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 8: (You’re the) Devil in Disguise
October 31
Beads of sweat on his forehead, Chris blows out a huff of air. The bar is just above his eyes and with each rep, he breaths out loudly as he continues to bench press. His brow creases with the exertion, his blue eyes reflecting his determination to meet his goal.
Ryan hovers slightly behind the bench, spotting as Chris continues to push the bar and weights above his chest. Chris’s biceps ache with each rep, the veins in his arms showing under his sun-kissed skin as he challenges his body.
“One more, you got it,” Ryan encourages. He barely grips the bar as Chris lowers it and pushes it up one more time. “That’s all you!”
Chris grunts and Ryan eases the bar from his hands and sets it back down on the rack. “Good set,” he says and slaps him on the back. Chris sits up and gulps. He rests his hands on his knees, his hair dripping with sweat. For the last two weeks he has worked harder than ever before. He is breathing heavily as he surveys the weight room. The Clippers are continuing their strength and conditioning exercises heading into the last week of the regular season. The homecoming game is on Friday and the dance on Saturday.
The dance was of little concern to Chris. Without Nicole, he had no plans to attend. He had no desire to ask anyone else and he was just as happy going to earn a few dollars at the Lobster Shack on Saturday and spending the evening at home with his family.
What was of concern to Chris was the night ahead. Halloween had always been one of his favorite holidays. They had not had much money for costumes when he was growing up but he would always wear some of his athletic uniforms to pretend he was some of his favorite sports heroes. One year, his mom sewed him a Batman costume and cape. That was his favorite. He was eight-years-old then and had ran down the street, his cape flying behind him as he went from house to house with a growing bag of candy.
The last two years had been different and a little more special to him in a much more mature way. He and Nicole had dressed up in couple costumes. They had won the best costume prizes at school both of those two years. As sophomores, they had gone as a hook and a fish thanks to some creativity by both their moms. As juniors, they were Woody and Jessie from a Toy Story. Those were some of his best memories with her. Spending time picking the costumes, getting fitted and making sure they looked the part, and winning those prizes, together.
Nicole has been heavily on his mind the last few days and nights. He dream is still there as well, reoccurring the last two nights in a row. It’s Tuesday, a few days out from the dance. Ethan and Ryan have not spoken of their plans for that night.
Chris sits on the end of the bench, lost in thought as Ethan and Ryan discuss the length of their sets. Ryan notices Chris is somewhere other than that weight room at the moment.
“You alright?” he asks him, hands on his hips as he steps around the rack and stands in front of him.
Chris snaps back from his thoughts for just a minute and looks up at Ryan almost startled. “Oh, um, yeah…” he nods. He stands and grabs towel, hanging over one of the dumbbell racks and wipes his face and hair.
Ryan tilts his head to the side and eyes him. Ethan stands at his side, the two friends peering back at their buddy with questioning eyes.
“It’s just…Halloween…” Chris trails off. “Got me thinking about Nicole, that’s all,” he admits. He wipes his face again, an excuse to avoid their eyes. He turns his back to them as he hangs his towel back over the rack.
“Chris…” Ryan begins cautiously. He licks his lips and tries to find the words. They have not spoken directly about the breakup or about Nicole since the week of the disastrous event. Ryan and Ethan had felt it was almost better to avoid the topic entirely than watch Chris wrestle with his heartache and memories. So topics have centered mainly on football, music, other happenings around school, or how Chris is doing in general without the specifics.
After his confrontation in the hallway with Nicole a few weeks ago, Ryan knew he had to tell his friend what he had learned. The immediate aftermath didn’t seem like the right time. Chris was finally on the mend. He had suited up the last two weeks and been the leader the team needed. He was spending more time at home and with his family, and Ethan and Ryan were okay with that as long as he was feeling better.
Chris now was lapsing back into a longing for Nicole. He was missing her company, her laugh, her affection. He felt lonely again at times but filled that void now by playing football with Kyle and his friends or taking Jo to the local comic book store and letting her read through whatever she liked, some times for a couple of hours at a time. That was for the best he thought. No chance of him getting himself into trouble like the night he had slipped up and kissed Morgan. It was better for everyone this way.
“I know what you are going to say,” Chris sighs. “Move on, let it go,” his shoulders slump and he shakes his head.
