by Mia Archer
“Thanks for that,” I said. “I was stupid enough to get sucked into a crazy vortex. Just what I needed to hear.”
“I think you should forget all about her. It’s obvious this new girl is doing her best to reel you in with the same games the first one was playing. Do you really want to have any part of any of that?”
I shook my head and went back to playing with my food. My mom would be horrified, but I was a grown ass woman and I could do whatever the hell I pleased with my food now thank you very much. Besides, it was a welcome distraction from everything that had happened lately.
Natalie. Zoey. Zoey getting mad at Natalie. Zoey acting an awful lot like Natalie. Like she was trying to buy my affection or something. Even if she claimed she wasn’t doing anything of the sort.
“Hey, I know you’ve been through a lot, but I’m here for you,” Jake said. He reached across the table offering his hand. I hesitated for a moment before taking it. After all, it was a wonder he’d even agreed to get together with me considering the radio silence I’d been dealing with over the past week.
It was only when I told him I was having trouble with Zoey that he’d agreed to come along. He really was a good friend, providing a shoulder for me to cry on in my time of need. It was too bad he was a dude, because otherwise I’d seriously consider a date. But he was a dude, and that did nothing for me.
A cruel twist of fate. It seemed like fate had been pulling a lot of cruel twists on me lately. Stupid fate.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I know it’s ridiculous but I can’t stop thinking about her. I keep giving her more chances for some stupid reason.”
“Come on Hailey,” Jake said. “You need to forget all about this girl and all the bullshit she’s put you through. She’s a drama magnet. Is that really the kind of person you want to be around for the rest of your life?”
Jake made sense. His words were seductive. They fed into all the doubts I’d had about Zoey since the first time I realized she was spoken for but she was still flirting with me. Yet at the same time I really couldn’t get her out of my head. I wanted to be around her. I was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.
I just hoped the end wouldn’t be as bad for me as it was for a moth flying right into a flame.
“Let’s just forget I ever brought it up,” I said. “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
“Fine with me,” Jake said. “That means we have more time to talk about what’s really important anyways.”
I looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. He had a funny look on his face. Like he was trying to psyche himself up for something. I felt a prickling on the back of my neck. A danger signal that was telling me something was about to go down that wouldn’t be good for me.
It was a signal I’d gotten used to over the past week with everything that happened with Natalie.
“What are you talking about Jake?” I asked.
He still had my hand. He gave it a squeeze. I tried to pull away but either he wasn’t taking the hint or he just wasn’t in a mood to let go. Either way I was starting to get worried. What was he on about?
“I tried to get you aside so I could talk to you about this at the convention, but you were always so busy with that girl that you didn’t have time for me,” he said.
I vaguely remembered him saying there was something he wanted to talk to me about back at the convention. Honestly he was right. I’d been so wrapped up in everything happening with those girls that I hadn’t paid much attention to anything he was saying. I was starting to think that might’ve been a big mistake.
“Then I wanted to go to the costume masquerade with you because I figured that would be a perfect time, but you said you didn’t want to go and betrayed me by going anyways, which I totally forgive you for,” he said.
My eyes narrowed. He totally forgave me for that? What planet was this guy from? So I decided to go to the costume masquerade without him. Was it a bit of a dick move to make an excuse and go without him? Maybe, but it wasn’t the end of the world he made it out to be or anything.
“Jake, whatever this is you should just come out and say it, unless you’re about to ask me out. You need to seriously consider whether that’s a good idea.”
I figured that was a big enough warning. Even Jake should be able to pick up on that, and in my experience he wasn’t all that great at picking up on social cues. From the way a cloud passed over his face I had a feeling that asking me out was exactly what he had in mind.
Damn.
“Why shouldn’t I ask you out?” he asked. “We’ve been friends for over a year now and we get along great. Now that those girls are out of the way you can try something different for a change.”
