Disclaimer: The following is a prequel to Choices The Freshman and The Sophomore stories. It is a fictional adaptation. I do not work for Pixelberry Studios, the game developer or own the rights to the characters Chris Powell, Jo, Kyle or Nicole. All of the characters, story line and events were originally developed by me, some areas in part with @maxattack-powell, in conjuction to her adaptation of The Freshman.
Chapter 5: What About Your Friends
Jo and Kyle were seated at the table, eating cereal as their mother hurried around the kitchen, trying to get their orange juice together as she simultaneously prepared to get herself ready for work. The last few days had been a bit more stressful for the mother of three. Chris was the man of the house at 17 and took his responsibilities seriously. But nursing a severely broken heart the last few days, he had retreated to the seclusion of his room and had not helped with the chores around the house.
The night before, he seemed to be returning to his normal upbeat attitude. However, when he returned home from his talk with Morgan, he had gone back into his room and closed himself away. His mother’s concern grew, wondering what could have happened to set him back.
Chris also normally drove his brother and sister to school, something with his lack of attendance had not taken place, adding to his mother’s burden. She was trying to be patient with him.
She went to his door and knocked. She heard no reply and swung the door open any way. Her son was in his bed, the room almost pitch black except for the glow from his unused alarm clock and the light beaming in from the hallway through the open door. From what she can see, Chris is shirtless, lying on his side, stretched across a pillow, tightly clutching underneath his chin.
“Chris?” She questions.
He stirs slightly and winces from the light coming in.
“Yeah, Mah?” he says in a groggy voice.
“Are you going to school today?” she asks pointedly.
“Um…” he sighs rubbing at his eyes. “No….”
“Christopher-“ she begins but stops herself. She exhales loud enough for him to hear her. “Alright then,” she says and abruptly closes the door. She heads back towards the kitchen where Kyle and Jo are arguing over the toy that was inside their box of Trix.
“Sit you two!” she says forcefully. They know they had better not test her patience anymore and return to their perspective seats, silently glaring at each other.
There is a knock at the door that jars Mrs. Powell from her troubled thoughts. “Who in the world at this time of morning?” she frowns. She hurries quickly to the living room and looks out the peep hole. Surprised, she opens the door.
“Ethan? Good morning,” She greets with lifted eyebrows.
He is wearing a toboggan, coat and gloves. She can see his breath in the chilly morning air.
“Hi Mrs. Powell, I um, I came to see Chris,” Ethan explains.
“He’s not up yet,” she sighs and shakes her head.
“That’s why I’m here,” Ethan says and gives her a knowing look.
The edges of her lips curve into a slight smile. Ethan and Ryan are her son’s best friends and she loves them like sons of her own. Whatever Ethan is planning to do to get her son up and back into civilization, she whole-heartedly supports.
“Come right in,” she says and lets him enter. Kyle and Jo run into the living room to see who the visitor is.
“Hey Ethan!” Kyle greets. He runs over and fist pounds the high school fullback.
“Kyle! How’s it going buddy?” Ethan smiles.
“Good! Are you going to score a touchdown against Harrington tomorrow?” Kyle asks.
“That’s the plan,” Ethan grins. He turns his attention to Chris’s youngest sibling, Jo.
“Hey Jo,” he smiles at her. Her cheeks color ever so slightly.
“Hi Ethan….” She says bashfully. Mrs. Powell looks at her rambunctious daughter who is suddenly very meek. She has suspected for quite some time now that Jo had a crush on Chris’s red-haired friend. Looking at her blush, she is now certain of it.
“Okay you two, coats and gloves on, time to go!” Mrs. Powell says, waving her hands to push them towards the garage door. The two children scamper away, grabbing their coats off the rack near the back door. The pull their gloves out of the pockets and slide them on as Mrs. Powell does the same and grabs her keys.
“He’s in his room, Ethan,” she says throwing her head down the hall.
“Thanks Mrs. Powell, you guys have a good day,” Ethan says turning to head to Chris’s room.
“You too!” she responds and hurries her children out the door. Jo turns and gives Ethan one more glance and a shy smile before her mother’s hand guides her away.
