“C’mon. why won’t you tell me?”
“You’d laugh.”
“Alex, you’re my best friend. Sure, I’ll laugh, but then you’ll laugh, and it’ll all turn out okay.”
My best friend, Amber, had been pounding the question of who I liked into my head since we’d gotten into our secret man-hunt spot. We’d never been found there.
“No.”
She was lying next to me, her slender chest steadily falling and rising. Her soft, red hair was hastily piled onto her head, with a few stray hairs falling down.
“Why? You know I liked Matt. You asked, so I told you. You’re being stupid.”
She smelled so good, like pineapple and cherries. She flashed me a meek, yet sly smile, making me look at her beautiful, full lips.
“So? That was you. You’re different.”
She got up, and glared at me for a moment. Alexander, you tell me who the lucky lady is, right now!”
Her eyes, the were so deep, yet so strong. No emotions were shown on them, yet I knew everything from that one, short glare. The gleam from her emerald nose stud distracted me for a moment.
“Why?”
“Why? Why does the sunset? Why do we play this game? Why are we lying surrounded by pine trees, in freezing weather at three a.m.?”
I always liked her best when she was pissed off at me. Her cheeks flushed, her arms raised above her head.
“Shh.. They’ll hear you and the game will end.”
She lied down next to me, her neck resting on top of my arm.
Now, we listened for voices. Jackie, Matt, Jimmy, David, and Connie were all yelling for us to come out.
“If I tell you, we have to answer my question first.”
“Fine.” she said, sighing. You could basically hear the eye-roll in her voice.
“Why?”
“Why? That isn’t very specific, Al.”
I hated when she called me Al. I hated it with a fiery passion that I was amazed didn’t burn her.
“Why do you put up with that jerk, Matt? If you were my girl, I‘d never treat you-”
She coughed. “I’m not answering that.”
I could never fight with her.
“Fine.”
“ask something else.”
“Why do always hide?
“Huh?” she asked, general, fake confusion in her voice.
“You know what I mean. You have never, ever told anyone you loved them. Not your mom, not any of your boyfriends.”
“Your wrong.”
“No. everyone knows you, but no one does. I bet you no one could tell me your favorite color.”
“you know why, Alex. Do you want some deep, profound explanation? My dad left my mom. My family is as messed up as they come.”
We hear voices coming closer, so we hush up for a bit.
I looked at her, and she returned my gaze, our lips a breath away from each other’s.
“That girl I like? She was abused. She barely ever eats anything. She screams at people for there stupidity. She argues with everyone, no matter how important or how much they out-rank her. she has a nose stud. An emerald, if I recall. It shines. Her laugh…its so beautiful…it makes everyone and everything else glow.”
“Oh.”
“Hey! I see them!” Matt, that stupid bastard, broke the silence.
She got up, and ran. I followed her. Our spot should never be seen. Matt saw the movement like how a cat sees a butterfly, how a fox sees a rabbit in the grass.
That’s all his is. I thought. A fox after a rabbit. Amber was the poor, inspecting, rabbit.
He walked over to us.
He walked over his blonde hair, his blue eyes that Amber loves so much-. He walked over, and the moment was gone.
Mentally, I compared myself to him. Long, blonde hair that covers his eyes, over-sized hat, skater-type cloths...a complete jerk. Me, All I had were what Amber described as "Coffee colored eyes that shine so much, through so much pain." Black hair, and my brother's old hand-me downs.
Amber stood up to meet him. He kissed her, hand on her hip, touching her in a way that I knew brought back painful memories. Memories of him. If I had a gun, I’d blow his smirking face off the face of the planet.
She kept one eye on me.
Looking, seeing my envy, apologizing, and melting me with one short glance over her "perfect Guy".
To me, her neighbor.
