Little Red

TWELVE

Okay. This was stupid.

It was stupid, wasn't it? Inviting herself to someone's house so late in the night without so much as a text to let them know ahead of time?

Yeah. This was most definitely a stupid idea.

Dani shook her head. "He'll understand, Dani," she muttered to herself. "You've known him for how long? And he's turned his back on you when...? Exactly. So suck it up and knock on the door."

With a nod, she walked up the steps of the familiar home she'd known since childhood with the feeling of butterflies erupting in her stomach at the thought of the person she'd come to see. Silently hoping that he'd be the one to answer the door, Dani rang the doorbell and stepped back to wait. Soon enough, the door opened, and she let out a breath of relief as the worried face of her best friend came into view.

"Dans?"

"Hey, Mikey," she greeted him with a sad smile.

Mikey frowned and pulled the girl into a much-needed hug.

"Hey. Are you alright? I heard about what happened on the news...Come on. Let's go inside," he softly said and took Dani's hand to lead her inside.

As they got closer to the living room, a sudden thought occurred to her, and Dani tugged on Mikey's hand, which made him turn his head to look at her in worry.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked, and Dani quickly nodded in reassurance.

"Yeah, I just-... Can we go outside?... You know...to the clubhouse?" she softly asked.

Mikey's body physically relaxed as he nodded with a small smile and said, "Of course. Come on."

"I'm sorry I came by unannounced, by the way," Dani said as he led her outside. "I just didn't feel like being home right now...but I didn't know where else to go, so I just came here instead."

"Don't apologize," Mikey said as he unlocked the door. "You know you're always welcomed here. No matter what."

Dani smiled as he held the door open for her and she walked inside.

"I'm just sort of surprised that you came to me first..."

Dani's eyebrows furrowed as she turned around to face him and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I just figured you'd go to Greta first," Mikey said while shutting the door. "You know...because you can relate to her more when it comes to this topic."

A saddened look took over her features as Dani shook her head and said, "No, that's-...I mean, yes, I can relate to her more when it comes to this, but... you've always been my first best friend, Mikey. Nothing can change that."

Mikey smiled softly. "I know, Dans," he said with a nod. "I know, I just-... Nevermind. Do you want hot chocolate?"

"I-"

Dani's eyebrows furrowed again as Mikey walked over to the kitchen area before she could fully respond, but she shrugged it off as she walked over to sit on the couch.

"I didn't wake anyone, did I?" she suddenly asked with a frown. "It's so late. I didn't even think about that before I rang the doorbell."

Mikey chuckled as he fixed up their drinks. "No, you didn't...We're the only ones here, actually. My parents are at my aunt Rhea's place for some dinner party she's having."

Dani scowled at the mention of his aunt. "And you didn't want to go?" she asked as he walked over to the couch with the mugs in hand.

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "My aunt Rhea, Dans."