“That’s not it….” Ryan says slowly. At his tone, Chris turns to face him. Ethan takes a seat on the bench press and looks up expectantly at Ryan.
“What is it?” Chris frowns, sensing the reluctance pouring off of Ryan in waves.
“About Nicole,” Ryan licks his lips. “There’s something, you need to know.” Ryan looks him directly in the eye.
Chris sticks his tongue in his cheek, folds his arms over his chest and leans back against the dumbbell rack. “What?” he asks, the word curt as it slips past his lips.
“First of all, I need you to understand why I waited to bring this up until now,” Ryan begins. “We finally got you back, you were at school, you were back at quarterback and you were doing good, so…I didn’t want to see you…upset again,” Ryan says, picking his words carefully, “not again, not over this. It’s not going to be something you want to hear Chris.” He says preparing him.
Chris frowns and shakes his head. “What is it?”
“When you were out of school, and when Morgan was sitting with us at lunch, she told Ethan and I something,” Ryan says. Ethan looks over to Chris and nods, knowing what’s coming. “Morgan said Nicole mentioned some guy she met during her campus visit to UCLA in July, some Michael guy from Texas,” Ryan explains.
Chris moves away from the rack slightly, his back straightens as he stands up tall. His arms remain crossed but his lips are tight and his eyes slowly narrow.
“Morgan didn’t know anything about it, like at all. Said that day was the first Nicole had even mentioned it, so…none of us knew anything for sure,” Ryan lifts his eyebrows and looks at Chris for understanding. Chris nods and waits for him to continue.
“The first day you were back…Morgan got wind that Nicole was going to try and talk to you,” Ryan says slowly. Chris’s frown deepens and he cocks his head to the side. “So, we ran interference to keep her away from you, to keep her from upsetting you.”
Chris exhales slowly. He was not a child that needed to be pacified or shielded, but he tries to keep his irritation level down as he waits for Ryan to continue.
“I talked to her…I lobbed a few things out there, just a few shots in the dark, but…one of those things was about the Michael guy. I just sort of threw it out there, just to see if there was something more to it. If she had been, I don’t even know what with this guy,” Ryan says. Chris freezes and does not move. Ryan glances over at Ethan who gives him a head nod of support.
“Turns out….” Ryan pauses and looks at Chris, taking a deep breath, “she said they had been talking for the last few months….She swore all they had done was talk…but I don’t have anything concrete to go on either way….”
Ryan and Ethan both stare at Chris silently. The weight room is busy with the sounds of clicking metal and grunts from struggling athletes. The hip hop piping through the speakers is so loud it causes the mirrors on the walls to vibrate. But there is an eerie silence that seems to fall in the immediate spot around Ethan, Ryan and Chris.
The muscles in Chris’s jaw clench and release. He stares back at Ryan. There is an intensity Ryan sees in his gaze that he only typically sees during a game. It’s the look Chris has when he is on the receiving end of a dirty hit. It is the look that borders on a thin line between pain and rage. Chris’s nostrils flare slightly and he licks at his teeth.
Silently he steps back towards the bench press. He waves his hand, motioning for Ethan to stand up. Surprised, Ethan rises to his feet. Chris grabs a 50 pound weight and slides it onto one side of the bar. He moves around the bench, grabs an additional 50 pound weight and slides it onto the opposite side. He adds both weights in addition to what he had just previously lifted.
Ryan and Ethan exchange glances silently. Chris says not a word. Ryan is about to speak when Chris sits on the edge of the bench and lays back. Ethan and Ryan both move into place to spot but Chris waves them off.
“I got it,” Chris says.
“Chris, that’s-“
“Got it!” Chris snaps.
He reaches up, wraps his hands around the bar. He is frowning before he even lifts the bar. Ryan knows the frown is not from the attempt ahead of him but from the anger he feels inside. Ethan hangs close just in case but to his and Ryan’s surprise, Chris lifts the bar, lowers it down towards his chest and with a grunt thrusts the bar upwards, his hips lifting slightly off the bench as he uses every ounce of his strength. Chris repeats this a few more times before lowering it once more and with a yell, forces the bar upward and over his head before resting it back on the rack.
