Harrington 3

Flick of the Switch

"He seriously did that?"

"You're not joking?"

"Wow."

I sit with Will, Lucas, and Max near the entrance of the mall, informing them about what Jonny had done earlier today.

"Lucas, you've gotta step up your game." Max turns to her boyfriend, "Why don't you sing me a song?"

Lucas throws her a look, then turns to me, "Do you see what you've done? You've put ideas in her head."

"Hey." I throw up my hands like I've done nothing wrong, "It's not my fault Jonny decided to woo me with his melodic singing voice."

"Why don't you ever woo me, Lucas?" Max pouts dramatically and I laugh.

"We both know that I cannot sing."

"Lucas." I put my hand on his arm comfortingly, "There's a lot of things you can't do."

"Wow. Thanks, Liz," he says, "It's friends like you that make me so thankful of the love I receive."

I chuckle and lean back, glancing at Will, who hasn't said anything since his initial reaction to the story I told. I can't read his expression, and I frown.

"You okay?"

He looks at me and nods, "Yeah. I just wish Mike would get here already. We're gonna miss the movie."

"He'll make it." I reassure Will by putting my hand on his and squeezing it once.

Three things have changed between me and Will during the six months that have passed.

Number one, he and I have been dancing around our feelings for each other. I never thought I'd like him as more than a friend, but it turns out that when you're at an all time low (i.e when your father is out of a job and you've started smoking and listening to hard rock) your feelings get a little messed up.

After Jonny and I broke up, Will and I had a small thing. It was minuscule, but it was there. I wasn't really in the mood for boys, because I was still smack dab in the middle of my Steve Stage, meaning that I wasn't really in the mood for anything. But I heard from Max that Will had feelings for me so the next time we hung out I decided it would be a good idea to kiss him. Right on the lips.

It was not a good idea.

We haven't told anyone about it, because we've both decided that it's a secret best kept on the down low.

To this day, I'm not really sure if the kiss meant anything, because after it no words were spoken in reference. I can't even remember if I felt anything while kissing him, because I don't remember feeling much at all during that stage of my life. I don't know if Will felt anything either, and I hope he didn't, because I wasn't meaning to lead him on. Which is funny because it would seem like that's exactly what I was trying to do.

Number two, we've gotten a lot closer as friends as well. He knows everything about my life and I know everything about his. It's nice to have someone my age to really talk to. I have Max as well, but Will and I have always had that instant connection. He's my best friend.

Number three, he has grown.

Four whole inches.

He now sits at the height of 5'7", while I still stand at 5'2". I know I've stopped growing. I stopped growing two years ago, I was just in denial about it.

Because Will and I had such a rival about our height in previous years, his sudden growth spurt has been nothing less than agony for me. Call me overdramatic, but I'd rather break my other leg than deal with his taunting. He even convinced the entire party to change my code name to 'Short Pockets'. At least I got his changed to Bowl Cut, but still. It's even more annoying because Max is only one inch taller than me and she gets no shit from anyone.