Time And I

Fifteen

"Mel!" Petula exclaimed as I entered the Clubhouse the next day. "Great news! My boyfriend it playing at Orville, and I got two tickets for you and Buddy."

I tried to smile normally. I really, really did. But when Petula's face fell and Brody glanced at me, it was obvious I wasn't doing a great job at hiding my nerves. Alone with Buddy, and at another concert, too. At least Petula would be with us. Then again, I wouldn't put it past Buddy to use the crowd as an excuse to hold my hand again. I refused to hold his hand if he liked me. That would be part of me leadin' him on.

"You good, Mel?" Brody questioned.

"Huh? Oh, great. Thanks, Petula."

"Are you not wanting to go anymore?" she questioned. Her eyes popped out of her head and panic coated her face. "It's not that I need you to go, but I'd really prefer it if you did. It'd be a long, long time until I could get you guys tickets again."

"No, it's not that. Trust me, I want to go." I needed to meet this man she's dating. There was obviously a reason she kept thinking Brody and I were going to date, so I had to meet the man who'd cause her to think about that. But until I could tell Buddy I knew he liked me, I didn't want to go anywhere with him.

"Are you worried about day?" she questioned.

"Yes," I lied. "You just sprung it on me, I'm worried I might be busy."

"Oh, well it's not next Friday, but it's the Friday after."

"Two weeks before The Struts concert," Brody smirked. "No overlap there."

"I'll be there. I need to check with Buddy first," I slowly adlibbed at the end.

"Great," Petula squealed as she sat back at her table and continued to paint.

Brody whistled and ushered me to the front desk. I leaned in and he whispered, "What's really going on between you two?"

I whined as I buried my face in his desk. He patted my head, patiently waiting for me to answer him. "It's Buddy," I whimpered. "He likes me."

"He told you?"

"Not yet, but I know. I've been avoiding him."

"Mel," he sighed, disappointed.

"I know. I know. I'm not good with this sort of confrontation. You know how hard it was to ask for Jeanie to come to the concert with me. I don't want to deal with hurting my best friend."

"Tell him why you've been avoiding him. He must be so confused right now."

"I know."

Brody sighed as he walked past the counter to hug me, and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. "I know you don't want to hurt him, but you two are friends. It's not just about his feelings. This involves you too. And if you're not looking for a relationship, then don't force it. Just be his friend, because I'm sure that's enough for him. And if it's not, then it's better to get rid of the toxic people in your life sooner than later."

And I kept that in mind all night until I saw Buddy the next day. I waited for him by his locker, hoping he would show up before homeroom. I wasn't planning to tell him I knew until after school. My intentions were to first apologize, tell him about the tickets, and then tell him while he dropped me off at the Clubhouse so we could move on with our lives.

Buddy hurried over to his locker, shocked to see me. The moment he did, he calmly walked over and leaned against his neighbor's locker, facing me. "Roy told me you were in front of my locker. I knew I should have come this morning."

I shrugged. "It's fine. I would have talked to you after English anyway." Before he could say anything, I said, "I'm sorry for avoiding you. I've been dealing with some shit that I'll explain later, but it wasn't cool to just blow you off."