Ethan takes a few steps and without warning pushes his friend’s door open. Ethan reaches for the light switch and flips it up.
Chris, who was slowly drifting back to sleep, jerks and sits up, frowning from the blinding light.
“What the…Ethan?” He squints.
“Yeah,” Ethan says. “Time to get up man.” Ethan shoves his hands in his coat pockets, back straightening and tilts his head to the side. Chris has seen him go toe to toe with Ryan enough times to know this is not a posture he takes when he wants to be playful.
Chris rolls his neck and rubs at his eyes. “Ethan I’m not ready to go back yet.”
Ethan sucks at his teeth and nods. “Doesn’t matter. You’re going to school today.”
Chris stares back at him, a deep frown on his face. “Did you hear what I just said-“
“Yeah, I heard you,” Ethan interrupts, “and if I have to drag you out of that bed and throw you in my truck, I’m ready to do it.”
Chris glares at him and then his expression slowly softens. “I just don’t know if I’m ready to see her nevertheless be in the same building as her.”
“I get that, but it’s going to happen at some point. Why not get it over with now. The longer you wait, you are only going to pysch yourself out,” Ethan replies. He looks less on the defensive and more like Chris’s considerate and caring best friend again.
“Morgan came by here last night,” Chris says. He lifts his knees under the bed sheets and rests his elbows on them.
“Morgan?” Ethan asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, just to check on me,” Chris explains staring at nothing in particular. Ethan thinks to himself something he won’t say and nods “She um, she told me some stuff. I mean, I questioned her like Perry Mason or something but, I don’t know, what she said, it just got in my head again.”
“Chris, I know why this hurts so bad. I know you thought Nichole was it,” Ethan shakes his head. “But if she would do this to you, that’s not the kind of girl you need. Ryan and I aren’t about to sit back and watch you throw your life away for somebody so selfish.”
Chris thinks for a minute and nods. “Where is Ryan anyways?”
“At school, something about tutorials or something. Otherwise he would be here and he would probably have you in a head lock and be pulling you out the door,” Ethan says.
Chris laughs a little, knowing it’s true.
Ethan turns serious again. “You’re my best friend, you’re my brother. Coach benched you for tomorrow night. Think about that, Chris. You may lose your position as the starting quarterback. You could lose your scholarship. You could lose your chance to get out of here! Do you really want to throw that away over Nichole? She’s going to go on living her life, that’s for damn sure. You need to do the same. You’re gonna find somebody else, I promise you. I mean, girls love you. Someday, you’re going to meet a girl that’s going to knock you right on your ass.”
Chris sighs slowly and scratches his head.
“You know I’m not leaving this house without you, right?” Ethan retorts.
Chris chuckles some. “I got that vibe,” he throws the covers off of himself, standing up in his boxers. “Guess I had better get dressed then.”
***
The locker room is buzzing when Morgan arrives. She is used to the contemptible stares she receives from Nichole’s minions. It’s been their mission since their fight the other day to try and make her squirm under their glares and whispers. Her locker is still next to her former best friends, but they have not said one word to each other in days.
“Oh my god, Nichole!” Maya bursts into the locker room, her pace fast as she approaches. Morgan’s back is to them both as she silently retrieves her jazz dance shoes. Nichole has proceeded about her days as if Morgan doesn’t exist. She neither makes eye contact or acknowledges her. Morgan has taken on the habit of dressing in one of the stalls away from her and continues to sit with Ryan and Ethan at lunch. But she soon learns their small party of three will grow to four today.
Nichole turns to look at her as she almost sprints to her side. “Chris is back, he’s here today,” Maya says, eyes wide.
Nichole freezes momentarily caught off guard. She is surprised and feels a sudden apprehension. She hadn’t given much thought as to how she would react if she saw Chris until now.
“For real?” Nichole asks her voice lifting slightly.
“Yeah, I just saw him in the parking lot walking with Ethan,” Maya explains. She bites into her lip and throws her hip to the side as she looks at Nichole trying to gauge her reaction.
