To Love A Friend

by Jana David

Ian

  Moving Allie into her room in the halls took no time at all, being that she'd only brought one suitcase.

  “We can go shopping for some more stuff”, I said to her. “You know, to decorate or something.” I looked around the rather depressing interior of the room, taking it all in, making a list in my head of what she would need. I wanted her to have a place where she felt comfortable. A place that she could call home. Right now, this room looked more like a fancy prison cell.

  “Yeah, not today, though”, she said, not sounding very excited at the prospect.

  “If there is one thing I learned about student housing, it's that you need to make it homey. Living in such a tiny room can be depressing enough, so it's important that you're not staring at blank walls all the time.” I said.

  “Really?” Allie said, sounding smug. “And when did you ever live in student housing, Mr. Expert? As I recall, you moved right into your comfortable room in a certain house belonging to your best friend.”

  Fine, she had me there. “Well, I can imagine it would be depressing”, I mumbled.

  She gave me a look that said: Just shut up.

  I decided to change the subject. “I told Darcy we'd have dinner with him tonight. Is that okay?”

  Allie nodded. “Sure, why wouldn't it be?”

  I drew in a long breath. “I think the two of you need to talk.”

  “Talk?” she echoed.

  “Yes, talk.” I pulled her towards the bed and sat down with her. “I know you don't like to talk about the move five years ago, and why your family left and all that, but Darcy, he took it pretty hard when you just disappeared.”

  Allie looked at me, and then down at her hands, which she held clasped together tightly on her lap, a sure sign that she was uncomfortable.

  We'd talked enough about that move for me to know that Allie felt terrible about leaving us without a word of goodbye. I'd seen the same discomfort in her yesterday when we'd touched on the subject briefly.

  “Have you talked to him about that?” she asked, her voice quiet.

  “No. I felt like that's a thing between the two of you. Hence why I feel you need to have a chat with Darce about it. You know, clear the air and all that, so we can all move on. You and him are the two most important people in my life. I need you to get along.” I nudged her with my elbow, right in that sensitive spot between her ribs, which I knew would make her laugh and ease some of the tension in her body.

  She giggled and tried to twist away from me, but I wouldn't let her. I caught her around her middle, and easily deflected her attempts at tickling me back. She laughed, making these adorable squealing sounds, still trying to fight me off.

  “Give up”, I murmured against her neck, lightly scraping my teeth along the sensitive skin beneath her ear. “We both know you are way more ticklish than I am.”

  “I'll talk to Darcy tonight”, she promised, a little breathless.

  “Thank you”, I said, kissing her cheek.

  She turned her head, grinning and biting her lip as she studied my face. Suddenly, her expression turned serious.

  “How on earth do you do that?”

  “Do what?” I asked, slightly confused.

  “How do you always make me feel like the world is all fairytale and roses when I'm with you?”

  “That's easy. I just know you, Princess. I know how you tick.” I shrugged it off like it was nothing, but her words sent a warm rush through my body.

  “And that's why I love you”, she said, leaning in to press a soft kiss onto my lips. I was tempted to give in and simply spend the rest of the day in her small, soft bed.

  I had other plans for the afternoon, though, and something told me what I had planned was just what Allie needed right now.

  “Hey, how about we take a trip down to the beach”, I said.

  Her eyes lit up when I said it. “Yes”, she happily agreed. I knew she was going to love the idea.

  So we left her room as it was for now, got my car and drove out to Crosby.

  I loved the ocean. For me, it simply represented the vastness of our planet, and helped me to put things into perspective whenever I lost sight of what was really important. In the end, we were all just tiny creatures on this big planet, and the world would keep turning, even if we ceased to exist.

  Lying in bed last night, I had decided to be the bigger man and put all my worries aside to do what I should have done month earlier: try to reunite my two best friends. I just wasn't the type of person who could watch his friends be miserable and not do anything about it.

  And fact of the matter was, Al and Darce were both miserable in the current situation. The old friendship was still there. They just needed to get past what had been in the past and move forward. It would be the best for all of us, I hoped.

  “God, I missed this beach”, Allie shouted over the wind. I watched with a smile on my face as she ran down towards the water. I followed her at a distance, just watching her run around and laugh like a little kid.

  Allie had to grow up fast. I'd seen it with my own eyes. She had learned how to run the household by the age of ten, but underneath all that tough, grown-up exterior, she was still just a young girl, trying to figure her life out.

  She turned around then, waving at me. “Come on, what are you waiting for back there?”

  I took off after her, as she tried to run away. Laughing so hard, she didn't get far until I caught up with her.

  “Gotcha”, I said and pulled her off her feet, spinning us around with my arms firmly wrapped around her middle. Allie was still laughing.

  “You wish”, she said, and with a practised jab to my ribs, she managed to break free from my hold and took off again. I gave her a five second head start before I followed.