“Jake, you really…”
“Come on Hailey. I’m completely and totally head over heels in love with you. I finally got up the courage to say something and I worked up the courage at the con and then that girl stepped in and pulled you away from me and…”
I held up my free hand to stop him. I also tugged on the hand he was holding, but he wasn’t letting go. If he kept that up for much longer I was going to start screaming, but I kept silent for the moment.
“Jake, I don’t know what the hell you’re going on about. What did you think was going to happen here? I’m gay! The reason I went after those girls was because I’m into girls. Not guys. Not you. Not ever.”
A little harsh? Maybe, but it seemed like that’s what was called for to let him know there was no chance. If he wasn’t that good at picking up on social cues then I’d give him the sort of cue even he couldn’t ignore.
He blinked a couple of times and for a moment I thought he might be on the verge of tears. That was just what I needed. Him crying because he didn’t realize that gay meant no. At least for him.
“Come on Hailey,” he said. “You know you want to give it a try for me. We’ve been friends for so long that you have to give it a try!”
“I don’t know what strange world you’re living in Jake, but that’s not how this works,” I said. I gave my hand a yank and I finally pulled free. I shook it a couple of times to get circulation working again. He’d been squeezing my hand really hard.
“Come on Hailey! I’ve put in the time and now I deserve my chance!”
I stared at him in complete and total disbelief. I couldn’t believe we were actually having this conversation. I couldn’t believe he thought I owed him something because we’d been friends for over a year. That wasn’t how friendship was supposed to work, but now I was starting to realize that it had never been a friendship for him.
It had always been about what he could get from me. The asshole.
And in that moment I had something of a revelation. Something that put the whole Zoey situation into stark perspective. Something that made me realize what an ass I’d been for pushing Zoey away all this time.
Natalie was the problem because she offered me something and then assumed that I’d owe her something for what she was offering. I could only join the group if I was willing to hop into bed with her. Zoey, by contrast, was offering to do nice things because she liked me. At no point had she ever said there was any sort of expectation or strings attached to what she was offering. It was a gift freely given with Zoey versus a gift with strings attached with Natalie.
It was a subtle difference, but it was kind of a big deal. And I’d been an idiot. At every step of the way I’d been jumping at emotional shadows, convinced that Zoey was acting the way she was because she was no different from Natalie when that couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Damn. I’d been a first rate ass this whole time, and it took watching Jake making a first rate ass out of himself to help me come to that realization.
I turned my attention back to Jake. He was still sitting there on the other side of the booth with an expectant grin on his face as though he thought this was all somehow going to work out for him in the end. The poor guy. I still had enough lingering good feelings from our friendship
to feel sorry for what I was about to do to him, but it was something that had to be done.
“Jake, thanks,” I said.
His grin grew wider. “I knew you’d come ar…”
I held up a hand to stop him again. He shut up. Good. I didn’t think I’d be able to stand listening to him talking about how we were meant to be and I’d come around because I was so hot for him. Gag.
“You just helped me come to my senses, but not about you or dating guys. That’s not happening, we’re not happening, and I think our friendship is over,” I said.
“What? You friendzone me and now you’re dropping me?”
“It was never a friendship to begin with if the entire time you were only ‘putting in your time’ in the hopes of getting into my pants,” I said. “That’s not a friendship, and I’ve made it clear from the get go that I wasn’t interested in anything like that.”
“I can’t believe you’d do this to me!” he said, loud enough that he turned some heads around the diner.
I stood and tossed some cash down to pay for my food. I didn’t have much of an appetite before, and I really didn’t have an appetite now.
“Jake, it’s been nice knowing you, and thanks for helping me clear some things up.”
And with that I turned and made my way out of the diner. Sure I’d just ended a friendship that had been going pretty well for the past year, but if it was only a friendship where he was trying to date me and that wasn’t happening then it wasn’t a friendship I wanted to be a part of.
