Falling This Hard

Best Friends like them.....

The sun was a blazing fireball against the backdrop of the clear blue sky as I walked with Kyle in the parking lot towards the school building. We were used to the hot weather even this early in the morning in this part of the country.

The rays bounced at different angles from his hair and illuminated the different planes and angles of Kyle's face beautifully. Well enough for me to not realize I'd been staring.

"This would be the moment to confess you've got hots for me."

I blinked a few times to take in his infuriating smirk that irritated me to the core.

"This would be the moment to crush your ego- the size of Canada and say that I'd rather gouge my eyes out ."

His smirk turned into a face-splitting grin and his eyes sparkled with that same cocky glint.

"Ohhh puh-lease Mel. You can admit it you know.  The air is as thick with the sexual tension as that tree trunk over there."

He pointed to an old tree at the end of parking and sure enough, the trunk part was unbelievably thick.

My face twisted with disgust.

"I'd prefer chopping off your limbs and throwing them to the sharks, thank you very much."

When he waggled his eyes suggestively I raised my hand close to his head and smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at him.

"You have a death wish today Phillips?"

His smirk dropped and I saw a hint of dread in his eyes when he realized I was serious about smacking him upside the head, and that would not turn out well for him.  But then his smirk reappeared and he quirked up his brow challengingly. 

"If you want kinky Mel, well that can be arranged.."

He trailed off and I smacked his head so hard I'm sure he'd be seeing stars by now.

"oww.......Jesus lady! what's wrong with you! I was just messing with you"

I raised my brows challengingly, my mouth turned up into a smirk.

"I did warn you how that would turn out."

he just continued rubbing his head as we walked further at a slow pace, we still had 10 minutes before the first bell. that happens when it takes only 20 minutes to get ready for school in the morning.

"So are you gonna come over tonight for the movie night we planned last week?"

His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened before getting replaced by a sullen look as a sigh escaped past his lips.

I stopped walking at his sudden change in the mood and grabbed his forearm.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"I guess I won't be able to make it tonight. I got an extra shift at Charlie's. And I need the money. Mom spent all of the savings again on the party she threw at the house last week without ever telling me."

Charlie's was a local diner at which Kyle works after school three days a week apart from also working at a local garage when he's not working at the diner.

A subdued feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

"But I thought she was trying to quit?"

His features were etched with pain and anger as he continued walking towards the school building again.

"Yeah she tried but obviously she was back at it again after five or six days of staying sober."

Kyle has always had a troubled childhood. All his mom and dad ever seemed to do was fight and it only got worse after his dad disappeared suddenly at the beginning of the sophomore year and his mom's drinking got worse. He dropped soccer and started working multiple jobs after school along with his mother to keep them afloat.