Shift

Date Night and Other Plans

I kept my secret to myself that week. If anyone noticed the bags under my eyes, they said nothing. I threw myself into soccer, schoolwork, and friends, trying to tell myself everything was just a coincidence and to distract myself. 

As another week passed, I was able to convince myself that it was, in fact, a coincidence. There wasn't anything wrong with me. That had never happened before, and it hadn't happened since.  

It was a fluke. 

Still, I was careful not to fall asleep in the living room when I spent the night at Jessica's house on Friday night. 

We woke up early on Saturday and jumped in the pool. Jessica's mom brought us lemonade and cookies, and we hopped out to snack while we layed out on towels, the sun warming and drying our skin. 

I rolled over onto my back and closed my eyes. 

"I love your house," I said for the tenth time that day. 

She laughed. "I know you do." 

I smiled and lazily threw an arm over my eyes. 

"Guys, come inside!" Erik called from the back door. 

"No," Jessica answered. 

"So you don't want to have a movie day?" 

We looked at each other and shrugged. I hopped to my feet and helped Jessica up, then we ran inside to change before going back downstairs. Erik had a tall stack of movies on the coffee table, a big blanket laid out on the couch, and three big bowls of popcorn. I eagerly hopped on the middle seat of the couch and relaxed into the comfy cushion, covering myself with the fleece blanket. 

Erik sat on my right, Jessica on my left, and we put on Mulan. 

Erik sang along with everything, which was hilarious. His commentary was also funny. 

Next we watched The Avengers. We ordered a pizza and ate it while we watched the last two Harry Potter movies, then we made brownies and ate them while we watched The Sixth Sense. 

I tried my hardest not to let the little kid seeing dead people remind me of what I now called 'The Incident.' 

Finally, it was ten o'clock, and my dad called to tell me to come home. 

I hugged the twins and jogged upstairs to get my stuff. I was throwing my charger into my backpack when I sensed someone in the room. I looked up as I slung the strap over my shoulder and saw Erik leaning against the doorframe. 

"Hey." 

"Hey," he said oddly.  

He rubbed the back of his neck and stood up straight, messing with the hem of his t-shirt. 

He was being weird. 

"What's up?" I asked slowly. 

"I, uh...I was just..." 

He stopped, sighing. He rubbed the back of his neck again. 

"What's going on?" I asked, concerned. 

"Geez, I'm being an idiot. Will you go on a date with me next Friday?" he asked. 

I felt my mouth drop open. A date? With Erik? 

I had been waiting on this moment for five years, and it was finally happening.  

And all I could say was, "You have football." 

I wanted to slap myself. 

My cheeks flamed, and so did his. 

"We, uh, we have an off week. No game or practice."