Snow, Snow Is Here To Stay

Just Friends?

On Monday, I walked into my homeroom nervously. I knew I would have to face Ben which made my heart speed up. The moment he saw me, his face turned very red, which, of course, Marco noticed. His eyes flicked from my uncomfortable look to Ben's bright red face, and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. I would have missed it if I hadn't been watching him closely enough. Then his suspicious expression disappeared as he smiled pleasantly and walked up to me. I almost wondered if I had imagined the whole thing. Of course, I didn't.

"Anna," Marco said.

I waved. "Hey."

"Is something up?" he asked me.

"Uh—"

"You look anxious. Are you waiting for someone?" He inquired. I heard a hint of the suspicion from earlier in his voice.

"Um... no."

He looked back at Ben, who was suddenly very interested in his shoes and some homework he was holding in his hands. "Like, I don't know, Ben, maybe?"

"Er—no. I barely even talk to him," I lied.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed. I couldn't tell if he was mad or if he was kidding with me. "He's your best friend."

"Actually," I said, "I don't like to have best friends. All of my friends are of equal value to me."

He searched my face for a second, then shrugged and walked back to his desk. For the rest of the class, I felt uncomfortable, because I felt like Marco kept staring at me and every time I looked at Ben he would be buried in his textbooks, not looking up at anyone. Was he mad at me?

After school, I got a text from Marco.

Marco: Hey. When r u free?

Anna: Uh, tmrw after school.

His text came immediately.

Marco: Cool. i'll meet you at my place, then.

I reply with a simple 'Ok'.

True to my word, the next day I found myself walking to Marco's house. I spotted Marco looking at his phone, his hair dishevelled. I caught myself looking at him for one second too long. He looked up and our eyes met.

"Hey!" he grinned, walking towards me. We took a seat on the porch of his house and were quiet for a minute. Then, he spoke up. "What's up with you and Ben?"

I gulped, "What do you mean?"

"You spend so much time with him, and I-" he started, looking at me.

"I guess we've been hanging out a lot more but we didn't plan it. We just bumped into each other in the mall," I said interrupting Marco. It wasn't a lie.

Marco sighed. I wondered what he was thinking. There was no way he was jealous, right?

Marco stood up and held out his hand. I was hit by a wave of deja vu when I remembered the feeling of my hand in his. He might have thought he did something wrong because he quickly took his hand away, looking sheepish. I looked away and quickly excused myself. I ran down the street to my house, leaving Marco with his thoughts.

When I got home, all I thought about was Marco and Ben. Was I stuck in a love triangle? I gave up thinking until I saw a pink envelope on the doorstep. I picked it up and read it.

Come celebrate Natalia Brooke's Birthday!

When: Feb. 5 6pm-9pm

Where: The Brooke residence

What to wear: Casual clothes

PS: You'll need a date! No R.S.V.P required. Can't wait!

I put the invitation down and sat on the couch. Should I go to this party? At first, I was planning to ask Ben if he wanted to go to the party, but Marco looked so sad while we were talking. I leaned back into my seat and waited for my parents and Adrien to come home.