The Friend Zone

Chapter Twenty Six: Hand over the Liquor.

It hurts when friends drift apart.

It hurts that Leah no longer talks to me, and I can no longer tell her that I just consumed 13 hot dogs in 5 minutes and that dad called last night to try and weasel some money out of my mom, who completely ignored me and fished into our meager savings to give some to him.

A stupid Son of a bitch who left home as soon as his first son was born.

It hurts that Leah's not talking to anyone these days, and Tyler's not talking to her either, and Jasmine and Eric are just caught amid fire.

It hurts to know that somehow I did this.

It hurts so bad, it's almost enough to eclipse the pain of my broken heart.

Tyler hands me a beer from the ice crate and yells over the music "It's a party man! Act like you're enjoying yourself."

I give Tyler a miserable glance before looking around for anyone interesting in this place, mostly Leah, but she doesn't attend these sorts of things, parties like these, especially Ashley Winkles parties are just one big orgy waiting to happen. Maybe that's why Tyler dragged me here.

But as I look at the flirty smiles of the girls around me, and the tight tops that spills out their boobs I can't help but feel a little sick to my stomach, this isn't where I want to be, I don't feel comfortable here.

Why am I here "Why am I here?" I yell back at Tyler.

He gives me a dubious look before gesturing for me to follow him, I do of course, I don't think I can stand it if he didn't act as a buffer between me and the world, he takes me to the side of room, through a dark hall, where the music doesn't reach and then leads me to a nicely furnished room, an office of sorts maybe.

I arch my eyebrows at Tyler wondering how he knows these place and he just smiles and says "last year, Ashley took me on a tour."

That explains it, Tyler the man whore.

"This is her dad office." he says as he sits on the leather sofa and motions for me to sit across him, he waits till I do before he continues "I thought it was rather more comfortable here."

At my grateful nod he smiles "And this where her dad keeps all the good liquor."

Promptly he gets up, searches the cabins on the side of the wall, before he comes up with a bottle of whiskey that looks as if costs twice as much as the cloth I'm wearing, he takes a gulp before giving it to me.

I stare at the bottle with dismay, that last thing I need to be broken hearted and hung over.

"Come on, man, takes some, have fun, seep a little life through your veins."

I'm still unwilling, but after Tyler prods me some more I take a grateful gulp and grimace as I feel the burn of it traveling through me, a friend one described it as liquid fire, sounds about right.

Ty retrieves the bottle before he begins "We have a month left till the end of our senior year, I'm going to Philly, Eric's going to Brown and so is Jasmine, and Leah's going to Yale, and you...I don't even know where you're going."

"What's your point?" I grumble, not in the mood for a lecture.

"My point." Ty says patiently "Is that we're good friends all of us, we're really good friends, and we'll probably be really good friends for years from now, but whatever you and Leah have got going between you it's driving a wedge between us, and next year we're all going our separate ways."

I snatched the bottle from him and guzzled some down, before slamming it against the oak table and directing a glare at Ty "I've never asked you to stop talking to her."

Tyler looks at me like I'm stupid "I'm your best friend Sam, if I don't stand up for you, who will I be there for?"

I found myself smiling at Tyler, only for that smile to soon turn into a fierce scowl "What happens between me and Leah is none of your business, not that there's anything happening anyway."

Tyler looked like he was about to smack instead he settled for drinking some of the whiskey, with a grimace he sighed "1956, if Ash ever discovers one of her dad's precious bottles were missing I'll be slayed and flayed alive." then he turned the grimace to me "I don't see what the big deal with you two anyway, you rejected her, she rejected you, an eye for an eye and all that."

"Hard to believe that you're in love with her with that attitude." I muttered under my breath.

"I would be stupid not to fall in love with Lee, she's funny, she's sweet, she's smart, and she's all out sexy, I would be an idiot not to fall for her, but even I could see she was in love with you, so I never kidded myself, and you were in love with her long before you admitted it to yourself, you're just a coward_" "Hey!" "_and the love she felt for you isn't the type that just goes away."

"But she said_"

"She said she didn't love you anymore, maybe she thinks she doesn't and if she does then she's a much bigger fool than you are, and maybe you haven't been trying hard enough."

"But I told her I loved her."

"And she's supposed to believe you why?"

How did I get myself into this mess, talking out my feelings with my friend "Are we going to paint our nails and gossip about all the hot guys after this?"

"Are you going to get your head out of your ass?"

"Maybe." I muttered. "Just handover the liquor."

Tyler grinned before smacking me on the arm "That my friend is a fine idea."

* * * * *

The next morning it turned out it wasn't such a smart idea, I woke up with a headache the size of Kansas and the urge to puke everything I've consumed for the last week.

I thought about what Tyler said, about me getting a move on, and taking life by the horns instead of wallowing here in self pity.

I wanted to, I wanted to do something, whatever it was I wanted to do something, not at the moment that was for sure, but later on, I wanted to do something before I missed my chance.

But then the questions started cascading like falling stars, what do I do? When is my chance? How can I insure success?

And then the self doubts came, What if I don't succeed? What if I missed my chance?

For now, the first thing I'll do is head to the nearest music store and buy The Script's album.

And since I can't afford Whiskey as fine as Ashley's dad, I'll have to settle myself to the cheapest beer I can find, maybe after a long session of drinking I'll figure out what to do, how exactly to make this right.

If I can make this right, that is.