“Powell! Going beast mode!” Alex shouts from across the room. There are a few cheers from the other guys. Chris doesn’t acknowledge the statement. He stands up from the bench, yanks his towel off the neighboring rack and heads towards the showers. Ryan is about to follow when Ethan grabs his arm, shaking his head.
“Give him a little bit,” Ethan says. They both watch their friend, concern in their hearts and eyes as he pushes through the door, letting it slam behind him.
***
The water runs over his head, his eyes clenched shut as the warm water cascades over his hair and skin. A hot shower usually provides comfort to Chris, but not today. The warmth of the water only a fraction of the heat he feels, his body burning with anger.
It was one thing for her to discard their relationship like scrap paper and toss aside the three years they had spent together for her to move to the other side of the country and attend UCLA. It still stung, he was still hurting but he could come to grips with a part of that. The distance would have been hell on him, he admitted that much to himself and she deserved the right to go to whatever college she wanted. He had made peace with that.
But that had only been a part of the story. Ryan said he didn’t have anything concrete but Chris didn’t need more. Nicole had apparently met some guy and been talking with him, even during the time they were together. She had conveniently not mentioned any of that the night she broke his heart.
Of course she had not said a word about this guy. Nicole seemed to deal in half-truths. Chris again questioned everything that took place between them. He had asked her that night if she had ever really loved him. “I care about you” was how she had responded. He balls his hands into fist and places them against the tile in the shower. He takes a deep breath and then reaches for the handle, shutting the water off. He grabs his towel over the stall door and wipes at his eyes. The water from the shower was not the only thing that made them wet.
He has kept his distance, but at this moment, he doesn’t know if he can anymore.
***
Chris moves through the lunch line, quietly putting items on his tray. Around him students are wearing Halloween costumes and laughing at their classmates selections. A girl from his sixth period class is dressed up like a bumble bee. She says hello and he responds with barely a smile. He walks out into the cafeteria, alive with conversation and laughter and looks across the way.
He sees her and keeps his eyes fixed to her as he takes a seat at the table with Ryan, Ethan and Alex. None of this crew is wearing a costume and their party of five is back down to four. Morgan has not sat with them in weeks, continuing her new trend of eating in the dance room. Chris still sees her in the third period class they share, but their conversations are limited to questions about assignments or courtesy hellos should they accidently make eye contact.
As Chris lowers into his chair, Ryan and Ethan halt their conversation and study him. He hardly said a word to either them as they left the field house this morning. They walked at his side and Ryan tried to ask if he was okay, worried that what he had revealed would not only set Chris back monumentally in his recovery but also leave him angry at Ryan for not immediately sharing what he knew. Chris waved it off and merely retorted with a brisk, “I’m fine” before breaking away from them and heading to his first period class.
Ethan and Ryan follow the direction of Chris’s stare and see that it lands directly on Nicole. She is dressed in a white angel costume, a halo on a wire bobbing above her head as she giggles at something one of the other cheerleaders is saying. She tosses her hair back over her shoulders, hitting one of her wings, as she laughs and shouts overdramatically, “Oh my god!” Her manicured nails, her curled brown locks, and perfectly placed makeup, Chris can only think she is the devil in disguise.
Ethan is about to speak when Chris rises suddenly, pushing his chair back so quickly, it almost topples over. He takes just a few steps before he is at the edge of Nicole’s table.
“Shit!” Ryan says jumping up. He is about to run over and grab Chris but Ethan stops him.
“Let him,” Ethan says. “If he needs to get it out, let him get it out.” Ryan looks at Ethan surprised but slowly nods. They both watch the action at the other table. Alex stops chewing and watches as well.
“Nicole,” Chris begins. He feels his chest tighten. He has not said anything to her since she broke his heart, not until this moment. Not until now when she has no choice but to face him.
She turns around and looks up at him from her seat. Her glittered eye lids flutter in astonishment and her mouth opens slightly. “Chris?” she says in surprise. “Um, hey….” She runs her fingers through her hair nervously.
“I need to talk to you,” he says. His words are short and laced with determination behind them. He needs some answers.
“Oh, uh…yeah sure, what’s up?” She questions. She glances around. The buzz in the cafeteria is dying down as eyes begin to fall on the main event at Nicole’s table.
