The Friendship Group Dynamic

The Dynamic Shifts

Jason stopped in the diner's doorway when he saw Addilyn and Mikey already at the table. Mikey had his arm draped across the back of Addilyn's chair and she was leaning slightly into him.

He sighed as he rolled his shoulders and walked over to them.

"Hey guys," he said as he sat across from them.

He tried to act like he didn't notice how Mikey's and Addilyn's conversation suddenly stopped when he walked up to them.

"Hey man," Mikey greeted. Jason looked over at Addilyn playing with her fingers. He glanced over at Mikey to see him pretending like he didn't notice Addilyn's odd behavior.

"You okay?" Jason asked Addilyn.

She looked up at him and glanced at Mikey before saying, "I'm fine. I just haven't been feeling very well."

Before Jason could push her and ask what was really going on, Daniel joined them.

"Hey hey!" He said loudly as he plopped down next to Jason.

The waitress came over and took their orders before Jason could ask what was going on with Mikey and Addilyn. Daniel seemed completely oblivious to the tension between the three as he told a story about a new girl in his office that isn't showing him any attention.

"Well," Addilyn said, finally breaking her silence. "Did you ever think that maybe she doesn't want your attention?"

"Why wouldn't she want my attention?" Daniel asked completely lightheartedly.

"I don't know," Addilyn laughed. Mikey looked over at her, trying not to look as relieved as he felt that she finally smiled. "Maybe she is already in a relationship. Or she's married. Or, I don't know, she isn't 100% won over by your smooth criminal-like moves."

The guys laughed as Addilyn teased Daniel. Mikey's stomach sank when he saw Addilyn lose her smile. He reached under the table and took her hand, intertwining their fingers together. She gave his hand a squeeze, trying to tell him that she was okay. He glanced over at her, knowing there was no way she could be okay.

"Oh," Daniel said, bringing their focus back to him. "Where were you yesterday, Ads? You just texted us that something came up. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," Addilyn said a little too happy in Mikey's opinion. "Work was really stressful yesterday with the kids getting ready for their AP test at the end of the month. Our study session went on for almost three hours. I didn't get home until really late and ended up leaving with a really bad migraine."

"The kind that makes you sick?" Jason asked, finally speaking for the first time since he arrived. Addilyn nodded, not wanting to give the guys a sign that she was lying.

"Then that turns me to you," Daniel said, turning towards Mikey. "Why the hell did you run off like that? You just left in the middle of lunch without saying anything."

Mikey resisted the urge to look at Addilyn as he came up with an excuse. "Vera's car wouldn't start," he finally said. "She was running late for her night shift and her battery died, so I ran out and picked her up."

"See?" Daniel scoffed. He turned towards Addilyn and pointed at her, saying, "This is why you shouldn't get married, Ads. You'll leave us behind and run whenever Ian needs you."

Mikey heard Addilyn suck in a breath and felt her hand that he was still holding start to shake. He tried to laugh to help get the attention off of her.

"Come on, man," Mikey scoffed. "We all know that it would be the other way around. If Addilyn needed anything, Ian would come running."

He glanced over at her, sending her a look that meant he wasn't just talking about if she needed anything. She gave a half-hearted smile and squeezed his hand.