Morgan glances over towards them but for the most part is trying to appear that she isn’t listening. In reality, she is hanging on to every word. When Chris left her last night, she only grew more worried about him. She had come by to help him to feel better by offering support. She felt now it was a mistake, thinking she had only made him feel worse. She didn’t know that her words had in many ways started the process of him letting Nichole go.
“Oh,” Nichole nods. She looks up and sees all eyes on her in the locker room again. She gulps and shrugs it off. “Well, maybe I’ll go talk to him. You know? No reason why we can’t be nice to each other. When you’ve known someone for a long time, you don’t just suddenly end everything without at least still being friends,” Nichole says pointedly glancing at Morgan.
Morgan closes her locker, her shoes and leggings in hand, and heads towards a stall. She knows after class, she immediately has to find Ryan and Ethan.
***
Morgan scurried to her next classes after a brief conversation with Ethan and Ryan, feeling a bit apprehensive about third period. Chris was back and after last night’s confrontation she was not sure how he might greet her.
She enters English Literature, sliding into her desk and dropping her backpack next to her feet. She reaches in and retrieves her copy of The Scarlet Letter, spiral notebook and a pen. She absentmindedly chews on the top of her pen as she eyes the door. A few kids stride in just as the bell begins to ring but Chris is not one of them. She doesn’t even realize she is frowning as she sighs.
Mrs. McWhorter rises from her desk and approaches the podium to begin instruction.
“Good morning everyone,” Mrs. McWhorter begins, “we are continuing our analysis of Hester’s-“
Mrs. McWhorter is interrupted when the door swings open. Chris does not make eye contact with her as he casually walks in, head down and silent. All eyes in the class are on him, after days of absence and rumors about his breakup with Nichole and benching by the coach. Morgan sits up straight and stares at him as he slides into the seat at his desk. His hair hangs around his face, not styled but still handsome on him even if he didn’t intend for it to appear that way. He is wearing jeans, his letter jacket and a Cherryfield hoodie underneath.
“Mr. Powell, glad to see you today,” Mrs. McWhorter smiles from the front of the class. He still makes no eye contact, only nodding his head to acknowledge her statement.
She resumes her instruction and Chris sits his backpack on his desk. He uses it like a pillow as he hugs his arms around it and rests his chin on top of it. His eyes don’t seem to take in his surroundings and though he is present, Morgan can tell from his expression that his mind is elsewhere. She wonders if he arrived after the bell intentionally to avoid talking with his other classmates, specifically even her.
Mrs. McWhorter drones on with her teaching and Morgan steals occasional glances over at Chris. After several minutes, she lowers her head behind the classmate sitting in front of her and whispers to him.
“Hey, how are you?” she asks.
Chris turns to her, his face blank. He puts his hand up and her head tosses back in surprise at the gesture. “Not today. Not talking about it.” He says, his lips pressed into a straight line.
Morgan shifts in her seat and nods silently. She frowns and Chris puts his head back down. Morgan grabs her book, opening it, and pretends to scan it but in reality, she does not see one word on the pages.
A few minutes pass in class and Chris thinks back to the previous night’s conversation with Morgan. His abrupt exit from her car left quite a bit unsaid between them and now, probably out of continued concern, she was simply asking how he was doing.
He sighs and lifts his head, looking over at her.
“Hey,” he whispers looking over at her.
She turns her head slowly, caution lacing her eyes. She doesn’t know what to expect from him. She’s done what she thought was her best at trying to help him but she seems to have only upset him more. She has a healthy fear that talking to him now is a bad idea.
“I didn’t mean to snap at you,” he lifts his eyebrows hoping she meets his gaze with understanding and not anxiousness as she appears to look at him now. “It’s not you Morgan, okay?” he nods again.
She nods slowly but doesn’t continue to make eye contact, turning her head and looking back down at her book.
Chris returns his head to rest it on his backpack, silent for the remainder of class.
***
It’s before the start of 4th period and Ryan casually leans against the lockers and waits. His backpack is pressed against the metal, his hands in his pockets, feet perched out slightly in front of him. His eyes are trained to the end of the hall. He’s been here between classes ever since Morgan talked to him after 1st period.