“I wanted to talk to you about your friend, Michael,” Chris says. His lips make a straight line as he waits for her answer. Nicole is taken aback and stares at him silently.
“Chris…” she says softly.
“Chris what?” he frowns. He leans forward and flattens his palms on the table, looking at her as he rocks back and forth. “I need to know,” he looks in her eyes. “I need to know. Did you cheat on me?” he questions.
Nicole swallows. The cheerleaders at the table all stare in stunned silence. Maya, who is at her side, dressed as a sexy nurse, looks from Chris to Nicole. She senses the distress in them both. She looks past Chris and notices Ethan and Ryan standing up and watching the conversation unfold from the other side of the room.
“Chris, let’s go out in the hall,” Nicole says and clears her throat.
“Just answer the question,” Chris responds blowing out a breath. “Look at me and tell me the truth. Did you?”
“I’m not going to do this right here with you,” Nicole shakes her head. “We can go somewhere and talk about this, just me and you,” she responds. “There’s no need to drag this out in the open.” She again runs a shaky hand through her hair.
“I’m not taking one step and I don’t care who is watching, who hears or who sees,” Chris says closing his eyes. He stands up straight, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I’m asking you Nicole. Did you cheat on me?
Nicole looks to the other girls at the table. Maya is staring at her with the same expectant look as the others.
“Chris…”
“Answer me,” he breathes out and closes his eyes.
“I…”
“Answer me,” he repeats.
Nicole chews her lip and looks at the table, her shoulders slump slightly.
“Is that really why you broke up with me? Was UCLA just an excuse? Did you make up all that crap about the distance and not being tied down freshman year just to cover up what you were doing? Did you lie to me about that to?” His voice rises as the questions pour out.
Nicole peaks up at the other girls at the table. Maya is staring at her with the same expectant look as the others.
Nicole puts her hands in her lap. The weight of the last few weeks hits her. The dirty looks from other girls and even parents around town, the loss of friends and spending her weekends alone are just a few elements of her dismay. The secretiveness, the hidden texts, the SnapChat conversations, the photo swapping, all of it while she was with Chris had taken a toll on her as well.
Chris is silently trying to choke back the emotions that threaten to release like the breaking of a dam. He has kept his distance from her, not approaching her to question her since the day they broke up. He had so many unanswered questions then. News this morning that another guy was in the picture was fuel to the embers inside him. He was doing everything to check his emotions. As the truth becomes more evident with every second that passes that she will not make eye contact with him, the dam’s façade begins to crack.
“I didn’t mean for anything to happen,” she breathes out.
Chris’s eyebrows lift. He works his jaw and waits for a minute. “What happened?”
The entire lunch room is silent as they watch, others hanging on to her every word. “He kissed me,” she whispers, “when we were in LA….that’s as far as it went. When I got back…we would call each other…or text…or message or whatever….but Chris, it’s not serious.”
“Stop,” Chris says. He waves his hand at her dismissively.
“Chris, let me explain,” Nicole says finally looking up at him. “I just-“
“You what?” he shouts suddenly. At his own outburst he licks his lips and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes and silently breaths. His face and neck grow hot, flushing red in color. “You cheated on me, you lied to me and talked to another guy behind my back and then you lied to me about why you were breaking up with me?” He says through clenched teeth.
“I know…” Nicole admits and looks back down at her hands in her lap.
Chris throws his head back incredulously. He can’t keep his voice down any longer. “Do you have any idea what I have been through the last few weeks because of you? What you put me through? Only to find out now that you were lying and cheating on me? That I was wrong about the girl you are! That I loved someone that I don’t even know who the hell she is anymore! Do you get that Nicole?” His hand begins to tremble and he shoves it back into his pocket.
At this Ethan, feels like the situation has gone far enough.
Nicole closes her eyes, refusing to look at Chris, wishing the entire situation would just end.
“I loved you! I did everything I could to make you happy!” Chris shouts. His hand sweeps through the air as his words become louder, more passionate. He bends down, leaning closer to her. She keeps her head down refusing to look at him.
““And you lied to me! How many times? How many times did I ask what was wrong and you said ‘nothing’?” He shouts.
