I Never Thought

Chapter 10

It was Friday and I was sitting in Chase's passenger seat with Pop music blasting from his speakers. We shared the lyrics to each song, and it was so much fun. One of the things that I loved about our friendship was that our music taste was identical. We loved all the same singers and songs, so we had a lot of fun driving together.

I was relieved that I didn't have school the next day and I was looking forward to going home and relaxing. Our chemistry test went well despite the fact that we never actually got to study for it together. I had already and Chase said that he did on his own, I didn't believe him but that changed when I saw him skipping through the pages of the test with confidence.

Halfway through the drive, he turned the music down.

"So," he began, and I looked over at him, curious about what he had to say. Whenever he started sentences with the word 'so' it was usually because he knew that there was a chance that I wouldn't like what he was going to say.

"Do you remember Jonah from elementary school?"

"Do you mean Little Jonah? The guy who moved away after the fifth grade?"

He nodded. "He invited me over, he said he's having a reunion at his place tonight at eight. I think you should come."

"Is this another party, Chase?" I asked with a blank expression. He knew how I felt about going to parties.

"No, not exactly. There won't be any loud music or smoking, he's a good kid, remember? I think he just wants to get his old friends together again."

"I don't remember him being friends with Christian though, I remember it was me, you, and him before he moved. Then after that, you and Christian got pretty close."

"Yeah, that's why I'm asking you to come and not Chris."

The more we talked about him, the more I remembered. He used to wear thick-rimmed glasses and had a weird obsession with Pokémon cards. We used to trade our lunches and take turns feeding the class's goldfish. We had a lot of fun together but that was such a long time ago. After he moved, I was sad for a few days but then it was like I forgot about him. I was excited to see him again.

"Yeah, his place is about an hour from yours, so I'd suggest we leave at seven."

"I don't remember agreeing to go with you," I teased, and he glared at me briefly.

"Come on. It's a Friday night Clo. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Yeah, you're right. As long as there are no drugs."

He laughed. "I can't promise that some people won't be drinking but that doesn't mean that you have to."

"Fine. I need to relax anyway."

He dropped me off and hung out with Christian for a few hours while I got ready. I considered asking Sierra to tag along but I hadn't hung out with Chase alone all week. After I showered, I pulled on a pair of biker shorts and a blue long-sleeved cropped top. I applied some mascara and brushed some blush on my cheeks. I decided to wear my hair down since I had it up in a bun for the last few days.

I hopped down the stairs at 6:50 and Chase looked up at me. His eyes lingered on me for a little bit longer than usual and I smiled wonderingly at him.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, let me just grab my keys." He kept his eyes on me as I walked to grab some water from the sink, and I began feeling self-conscious.

"Should I change my outfit?" I asked as I looked down at my black sneakers.

He shook his head and stood to his feet. "No, not at all. You look great." He pulled the corner of his bottom lip between his teeth after he spoke, something he usually did when he was focused on a task, but he was literally just standing in the living room.