To anyone else, it might seem extreme. To Ryan however, it was absolutely necessary. He and Chris first became buddies in the 3rd grade. They became best friends sophomore year when Chris joined the varsity football team. Ryan had always been athletic, starting with t-ball as a toddler, then peewee football and city leagues for basketball until he was old enough to play organized school sports. Chris popped up on a team every now and then but around the 5th grade, when they were 10, Chris suddenly seemed to disappear and the boys only saw him at school.
Their brotherhood was forged in 10th grade when Chris stood up to a kid who made an unflattering remark about Ryan’s mother. A single-mom, hopelessly devoted to her firecracker of a son, Lisa Hawkins was the epitome of greatness for her son. She was gorgeous brunette that hardly looked her age and didn’t take crap from any one, a personality trait she had passed along to her son. Ryan didn’t know much about his father, other than he had been a Romeo and wooed his mother quickly. They were married after only 6 months of dating and he had already started cheating on her one month into their nuptials. She filed for divorce while pregnant with Ryan.
Now growing up in a home with just his mother present, Chris related to Ryan. So, when a hothead senior at the time decided to make a lewd comment about Lisa being the town tramp, Chris had held Ryan back but also shut the senior down. They were inseparable ever since.
Ryan would do anything to defend Chris and have his back, just as he had done for him countless times. Most people thought Ryan was just a hot-headed, screw up. Chris saw him for who he really was.
That’s what bothers him as well about this whole mess with Nichole. It was Ryan that brought Nichole and Chris together. Ryan had been close friends with Nichole in middle school, they ran in the same circle, both popular at the school. Chris kept to himself quite a bit back then and then freshman year of high school seemed to fall off the map, running with a squad of kids Ryan and the others usually steered clear of. Coach Madison brought Chris in to spring practice one day near the end of freshman year. The others quickly saw his potential in the role of quarterback. He hadn’t played organized ball since he was a small kid but Chris had an arm on him and with a little conditioning, he could be great. That’s when Nichole noticed him. She, Maya, Morgan and the other girls were sitting in the bleachers, done with practice and watching the boys. When Chris trotted out of the field house, helmet in hand, his hair and skin slick with sweat and his blue eyes gleaming in the April sun, she immediately took notice. Never mind they had attended the same school since first grade. She never noticed Chris Powell until that day. She immediately asked her friend Ryan, Chris’s teammate, for an introduction, edging him on to put in the good word for her. So, Ryan did. When Chris and Nichole stood face to face a week later in the lunch room for the first time, it was instant fireworks. Ryan saluted them and walked away, mission accomplished.
Now, he regretted ever having brought Nichole into Chris’s life. He felt he owed it to him to right that wrong.
He is about to leave his post when he sees her. He stands tall and turns to face her as she heads up the hall. When she sees him, her steps slow. Ryan is leaning against Chris’s locker, Chris nowhere in sight thanks to Ethan and Morgan.
Nichole looks around and then approaches Ryan.
“Hey,” she says trying to force a friendly smile. “Where um, where is Chris?”
Ryan’s eyes narrow. “He’s on his way to class I’m sure. But where Chris is shouldn’t really be your concern now should it Nichole?”
“Look,” she licks her lips and shakes her head, she runs her fingers through her hair. “I know things are weird or whatever, so, I just thought I’d talk to him. See how he was,” she shrugs.
“You want to know how he’s doing?” Ryan cocks his head to the side. His flexes a muscle near his jaw as his clenches his teeth and takes a breath. “Well let’s see, he almost has thrown everything away that he’s worked hard for because a girl that told him she loved him yanked the fucking rug out from under his feet and dumped him. That’s how he’s doing Nichole.”
“Ryan-“
“No! You don’t get to talk,” his gaze is intense.
She folds her arms across her chest and tries to hold her head up.
“You leave Chris alone, okay?” Ryan says in a low voice.
“Excuse me? I can talk to whoever I want and you aren’t Chris’s keeper!” Nichole spits back.
“Nichole,” Ryan says slowly. He lifts his eyebrows and nods with each word to emphasize what he is saying. “You leave him alone. You don’t talk to him, you don’t look at him. You stay away from him. It took a miracle to get him here today after you broke him,” Ryan says.
