Bad For You

eleven

"So what's the stitch?" Hannah asks a week later. She's sprawled out on the couch, aimlessly flicking through the television. My mother had picked up a shift at the bar so Hannah had come over to my place once I'd gotten home from practice.

"The stitch?" I swirl my spoon around in my yogurt cup before sticking it in my mouth.

"Yeah. With you and Theo."

When I don't respond Hannah raises a brow at me. "Well?"

I shrug. "There is no me and Theo. There's just me. And Theo."

"What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what I said."

"Well did something happen?"

"Actually no," I laugh dryly. "Nothing happened."

It was true. Theo and were 'good' as he put it. We still talked. Still texted. There was nothing noticeably different.

But yet something was off.

It felt like he was putting some distance between us. He wasn't his usual self like when we'd first met. Ever since that almost kiss and that day at my locker things were just weird. At first, I thought maybe I was imagining it. That I was crazy. But things were definitely different. We hadn't even hung out outside of school since pool night.

When I explain all this to Hannah she scoffs. "Wow. What an asshole."

I sigh. "Maybe he just doesn't like me." I'd thought about it, but at first I didn't want to admit it. Now I was thinking it might be true, even if it did suck.

"That's bullshit. He's the one who initiated this thing between you two. He did just enough to string you along, then as soon as you showed interest he backed off."

"That's not true," I argue in his defense. "I mean, he never said he liked me like that you know? That was all me. I guess I read the signals wrong. That's on me, not him."

Hannah rolls her eyes. "Why are you defending him?"

"I'm not. I'm just saying..." I chew on my bottom lip. "It's fine. I'm fine with us just being friends."

"Friends don't have phone sex with each other. I may be inexperienced, but I know that much. And it's weird that you did that together but he won't even kiss you."

"That was different. It was really late and-" I stop. "Can we just talk about something else please?"

"Okay. But can I say one more thing?"

Since we're on the topic, she might as well. "Yeah, go ahead."

Hannah sits up. "If Theo doesn't see how awesome you are, then that's his loss. Because you're a catch babe," she winks.

I smile. "Thanks."

"Anytime," Hannah grins. "Now that that's settled, how about a movie and-" her phone starts vibrating excessively. I give her a quizzical look.

"Hot boyfriend I don't know about?"

"Trust me, if I had a boyfriend you would be the first to know," she checks her screen. "It's Kitty."

"Kitty? Adams girlfriend Kitty?"

"Yeah. Don't let her tiny frame fool you, that girl is as aggressive as they come. She practically forced me to take her number so we could all hang out another time, just us girls," Hannah shakes her head. "I liked her and Eva, but there's no way I'd willingly hang out with that bitch Phoebe."