The Crush Complex

Sneaking Around

It was movie night at my house, a tradition that Casey and I had started in sixth grade, and I knew that this time she wouldn't be coming alone. Jason had met me in the parking lot on Tuesday, and of course I couldn't resist. We kissed. A lot.

But we had also talked. What were we doing, really? And could we really continue? The answers to both questions were complicated. Eventually, we decided that if the whole point of Jason and Casey staying together was to spare her feelings, then it was a tad counterintuitive to carry on behind her back. But, oh was it going to be hard to stop now that we'd started.

I had completely blanked on movie night because Casey and I hadn't had one for awhile. How was I supposed to keep my hands to myself after three days of nothing? I just hoped that Jason had more of an iron will than me, otherwise we were screwed.

I used cleaning up the house as a way of distracting myself from those thoughts, but before I knew it there was a knock on my door. Taking a deep breath, I fixed on a smile and I greeted my guests. Casey was perky and pretty - her natural state before her parents' intense fights, and now that she was dating Jason. Her beau looked more like me: tense and more ready to run than to come in and sit down.

"Casey! How are you?"

She breezed in and headed straight for the kitchen, calling back as she walked.

"I'll be perfect as soon as you tell me where you hid all your top-shelf junk food. I just know you have a stash of frozen pizza somewhere in your freezer."

I gave a weak chuckle as Jason shuffled in awkwardly, lagging far behind Casey. As soon as he was inside I shut the door and turned to queue up the first movie while I listened to her ransack my cabinets and fridge.

Jason hadn't left the room, so I filled up the silence.

"Did Case already tell you that this is an all-nighter kind of thing?"

"...Yeah."

It was a mumble, and I couldn't help but snicker. He sounded like a petulant child.

"Do you have a ride? My car is in the shop and my parents are out of town for a couple days, so..."

Everything was ready, so I faced him with a raised brow. He was looking all around the room with curious eyes, but I had a feeling at least part of the reason was so he didn't have to look at me.

"Casey. We took her car, so I'm here all night too."

My brown orbs widened. Oh. That would be why he seemed much more uncomfortable than normal.

"Well, we usually share my mattress on the floor, so the sofa is completely free."

I had now joined him in the "I'm-not-looking-at-you" game, not knowing what else to say. I had thought it was bad enough when Casey had told me that she was bringing him. Now that I knew I had to whether the entire night with him just beyond my reach was just cruel.

When my friend finally came back out with her thin arms loaded full of packages and boxes of different snacks, she unwittingly broke the unpleasant tension.

"You always have the best food. So, is everything ready?"

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It was three in the morning before any of us called it quits. As usual, Casey fell asleep first. I entertained the thought of drawing on her face with a Sharpie but decided against it when I realized that Jason just might take that as an invitation to draw on mine once I finally turned in. The credits rolled on the last movie I had out and I finally shut off the TV. The living room was in absolute darkness. All was silent for several minutes before I heard him speak.