Remember This

Chapter 3- Bennett

I set my phone down after I message Arynn back. I turn on my Xbox before Reid starts blowing up my phone to get on again. I know as soon as I put on the headset Reid is going to ask about Arynn because of course he will. He always manages to do it when I particularly don't want to talk about her. It's like he senses it.

I had tonight off but I'm not really in the mood to go out. I could go to a party but to be honest I hate the people here. I really wish I didn't move. I live with my mom; she got offered a better paying job and off we went to Tennessee of all places. She's managing some new and upcoming company, it's pretty cool, I guess. But I had to leave all my friends behind. I've met a couple of decent people here but other than that, everyone pretty much sucks. Reid lives in North Carolina. We met in elementary school and practically grew up together. He's the only one I feel I can really talk to. So that's why I expect him to bring up Arynn.

"What's up bitchhhhhh!" He yells as soon as I turn on my headset.

Chuckling I respond, "What's up fucker!"

"Yeah, you know same old. Sooooo, I heard around the grapevine that a certain couple has recently split up again. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that? Would you Ben?" he says, and I can actually hear the grin on his face.

"Wow you cut right to the chase, don't you?" Shaking my head, realizing he's waiting for me to give him what he wants, I respond. "Yes, Arynn and Devon broke up. She says it's for good, that she blocked him. Full stop."

"Aaaaand.... What are you going to do about that?" he says prompting me.

"Iiiiiiiii -" I say dragging it out like he did. "- am not going to do anything about it. I'm being a good friend. She wants to be alone and focus on herself and I respect that. It's good for her. I'm proud of her." I say a little sad. I have lots of complicated feelings about Arynn. Reid knows this and he's going to make me talk about it whether I like it or not.

"Dude. You've liked Arynn for how long? Like 5 years man. You need to do something." Reid starts going on, reciting the same monologue he's said to me so many times. Telling me to tell Arynn how I feel like it's that easy. Why doesn't he get it? I can never tell her how I feel. It wouldn't make any sense. I live so far away. We've been friends for so long and we have a really special bond, and I would never want to ruin that. It would never work. I say the same list I tell myself every time I think of telling Arynn how I feel. How douchey would I be if I started coming on to her right after she gotten broken up with?

The truth is, I've loved Arynn since the moment I met her. First day of eighth grade, I had just transferred and the whole day had just been meh other than meeting Reid. Reid and I walked into gym class and there she was. She was about 4 inches shorter than me, frizzy red hair, and braces. I thought she was beautiful. I knew I wanted to get to know her. She was standing next to some girls she knew, and I guess someone made a joke because she laughed. She laughed so hard she snorted and then laughed even harder because she did. And for some reason I got butterflies.

I was determined to talk to her any way I could so over the course of a couple weeks I started making sure that whenever we were doing anything in gym I would be nearby. With Reid of course, so it wouldn't be weird. So that meant I always was somehow on her team when we played games that way, she would have to talk to me. I would make inappropriate jokes to Reid just to see her blush and look away, sometimes she would giggle but try not to let me see. She was so cute; I'd do anything to see her smile or even give me just a little bit of attention.

Finally, one day she came to class after missing the day before because she was sick. She came directly up to me.

"Hey Bennett! Did I miss anything yesterday?" She asked.

"Hey. No, nothing interesting at least. Did those stations again. It sucked balls." I say shrugging not trying to look nervous.

She blushes. Score. "Okay cool thanks." She looks away.

"Now's your chance. Ask for her snap or something stupid." Reid whispers in my ear.

Taking a deep breath. "Hey!" I say a little loud, startling her. Shit. Nice going idiot. "Sorry... umm... maybe we should like get each other's snaps so next time one of us misses we can just text each other... if you want to... its totally cool if you don't – "

"You're rambling dude. She gets it. Shut up." Reid whispers not so quietly in my ear.

"Yeah, that'd be cool. Good idea." She says pulling out a piece of paper to write hers on.

As she's looking away, I look at Reid and mouthed 'What the fuck?'. To which he responded 'Duuude.'

We started texting regularly after that. It was an instant connection. She always laughed at my jokes, and she had some pretty good ones herself. I went to school everyday looking forward to seeing her. I thought eventually I'd grow out of this stupid crush, but it only grew. The older we got, the more I liked her.

I thought she was gorgeous with braces, but right before our 8th grade formal she got them off and... wow. She managed to become more beautiful. Many of the guys in our grade started noticing too. She would tell me nonstop about different guys hitting on her. I started to panic that I would lose her when she wasn't even mine to begin with. I didn't have the courage to ask her to the dance as much as Reid pushed me to do it. I just had to hope no one else would ask her, or worse, that she'd say yes.

Luckily, no one did – idiots – and when she came into the room wearing a powder pink dress that stopped at her knees, with her hair all curled and pinned to one side, I think my heart actually stopped beating for a minute. Her eyes landed on me, and I swear I saw them sparkle. That could've been brief hysteria, but I tell myself it was real. She walked over to Reid and me, I watched her in awe like she was an angel.

She stopped in front of us. "Bennett! Reid! You both clean up nicely." She said smiling.

Taken aback by the compliment, I froze. I hear Reid shuffle next to me. "Arynn, you look like cotton candy. Makes me hungry." He says nudging me in the side.

"Ha ha... thanks Reid, I think." She chuckles looking down at her dress.

I finally remember how to speak. "Yeah A, you look great. That color looks good on you."

"Thanks Bennett." She says blushing and looking away. "I'm going to go say hi to some friends, talk to you later?"

"We'll be here." I say, wishing she wouldn't leave. She walks away and her friends greet her with compliments and hugs.

"Nice going B. I was worried about you in the beginning, but you really saved it." Reid says clapping me on the shoulder.

"Yeah, shut up Mr. 'you look like cotton candy'." I spend the rest of the night with Reid sometimes talking to Arynn whenever she wasn't busy. To this day I wish I would've asked her to dance. Maybe even kiss her, I don't know.

"Bro cover me!" Reid shouts pulling me back into the present. I realize he's getting attacked by our enemy and I'm still standing in the same place.

"Sorry man." I say running over to him.

"Were you even listening to me? Or were you daydreaming about Arynn again? Dude now is your chance to make a real move on her. I can't sit by any longer and watch you mope around about her."

"Yeah yeah yeah. I get it Reid. But I need to respect her boundaries. If she wants something to happen, she needs to be the one to make the move. She won't take me seriously anyway." I say shrugging even though he can't see me.

"Whatever man. If she ends up in a relationship with another douche, just know I'm saying I told you so." Reid says and I just sigh.

I spend the rest of the night trying not to text Arynn.