The pain he has stifled over the last three week rises, beginning to manifest itself in the type of tears that come when rage is the only other option. He would never let his anger threaten a girl, and the tears brimming in his eyes now are an expression of the chaos within.
Ethan is there. Ethan puts a hand on his shoulder but Chris throws him off. “No! She needs to hear this!” Chris shouts at him.
Ethan shakes his head. Ryan is soon on the other side of Chris. He clasps his hand on his friends shoulder but does not let it go.
“Not here man,” Ethan says calmly looking at the curious teenagers watching the spectacle. “Come on…”
Chris shakes him off again, but both Ryan and Ethan grab an arm this time and start pulling Chris back. Nicole covers her face in her hands. The other girls at the table look at each other unsure of how to respond.
As Ethan pulls Chris away, he locks eyes with Maya. He can see her confusion and dismay.
Tears run down Chris’s cheeks as he backs away, guided by his best friends. He turns suddenly, throwing Ethan and Ryan’s hands off of him, and pushes through the double doors of the cafeteria. Ethan and Ryan hasten their steps to follow him out.
***
He parks his jeep at the edge of the subdivision. All around him, tiny ghosts, witches, zombies, Power Rangers and an infinite number of Disney princesses swarm the street. He cuts the lights to the jeep and turns off the motor, looking at Rey and Luke Skywalker sitting in his backseat.
“Ready for round two?” Chris smiles at his sister, Jo, and brother, Kyle.
“You bet!” Jo says excitedly. “They always give out the best candy over here.”
Chris chuckles a little and opens the door. He folds the seat up to let his siblings exit and they are off in a hurry to the first house. He has a flashlight in his pocket to help them walk the sidewalks as it grows darker but they have told him it’s for babies. His mom insisted he take it.
A smile comes to him as he watches them spring up the stairs and ring the doorbell, both waiting with their bags already opened.
“Trick or treat!” They exclaim in unison. A silver haired woman smiles at them, complimenting the costumes their mother made for them and places two large handfuls of candy in each bag. Kyle’s eyes widen as she does and Chris chuckles to himself.
It took some time to reach this point of contentment that he feels now.
When he imploded at lunch, he thought his anger would keep him on edge, taking from him any hope for peace in the coming days, even weeks. He had just started to feel likes portion of his former self when this latest grenade went off in his life. He had stormed out into the hall and paced out of the school, tears running over his cheeks as he headed out towards the bleachers of the football practice field. It had always been where he liked to go when he needed to clear his head. Not surprisingly, Ethan and Ryan had followed. He had thought to ask them to leave him alone, but he knew any attempt would be in vain. The sat with him silently as he stared out at the grass of the field, fades lines and numbers and blades turning brown as the cold weather began to take its color for the winter. They sat with him for more than an hour, all of them missing their fifth period classes. It was a small price to pay for making sure Chris was okay. They let him sit in silence until he was ready to talk.
He let out a heavy sigh and apologized to them.
“No need to be sorry,” Ryan said looking at him sincerely. “I’m sorry I had to drop that on you, but…you needed to know. It was never going to be a right time to tell you but….” he trailed off.
Chis nodded and patted his shoulder. “It’s cool man, really. I get it. Thank you for being honest about it,” Chris said.
“You going to be okay?” Ethan asked.
Chris nodded. ”I know it sounds weird but…I feel a little bit better. I know I kind of lost it back there but…I needed to let that out.”
“Makes complete sense,” Ethan nodded.
“I wasn’t too hard on her, was I?” Chris peered back and forth between his friends. Ryan sighed and shook his head.
“Chris…sometimes you are too nice for your own damn good, you know that?” Ryan said cocking an eyebrow. “You were honest. I don’t see how you kept it that together. If it was me….I wouldn’t have let her ass off that easy,” Ryan shrugged.
Despite himself, Ethan let out a laugh and continued to chuckle.
Chris and Ryan both looked over at him surprised. Chris, despite his mood, began to slowly smile as he watched Ethan.
“What are you laughing about?” Ryan asked confused.
“I just got a mental image of you getting hold of Nicole and telling her what you think,” Ethan cracked up. “For some reason, it looked like an episode of Real Housewives or something in my head.”
“What the actual hell?” Ryan frowned. “And what the hell do you know about Real Housewives, Clark?”
