped class?”

  “You sound like the principal,” he said.

  She ignored him. “How much trouble are you in?”

  “Detention after school for a few days. It’s nothing to worry about.”

  Her green eyes went wide. “How can you not be worried? Hardly anyone gets detention anymore. We’re too old for that.”

  “I assure you that there are tons of people in detention. They’re just not the people you hang around with. Speaking of which, I see Kelsey heading over now.” He pointed toward the entrance.

  “Masters, I heard you got caught going at it in the field house with a student teacher. True or false?” Kelsey said, bringing her tray down onto the table with a clack.

  Jenny saw Chance’s jaw twitch, a sure sign he was annoyed by all the attention.

  “True,” Jenny answered for him, turning it into another one of their games. “All the rumors are true. Haven’t you heard?” She looked at him for a moment before turning back to Kelsey. “He is Chance Masters, after all.”

  * * *

  “SO WHAT REALLY happened with Leslie?” she asked as they sat on her couch after detention. She had been itching to ask ever since she heard, but knew better than to do so in front of the others.

  Chance shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “I ran into her when I was late to class. She was taking a note to the office and we were talking. I don’t know, it just kind of happened.”

  Jenny looked incredulous. “What do you mean, ‘it just kind of happened’? Suddenly neither of you could bear it, so you jumped each other in the hallway?”

  Chance gestured to himself. “Have you met me?”

  She shoved him playfully. “Chance! Be serious!”

  “I’m trying,” he told her. “But you’re kind of hot when you’re annoyed.”

  She grabbed the pillow behind her and hit him with it. “Inappropriate!” she yelled, but she was laughing.

  “Okay, okay,” he said when he finally stopped laughing. “Honestly, it was nothing. It just happened and now it’s over. Anyway, I have another date tonight.”

  Another date? She hoped her displeasure didn’t show on her face. “Seriously, what is that, the fourth this week?”

  Chance shrugged. “You’re not the only one who can go out.”

  He was only teasing, but the words stung just the same. It wasn’t fair of her to judge him. “I hope she’s nice,” she said. “Are you excited about Christmas break?”

  Chance lounged back onto the couch. “Not particularly. At least school gives me a valid excuse not to be home.”

  Jenny winced. She hadn’t meant to bring up anything painful. “Are things getting worse?”

  Chance shook his head, not taking his eyes off the TV. “They don’t really pay me much attention. It’s … eerily calm, which means that everything is probably really bad or about to be. They would do this when I was younger, too—have long periods of peace. I always thought that meant the fighting was over, but not Levi. No, Levi knew better. He knew that no fights meant a huge one was on its way.”

  Jenny chewed her bottom lip worriedly. “Maybe not this time,” she said. “Maybe it’s finally over.”

  Chance leveled her with a look. “We both know that’s not true.”

  * * *

  CHRISTMAS EVE WAS stressful for many reasons, the main one being that Phillip had been invited to join them for dinner. It would be his first holiday with the entire family, and a big milestone in his relationship with Jenny’s mother. Jenny ran around the house, making sure all their Christmas decorations were perfect, not even a piece of tinsel out of place. She wanted to make sure everything was flawless for dinner that night.

  Her mother insisted that it was only a normal evening, but Jenny didn’t buy that. If Phillip was invited, then Phillip was most likely sticking around. But what if something happened, and then he left like her father had? Everything had to be perfect.

  “Jennifer, go get dressed and leave the poor village alone,” her mother told her as she went to straighten the ceramic light-up village on their coffee table for the fifteenth time.

  “The fake snow doesn’t look right,” Jenny said, reaching out for the fluffy cotton.

  “You’re the only one that cares,” Jack told her from his seat on the couch, craning his neck to see the TV behind her. He was ready for dinner, wearing a dress shirt and slacks. He looked like he was going to a school dance.

  “Please go get ready, Jennifer. I already have enough to do making sure Jessa doesn’t get spaghetti on her nice new dress. I can’t wrestle with two daughters right now. I have to get ready myself, you know.”

  Jenny relented, vowing to fix the fake snow after she was dressed. She had had Kelsey help her pick out her outfit days ago: a knee-length, deep-green velvet dress with three-quarter sleeves. It was very Clueless, which she adored. She coupled it with a pair of black tights and flats. She wore her hair down, falling in loose ringlets down her back. She looked herself over in the mirror over her vanity, twisting around to look at her back. I really need a haircut, she thought.

  The doorbell rang, shattering her spell. She tore her gaze away from the girl in the mirror, rushing out her bedroom door. She heard voices floating up the stairs as she came down, catching a glimpse of her mother leading Phillip into the living room.

  “Hello there, Jennifer,” Phillip called up to her.

  “Hello, Phillip,” she said as she made her way downstairs.

  Her mother smiled. “Oh, honey, you look great.”

  Phillip was already deep in conversation with Jack, the two of them moving together toward the dining room. Her mother hung back, waiting for Jenny to meet her by the front door. “It is okay that he’s here, right?” she asked, eyes on her two men. “I know you were stressed, and it didn’t occur to me that you might not want him here.”

