Beside

5 - adaptation

"Fox, my fish misses the ocean. I feel bad."

"But he's got you. It's like trading the ocean for a cozy pond."

"But... I feel bad. Look at him! He's deressed!"

"I think you mean depressed."

"Yes! Look at him!"

"Just make sure he's the happiest fish in the pond, Jellybean."

"But-but-but he's deressed!"

ᖴO᙭

I'm half a step from shoving Jed over the balcony when Cam steps between us, all five-foot-whatever of her in that ridiculous bananarama hoodie. Charlie squirms in her arms, his little black-and-white paws scratching at her chest, trying to get in on the action.

"Jed said he was leaving." I crack my knuckles one by one. "Jed should leave."

"Freckles, you absolute meathead!" Cam says, clutching Charlie tighter. "We can't just boot out our friend!"

"We had an agreement."

"So fucking what? He's got nowhere else to go! He's one of us!"

I glare at said one of us. Jed's standing still, eyes fixed on some point in the sky. I'm tempted to shake him—or, as I said, shove him off this 80-floor building—but Cam would throw me off next.

"Jed," I snap. "You got anything to say for yourself?"

He glances at me. "Orion's belt is tilted."

"Orion's belt is tilted!" Cam reiterates, bouncing Charlie like a toddler.

"You're an idiot, Sport."

"You're the idiot!"

"Stop," Noah groans. He's leaning on the glass railing, eyes half-shut. He's more useless than a condom in a fucking nunnery right now, rubbing at that scar on his face like it's a worry stone.

Back in the apartment, there's Chris. Fuck if that wasn't the surprise of the month. Listen, Jed's a cosmic weirdo, who believes in fate and all that, but I never believed him. 

Until maybe now.

Chris is pacing back and forth, holding her ribcage, biting her nails, glancing at us out here every four seconds, eyes darting away. Those jeans cling to her in a way that's got me wanting to thank the universe, so there's that, too.

"Captain Control Freak!" Cam snaps, smacking my head.

I huff in a breath, crossing my arms. "This is about rent, space, and the fact that Jed said he was moving out. You put that ad in the paper, Sport. Then this girl shows up and we're supposed to turn her away?"

Cam bites her lip. Yeah, exactly. Charlie whines in her arms, and she scratches behind his ears.

"I pay two-thirds of the rent." I lean back against the railing, feeling the cold bite into my spine. "I'm calling it."

Cam's face falls. Noah straightens up. I hit too deep and we all know it.

It's not like I'm going to admit that last night's been looping in my head since I woke up. I'm not telling them how I've been playing back the taste of New Roommate's tongue, the little gasps she made, the way her body curved against mine. Christ, the way she fell apart under my touch—I've seen a lot of things in my life, but nothing like that. 

And fuck if I'm not dying to see it again.

"Fox, I swear to god—" Cam starts, lips trembling, but Noah cuts her off.

"Enough. We're going to move all the shit out of Other Bedroom. We'll put it in storage downtown. Jed stays, Chris moves in."

"Jed pays for storage," I declare, glaring at the guy. He's still staring at the sky, that infuriatingly blank look on his face.

"Wealth is an illusion," Jed murmurs.

"So is my patience," I shoot back.

"No," Noah says. "We chip in equally."

"Fine," I say, pushing off the railing. "Then it's settled."

"Are you serious?" Cam steps into my space. She's the only one who isn't scared to get in my face. "You just want her to stay because she's pretty. You're such a dog."

"Woof."

"You know what, Freckles? You're gonna meet a girl who makes you question every single rule you've ever made, and I'm gonna be there to see you drown in the mud of it."

"Sure." I brush past my boxing coach. "Come on, you can tell her."

I don't wait for a response as I slide the door open and head back into the apartment. I can feel Cam's eyes drilling into the back of my skull, but I don't care.

Chris looks up when I walk in, eyes wide and a little glassy. God, it looks like she's seen a ghost. Or she is one. Christ, am I remembering last night differently than she is? I better not be.

Cam shoves Charlie into my arms and skips down the two steps to grab Chris's shoulders. "You're staying! Yay!"

She blinks at Cam. "I...what?"

"You're staying! You're getting our other bedroom, and good news, it's actually the biggest one. It's between Fox and Jed's. We've been using it for storage, but—doesn't matter." She shakes her shoulders again. "I'll help you unpack!"

Chris's lips part, but no sound comes out. Just that deer-in-the-headlights look, and something tightens in my chest. Then she slowly turns her head, catching my gaze. I grin, petting Charlie in my arms.

"You want to stay, don't you, Chris?" I ask.

"W-well," she stammers. "I mean, I assumed—" She swallows, and for a second, I swear I see something like pain in those brown eyes. "I don't, um—"

Cam drops her hands, deflating. "You don't want to stay."

Chris clutches Cam's hands, shaking her head. "Wait, of course I do—"

"Was it Fox? It was, wasn't it." Cam snaps her head to scowl at me. "I'll poison your next batch of protein brownies and then you'll—"

Chris pulls Cam into a hug to stop her, squeezing. Cam lifts her hands, confused, then hugs her back.

"So...you're staying?" Cam asks.

Chris nods into Cam's curls. "Yes. Thank you."

"Don't thank her yet," Noah mutters, trudging up the stairs to his loft. "You haven't seen the bathroom."

I tilt my head, catching Chris's eyes one last time, and squint slightly. When she gulps, I smirk.

Nothing like a good change of pace.

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JEDDDDDDDDDIDIAH
someone get Noah an aspirn

Thanks for reading Beside.
—Laurel Montaze—
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