Switch Your Life

Chapter 7

        "So there is a party at my house Friday night and I am requiring that you come this time." by best friend, Tess, says the second I get out of class.
        "I can't-"
        "I don't want to hear that. Laying in bed reading a book is not what teenagers are suppose to do on Friday nights."
        "Say who? And besides I'm going to the movies with Lake tomorrow night."
        "You and Lake? When did this happen?"
        "Huh? Since the first day of 7th grade..."
        "No, I mean when did you start dating?"
        "It's not a date."
        "Is he paying for it?"
        "Yes?"
        "Did you pick the movie?"
        "Kind of-"
        "THEN IT'S A DATE!"
        "No it's not. He doesn't even see me that way."
        "Hmm...sure. Keep telling yourself that."
Is it a date? I ask myself as we continue down the hall.

Friday Night
        As I walk away from my dad's car, I can feel mayb twisting their finger themselves. I always do this when I'm nervous. I didn't know what to wear because between Tess's and mine conversation from yesterday to my dad torcuring me on the car ride over; I started to not know if it wasn't a date anymore.
        "Afraid I wouldn't show?" I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. I immediately turn around to see Lake with our tickets in one hand and a single red rose in his other.
        "Lake" I say with a breathy tones that I've never heard in my voice before. So, I clear my thoughts before I speak again. "Why would you think that?"
        "Because your twisting your fingers. Come on, give me a little credit."
        "Right..."
        "So you ready to go?"
        "What's with the red rose?" and just like that he gives me a smile I've never seen before giving it to me with a bow.
        "For the fairest in all the land" he says with a fake english accent.
        "You know I only have too skin colors: white and red." laughing at an our old joke as I take the rose and bring it to my nose.
        "Yes I know. Now shall our date contine outside side or shall we go see this movie you've been talking about forever." Then just like that my Christmas present has become a date.

        I don't know how a date is suppose to go when your only thirteen, but seeing as I didn't even know this was a date until 2 minutes before we walked out, I'd say it went pretty well. He even did the whole movie boy-yawning-but-really-putting-arm-around-girl thing. He wasn't as smooth as the guy on the screen. At some point in the movie, we reached for popcorn at the same time. I got there first but he gentle touched the skin above my wrist. When he did it; I felt goosebumps go all the way up my arm. When I turned my head to see if he knew what he was doing; his eyes were immediately locked on to mine, he knew. I felt my face turning bright red in reaction to him looking at my eyes. It was at that point that I knew that I was in love with my best friend.

        After the movie, it kind of felt a little awkward. Not like before, when we had been just really good friends, and not at all like what had happened in the movie theater. I didn't quite know how to bring up the big elephant in the room. So like the big coward I am, I just talked about the movie.
        "So, what did you think?"
        "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but if you tell anyone I said that I will kill you."
        "Haha. See, chick flicks aren't that bad."
        "I never said that. I just said that this was one of the better ones."
        "You liked it. Admit it, or else."
        "Or else what?"
        "Or else I'll tickle you" poking him in the side to let him know I'm serious.
        "Ah! No!" He screams as I continue to tickle him. "No please, Rachel!"
        "Admit it" laughing at his pain. Somehow through his laughing, he grab my hands and pulls me close. Now I'm a breath away, with my hands behind my back.

        He is looking deep into my eyes when he says,"I like it." But I doubt he is talking about the movie now. Then, like straight out a movie, he let's go of one of my hands and with his hand puts a piece of my hair behind my ear. Slowly, he cups my chin in his palm and brings me close. Then just as he is about to kiss me I hear,

        "Rachel! What are you doing?" I turn around to see Sammy who has easily become the most popular girl at school. She started talking to me when our mothers, who are best friends, made us sit down and talk things through during winter break.

        "Hi Sammy. Good to see you too." I respond coldly.

        "Don't give me that crap. Get your butt over here." 

        I turn to Lake again, "Give me a second, ok." I say before I kiss him on the cheek.

        "Yes...Sammy...what do you want?" I say with ice in my voice just so that she knows that this was over stepping the agreement we created.

        "Don't give me that tone, Rachel. I don't care that you went on this pity date with Lake. It's ending now."

        "No, I actually like him."

        "I don't care. If you don't come with me know. I'm going to tell the whole school about your little daddy secret."

        "You wouldn't dare. How did you even know about that?"

        "Oh please. Give me some credit. Whenever your dad touches you, you jump through the roof, and you've always talked in your sleep."

        "You have no proof."

        "This isn't the news. This is middle school, and I'm the queen bee. Anything I say, people believe."       

        I look over at Lake, hoping that my face shows how badly I don't want to do this, but Sammy always wins. 

        "At least let me say good-bye."

        "Fine, and make sure it's for real. Can't have my oldest friend hanging out with the president of loser-ville. From now on, your part of us."

        "Why? Remember all though 7th grade?"

        "All ancient history. This is about our future. Dump him flat on his back and make him believe it, or one class period and the whole school knows all about it in a hour."

        "Fine." I say turning my back to Sammy, and head back to what will because my lowest point of my life.

        "I can't do this anymore." I say to him.

        "Do what? Have fun? No, don't be a slave. Come on Rachel. What does she have on you that makes your entire body look like it got electrified?"

        "Something that I hope never gets out."

        "Something I don't know, but she does?"

        "She figured it out."

        "So tell me. I can keep a secret."

        "I don't want to be your friend anymore, Lake." I say with the same cool tone that I had with Sammy not even 2 minutes ago. "We were never really friends. I just needed someone to talk to while Sammy was setting me up in the popular group. Now if you will excuse me, I'm going to go with my cool friends from now on."

        "Fine. Go. Be a bubble head for all I care." Then he turn and walks away from me.

        For the longest time we wouldn't even make eye contact. But every year on my birthday, he makes my favorite food and put a single red rose in with it. It's his way of saying that he forgives me and that he is waiting for me to come to my senses. Even though the whole world now knows my secret, I don't know how I would go back to being invisible after all this time. After all I've done to stay at the top. Out of all the people I've hurt, my first betrayal to the only guy that ever just liked me for me. It's the only one that I remember because of the pain it caused me.