Nichole looks stunned at the use of the word “broke.” Had she really hurt him that badly?
“You don’t want to be with him anymore, so then don’t. If you think you are going to pull the ‘let’s be friends’ bullshit with him then you’re wrong. We aren’t going to let you play mind games with him anymore.”
The warning bell rings but Ryan doesn’t budge. Nichole looks around as kids scatter and hurry but she realizes there’s a lot more to be said between them.
“Who is we?” she snorts.
“Me. Ethan. Alex. Morgan,” he lists. She rolls her eyes.
“I’m dead serious Nichole. Whatever you are planning to do, quit it. Just leave him be. I don’t want to look up and see you talking to him or even looking in his direction.”
“Or what?” Nichole shrugs. “You going to kick a girl’s ass or something?”
Ryan shakes his head emphatically and frowns. “No, I never would put my hands on a girl. But, I might have to mention your friend Michael from Texas to him.” Ryan throws out. It was a shot in the dark. Morgan told him and Ethan the other day at lunch that Nichole mentioned having met some guy on her campus visit to UCLA. She wasn’t the only one who heard it. The entire girls locker room did as well. Ryan asked Morgan if Nichole had cheated on Chris with him. She truly had no idea. “That’s the first I’ve heard of him,” Morgan said. “But, I don’t know if it would surprise me now either.”
Ryan took it upon himself to lob out what could or could not be Nichole’s undoing. When he sees her face, he knows he hit the bullseye.
“Wh…what?” She stammers suddenly.
“Michael? The guy you met at UCLA from Texas?” Ryan tilts his head, eyebrows lifted. “You know the guy that you were talking to behind Chris’s back.” Again, he is unsure if his statement is true, he’s putting the bait on the line and she’s hooking herself.
“Nothing happened with him! We’ve just been talking!” Nichole tries to defend.
“Oh, so that makes it so much better. Does Michael know about Chris?”
Nichole freezes and breaks eye contact with Ryan.
“Oh shit! He doesn’t, does he? OHHHH!” He holds his fist up to his mouth and lets out a victorious laugh. “So you lied to Chris and you are lying to this guy?”
“Ryan!” She shouts. “It’s, it’s not like that!” She tries to think of a reason.
“Wait,” he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. “Are you Facebook friends with him?” He pretends to start searching. “I can just message him real quick-like and let him know all about his new friend-“
She reaches for his phone, trying to yank it away from him, but he grips it tight, he jerks his hand free from her and she can see he is opening the Facebook app.
“Ryan! Stop!”
“Let me just go to your friends list and-“
“Fine!” She yells. The bell rings and Ryan smugly turns to face her. He’s late but it’s worth it.
“Look, I won’t say anything to Chris if you promise not to reach out to Mike,” she sighs heavily in defeat. She can’t figure out at the moment who she is most angry with: herself or Ryan.
“Deal!” he says and gives a dramatic thumbs up swinging his arm out. He shoves his phone back into his pocket. “You break the deal, I will send him every photo and video I have with you and Chris in it.”
She falls solemn suddenly and looks up at Ryan from under her eyelids. “We were such good friends. How did it get like this?” she frowns. “You know you have always been one of my favorite people to be around. Before me and Chris, you and I were friends Ryan, don’t forget that.”
He blinks for a moment, tossing his head back. “Nichole, you did this. When you decided to dump Chris and sneak around talking to some other guy, you did this to all of us. You did it to me and you did it to Morgan.”
She silently stares back at him, knowing in her heart it’s true.
“Who even told you any way?” she frowns and asks.
“Some birdies chirping mentioned Michael, but you Nichole, you did the rest,” he smirks and backs away from her doing a little dance and spins on his heels to head to class. Her mouth falls open.
“Bye Felicia!” He tosses back over his shoulder
***
Ethan grabs a tray from the stack and takes his place in the lunch line. Typically he brings something, preferring to bring food from home than eat the junk they try to pass off as food at the counter. But his early departure from his home this morning to pay Chris a visit, prevented him from assembling a lunch meal.
