Not a Friend ✔│short story

f o u r

These few hours were the weirdest hours of Allie's life. Talking to a stranger, going to see The Mud Pit, talking about her problems, opening herself to someone, making lame fart jokes, laughing and crying with no reason, and... making a friend, even though she would never admit that to Kyle. 

And, as if her day isn't weird enough, she's now at an illegal party hosted by her classmates. 
And Allie has specific opinions about partying- it's pointless, unnecessarily noisy, leads to fights between drunk boys as depicted in the few teen fic movies she has seen. Even though Allie doesn't want to be that uptight nerd who hates socializing, she can't help it. 

"How's the party going?" Kyle asks, his forest green eyes intently staring at the ugly decorations, which mostly comprise empty coca-cola cans hanging from one corner to the other, one disco light making things uglier, and candy wrappers haphazardly pasted on the flimsy walls of the tent.

"We are literally attending a party in the middle of nowhere, inside a darn tent!" Allie lets out a frustrated sigh. If Kyle hadn't begged her to come here, she never would have. It still surprises her she actually agreed. "It's unsafe, definitely weird, and who the hell was in charge of the decorations, dude? Ew, just ewww." 

"Uh, me?" He grimaces as Allie whirls towards him, her eyebrows arching up. 

"What?! When?" They came back to their tents in the early morning, and then they had to go sightseeing with the class. Moreover, Allie was so sleepy, that her day passed by in a blur.

He shrugs, flashing a grin. "I am good in time management, but I do suck at decorations." 

Allie nods in agreement as the lights go dim, and darn music begins to play.   

Ughh. This is the worst. 

Kyle tugs her hand, leading her towards the mass of moving bodies. The smell of sweat and dirt makes both their noses wrinkle, but when Kyle looks back and grins, his eyes crinkling, she holds herself back from complaining. 

After everything this dude has done for her, he deserves something that makes him happy. 

As both of them awkwardly stand there, Kyle moving his hands awkwardly, laughing at himself, Allie draws a breath, preparing herself to tell him what she's thinking. "Kyle?" She raises her voice, making sure he hears her over the music.

"Hmm?" 

"What you told me about your nightmares last night..." Allie says, her tone getting serious, while he nods, that huge smile softening, "I just want to tell you that you don't deserve this." 

His eyebrows furrow, confusion dawning his features. 

Allie explains, "What I mean to say is, nothing is wrong with you. No matter who says it." Her heartbeat increases, because there's this huge part of her that wants him to know that. "What happened to you was wrong, okay? Never try to justify that." She wraps him in a big hug, while his features change from confusion to emotional. He nods, his lips wobbling. 

"Thank you," he says, his voice breaking as Allie shakes her head.

"I'm sorry I couldn't say this earlier." She swallows down the lump forming in her throat. Kyle always has this power to make her emotional. 

And, as they both stand there, hugging, swayed by the huge crowd of bodies around them, Allie realizes that she loves this guy. And, no, it's not the kind of love that makes her want to suck his face off, or make her heart race. 
It's something that makes her calm and relaxed. It makes her feel safe and less lonely. As if she knows that Kyle will be there with her, no matter what. As if she knows she can be herself knowing that he would never judge her.

Maybe this is friendship. Maybe it's not pointless or fickle... Even though being alone is amazing, a good friend is kind of nice too.

"Hey, you!" A loud voice breaks their hug as Allie whips her head to find a guy pointing his finger at Kyle.

"Come on, man! Bad timing," Kyle says, chuckling, but the guy doesn't really look like he is in the mood to chuckle. His eyebrows are drawn in a straight line, lips thinning with every passing second.

"I told you to take care of the decorations!" he hisses, his hands roughly pointing towards the candy wrappers. "What the hell is this?" 

"There weren't any stores nearby. This is all I had." Kyle shrugs, nonchalantly as the guy grinds his teeth, a nerve bulging from his temple.

"Cut the crap. Now, go and get some real stuff to hang here." He takes a step closer, pointing towards the makeshift door. "And, didn't I tell you to bring the booze?" 

"No, you didn't." Kyle raises an eyebrow. "And, come on! The party's already kicking! Nobody cares." 

"Do not make me tell you this again." The guy hisses past his grinding teeth as Kyle lets out a reluctant 'okay', and something about that makes Allie ball her fist.

"He is not going to go around, doing whatever you say," Allie interrupts, her eyes turning to slits, as the guy notices her for the first time. 

He tilts his head. "What?"

"Don't make me tell you this again," Allie hisses, smugness rolling off of her as Kyle gapes. "And by the way, your party sucks, and the only thing good about this is the decorations." She points towards the empty tin cans and the dusty wrappers clinging on the tarpaulin. "And, if you can't see how beautiful they are, consider yourself as a certified moron."

                                                                                       ***

Yeah... turns out when you insult someone, it never ends well. Allie's outburst had predictably led to getting them kicked out of the party, and now they are aimlessly wandering, surrounded by trees and insects, the music of the party still reaching their ears.

"I'm sorry." Allie looks down, kicking at a stone. She had been so caught up in her anger, she didn't even consider the outcome. Even though the guy was a total jerk and Allie genuinely felt good about her insult, Kyle was really excited about the party. 

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle faces her, his eyes wide open. "That was so awesome!" 

"But you wanted to go to the party though?" 

"Yeah, but if it weren't for you, I would be stuck here, searching for something else other than candy wrappers and tin cans." He shrugs, laughing as Allie nods her head. He does make a good point. 

"Awwh, my sweet, sweet bestie saved me," Kyle mocks as Allie rolls her eyes, her lips twitching. 

"Never call me your bestie."

"What about bae?" He smirks.

"Unacceptable." 

"Hmm, what about pal?" 

"Nope." Allie vehemently shakes her head as he lets out a frustrated sigh. 

"What the hell is wrong with you? Now I have to go with the simplest one--friend." Kyle smiles, the moonlight glinting, illuminating his hazel eyes.

Allie cocks her head, her lips curving up in a big smile. "Like I said, I am not a friend."

 Well, they both knew she meant the opposite. 

"Okay, my 'not a friend.'" Kyle mocks, "I won't let that guy ruin this day." He grins, takes Allie's hand as both of them latch on to a terrible dance, the beat of music still lingering. He flails his arms, she twists and turns. And, just like the other day, they laugh and cry, smile and frown and love each other with all their heart, grateful that both of them are here for one another.

                                                                        The End