Shadows (A Sara Bareilles fanfic)

Way With Me

My phone buzzed loudly, waking me up from a restless sleep. I groaned and squinted to see through the glow of the screen, Jordan's name appearing. The text read, "Call when you can." He answered my call with a laugh.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Yesterday."

"Uh... yesterday was everything except funny."

"You took it seriously."

"Yeah... what?" I asked. "Am I missing something?"

"It was all a joke. No one was mad at you. When you didn't show up on time, we just made a little joke to see how you would react. No one meant anything," he laughed. "You got soooo mad."

I had to laugh. "You're an idiot."

"Sorry. It was funny though."

"Yes, good job."

Jordan laughed. "I gotta go, text me later."

I hung up and shook my head at his usual antics. I had gotten so worked up over nothing. It was actually funny as hell. I looked at the clock; it was past one. I had basically wasted my whole day. Whatever. It was Saturday.

I called Derek, but got no answer, so I dialed Stacey's number. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey!" she said cheerfully. "What've you been up to?"

"Not much. You?"

"Same here. I miss you. You should come here."

"I would, but I have a lot going on right now."

"Like what?" Stacey asked.

"Work, Derek, stuff."

"What are you sad about?"

"What?"

"You're sad. You always say 'stuff' when you're sad."

I laughed. "Mind-reader."

"Yeah. What's wrong?"

"It's hard to explain," I said. "Not a big deal. Ooo, I'll call you back, Derek's calling and I really wanna talk to him."

Stacey laughed. "That's adorable. See ya."

I had missed his call by then, so I called him back- only to get no answer. Then he called me back, and I answered quickly.

"Finally pick up?" he laughed.

"Hey, we both kept chasing each other," I said. "Where are you?"

"Walmart. I was gonna stop by, if that's okay."

"Oh, yeah. Duh. You texted earlier."

"I miss you," he said. "I'm bored."

"You should've stayed last night."

"Yeah. Can I stay tonight?" he asked.

I laughed. "No. Nope. Never. I hate you and I don't want you anywhere near me."

"Good, same to you," he joked.

"Can you get me Starbucks?" I asked. "I need coffee."

He laughed. "Yeah."

"Thanks. I'll pay you back when you get home."

I suddenly realized what I'd said. Home. Meaning... I was expecting him to come here. I liked the thought of that.

I could sense he did, too. I could hear him smile as he said, "No, that's stupid. Love you, princess."

I got that little-girl-giddy feeling. He hugged me as soon as he walked in a few minutes later. "Here, babe." He handed me my favorite drink, a steaming-hot Americana. I thanked him, and proceeded to spill it on my pajamas when I took a sip.