At this Chris chuckled too, looking over at Ethan who only began to laugh harder.
“You two are weirdos,” Ryan grumbled. Chris and Ethan laughed harder and Ryan smiled and began laughing along.
There were some stares and more whispers as the rest of the day went along and Chris walked the halls and went to class, but nothing that he had not already dealt with in the previous weeks. He pushed himself during practice and the adrenaline from his anger found a healthy outlet.
When he made it home, his brother and sister were ready to trek through Cherryfield neighborhoods in hunt of candy. Cherryfield was spread out, and some subdivisions dotted areas here and there so Chris drove them to locations where they could hit up more than one house. They were so excited when he walked in the door, their energy was contagious.
As he watched them, he felt like that kid again wearing his Batman costume.
A part of him felt some apprehension as he parked at the edge of this particular subdivision. He meets Jo and Kyle on the sidewalk and he walks with them as they approach a second home. They bound for the front door and he looks over at the two-story home next to it.
The porch light is on and a group of children are walking away, having just received their goodies.
His thoughts are interrupted when Kyle and Jo approach.
“Okay, let’s go to Micah’s,” Kyle says. “That old lady just gave me a whole snickers. Like, a whole one,” Kyle says amazed.
“Me too!” Jo chimes in happily. Chris walks with them as they go on about the candy bars. He stops at the end of the path leading to the porch of the Price’s home, hanging back on the sidewalk. Kyle rings the doorbell and a moment later, Morgan opens the door.
She is not wearing a costume, just jeans and a New England Patriots sweatshirt.
“Trick or treat!” Kyle and Jo shout at her. Her face lights up.
“Hey guys! Those costumes are pretty sweet!” Morgan says smiling brightly. “Jo, I love Rey!”
“Yeah? She’s awesome!” Jo smiles.
“And Kyle…is that a light saber?” Morgan questions.
“Sure is! Watch!” Kyle reaches down at the light saber on his hip. He presses a button on the toy and it glows.
“Cool!” Morgan exclaims. “Well, for your rocking costumes how about an extra handful of candy?” Morgan winks.
“Thanks Morgan!” Jo smiles, her attitude greatly different than when Morgan was in the Powell’s home a few weeks ago.
Morgan gets two massive handfuls of candy and puts them in each bag.
“Is Micah here?” Kyle asks.
“Yeah! He just got back from trick or treating with my dad!” She turns and yells over her shoulder. “Micah! Kyle and Jo are here!”
“Chris too!” Kyle says.
Morgan freezes and her face falls momentarily. Her head shoots up and she looks out towards the dark street. From the faint glow still at the edge of the sidewalk from their porch light, she sees Chris, standing with his hands in his letter jacket.
He lifts his hand slowly and gives her a small wave. She nods her head acknowledging him but looks away. Micah comes to the front door, shouting excitedly at the sight of his friends. He is dressed up as Thor, complete with a blonde wig. He holds out his hammer and Kyle admires it.
“You wanna come around the street with us?” Kyle asks him.
“Can I?” Micah looks at Morgan.
“I mean, I don’t see why mom and dad would mind,” she says. She looks up when a figure begins to emerge at the edge of the porch. Chris walks up, humility on his face.
“Hey,” he says softly.
“Hi…” she returns.
“I don’t mind taking Micah with us. I’ll make sure he gets back home okay,” Chris nods.
“See! Let’s go!” Micah says and steps outside. “Thanks Chris!”
Chris looks at Morgan who is avoiding making eye contact with him. He wants to extend an olive branch to her. She has been distant since the kiss and their talk. She has said a total of seven words to him in their third period class in the time that has followed and he can’t recall seeing her even in the hallways between classes. After games she has not attended any of the victory celebrations. There is also something else that has been on his mind since this afternoon that he feels he needs to say to her.
“Why don’t you come with us, Morgan?” Chris offers.
She looks at him, eyes slightly wide as she leans against the door frame.
“Um, this is ya’lls thing that’s okay-“
“Oh come on Morgan! All you are going to do is hand out candy and watch lame girl movies on Netflix. It’ll be fun!” Micah says.
She rolls her eyes at her little brother and then glances at Chris who has an amused smirk on his face. “I don’t know if I can compete with Netflix, but you should come with us,” he repeats.