  Jenny didn’t want to make her mother worry. “No, Mom, it’s fine. That’s not why I was stressed.”

  Relief flooded her mother’s features. “Oh, thank goodness. Then why all the worrying?”

  “You two are getting serious, aren’t you?”

  Her mother stared down at her, the hint of a blush staining her cheeks. “I will admit that I’m thinking of keeping him around, if that’s okay with you?”

  Jenny looked over at Phillip, who was gesturing enthusiastically as he told Jack about what had happened at the last game he coached. Jack was beaming up at him.

  “He’s nice, but if he chews with his mouth open, he’s got to go.”

  “Fair enough.” Her mother nodded solemnly.

  Phillip didn’t chew with his mouth open. In fact, he was the perfect gentleman at dinner. It was a little infuriating, really. After months of him sporadically hanging around and being Mr. Perfect, Jenny wanted there to be at least something wrong with him.

  “You should have seen your mother the other day,” Phillip was saying, waving his fork around as he spoke. “I’ve never seen her as angry as she was when that person took her parking spot.”

  “That’s because they drove past multiple spots to deliberately take the one I wanted,” her mother defended.

  Phillip shook his head. “Or maybe they didn’t see those other spots.”

  “No, they definitely had it out
for me.”

  The doorbell rang, silencing their banter.

  Jenny made her way to the front door, not bothering to look through the peephole before answering. It was below freezing outside—if someone was out there in the icy cold, then they had a good reason to be. The last person she expected to see was Chance.

  He stood on the doorstep, shivering violently, his duffel bag slung over one shoulder. He wore no coat, just his black hoodie with the hood up. His nose was pink and so were his bare hands. Had he walked there? His eyes looked watery, sunken into his head with dark circles framing them. He tried to stutter out a few words, but couldn’t manage.

  She reached out instinctively, dragging him inside and slamming the door behind him. Her heartbeat was erratic in her chest as she led him to the couch.

  “Mom!” she called out, worry blossoming inside her. “Mom!”

  Her mom ran into the room quickly, alarmed by her daughter’s tone. “What is it—” She broke off when she saw Chance, now huddled on the couch, shivering so hard his teeth chattered. “Oh my God, Chance!” She rushed to the boy, feeling the sides of his face. “He’s like ice. Jennifer, go grab the extra blankets from the linen closet. Jack!” she called out. “Make some tea or cocoa—just make something hot!”

  Jenny passed Phillip on her way out of the living room. He looked as confused as Jenny felt. “What’s going on?” he asked as he walked into the room.

  “Jennifer’s friend is here,” her mom told him. “He must’ve walked here.”

  Jenny reentered the room, blankets in hand. “Here, Mom.” She handed them over, never taking her eyes off her best friend. He looks so cold. What the hell happened? The one night she hadn’t thought to check up on him—the one night she had forgotten about Chance, and it was the night he seemed to have needed her the most.

  “Mom,” Jenny said quietly. She pulled her mother aside. She had to say something, to explain. That familiar crease was forming on her mother’s forehead, and Jenny knew she needed answers. “Chance has been having some issues at home.”

  “Issues.” Her mother’s brow furrowed even more. “Is this something I should be concerned about?”

  Jenny shook her head, glancing over at Chance. “His parents fight a lot, that’s all.”

  Her mother looked over at him, too. “Go talk to him,” she said. “Figure out what happened.”

  Jenny flew to the couch, reaching out and wrapping her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. His skin was still cold. She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew it had to have been bad for Chance to walk all the way to her house.

  Chance finally moved, wrapping his arms around her as well. “I’m sorry you’re going through this,” she whispered.

  He let out a weak, humorless laugh. “S-sorry I ru-ruined your dinner,” he said through chattering teeth.

  Jenny’s mother seemed to realize that they needed privacy. “I’ll make you a plate of food,” she said. She paused before adding, “Phillip, will you help me in the kitchen?”

  Phillip was a good man. He easily picked up on her subtle “let me explain things to you in private” hint and followed her out of the room.

  Jenny glared at Jack until he left the room, too. Jessa wandered over to the couch, pointing at Chance with one spaghetti-stained hand.

  “Pwetty!”

  Jenny tried to steer her back toward the kitchen. “Not now, Jessa.”

  Jessa didn’t budge. “Pwetty is sad.”

  Chance let out a bark of laughter, reaching out to ruffle Jessa’s curls. The girl shivered at his cold hands.

  “Pwetty is cold!”

  Jenny scooted closer to him, pulling Jessa onto her lap. “What happened, Chance?”

  Chance looked over at her, the tips of his nose and ears still pink.

  “Well, Jenny, my dad left.”

  CHAPTER 16

  Chance

  “What do you mean he left?” Jenny asked, giving voice to the very same question Chance had asked his mother earlier that day.

  “He’s gone, Jenny. He moved out, all his stuff gone, Mom deserted and crying in her room.” Chance let out an unamused laugh. “It’s funny, you know, because I don’t think she has any right to be upset about it. They fought constantly, but now she’s playing the victim.”

  Jenny looked up at him, wide-eyed. “Chance, start at the beginning. What happened?”

