Roles Reversed

4

"And how do you plan on doing that?" He asked.

"Well," I thought for a second, "I'm not entirely sure yet, but I'll come up with something."

He just smiled and shook his head.

"We should get going, it's almost 9. I'll drive you home; what's your address?" He said.

I gave him my address and we snaked our way back down the tree. Again, he opened the door to the car for me.

"Do you live with your parents?" Shay asked me once we were in the car. I stiffened in my seat.

"No, I live with my brother," I answered quietly.

"Really? Why?" he asked, glancing over at me.

"I don't want to talk about it Shay. Drop it. Now." I snapped.

"I'm sorry Sasha. I didn't think-"

"I said drop it!" I felt bad for yelling, but I actually had fun tonight and didn't want it to end like this. I barely knew him anyways, why should he know what happened?

The rest of the 20 minute drive was quiet. Not a comfortable quiet either, it was the kind of quiet that falls on a group of kids after they break their moms lamp.

He pulled into my driveway. I started to get out but he locked the doors.

"Let me out," I snapped.

"No. I need to apologize, so let me," I rolled my eyes but sat back in my seat.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought up your parents. I've been through crap too you know, I'm not just a pretty face. I want us to be friends. Friends talk to each other. Okay?" He said with pure sincerity.

"Okay. But next time, let me bring it up. Do you, I dunno, want to come in? You could meet my brother," I wasn't sure what to do in this situation so I went the hospitality route.

"Eager are we?" He smirked, "Thank you, but I should go home and check up on Chase. Make sure he got home alright. This was fun Sasha. You aren't half bad," I scoffed.

"Gee, thanks. You're not half bad your self. I'll see you at school?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, at school. Have a good night Sasha," he called out the window as I walked up to my front door.

I smiled and waved, channeling the penguins of Madagascar. Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.

I pushed open the door to find the house relatively dark for 9:15. I wandered into the den and saw Angie and Jay watching a movie. Angie paused it to talk to me.

"How was your date?" She said happily. Her and my brother were sharing a blanket and looked almost too picturesque to be real.

"Date? With a boy? Who said that was allowed?" Jay rambled with a scowl. Angie leaned up to kiss him and his face softened.

"I did, and now I want to hear all about it. Spill," she said.

"Well I actually knew the guy, so we ditched on Gracie and Chase and went to hang out," I explained.

"Define 'hang out'," Jay grumbled.

"We went to a," should I give the treehouse away? No, I shouldn't, "park and walked around and just talked. Got to know each other better, that's all. I swear, Jay," I said. He sighed.

"I believe you, I'm just not used to you hanging out with boys. That's all," he said.

Angie patted his arm and laughed. "She's 17 Jay, let her live a little," she said with a wink.

I excused myself from the living room and ran up to my room. I flopped down on my bed and got my phone from my bag. I texted Kiki about the nights events and read some of my new messages.

Unknown Number:

Tonight was fun, let's do it again sometime xx

Grace McQueen:

Thanks for coming tonight!!!!! Chase is amazing...in more ways than one! ;) I'll see you tomorrow

Unknown Number:

And by "sometime" I meant tomorrow. Meet me outside after school xx

I laughed. The unknown number was obviously Shay. Why me of all people? Why was he choosing to be my friend out of all the people in the world? I wasn't complaining, I was just curious.

I guess we'll see in the morning.

I slipping into my pjs, brushed my teeth, and turned off the lights. Checking my phone one more time, I saw another message.

Shay Riley:

Oh, and by the way, can we keep the treehouse between us? It's not something very many people know about. xx

Me:

Of course. I'll see you tomorrow.

Shay Riley:

Thanks. Wear comfortable shoes xx

Me:

Um, ok? I will, goodnight

Shay Riley:

Goodnight :) xx

Well I can conclude one thing and one thing only, Aimee was going to kill me. Funny thing was, it'll be worth it, so at least I'll die happily.

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