Frenemies? Or Something More?: a Blake Gray Fanfiction *completed*

25

-three months later-

"Are you ready? We don't have to do this," Blake said, looking at me.
I nodded. "Nothing has to be official. This is just a bunch of friends having dinner together."
Blake chuckled. "It's a bunch of couples, you, and me. You don't think that anyone is going to speculate?"
"Let them. We've got nothing to lose," I said, shrugging.

With that, we got into the Uber to meet Bryce, Addison, Josh, Nessa, Noah, and Dixie at Saddle Ranch. I hadn't been to Saddle Ranch in nine months, not since I saw Blake and Amelie kissing, so to say that I was nervous was an understatement.
"What are you thinking about?" Blake asked, taking my hand in his.
I didn't want to tell him, but I knew that he wouldn't accept 'nothing' as an answer. "I, um, I haven't been back to Saddle Ranch since- well, you know."
Blake's face fell. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that. We can cancel. You and I can get dinner something else."
"No, Blake. I can't avoid an entire restaurant because of something that happened almost a year ago. We talked about this. The only way to move on is to face it. Besides, it's not fair of us to cancel on our friends again. I feel like we do that at least twice a week," I said, shaking my head.
The rest of the ride was silent.

"Don't be worried, but I see Fletcher," Blake said as we pulled up.
I chuckled lightly. "Fletcher practically lives here, so are you even surprised?"
"Let's go," Blake said, laughing and extending his hand to me.
At the sight of Blake, Fletcher practically sprinted towards us. "Hey, Blake! What's happening, man? Who have you got with you? Oh, Tiffany."
"Don't sound so excited to see me, Fletcher," I joked.
Fletcher stumbled over his words, trying to cover his tracks. "That's not what I- I just meant- I haven't seen you two together in so long, and-"
I laughed again. "I'm kidding, Fletcher. We are late though, so we're gonna head inside. Maybe we'll see you when we come out."

"Thanks for all the help out there," I said, as Blake wrapped his arm around my waist.
"I thought that you had it pretty much under control," he answered, leading me to the table where our friends were waiting.
"You're late," Addison said as I sat next to her.
"Sorry," I replied. "Someone wanted to have a heart-to-heart before we got into the Uber."
Bryce laughed. "You really turned him into a simp, huh?"
Nessa and Josh were nestled together, and it was hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began, but at the mention of someone being a simp, Josh turned his head. "I am not a simp!"
"No one was talking about you, loverboy," Dixie said, taking a sip of her water. Noah laughed, putting his arm over her shoulder. "What are you laughing at? They all think that you're a simp, too."

The playful banter amongst us eased my nerves. I had been so anxious today, and something about the way we all joked around reminded me that everything was going to be just fine.
As we ate, Nessa stopped, staring at me. As the nudges made their way around the table, everyone was staring at me. "What? Is there something in my teeth?" I joked.
Nessa was at a loss for words. "Amelie."
"Ouch. My name is Tiffany."
"No, Amelie's behind you."
I turned to see Amelie cozied up to Tucker. I had known that they were close when I saw them in Sean's office all those months ago, but I didn't realize that they were that close. Amelie caught my gaze, and she and Tucker made their way over to our table.

"Why do you look so shocked, Tiffany?" Amelie asked, wrapping her arms around Tucker's waist.
"Um, I'm not," I stammered. "I thought that they were looking at me, but, as it turns out, they were looking at you."
Amelie laughed. "So, I've got fans, huh?" Tucker didn't say a word. That wasn't like him. Against my better judgment, I decided to test him.
"Wow, you're behaving a lot differently than when we were together, Tuck. I don't think that, even for a second, you would have let me do all the talking while you stood by like a lost puppy."
A wave of anger that I recognized all too well flashed in his eyes. "You don't get to say that to me."
I felt Blake tense up next to me, and I put my hand on his arm to calm him. "You don't control me anymore, Tucker. I think that the two of you have had enough fun, and you should probably head back to your table."

Without another word, Tucker led Amelie back to their table, and I felt her glare on my back as I turned back around. Blake took my hand in his. "You're shaking," he whispered.
"I never stood up to him like that. It was scarier than I thought it was going to be. Besides that, Amelie gives me flashbacks."
Blake rubbed my back. "I think that you did great. I'm really proud of you. Take a deep breath."
"Are you okay?" Nessa asked, reaching across the table to grab my other hand.
"I am. That was terrifying, but it felt really good."

The rest of the table went back to their conversations and their meals, and I picked at my salad. The altercation with Amelie and Tucker shouldn't have bothered me so much, but I couldn't get it out of my head. "Can we go?" I whispered to Blake. "I don't have the energy to do this right now."
Blake nodded, throwing a stack of bills on the table. "This should cover our part of the bill. We're gonna head out. Text me if it's not enough, and I'll Venmo you more." Without waiting for an answer, Blake stood, reaching his hand out to me. "Do you want to walk or get an Uber?"
"Let's just walk. It's so nice out tonight," I said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.