  Honestly, he felt numb to the whole thing. It was even funny in an I-Can’t-Believe-I-Didn’t-See-This-Coming kind of way. “I went to pick up some last-minute things. We were running low on milk, so Mom sent me to the store. Dad was still asleep. His car was gone when I came back and so was everything else. Mom was crying in their room.” He recalled what it was like to walk into their bare room and see his mother on the floor, propped against the bed and cocooned in blankets, her bony arms and sunken face the only parts of her exposed. She had glared at him.

  But I’m not going to think about that right now.

  “He just left?” Jenny asked, batting away Jessa’s hand as she tried to pull on Jenny’s hair. “Without a word? What did your mom say?”

  What had his mother said? That it was his fault. She had told him that his father had left because of Chance, not because of her.

  “I don’t want to think about it,” Chance said. Some things he had to keep to himself. “I couldn’t stay there anymore, Jenny. Then my car wouldn’t start, and I didn’t know what to do, so I just walked here.”

  “You can always come here, you know that,” Jenny told him earnestly.

  “I don’t want to go back there tonight, Jenny.” His mother didn’t want him back, either. “I can’t do it.”

  He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen his father. It had to have been one of the times he was rushing in or out, either going to Jenny’s or the barn, but he couldn’t remember. He didn’t even know the last thing he’d said to him.

  Jenny pursed her lips. “Wait here a moment,” she said, putting Jessa down. “I’ll be right back.” She jumped to her feet, rushing into the kitchen. He heard muffled voices talking frantically.

  “I think she’s asking if I can stay,” he told Jessa, who was sitting to his left, looking up at him curiously. He didn’t want her to tell her mother some sob story to get her permission, but he didn’t want to leave and sneak back in, either. He couldn’t go home, and it was too cold to stay in the barn. He didn’t know how Levi had survived winter nights in that place.

  Levi. He hadn’t thought to tell Levi. His brother would know how to handle this, what Chance should do. He pried his phone from his pocket, his fingers working on autopilot. The phone rang and rang, but there was no answer. Finally, the voice mail picked up.

  “Hey, you’ve reached Levi Masters. I’m not here right now, so please leave a—”

  Chance hung up and tried again.

  “Hey, you’ve reached Levi Mast—”

  Again. More ringing.

  “Hey, you’ve reached Levi—”

  Chance hung up, tossing his phone onto the couch. He felt like throwing something, but doubted it would win him points with Jenny’s mother. Besides, he didn’t want to scare Jessa, who was now picking up his phone to play with.

  Jenny reentered the room then, a plate of food in her hands. “Mom says you can sleep on the couch tonight.” She sat down between him and Jessa.

  Chance could spend the rest of the evening locked in his mind, waiting for Levi and the call that would never come, or he could push it all aside and try to move on. So he chose to move on, at least for now.

  “Do you want to watch Buffy?” she asked as he took the plate from her.

  “Nah, I’m not really in the TV-watching mood.” He took a bite of spaghetti, chewing before he spoke again. “To be honest, I don’t want to think about any of this at all. I want to do something to take my mind off it right now, not stare at a screen.”

  “Oh really?” Jenny said, picking up the throw pillow behind her and placing it in
her lap.

  “Yeah,” Chance said. “So distract me with your wit. Blow me away with this dazzling intellect I’ve heard so much about.”

  “Put me on the spot, why don’t you,” Jenny mumbled, her face scrunched up adorably as she tried to think of something to say.

  “Don’t hurt yourself,” Chance teased.

  Jenny hit him with the pillow she was holding. “I’m trying to think, Chance!”

  “Oh yeah?” Chance wrestled the pillow away from her and hit her back.

  She grabbed the other throw pillow off the couch, jumping to her feet. “Do you wanna go, Masters?” She couldn’t stop laughing. “Do you wanna go right now?”

  He set his plate aside, jumping to his feet, too, pillow in hand. He spread his arms out to his sides tauntingly. “Bring it on, Little Miss Really-Likes-Having-As.”

  And so she did.

  * * *

  HE WAS REPLAYING the night’s events for the thousandth time when he heard quiet, precise footsteps on the stairs. They started out slow at first, as if the person was tiptoeing, before growing quicker as they ran the rest of the way.

  “Chance?” Jenny stage-whispered, appearing in the doorway. Chance could barely make her out in the flashing Christmas lights. “Are you up?”

  “No,” he told her, pulling his blankets over his head.

  “Bullshit.” Her footsteps drew closer, and then the blankets were yanked off him. Jenny stood above him, clad in a pair of flannel sleep pants with purple Bat-symbols on them and a black tank top. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. “No one sleeps the night before Christmas.”

  He tried to take his blankets back. “Forgive me for not being too excited about this particular Christmas.”

  She relented, only to pull him upright and plop herself onto the couch next to him. “It’s better than the year we broke my mother’s favorite toy train,” she said.

  He looked at her in the dim light, grateful she was there. Somehow she knew that a fake story was just what he needed. “I think you mean the year you broke the train, Wessler.”

  “I distinctly remember it breaking when you tried to take it away from me.”