An Old Friend

Chapter 10

I had no idea how I could be so clueless. There was no way I could ever forget about Christie Road. That was one of the many ways that Billie Joe and I were connected. That was our special place, we would walk hours from our neighborhood just to get there and, well, clear our heads. It sounds crazy, but even when you're ten you need some time to get away.

I was being Mike's navigator and I could tell he was annoyed as hell with me. I was so anxious that I was grabbing onto my seatbelt with one hand, and the dashboard with the other. We had wasted the whole day driving around town, that by the time I realized where he could possibly be, it was about 9:00 PM. Not to mention if we had just stayed in our relative area, this wouldn't be such a long trip.
"Lizzie, how much farther is this place? Don't get me wrong, but I'm getting tired as fuck of driving."

"About... an hour or so," I said tentatively said because I knew he would be upset.

"Um, can we pull over for the night, get back on the road first thing in the morning?"

I sighed, "I don't want to, but yes, I need to get some sleep. I feel like I'm on the edge right now."

He slowly manuevered the car to the side of the road. We were in the middle of Rodeo. No one was around. It was kind of peaceful and comforting. I finally took a deep breath and leaned back in my seat. My hair smelled awful from lack of showering. I was embarassed that Mike would think that I was an unsanitary rat.

There was a moment of silence and then I spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? You're the one who's getting us closer to finding Billie. You've been nothing but help."

"Stop, you're just saying that so I won't feel bad. I know exactly what you think of me right now..."

"No, you don't..." He grabbed my hand and held it in his. I couldn't help but blush. I saw his eyes for the first time and they were sparkling blue, even in the moonlight.

"Really?" I asked.

"Really."

And then he leaned forward and kissed me. Which felt strange and foreign to me. The only lips I had ever felt on mine were...

Billie.

No, I couldn't do this. I pulled away after about 10 seconds. I didn't feel this way about Mike. This was wrong. We were only friends and now things like this happen that will ruin our friendship.

"Mike, no. I'm sorry. I-I'm in love with Billie." There, I said it. I loved Billie Joe. I was in love with his best friend and not him. He was crushed. I saw it in his face.

"Ok"

"Ok?"

"Yeah, I get it." But he didn't get it at all. This was complicated. I didn't want to hurt him, but I had to. I couldn't let us become more than friends. My heart belonged somewhere else.

He just rolled over in his seat facing the window to go to sleep.

And minutes later I myself leaned my head back and drifted into my dreams.