Ambivalently Yours

It Happened on a Friday

"Brunch was fun," Liz says as she unlocks the front door to your apartment. "But you and Rafe didn't argue much."

"Why do you sound disappointed?" you ask.

"I'm not, I just find your arguing entertaining," she replies.

"So sorry I couldn't provide more entertainment for you this morning," you say sarcastically.

"Oh, I was entertained," she says slyly. "It's just, Kelce and I had to come up with a new game."

"A new game?" you ask.

"We like to see how many times you subtly flirt with one another in a given time period," she explains.

"Liz, you're not serious," you say. "We don't even flirt."

"Oh, bullshit, you do it all the time. You two are so deep in denial it is actually hilarious," she says.

"But—"

"Don't say you hate each other, we all know that couldn't be further from the truth," she says, crossing her arms.

"Actually, Elizabeth, I was going to say 'but we're just friends'," you say.

"Not sure why you had to use my full government name, but alright. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"What did I say about looking for something that wasn't there?" you ask.

"I don't even have to look hard to see something is there. I just wish you weren't so adamant about pretending there isn't."

~

Because you're annoyed with her, you spend your afternoon separate from Liz. You found it childish how insistent she was that there was something between you and Rafe. Sure, you sort of got along now, and you didn't actually hate him anymore, but it blew your mind that she could not get it through her thick skull that the two of you were platonic. As if a boy and a girl couldn't be just friends.

You let your annoyance trickle over into the beginning of the new week. Liz seems oblivious as she talks a mile a minute about some drama going on with a group project in one of her education classes.

"Jonathan kind of became the official group leader, which is fine, because this project is well within his wheelhouse, but Amanda is like weirdly mad that she isn't the one in charge. Like I guess she thought she was going to be the group leader, but we voted anonymously on roles on a google form and literally everyone else picked Jonathan. So she's gatekeeping her portion of the project and not helping the rest of us, and we just have this chunk of the project not done because she's being a bitch."

You nod along and make affirming noises like you're listening, but you aren't really paying that much attention to her. Instead, you're looking out the window at the dreary weather, hoping the rain clears up enough that you don't feel like a drowned rat all day from having to walk from building to building for class.

By the time you need to head to McCuskey's class, there's a downpour, and you have no option but to book it and hope for the best. Your hair is literally dripping by the time you're able to make it inside, so you have to duck into the bathroom to wring it out in the sink. You toss it up in a bun and frown at your reflection in the mirror. So much for avoiding the drowned rat look.

You head to class and sit in your usual spot near the front. You're a little early still, so you decide to check your shared google doc and do a little bit of editing on what you have so far. You get so absorbed in what you're doing, you don't notice Rafe has sat down behind you until he flicks the back of your neck.

Your hand flies up to cover the spot. "Damnit, Rafe," you snap as you turn around.

He laughs. "Did you swim here?" he asks, eyeing your wet bun and damp clothes.