The Five Stages of Losing Your Best Friend

Chapter Four: "I've Heard a Rumor"

"Vannie!" Chance called as soon as we burst out of the school's doors. "Why are you refusing to audition for the Drama Club? Isn't that woman the mentor of your dreams?"

I let go of his shirt and looked down to avoid his scrutinizing green eyes.

"I told you I wasn't interested."

"But you're lying," He ejected. "You always avoid my eyes when you lie."

Darn it. He knew me too well. I looked up from the ground and directly into his suspicious eyes before monotonously saying, "I'm not lying."

Surprise flickered across his face. But before he could say anything else, we heard Akeisha called out to us from behind.

"Sorry I'm late." She panted. "Did you wait long?"

"Not at all." I pasted a smile on my face and prayed that she wouldn't sense the tension between Chance and I. Akeisha would most certainly ask questions if she thought there was a problem. So although I could feel Chance's piercing stare, I chose to ignore it. Chance seemed to understand that I had no more intention of being interrogated, because he dropped his gaze and bit on the bar of chocolate he grabbed from his bag.

"You know," Akeisha spoke shortly after we started walking. "I've heard a rumor in school a while ago."

"What rumor?" I casually asked, whilst adjusting the strap of my backpack.

She peered at me from under her eyelashes, a hint of a smirk flashed across her lips. "That you and Chance hugged during Gym class and that you're finally out of the friendzone."

Chance chocked on the chocolate he was eating and started coughing. I was speechless and could only stare at Akeisha with big, bulging eyes and a slack jaw.

"Who told you that?" Chance asked once he stopped coughing. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth while he waited for Akeisha to answer.

"Oh, everybody. It's spreading like wildfire, especially among our classmates." She raised an eyebrow and looked pointedly at us, who were avoiding her gaze. "Is there something I should know about you two?" She paused for a moment. "Are you dating?"

"No! God, no." I raised my hands and made a face at the thought of dating my best friend who was more like a brother to me than anything else. "It's just a misunderstanding. I was only comforting him."

"I didn't know comforting someone comes in the form of hugging now."

I looked at her with my that-is-obvious face. "It's like, the oldest technique in the book."

"No, the oldest technique is to pat the person's shoulder while whispering comforting words in his ear," She stubbornly said. Akeisha always wasn't one to back down from a challenge. But, unluckily for her, so was I.

"No it's not." I crossed my arms across my chest and stared at her challengingly.

"Yes it is." She crossed her arms as well and returned the look.

"No it's not!"

"Yes--"

"It was my fault!" Chance suddenly yelled out, surprising the both of us. "I was asking for advice on how to apologize to Ava and was acting like a sappy fool. I hugged Vannie because she told me words I needed to hear. I didn't think the whole class would see." He finished and hung his head down in shame.

After seeing his reaction, Akeisha immediately softened up. She patted his shoulder and hastily apologized for doubting us. Again, I was reminded of how a big softie everyone was when it came to Chance. Chance was like the baby of our year, being sweet, innocent and naïve. But he was also one of the smartest. Give him the most difficult math problem you can think of and he will be able to solve it in no time flat. For those reasons, Chance was loved by everyone and not much pressure fell on him.