J-Fred

Ch. 5: Rooftops

Late one Saturday night, Amanda texts Alice that she is bored and she wants her to come over. Since Alice has nothing better to do, she decides to come over. Once she gets there, they sit around for a while. Suddenly, Amanda jumps up out of her chair. "We should go onto the roof! It's a full moon tonight, and it'd be so pretty!"

"The roof?" Alice asks, a bit unsure. 

"Oh come on," Amanda sighs, "you've never climbed up onto your roof before?" Alice shakes her head. "Well then, let me show you!"

Amanda takes her hand and leads her upstairs. They climb out one of the windows, which leads out on top of the roof. Amanda sets down a blanket, and they sit down beside each other. They stare up at the moon for a while, and then Amanda asks a random question, "Do you like J-Fred?"

Alice tenses up a bit, but she tries to not let that show. "Sure...I mean, he's a really nice guy, and he seems funny. I don't really know him that well."

Amanda glances over at Alice. "Why don't you ask him out?"

"What?" Alice asks, taken aback.

"Come on," Amanda sighs, "I know you like him, and not just as a friend. It's obvious; you get all tense and nervous whenever he's near you. I mean, why not? He's single, you're single, and I think he likes you as well."

Alice shakes her head firmly. "I only like him as a friend. I told you I don't know him that well, and maybe that's why I get nervous. I just have social anxiety."

Amanda elbows her. "Stop lying to me. Why won't you ask him out?"

Alice shrugs as she wrings her hands together. She focuses on the moon to calm herself down. "I don't know...he's not my type. Besides, if it didn't work out, I wouldn't want that to ruin our friendship--"

"Stop making excuses!" Amanda interrupts as she rolls her eyes. "I think you're not asking him out because you're scared. You're scared he won't want to go out on a date, and you're scared it won't work out, and you're scared it would be awkward."

Neither of them speaks for a moment. Both of them just stare up at the night sky for a while. Just as Alice opens her mouth to respond, they hear the window open again. All three guys--Matthias, Bryan, and J-Fred--come clambering out the window. They all settle down beside the girls. "I heard you guys up here," Matthias sighs as he sits down beside Amanda, "so I though we'd join!"

Alice crosses her fingers that none of them heard their previous conversation. All of them stay up on the roof for about an hour, telling stories, laughing about jokes, and admiring the beautiful sky. Finally, at about midnight, Bryan bids farewell to go home and sleep. After another five minutes, Amanda and Matthias choose to go to sleep as well.

Alice is still enraptured by the night sky that she forgets anyone else is with her. "They're all wimps," J-Fred sighs as he climbs over and sits on the blanket beside Alice. "I always stay up late."

Immediately, she begins to feel that intense feeling of discomfort, and she gets butterflies in her stomach. "Actually, I think I should be going home too...I have work tomorrow," she announces.

"So soon?" he asks, a bit saddened. He pauses, and then asks, "Do you not like me?" 

She sits back down. "No, I think you're a really nice, funny guy."

He stares down at his hands. "It's just...any time I'm with you, you seem uncomfortable, and you always look like you want to leave. I really..." he stops talking to look up at her.

Alice had not realized how close they are. She can feel his arm brushing up against hers and his bright blue eyes staring directly at her. Suddenly, he leans forward and presses his lips against hers. She pulls away, too shocked to do anything. His blue eyes continue staring at her as he waits for her reaction. 

"I'm sorry," she says in barely a whisper of a voice, "I have to go." She stands up and races back inside before he can say another word.