Just Friends

02

"Aria, I'm going to the store and buy some food and stuff." Blake said as I was walking down the stairs with Madison behind me.
"Why? We have enough food?"
"I'm having a few friends come over because dad's out of town." My eyes glazed over to his friend who's name I still didn't know.
"Are you going to bring your um, friend with you?"
"Nah, grocery stores remind me of old people." His friend said as I looked at him confused. What's so wrong with old people?
"I'll go with you." Madison volunteered.
"It's fine he's a big boy, he doesn't need anyone to take care of him."
"No, its just that I need to pass by my house. I just realized I forgot the stuff I was going to bring for the sleepover. Only if its okay with you, Blake."
"I don't care." He shrugged grabbing the keys off the key hook. "And take your backpack upstairs or something." He said kicking my backpack to the side.
"Hey Aria, I have something to tell you when we come back it's really important." Madison said they both left without me being able to respond
"Ay'eye captain." I said to myself as I picked up my backpack and walked up stairs to my room.
"You going to invite your boyfriend over?" A voice said, following me up the stairs.
"Obviously." I said sarcastically as I dropped my backpack to the floor of my room.
"What's his name, maybe I know him." I said the first name that came to mind
"Jacob." I blurted.
"Oh." He said walking past me into my bedroom.
"Make yourself at home I guess." I said a little annoyed, who did this guy think he was? Yeah he was cute but that didn't give him the right to go parading around my room.
"Sorry." He said smiling sheepishly. Ok, maybe this guy was really cute. Once he stopped acting like a douchebag anyways.
"So what's your name anyways?" I said sitting down on my bed as he looked at the wall of pictures I had.
"Chris." He said quietly, almost looking memorized by the pictures.
"Mm, how did you and Blake meet?"
"We took an English class together last semester."
"Is English your major too?"
"Nope, I'm majoring in environmental science. I just took the class to fill some under-division units."
The doorbell rung just as Chris finished speaking.
"Lets go." I said running down stairs to see Blake and Madison placing her things and the groceries on the kitchen table.

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I pulled the whisk out of the drawer as I passed it to Madison.
"Eggs?" She said as I grabbed two eggs.
"Eggs." I said placing them in her hand.
"Aria, the important thing I was talking about earlier is-"
"Wow sounds like you guys are doing some operation shit over here." Madison and I both turned around to see Chris standing in the doorway watching us.
"Its kind of a serious matter." I said, rinsing my hands off and wiping them dry on a towel. I suddenly got nervous for whatever Madison was going to say she sounded really serious. I sat down at the small round table.
"So when's your boyfriend coming over." He said pulling a chair out, and taking a seat across from me.
"Aria, you have a boyfriend?" Madison said surprised as I watched Chris trying to hide that stupid smirk on his face.
"Yeah, his name is Jacob I believe." I watched Madison's face freeze.
"Jason, Chris. It was Jason." I said watching Madison's every move.
"No, it was definitely-" I kicked his shin and gave him a death glare "definitely Jason." He groaned, Madison and I exchanged a "play-along-with-it" look.
"Oh yeah Jason." She said as I smiled at Chris and got up to get a drink from the refrigerator.
"Hey, maybe me, you, Jason, and Jacob could go on a double date."
"Jacob? As in, Jacob asked you out?" I said shocked.
"Yeah, that was the important thing I wanted to tell you. Madison squealed as I felt my heart drop to my stomach.
   "Madison, wow. I mean congrats!" I said smiling at her. I noticed Chris slipping out of the kitchen back into the living room where Blake and the few friends he invited were chilling out.
   "Tell me everything."I said as I watched her pour the brownie batter into the cake pan slowly. She looked really happy as she explained how Jacob asked her out. I couldn't bear to hear it, so I smiled and nodded my head. Her happiness about this made me feel guilty for wishing what she saying wasn't true. After she explained everything that had happened within the small time period where I decided to go home after we had talked near our lockers, to the moment he asked her out and she said yes, we decided to bring my laptop and watch an episode of Revenge as we waited for our brownies to bake. We heard Blake's friends say their good nights and good byes and leave one by one, disappearing into the night.
The oven dinged and Madison and I looked at each other excited. I grabbed oven gloves and threw one over to Madison who was already waiting over by the oven. She opened the oven, and the smells of chocolate filled the kitchen. Since we're so impatient we put the pan on a cooling rack and left it in the freezer for a few minutes. We took them out and cut them into almost perfect squares and placed them on a large.
"That smells really good." I heard Chris tell Blake from the living room.
"Yeah, what is that?" Blake said.
Madison grabbed the plate as I grabbed four glasses and a gallon of milk and made our way towards the living room.
"It's what I like to call Madison's super mega awesome brownies." Madison said proudly as we put everything down on the coffee table before them. Chris and Blake leaned forward to grab brownie.
"Wow, this is delicious." Chris said grabbing a glass and pouring himself some milk.
"Yeah Maddy, you've got a real talent." Blake said smiling at her "You don't mind if I call you Maddy, do you?"
    "Of course not." She said as I turned on the TV.
"Anyone up for an episode of Friends?" I said popping its disc out of the case.
   "Duh." Chris said grabbing another brownie from the plate.
"So have you always been into baking Madison?" Blake said ignoring what I had said.
"Oh yeah, ever since I was a kid I loved making anything from apple pie to french macaroons. I've always wanted to be a pastry chef, I'm planning to apply to a culinary school actually."
    b"Really?" Blake said chewing his brownie thoughtfully "Well, they'd be an idiot if they didn't accept you. You've obviously got some type of talent if you could make something as simple as a brownie taste so god damn good."
Madison mumbled a quick 'thank you'. 3 episodes of Friends and a gallon of milk later, I had grown tired. Blake and Madison had been talking about her plans after college, and how she had gotten into baking.
   "Well I think its about time to leave." Chris said standing up. Blake stood up after him and shook his hand.
    "I'll see you later man." Blake said as Madison gave him a small wave.
    "I'll walk you to the door." I said and I followed him back into the hallway. I opened the door for him.
    "Wow, you're such a gentleman or gentle-woman I guess." I laughed and rolled my eyes.
     "Wow, and you sure have your way with words. Good night Chris." I said slowly closing the door until he jabbed his foot in the way.
     "Ow." He said as I opened the door again "Uh, I mean I was just wondering if you'd like to go out sometime? You know, if Jason would be alright with that." He said sarcastically.
    "Jason would be furious," I said returning the sarcasm "Like a date?" I said as I watched him put his hands into his front pockets nervously.
    "Well, yeah if that's alright." I fought the urge to laugh at his awkwardness which was so different from how he carried himself so confidently.
     "I'd love to, do you want my number?" I said as he began to smirk.
     "While you were baking in the kitchen I might have borrowed your phone for a second, added myself as a contact and texted myself."
    "And what if I hadn't said yes to this date?"
    "Then I know I'd have a pretty girl's number in my phone." He said beginning to walk backwards, towards his car. I felt my cheeks heating up, praying to god that he couldn't see the redness now on my cheeks.
  "You are truly something Chris."

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