The good times of today, are the sad thoughts of tomorrow.
~ Bob Marley
***
"I'm not going." I state.
Seeing him this afternoon has made me into a stubborn, cynical mess, not that I'm not one already. After those awful, heart aching few seconds, I impulsively shifted the car into reverse and got out of there like the devil was chasing me down the highway to hell. We're at my house now sprawled across my room, Amelia sitting on one of my charcoal-colored bean bags, Hayden lying down on the ground with her favorite blanket of mine, Abbie leaning against my vaulted wall reading Sherlock Holmes, and Caitlyn and I on my bed eating a bag of hot Cheetos.
"Yes you are." Hayden corrects me. "And no, I don't care if you don't want to, because you are coming no exceptions."
"Adding to that," Caitlyn chimes in before popping a handful of Cheetos in her mouth. "You never come over to binge when the guys come, you need to get over what's-his-bucket and live a little bit."
Hayden nods and rolls herself up in my blanket, earning a death glare from me. She knows how much I love that thing.
"Yeah Cole. It's not like we're going to be smoking pot or drinking or screwing each other in her mom's bed." Abbie says for once looking up from her book. Then with a glance at Hayden, the only hard partier amongst us, she adds, "I mean, Hayden might be."
"Shut up, Abs!" Hayden snaps and she chucks a pillow her way. Amelia rolls her eyes at them and Caitlyn says,
"If my parents found out we were doing that kind of crap they'd kick me out and move to Montana," I crunch on my hot Cheetos and scoff. "No joke."
"I'm not going," I say again. "And you can't make me."
"Oh yes we can." Abbie answers, pausing her smacking Hayden with her book.
"Watch us." Hayden says. Amelia smiles almost sinisterly, which is not a norm for her.
"If you don't willingly come, you can be assured that we'll find a way to get you there anyways." She says as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Plus there's the fact that we must see what is between you and Mac Thompson." Caitlyn finishes. I feel my face go slack and my chewing slow down. Damn it.
I resist the urge to hide under my covers and cower for an eternity, but I'm afraid I'll feel the stares of my friends even through the blankets. I resume my eating pace and reply coolly,
"Nothing's between us."
"My ass." Hayden snaps, obviously ignoring the cursing rule in my house. "You freaking liar."
"Yeah." Abbie says. "Why would you avoid the topic if 'nothing is between you'?"
"Amen to that." Amelia says.
"Because nothing is!" I practically shout. "I don't know why you guys are making such a big deal about it when there's nothing to tell!"
"But you know there is Cole," Hayden says. "You just are afraid to admit it."
Silence. Dead cold silence that makes me want to punch a damn wall. Before I can deny anything, my phone buzzes and I eagerly grab for it. Anything to keep me from replying.
