Friends and Alibis

The days seemed to drag on, one by one until the calendar finally said: Friday.

I had met up with the boys the day before and they all congratulated me on my success, when in reality - I had done nothing.

Zack hadn't talked to me since Monday although I had met him five hours prior. In a supermarket. With Amelia. And he acted as if he hadn't noticed me.

So much for our plan going just fine.

Anyway, the boys and I were meeting up again as soon as I would finish my last assignment that day. And it was just my luck that I was done before it got dark outside. It had been a hard day but I did just fine.

I drove to Brian's, were Katelyn basically lived, shut off the engine and made my way to the front door.

Standing outside I could hear the guys laughing and shouting, when I came in they were all pretty drunk.

"Wow guys, you could have waited for me." I smirked when they finally saw me.

"May, we thought you'd never come!" Jimmy screamed and tackled me to the ground.

"Jimbo. No. Air." I wheezed, laying straight on my back.

"Sorry." He mumbled sheepishly and hugged me another time before scrambling off of me and taking his seat on the floor beside Zack again, who was looking pretty pissed.

"Brian, can we...?" I asked, moving my head into the direction of the kitchen. He got up immediately and I followed him. "He didn't know I would be here, did he?"

"Nope." He popped the p and smiled drunkenly.

"You're an asshole. I thought we were going to talk about our plan." I said and his face fell. "You knew damn well that he didn't want to see me and yet you invited the both of us."

"Of course I invited you both, you're both my fucking friends!" He hissed.

"But you've known him longer than me!"

"That doesn't matter."

"It does to me!" I said with force. "Okay, I'll go. He doesn't want me to be here so I'll go. Have fun. We’ll talk another time." I said and turned but he grabbed my left arm.

"Brian, let go." I warned him.

"No." He said with an edge of finality.

"Yes!" I said. "Let. Me. Go."

"Or what?" He asked.

And as soon as he finished his question my right hand shot up to slap him right across the face. The sound of skin hitting skin seemed to deafen every sound around us; the guys in the living room probably had heard it too.

While Brian and I stared at each other, looking calm but inside burning fury and rage, Jimmy came running inside, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion of what might have happened. But when he saw Brian and me staring at each other and Brian's cheek with a slight hint of pink he whispered a silent "Oh shit!" before yelling "Guys!".

Truth was that when we were younger, Brian and I had fought all the time because of the most minuscule things, and sometimes... they ended badly. Not like ‘I'll slap you right across the face’-badly but badly badly since Brian had no problem striking back when it came to me. But I couldn't blame him. I just loved to provoke him.

So the thing that Jimmy saw was just the beginning of what might happen.

That old me had been buried somewhere between bullies and awful parents but in that moment it resurfaced.

Before I could even move I was thrown over someone's shoulder and carried, to what seemed to be upstairs. I pounded on their shoulder, yelling to put me down but they had none of it.

They opened the door to a room and threw me down onto a mattress. The moment I finally hit the mattress, I heard the door lock.

"You're bone dead stupid, do you know that!?" Zack said, standing in front of me with the same pissed off look as before. "You come here, you make everything that much more complicated... Everything was okay before you came back, do you know that?" He asked and at his words tears started to blur my vision.

"Really? One person can fuck up your life that badly?" I asked, sounding choked up.

"Yes! I was fucking over you and then you came back and now..." He raised his voice but slumped his shoulders at the end.

"Now what?" I pressed.

"Amelia threatened to break up with me because of you!” He shot out and the sound of his harsh voice hurt badly and the tears that pooled in my eyes were set free.

“I’ll go then if I’m such a bother to all of your lives.” I hastily stood up and went for the door but Zack quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

“No. You sit down NOW and we’ll talk about it.” He demanded.

“What’s to talk about, huh? That Amelia wants to break up with you because YOU kissed ME? YOU kissed ME, not the other way ‘round. So next time you try to guilt-trip me, think about who’s really the bad guy here. I came back here to Huntington for a job. A fucking job, okay? Do you really think I planned for all of this to go down? Because I sure as hell plan the drama in my life. Cut the crap, Zack, and let me go.” I fumed, and little by little he let go of my wrist. He looked defeated.
But before I was out of the room completely I turned around and added, “You might think everyone’s against you in this whole Amelia-ordeal. And you’re right, they are. But no one is against you being happy.”
With that I left, but not without shooting Brian a dirty look first.

Notes