She reluctantly nods. “One second,” she says going inside the house. She lets her mom know she is heading out and to take over with candy duty. She grabs her coat and gloves from the rack and slides them on, pulling on her beanie as well.
She steps outside and closes the door and the three kids are already off and running towards the next house. Chris waits for her at the base of the steps and then begins to walk next to her as they follow the kid’s path, letting them have their fun but keeping a watchful eye.
Chris’s steps fall in line with hers, as they slowly stroll up the sidewalk. A duo dressed like Dorothy and the scarecrow race around them towards a house up the street.
“I miss that feeling we had as little kids on nights like tonight,” Chris says watching them.
Morgan glances at him but looks down at the pavement as they walk. “Yeah, me too. Things just don’t feel the same when you grow up. Part of that magic is gone. But, seeing them happy, makes me happy,” she says throwing her head towards their siblings.
“Me too,” Chris smiles. Kyle has taken his light saber out as well as Jo. They are swirling them around and Micah wields Mjolnir as they pretend to battle and laugh. They turn and walk to the door of the next house. Chris and Morgan trail back.
“What was your favorite costume as a kid?” Chris asks her, making small talk.
“One year, I was Catwoman,” Morgan happily recalls. She smiles a little. “My mom did my hair and let me wear black eyeliner. I thought I was so cool that whole day.”
“Get out! My favorite was Batman!” Chris laughs.
“Yeah?” She grins.
“I guess we would have been enemies back then,” Chris chuckles. “Or…or not. Could never figure out the whole thing between Batman and Catwoman. “
“Their relationship was complicated….” Morgan trails off. Chris looks over at her and knows she’s not just referring to the comic book characters.
“So um…I’m guessing you heard about today?” Chris asks slowly.
Morgan looks at him and nods. “I heard something but…I don’t know exactly what happened. Some kids were talking about it in fifth…something with you and Nicole at lunch?” Morgan asks slowly.
Chris nods. “I…sort of blew up at her. Ryan…told me about that Michael guy this morning,” Chris says and looks at Morgan. She stops walking and peers back at him apprehensively.
“Oh….”
“Look, Ryan explained everything to me, Morgan. That you didn’t know anything, that you weren’t sure about the situation with him. He said none of it came out until he confronted her that day. So, I asked you to come with us to let you know that, I’m not mad at you. I don’t think you tried to keep anything from me or anything like that. I needed you to know that it’s okay,” Chris says looking into her eyes.
She looks him full in the face and sees his sincerity. He can see her sigh as the tension leaves her. She thought he was about to begin another line of angry questioning or god forbid blow up at her for not mentioning it.
“Okay,” she nods. She looks over at her brother and his friends as they accept candy and run across the lawn to another house. She returns her eyes to Chris.
“So, are we cool?” he asks her.
“Meaning what exactly?” she asks taking a step as they follow the children.
“You’ve kind of ghosted,” Chris says. “Not just on me, but Ryan and Ethan too. I understand why you don’t say much in class. I was a jerk and out of line and I am still sorry. But, now we don’t see you at lunch…or even just walking by….I know I’m responsible for that.”
“I just needed some time,” Morgan says in a hush and crosses her arms across her chest as they continue to walk slowly.
“I can understand that,” Chris says. “But…you don’t have to isolate yourself Morgan. I mean…who else are you hanging out with now?” he asks.
She shrugs and watches the kids silently.
“When I said I wanted to be friends and that I appreciate you being a good friend to me, I meant that,” Chris says.
“I know you did,” She says softly. They walk along in silence. Laughter from children is all around them but the sound of their shoes hitting the pavement the only thing audible between them as they round the block.
“I made things weird…” Chris exhales.
“Chris,” Morgan stops walking and faces him. “Things were already weird. I mean, my best friend broke up with you and I took your side in things. Not exactly standard operating procedure for teenage girls,” Morgan says raising an eyebrow.
Chris smirks. “So…we good?”
She stares back at him. The curve of his soft lips, those blue eyes framed by multiple rows of long lashes, the toss of brown hair on his head and his strong jawline. It’s the Chris Powell she has felt something for years and despite her will to break free of whatever spell he has her under, she is still feels defenseless.