First Kiss

Chapter 5

As I approach her, I'm surprised that she doesn't use the usual greeting.
"You're supposed to say Amelia," I joke.
"You're lucky that I'm even speaking to you."
"What did I do?"
"You let my call go to voicemail when I needed you."
"Why? Are you sick? Did you get hurt?" I ask with immediate concern.
"I did get hurt but not the kind that would send me to the hospital. Eric broke up with me."
"Is that why you called me?"
"That's what I just said."
"I'm sorry. I didn't see the missed call until this morning. I figured that I would wait to talk to you in person. I'm really sorry."
She huffs.
"What were you even doing? You usually have your phone on you."
"I was having a pizza night at home."
"And you couldn't answer your phone because you were ordering a pizza?" She asks sarcastically.
"No. I was hanging out with Mick and didn't really pay attention to the phone."
She raises her eyebrows.
"You were with Mick? Like by choice?"
"Yeah. My mom was working late and Jaiden was with my dad so..."
"So he came to the house and you had a pizza night."
"Yeah."
"Just the two of you?"
"Yes. Now let's stop talking about it and go back to the whole breakup thing. I'm really sorry to hear that. I should've answered your call."
"It's okay. I'm sorry that I was so angry. It's just that I want you the most during this time. If anyone could get me through a tough time, it's you. We've proved that many times."
I smile and reach forward to give her a hug. She hugs me back.
"Plus, this is the real reason why I wanted to talk to you. You're good at giving hugs."
"Thanks."
We pull away.
"Now how about you? Are you sure that everything's okay? Mick hasn't tried anything, has he?" She asks.
"No. Why would he?"
"Because it's weird for him to go over there when he knows that it's only the two of you. It's not like he's living there. Or did he move in?"
"No. He has his own place. And I don't see why it's weird. My mom wanted us to all get along."
"I'm sure that she meant that for all of you not just you and him. I would hope that even she would care about that."
"Keri," I say seriously.
"Amelia," she says in the same tone.
"I'm fine. We've just been getting to know each other."
"In what way?"
"The same way that other people do when they're becoming friends with them."
"You had one pizza night together and now you're friends?"
"It wasn't just last night. He gave me a ride this morning."
"Why did he give you a ride?"
"There was a whole thing with my mom. He dropped her off at the house and offered to give me a ride while he was at it."
"Still. I don't like any of it. I don't think you should be around him any more than you have to."
I sigh.
"Technically, I don't have to."
"He's dating your mom. You're obviously going to see him."
"They broke up right after he left."
"What?"
"He found out that she had been lying to him and he broke up with her."
"Okay, so you really don't have a reason to be around him anymore."
"Yeah. You can stop worrying now."
"This isn't funny. You're my best friend. I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"I know. I feel the same way about you. I just don't see any reason for your concern in this case."
"Well, if it's resolved, I shouldn't have to be."
"It is."
"Okay good. I have to get to class. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. See you later."
She nods and gives me another quick hug.
"I love you," she says.
"I love you too."
We pull away and go to class. I sit with my friends during lunch. It already feels different now that Eric isn't sitting with us anymore. I can't tell if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Our other friends don't know so Keri tells them upfront.
"No," Adam says dramatically.
"I can't believe it," Heather says.
"That son of a bitch," Desiree says.
"Guys, it's okay. I'm still hurt but at least he was honest. That was our number one rule," Keri says.
"I know. We just hate to see you hurting. I don't even want to share my good news now," Heather says.
"No. Go ahead. I could do with some good news."
"It's actually for Adam. I found Alec's account on Instagram."
"You didn't," he says with a grin.
"I did. We have a few mutual friends on Insta so his account was recommended to me."
"How do you know it's him?" Desiree asks.
"He posted a picture of his food from the same restaurant on that day. I just put two and two together."
"Nice job," I say.
"What's the username?" Adam asks.
Heather pulls up the account on her phone and shows it to him. We watch as he looks up the account and follows him.
"Okay. I followed him. At least he didn't set it to private."
"Yeah good thing," I say.
"I'm happy for you," Keri says.
"Thanks."
"Well, go on and DM him," Desiree encourages.
"I would but he has to follow back first."
"Mother f er," Heather says.
"I'm sure he will," Keri says.
"Yeah. You got his Insta so that's already a big step done," Desiree says.
"Exactly," I add.
"And how's it going with your crush?" Adam asks.
"It isn't."
"What happened?"
"They posted a picture of them kissing a girl."
"They?" I ask.
"Their pronouns."
I blink, still not understanding what that means.
"Her crush goes by they/ them," Adam explains.
"Oh."
"Yeah. Anyway, they've clearly got a girl so it isn't going to work out," Desiree say.
"I'm sorry," Keri says.
"It's okay. I wasn't that into them. It was just kind of exciting to see them again after a hot minute."
"I get it," Heather says.
Eventually, our lunch period ends and we head to our next class. The day passes by slowly but it's finally time to go home. I get on the bus and enjoy the ride.