When it Happens

Chapter 3

Saturday nights for me usually consisted of me and Shannon hanging around, eventually asking one of our moms for a sleepover. We'd talk all night, throw in a movie, maybe hit up the local diner for a milkshake... yadi-yadi-yada. It was no different tonight.

At around 7 o'clock, Shannon came back over with all of her sleepover stuff. Every sleepover, I swear she would pack her whole room. Didn't she know that she only lived two houses down?

We continued 'Grease' which we had started watching earlier. About an hour before the movie ended, the phone rang my mother called me from downstairs to pick up the other line. I paused the movie and started walking towards my room for my landline.

"Hello?"

"Hey," A male voice talked through the phone, but it wasn't Nate. It was Mikey.

Oh.

I was still kind of pissed at him for what he said to Nate. I was usually an easy-going, forgiving person, but what Mikey did was just wrong. The poor kid was just trying to fit in and he already had Mikey (who let me tell ya, wasn't a weak dude) after him.

Instead of being my overly friendly self, I merely respond, "What's up?"

I heard him sigh on the other line. "So. Nate told you what I said to him, didn't he?"

I shifted the phone to my other ear, twirling the curly landline cord with my finger. Oh brother. I guess we were having this conversation now. "Yes," I said flat-toned. "Why would you say that? It's not like we're even going to date. I've known the guy for a week, for Pete's sake!"

He hesitated on the other end, until he pipes up, "I know, but I see the way he looks at you. And the way you look at him at lunch. Like you're in love with him. I guess I just got jealous."

My heart dropped to my stomach. I had thought I was fairly good at masking my feelings. That nobody knew I was crushing on the new kid. But in reality, could everyone tell? Did everyone just laugh at me behind my back for going after the guy who was way out of my league?

Dear God. Did Nate know?

I shrug off my fears and instantly feel better by telling myself that there is probably no other guy in the world that knows me better than Mikey. It's probably just him.

"He doesn't like me. He brought another girl to Fryer's last night, not me. Even then, that still doesn't give you an excuse to have a pissing contest over me with the poor guy."

"Viv, be mad at me all you want. I'm sorry. Just please, be careful with that guy. He seems like a womanizer."

I almost chuckle at his use of the term. Isn't that what guys found cool these days? His best friends are womanizers! I wanted to yell through the phone, How would you even know, he's been with us for less than a week! But I fought the urge and ended up saying, "Oh, like you and the other guys aren't?" and hung up. I was fuming as I stomped back into the game room.

Shannon could tell from my face that I wasn't feeling myself. She put down her book and looked at me. "Everything alright, Patch?" She had given me that nickname when we were 10, back when we used to play with stuffed animals for fun. Patch was the name of my favorite one.

I grabbed the chocolate milk out of her hand and took a sip of it. "Just peachy."

Being the good friend she is, she resisted the urge to question me about it and just pressed play on the movie.

***

Monday came with a breeze and I found myself counting down the hours to History. The thought of sitting mere inches away from Nate made me incredibly nervous, almost wanting to get the class over with so I didn't have the opportunity to say something stupid. Something that'd make him think that I'm a total bonehead and not want to be friends anymore. Then after at lunch, I had the safety of my very cool friends to jump into the conversation with.