Chase & Adrienne

25

CHASE

THURSDAY AFTERNOON

I change for basketball as soon as school lets out. With 14 minutes before practice starts, I search the halls for Adrienne. I have 14 minutes to try and save our friendship before it dissolves forever. With every passing day, we grow farther and farther apart. I just won't stand for it anymore. I let Luke get in the way of us, like he was this road block that we just could not get around. It's time to get around it. Last night, I saw a human part of Luke, however asshole-y this human part of him still was. I mean, he made me sit with him in his rancid car. I had to drive his sorry butt all the way home. I had to comfort his weeping mother. Bottom line: Luke is an idiot. He will always be an idiot. Still, though, maybe this guy isn't as bad as I thought. It turns out Adrienne was really onto something with him, and for that, I owe her an apology. 

12 minutes to go, I find her. She's in the hallway, heading for the main entrance. I dash past the crowd to get to her. By the time I do, I reach out and touch her arm. She turns, obviously surprised that I'm the one stopping her. The last time we talked, I kind of went off on her. I can tell she is already on the defensive, so I try to soften my stance, soften my face. 

"Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," she says cautiously. This exchange is oddly formal, especially for us. I push past the awkward and lead her into a quieter part of the hall, behind one of the stairways. At first, we stand there in silence, neither of us really sure what to say. I know I called this "meeting," but standing here with her, smelling her perfume and watching the light bounce off of her uncharacteristically glossy lips, the words escape me. 

"What did you want to talk to me about?" she prompts me. I take a deep breath, licking my cracked lips. 

"I'm not gonna be able to find the right words to say all of this, so just listen patiently and try to understand, okay?" I say this in a rush. I can tell I'm freaking her out a bit, but she nods anyway. I rake my hands through my hair. 

"I know this whole...thing...has been really weird and really hard for us. I don't know if we are ever going to be as close as we used to be, but I just needed to tell you...You're still my best friend, even if I'm not yours anymore. There is nothing on this planet that is ever going to change that, not even Luke. I can't believe I'm saying this, but yesterday, I realized that Luke is not as bad as I thought he was." I drop my voice to a whisper. "If you tell him I said that, I will deny it to my grave."

"Anyway, he's still an idiot. And he's still an asshole. And he's just so arrogant sometimes that I can't stand it. But he makes you happy. And I want you to be happy more than anything else in the world, Adrienne. I mean that. No matter what crazy things have happened these past two weeks, never doubt how much I genuinely do care about you. If you really want to be with Luke, I'm not gonna try and stop you anymore."

 "One more thing!" I interject before she can speak. "If, for some crazy chance, Luke turns out to be a complete flake, I'm here. If anything weird happens at that dance on Saturday, I'm just a phone call away. I promise."

Throughout my entire dramatic monologue, I couldn't bring myself to look right at Adrienne for very long. It was just too unbearable, and there were a couple times where I had to close my eyes completely just to get all the words out. So now, when I finally do look at her, I don't really know what to expect. Her reaction catches me by surprise. 

Adrienne is crying. 

Her eyes shine with tears, but she is smiling, laughing even. Her laugh is so full, full of joy and emotion and just everything. I envelope her in a hug. It feels so good to rest my chin on her head and feel her arms looped around my waist again. I wish that I could stay here forever. I wish I didn't have practice in 9 minutes. I had taken for granted how good our relationship had been. I had never realized how much I needed her until I didn't have her anymore.