He looks down at the green jello underneath the sneeze guard and shakes his head.
“What is this, high school or a retirement home?” Maya says sliding her tray into line next to him. Ethan glances over at her and chuckles. Her smile is bright and big, but genuine. Years of practicing for pageants, she has perfected her facial expressions. Seeing Ethan and standing next to him now, there is no need to pretend.
“Didn’t you hear? Sixth period today we’re playing Bridge and following it up with a mean game of gin rummy,” Ethan jokes. She laughs out and smiles at his profile. He has a fresh haircut and there is a light stubble on his face. There are tiny wrinkle lines around his eyes, that make his eyes appear to be smiling even when his face is at rest.
“You ready for tomorrow night?” she asks, trying to find a reason to make small talk and keep the conversation going.
“I sure hope so,” he laughs lightly.
“You’ll play great,” she nods. “You always do,” her voice deepens with a hint of seriousness making Ethan turn and look at her. She smiles brightly again.
“Thanks Maya,” he nods.
They continue on in silence for a minute and she tries to think of something else to say. Her final topic selection is ill-advised.
“So, what do you think about all this mess between Chris and Nichole?” she asks taking a few steps beside him and reaching for a grilled chicken sandwich.
“I think you said it already, it’s a mess,” Ethan shrugs. “Seeing Chris so down, so hurt, it’s rough.”
“Yeah, no one wants to see anybody hurt,” Maya begins. “But, Nichole did what she had to do,” she shrugs slightly.
Ethan’s steps slow and he turns and looks at her. “What she had to do?”
“Well, yeah. Better to break it off now than next year at college. This way they can both see other people, move on, not be committed as college freshman, you know?”
Frown lines develop between Ethan’s brows.
“So, you think she was right to do what she did to him?” He questions.
“Well….” She shrugs again. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Ethan shakes his head. “Maya, I know she’s your friend but…still. What she did was selfish. She didn’t try to talk it out with him, she just dropped him almost on the spot. When you’ve been with someone for three years, that’s a pretty crappy way to handle things,” Ethan says. He reaches into his wallet and pays for his lunch. He grabs his tray and stands there as she begins to pay for hers, waiting to continue their conversation.
“It’s not like they were married though,” Maya replies.
Ethan’s eyes go wide. “Wow. So just because there wasn’t a wedding ring involved, that makes what she did okay?”
Maya can tell he’s getting irritated. “Ethan look, I’m just saying that we’re young. It’s a little early to start thinking about forever.”
“So when you date a guy, like, I don’t know, you and Ryan, you guys had a thing for a minute,” Ethan says as they head towards the lunch room. Maya blinks at the mention of her on again, off again flings with Ryan. There have been several lapses in judgment with him. “You are just looking for a good time, not someone to really spend time with? No hope of anything in the future?”
He looks at her and she feels about two feet tall. It wasn’t his intention to belittle her. He is very curious as to why she dates. Ethan has never really had a relationship. Girls have always flocked to Ryan and Chris was in a serious relationship for three years. He’s always been the odd man out. What Ethan has always been rather oblivious to is that girls have always liked him too, especially the girl he is talking to right now.
“I don’t know…I guess, it depends on the guy, right? I mean, most guys aren’t looking for something real so….” She stares back at him.
“I think that’s sad though,” Ethan said. “I think being with anyone should be about more than that. I don’t see how you guys just…I don’t know,” he shakes his head.
Maya holds her tray tight, her hip tossed to the side. “Well Ethan, maybe you aren’t like other guys,” she says slowly.
“Ethan!” A voice echoes across the lunch room. They both turn and look at the source of the voice. Ryan waves his hand in a hurried motion, beckoning his friend to come join their table. Ryan is seated with Alex, Morgan and newly added to their revised seating arrangement, Chris.
“Um, I’ll see you?” Maya says hopeful to Ethan.
He glances at her, gives a slight head nod and heads towards his friends. She sighs and stares after him as he walks away before she turns to head to the table with Nichole.
