The Other Side Of Friendship

Chapter 8

"What the heck are you two doing? "

The moment we heard the voice, Alexis and I gazed at Gulf, and called his name out together in unison.

"Hmm...I hope it's not what I think it is", sighed Gulf, running his hands along his hair quickly. He was all sweaty and his cheeks were red, probably because of the football practice, I assumed.

" What brings you here? " I said, while Alexis and I finally stood up, wiping off the vegetables and the flour. I was a little taken aback at Gulf's unexpected visit because he rarely came home ever since he became popular.

"Oh, don't act like you're surprise! " He snapped, quite harshly.

"Wow, moody, aren't we? Why are you here? " Alexis intercepted, perhaps she was able to see the unusual mood that was setting up which was totally uncalled for. I wondered why, Gulf  was acting like a jerk, all of a sudden.

"Nothing... We were just practicing nearby, I thought I'd get some squash from you". said Gulf landing his eyes at me. " Also, there's this party tonight... I think the two of you should show up". He said dryly.

I could see that he was really tired. So, I quickly took a fresh bottle of squash from the fridge behind and handed him while telling him how Sam invited us.

"Sam, who? " He asked, a little surprise as Alexis quickly filled in a glass with water and mixed it with the juice.

"Sam Wellington".

" Ah, that asshole. How did he know where you live? " Gulf asked, a little irritated while he took the squash from Alexis and gulped it down.

"He most probably came for Alexis, that jerk". I said, wondering whether Gulf was really unaware because all along, I thought he was the reason behind all of it.

" Yeah, Alexis' mum and Sam's mum really hangs out a lot. Anyway, I'll hit home now. I'll see you later tonight".
He said within breathes and before we could respond, he quickly hurried out of the house.

"Is he okay? " ask Alexis, calmly with a little bit of anxiety on her face.

"I think he is... But that was weird. " I admitted while resuming to pick up the vegetables scattered on the floor. It was already two past and I figured, we were getting late to cook if we were to attain the party.

"Gulf has changed, hasn't he? " asked Alexis as she helped me with the vegetables.

"Depends on what do you mean by 'Change? " I said, carefully, trying not to incite doubt and differences. But at the same time, I genuinely wanted to know what she meant by 'Change'. Was it that obvious?

"Well, he seems like that friend you never get to see much. " she said and I agreed willingly with her.

"He clearly has his own kind of people to hang out with... But, you can still see a tiny bit of the old Gulf. He's still down there somewhere". I said, smiling. Although Gulf was a busy man, he still hold some of the values we shared us kids very dearly and I could see through his vulnerability; otherwise, we were two extremely different persons.

"Anyway, we should hurry up our cooking otherwise we're gonna be late".  I nudged at her shoulders reassuring her that it was something not to be worried about and she accepted with a smile.

*********
The night came sooner than expected, and here I was with Alexis and Gulf, at Sam's doorway, nervous about meeting people and talking to them.

Gulf, earlier, had asked me to take care of Alexis for he  was obligated to spend some time with his football team mates and Mandy. We decided, we'd spend the night in separate rooms with different people, that was the only way  we could avoid seeing each other.