Some say getting out of The Friend Zone is hard. Well, try getting out of The Sister Zone.
Vanessa Hayes-Wong has been best friends with Oliver Morrison for five years, one month, and fourteen days. Just as she starts to realize her feelings for him...
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—Present Day—
"You're like my peanut butter to my jelly," I sing the song in its original—super high—key of F major, spreading peanut butter and jelly onto two slices of bread.
Ever since last night, the stupid Bestie song has been playing in my head like a broken record. I tried to stop it. I really did. But after a while, I gave into the temptation and started singing it out loud. After all, no one but Chucky can hear me here.
Oh, the perks of living in a house in the middle of nowhere.
I stack the bread into a sandwich and open my mouth wide. I'm about to sink my teeth into the sandwich when Chucky rushes to the front door and yaps his throat off. The distinct rumbling of TJ's Silverado approaching my house makes me glance at my watch.
6.45 a.m. on New Year's Day. A new record.
I gobble up my sandwich, waiting for the grumbling of the car to stop before I saunter to the foyer. When I open the door, TJ greets me with a huge grin. "Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year." I chuckle, opening the door wider to let him in.
"Well, well, well," he teases, bouncing past me to the living room. "I see someone's in a good mood."
"What are you talking about?"
"First of all, you let me into your house without asking me why I'm here. Second, you looked like a zombie yesterday, and now you're shining like that baby sun in Rock Kitties."
Singing my heart out to Rock Kitties' theme songwith Nessa last night is probably the best decision I've ever made. Nessa might've pretended to be annoyed at me for dragging her onto the stage, but I knew she loved it. The anxiety that had been clouding her face dissipated, and for a moment, I could've sworn I saw a familiar spark in her eyes—a spark of confidence I thought was lost forever after that incident two years ago.
A warm, fuzzy feeling rises in my stomach when I recall how the rest of the night went; how Nessa looked so cute with my suit jacket draped over her shoulders, how she grinned like the creepiest clown when I gave her that stupid chubby dumpling keychain, and how her eyes were beginning to light up again.
For a strange reason, I couldn't stop grinning. It felt as if a small weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I managed to get a good night's sleep afterward, and I woke up feeling more refreshed than I had in months—no, years.
Nevertheless, TJ must be exaggerating when he says I shine like that baby sun in Rock Kitties.
"Why are you here?" I ask.
"Brought you some leftovers from last night." He holds up a glass storage container. Inside the glass storage container are smoked salmon canapés, sausage rolls, and stuffed pizza bites.
My stomach growls at the sight of the delicious snacks, and I quickly take the container from him. "Thanks."
"So, I take it things went well with Vanessa—oh!" He spins around to face me, a teasing twinkle in his dark eyes. "Is she still here? Am I interrupting anything?"