As Ethan approaches, he notices Chris’s head is turned. His lips are pursed together and he is gazing at something across the lunch room. Doesn’t take Ethan long to realize it’s Nichole. It’s the first time Chris has laid eyes on her since the breakup. Inside he feels a hornet’s nest of emotions: anger, sadness, grief and longing. She looks beautiful he thinks. Her long brown hair, shining in the light, her blue eyes sparkling. The sweater she is wearing is new.
Ethan pats him on the back as he takes a seat on the opposite side of him, now partially blocking his view. On Chris’s other side sits Ryan. Directly across from Ryan is Morgan and in front of Chris is Alex.
With his view now partially obstructed, Chris turns his attention back to the food on his tray. He has barely touched it.
There is an unnatural silence the table. The lunch room is alive and vibrant with students talking about their day, the weekend ahead and the latest school gossip. Chris’s zombie-like trance has rendered the others around him silent.
Morgan moves a piece of chocolate merengue pie around on a plate with her fork, occasionally glancing at Chris.
“How’s it going?” Ethan asks Chris.
He shrugs and grumbles something inaudible.
“That good? Glad to hear,” Ethan retorts. This causes Chris to look up and he fights off a smile.
“Careful, you are going to lose the top spot of being the emo kid in the school,” Ryan says elbowing him. Chris actually lets out a laugh at this and shakes his head. When he looks up Morgan is watching him. She drops her eyes back down to her food.
Ethan looks from her and then back to Chris, before dipping a French fry in ketchup.
Chris slowly leans back, glancing around Ethan. He looks over to Nichole who has stopped talking and is looking back at him. Her face is hard to read. If she’s feeling any emotions at the sight of him, she’s not showing it.
Ryan notices the change in Chris’s seated posture and looks past him. When he sees Nichole looking back their way, his eyes narrow. She catches his glare and quickly turns her head away.
Their small group spends the rest of the lunch period trying to avoid the subject of Nichole and tomorrow night’s football game.
***
The bell rings to signal the end of the school day and students pour out of the building. Usually the boys have football practice after school, but there is no practice the night before a game. Leaving the locker room and heading towards the parking lot, Ethan and Ryan walk beside Chris.
“Are we meeting up at Chimmy’s?” Ryan asks referring to their typical Thursday afternoon tradition on game weeks.
“Not really feeling a burger today,” Chris says.
“Oh good, so you’re going,” Ryan states. Chris is about to object but then glances over at Ethan who is giving him the same not-up-for-discussion stare.
“Fine, whatever,” Chris says.
“I’ll drive you,” Ryan says.
As they walk through the parking lot, they spot Morgan loading some dance equipment into the trunk of her car. She slams the trunk closed and heads towards her driver’s side door.
“Morgan!” Ryan shouts at her. “Chimmy’s?”
She is about to speak but then looks over at Chris. “Uh, no….” She says. He is looking around the parking lot, trying to steal another glance at Nichole if she is around. “Not today.”
“Booooo,” Ryan teases. “We need good luck. You can’t break tradition the night before our biggest game. It’s bad mojo. You gotta come.”
She glances at Chris again, almost waiting for him to invite her himself. He grips the strap on his backpack and continues to scan the parking lot.
“Ryan….” Ethan says. “Why don’t you go ahead and take Chris there. I’ll meet you guys in a bit,” he says.
Ryan gives him a questioning glance but then follows Ethan’s eyes to Morgan. Ryan nods and waves at them. He and Chris climb into his Bronco, the bass booming as he cranks up. He screeches out of the parking lot, a thumping beat blasting as he heads towards town.
Ethan walks over to Morgan who is putting her backpack and purse in the car. She turns to face him.
“Shouldn’t you get going?” She asks.
“I’ll head that way in a minute. I wanted to talk to you first,” he says.
“Me? What about?” she asks surprised.
“Chris.” Ethan makes direct eye contact. She frowns and looks away.
“What about him?” she asks in a hushed voice. She looks around the parking lot to see if anyone is watching them. Everyone is loading into their cars, trying to get as far away from the campus as possible.
Morgan stares down at the pavement. She runs her fingers through her hair and sighs. She finally looks back up to meet Ethan’s gaze.
