The Speech

Chapter 18

Avery's POV

Theo and I are special. Unique, even. We've been close almost since the day we met. Besides Jackie, he's my go to for everything. Things were a little different once I started dating Jayden, but we figured out our friendship and haven't hit many bumps along the way. He takes care of me, and I take care of him. But have we gone too far?
"He's never gonna meet someone if he's constantly wrapped up in you." I've replayed what Haley said in my head a thousand times this weekend. I know from an outside view, my friendship with Theo could possibly come off odd, but if everyone could just live it, they would see it's not so weird. We're just close. It's not an off idea to think that Theo could like me. It's just nor something I like to think about. We're friends, good friends. And even if he did like me it wouldn't change us. Would it?

I haven't told Jackie about what Haley said because I don't want her to get any ideas after she accused me of liking Theo. If she gets ear of this, it could send her over and I don't need that. Jayden would get hurt and over what? Rumors and gossip? That's not how our relationship is going to end. Not that it's ending, we're still happily together. I love him, and he is my very first love. I could love him forever. But are you in love with him? I hear from somewhere deep in my subconscious, and shove the question back down from where it came from.
"Avery, Theo's here!" Dylan calls and my stomach does a flip. I haven't heard from him since I texted him Friday, and seeing that it's been a full 48 hours since I've talked to him, I'm a bit nervous.

I go down the stairs anyway and find him lingering by the front door still.
"Come on." He says, and extends his hand. I grab my shoes from the rack next to the door and take his hand. We silently walk to his car and I hop inside even though I have no idea where we're going or what is happening. My thoughts are still racing over Haley's comment and this mysterious visit isn't helping my imagination from running wild. He places his hand on the back of my headrest and pulls out of the driveway, I fiddle with my hands, eyes never leaving the floorboard. This is Theo, Avery. Stop being nervous. I remind myself and peek over at him. He's relaxed, and calm. One hand on the wheel and the other dangling out the window.

He must realize the silence is wearing on me because he turns on my favorite artist once he pulls up to a stoplight. With the windows down, the glow of the moonlight, and the music loud I could swear we're in a movie. I almost forget about how nervous I was earlier, until he pulls off onto a dirt road and parks in an open field. As beautiful as the view in front of me is, I wish he would've just kept driving. He lowers the music and shifts his body towards me. I'm scared he's about to say something that could change everything...
I'm not ready for it.

Jackie's POV

Dylan called me three times begging to hangout. I've spent the weekend with Avery, and therefore haven't had much spare time to see him. The only reason I'm not with her tonight is because I had neglected my homework all weekend for her and had to get it done this evening before school tomorrow. Everytime Dylan's called I've told him the same thing;
"You'll only distract me. Stay home, we can try and hang out tomorrow." I thought the third time it finally got through to him, but then here he is knocking on my bedroom window.

I set my homework aside and jump up to open the curtains. He stands there with his backpack in one hand and snacks in the other, I roll my eyes and reluctantly open the window.
"I told you, you would distract me." I tell him as he climbs into my room.
"I had to prove you wrong. Plus I have homework to get done too, why shouldn't we do it together?" He asks. I close up the window.
"Because that sounds like a study date." I tell him, worried that the boundaries of our new found friendship might already be getting blurred.

He takes a seat on the floor, unpacking the contents of his bag and setting down the snacks.
"Not a date. We're just study buddies." He says and plops a gummy bear into his mouth. It sounds so casual when he describes it, but for some reason it just doesn't feel quite so simple to me. I take my place back on my bed and grab my homework once more.
"Study buddies." I repeat aloud, hoping it will feel just as comfortable in my mouth, but it sounds more strained than anything. He doesn't notice, just sticks a bag of gummy bears in the air for me.
"Yup." He says and waits for me to take them. I snatch them from him and set them in front of me. Stop reading into this Jackie, you know where y'all stand. You're friends who can occasionally make out. This is friendly studying. I tell myself, but I don't know how much I actually listen.