“How long have you liked him?”
“Eth-“
“This is between me and you,” he says earnestly. “I’m not going to say a word.”
She stares at him, mouth slightly open. She tries to think of a way to get out of this conversation. But she finds herself mentally stammering for an out.
“I know you wouldn’t….” She whispers.
He looks at her and waits again, silence between them.
“For a while now….” She breathes out.
“How long is a while?” He tilts his head.
She licks her lips and looks past him. “Since sometime between kindergarten and first grade,” her voice rises an octave as she finally admits it out loud. Her shoulders slump and she sighs heavily. It’s as if a tremendous weight has freed itself from her body and she can breathe for the first time in years.
Ethan’s eyes widen. “Morgan, but he was with-“
“I’m aware,” she nods. “That’s why I’ve never said anything.”
“And before her?” Ethan asks. Nichole’s name has suddenly become like a character made famous in the Harry Potter series. They do not speak her name.
She rolls a small rock back and forth underneath her shoe as she avoids looking up at Ethan. He studies her for a moment before determining his next words.
“I see everything that’s going on Morgan. I don’t always say something but, I don’t know, I thought today I needed to say something to you.”
“Why?” she frowns.
“’Cause I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Ethan states.
She tucks her lips in and plays with the necklace around her neck.
“I know you’ve done a lot for him. You stood up to her, hell you lost your best friend. I mean when you had to decide who’s side you were taking, it seemed like you pretty easily chose Chris’s. I know people are saying things about you and what Nichole said about you wanting to be with him and even though you are acting like it doesn’t bother you, I can tell it does. I also know you went to check on him last night.”
Morgan’s head jerks up at the mention of their encounter.
“Did he say something about it?” she asks anxiously.
“Not, not really. Nothing other than that you came by and that he asked you a bunch of stuff about her.”
She nods again and toys with the pendant on the necklace.
“M, look…Chris is so depressed right now, he can’t see it, but I do. You are putting yourself through all of this for him.”
She gulps and wraps an arm around herself, still toying with her necklace, keeping her head down and continuing to roll the rock.
“I just don’t want you to go through all of this for him Morgan and have some hope that there’s going to be something to come from it,” Ethan shakes his head. “Chris isn’t seeing straight or thinking straight right now. I’ve never seen him like this. Not even when….” He trails off. “When things happened a few years ago. If you are hoping for more, he’s not going to give that to you. At least not for a very long time.”
He watches her blink rapidly as his words sink in and she frowns ever so slightly.
“I don’t want to be a jerk, that’s not what I’m saying!” He attempts to massage her emotions. “I mean, you are a great girl, you’re pretty and sweet. It’s not that he won’t ever, it’s just that-“
“I get it,” Morgan interrupts. She looks up at Ethan and he can see the stoicism in her reply. She lets out a sarcastic laugh and shakes her head. She rakes her fingers through the ends of her hair and exhales deeply. “He’s never noticed me before. I don’t magically expect him to wake up and like me now.”
Ethan thinks about what she just confided in him. It’s not just that Morgan likes Chris, she’s liked him for the majority of her life. She liked him even when he fell in love with her best friend. He wonders if Chris has ever had even a tiny clue about her feelings. Watching a friend date the person you have feelings for can be rough. Ethan has been there. Then it hits him.
“There’s another thing….” Ethan winces some as he tries to bridge it to her cautiously.
“What?” she looks up at him again.
“It’s just that…well Ryan…” he lifts his brows waiting for her to understand. She shakes her head not understanding his meaning.
“Morgan, he’s always liked you,” Ethan lifts his hands.
“Ryan? I mean, he’s flirted and joked around about dating but, he’s like that with literally every girl at this school. I never thought he was serious.”
Ethan shakes his head. “I just…know what I see, and what I hear,” he says slowly. “I know that there could be crazy drama if…well with Ryan and with this thing with Chris. I just want you to be aware of…what could happen….” He looks at her pointedly.
“Ethan believe me, I don’t want any more drama or craziness than you do. This past week has been hell enough,” she states bluntly.
He nods. “Good.”