Theo's POV

I don't know what I want to say to Avery. There's a thousand things I could say, but I don't know which one I actually will. After everything that happened Friday night, it's like we're both scared to talk to each other. I know she's waiting for something though, an explanation for taking her out here, a statement to address Friday, an apology for yelling, a demand for an apology for setting the whole thing up, a confession for why I didn't want to be out with Haley. She's looking for anything, and I could tell her everything, but I'm not going to. Instead I ask this.

"What was up with you Friday night?"
She tilts her head and furrows her brow a bit, having not been prepared for a question.
"I don't know Teddy." She answers honestly.
"Things were just weird. I think I was worried about you." She continues.
"Worried about what Avery? We were all just out having fun." I remind her. She does a small shrug of her shoulders.
"I was worried you were out with the wrong girl. That I made a mistake setting y'all up on a second date, which I think we can all agree that I did." She says, and does a little laugh at the end trying to keep it light hearted.
"Who's the right girl?" I ask her, my tone still serious. Her smile still on her face from laughing, she shrugs again.
"I don't know Teddy, you probably haven't met her yet. But believe me, when you do I promise to stay out of it." She jokes. Not the answer I was wanting to hear.

I let out a defeated sigh and recline back into my seat, staring out at the view in front of us. I don't know what I was trying to dig for, but it doesn't look like I'm gonna find it.
"I apologized to Haley by the way." She says. I try to hide my shocked expression, but she sees through it.
"I know, I know. I just felt like she was owed it. I don't think I did a very good job at it though." She says laughing into her hands.
"You suck at communicating is what it is." I tell her, half joking. She reclines her seat back as well.
"I know I do." She responds. She turns her head to look at me.
"Why'd you bring me out here Teddy?" She asks.
"So we could try and work through the weirdness of Friday without an audience." I answer. And to tell you I either need to distance myself from you, or you need to break-up with Jayden and be with me. I say that part only in my head, but I wish I could say it out loud.

For a moment we just stare at each other, both of us saying a thousand things with our eyes that our mouths could never say. I swear I see her tear up but she blinks it away before I can tell for sure.

Dylan's POV

I admit that snorting coke to cure my coke induced hangover wasn't a great idea retrospectively. I know this now, because I had the same hangover symptoms Saturday through Sunday even though it had been almost a week since I drank. So I've deduced that the awful hangovers are the cokes doing. Though drinking your weight in whiskey probably didn't help that first round. I think to myself. I got through the weekend at least.

And since Jackie was cooped up with Avery all weekend, I felt it was only fair that I got to hang out with Jackie tonight. I am a man of my word though, so I have been quietly doing my homework on the floor for almost two hours now, only ever bothering Jackie for a handful of gummies because I ate all of mine already. She seems to be coping well, not as on edge as when I first got here. It's not like climbing through her window was some big gesture, she lives in a one story house and her bedroom faces the street. All I did was park my car at the curb and trudged through her lawn. Minimal effort.

I hear her shut her book and realize that she has finished her homework. I start to pack mine up, knowing that she's probably gonna want to go to bed now that she's done.
"Are you leaving?" She asks, speaking for the first time since she sat on her bed. I turn around to her.
"Well, we're done studying so I figured I should go home." I say to her, and I watch as her face flashes with disappointment for only a millisecond before she shakes it away.
"You're right, it's late anyways and I have to get up early tomorrow. Jayden's giving me a ride to school and he has practice before first period, so it's an early morning for me." She explains. I start walking over to her window.
"I could give you a ride tomorrow, so you don't have to get up so early?" I offer. She shakes her head.
"Avery will be upset if she has to be up at school that early by herself. Thank you though." She says. I sit on the window seal and watch as she cleans up.
"Hey." I say, catching her attention.
"Remember the making out part of our friendship?" I ask her, and watch as she slowly walks over to me and lays her hand on my chest.
"It's late Dylan. You should get home." She says, and I finish climbing out the window.
"Night Jackie." I say, she just waves as she closes the window. I hope for a hundred other mundane nights like this with her.