Instead of feeling sad I felt more giddy than anything else. Jake had been an ass lately anyways. What I was really looking forward to was seeing Zoey again. I was going to plant the biggest kiss ever right on her lips and apologize for how crazy I’d been acting. It was still really early in whatever this was, but I wanted us to start on the right foot and that started with an apology.
I just hoped it wasn’t too late. I hoped I hadn’t already screwed things up too much with my freakouts. I’d have to wait until the charity thing tomorrow to find out for sure.
26: Charity
Hailey:
I could see tents off in the distance that told me I was getting close. The butterflies in my stomach were also telling me I was getting close. I’m not sure why I had butterflies in my stomach. After all, I’d already gone on one and a half dates with Zoey.
Sure one of those dates had ended really well and the other one had nearly ended in disaster, but I figured that meant there was at least a fifty/fifty chance that this one would end well.
I put my car into park when I couldn’t drive any further. There were cops blocking off the road leading down to where the charity walk and run was actually taking place. I really hoped we weren’t expected to walk or run in these costumes. It would be difficult in my foam bikini, but next to impossible with the wings on.
I almost left them behind, but changed my mind at the last minute. After all, weren’t the wings the one thing that everyone went crazy over? Far be it for me to leave the most impressive part of my costume in my car.
Not to mention that if I left it in my car anyone who walked by would be able to see them. I didn’t think there was a big black market for feathered wings to go on costumes, but you never knew. There might be a fan out there somewhere who would steal it.
Maybe Natalie was lurking out there somewhere waiting for a chance to swoop in and steal them. I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was out there. Watching. Waiting for a chance to move in and ruin any fun that Zoey and I might have today.
“You’re being paranoid Hailey,” I muttered to myself as I shouldered the wings and tried to snap the straps in place. Hiding the straps on the thing had been almost as difficult as gluing all the feathers onto the thing individually.
Besides, I wasn’t nearly as worried about Natalie as I’d been even a couple of days ago. Shit happened, and in this case the shit was Natalie. I’d given her way too much power over me and it stopped now. I’d realized that much from my weird dinner with Jake.
I got a few odd looks as I was getting into my costume which threw me for a loop for a moment. Then I remembered where I was. Out in the real world with the muggles. People who weren’t used to seeing people dressed up in elaborate costumes. I never got a second glance when I was getting my costume on in a parking garage next to the convention center because the people going to the convention were used to seeing that sort of thing.
Not so much here. I even saw one guy who looked like he wanted to stop for a picture, but a quick slap from his wife put an end to that before it even started.
I shook my head and giggled. It would seem that my outfit had as much of an impact out here as it did in the convention center, at least.
As I made the walk over to where the charity event was being held I was glad this was happening at a time of year when it was a little cooler. Sure I was in fake armor that was really nothing more than a glorified bikini, but it got really hot walking around in these things. You’d think there’s a lot of air coming through the thing, but let me tell you that wasn’t the case after walking around with heavy foam armor and the heavy wings on top of that.
Sometimes I thought I spent more time in the gym just to get in good enough shape to hold everything up than I did trying to stay in the proper shape to wear the armor and look good. It was killer on my back.
I got closer and I saw some familiar faces in front of a booth that looked a lot like the booth the girls had set up at the convention. It had their logo on a banner over the top and they were taking pictures with kids and families.
I smiled at that. Here was a group of girls who were doing their best to do something good with their geeky obsession and make everyone in the world just a little happier. That was the kind of group I could really get behind.
I pulled my phone out of my bra cup. A motion that drew the attention of a couple of guys who were walking past. One guy got slapped by his girlfriend for his trouble, but I wasn’t paying attention to them. Guys checking me out was another occupational hazard whenever I stepped into this thing. I was more concerned with where Zoey was. Maybe it was weird, but I wanted to make sure she was actually there at the booth before I made an appearance myself.
“Are you out there?” I asked.
There was a moment when I didn’t think she was going to respond. Sure we’d been texting back and forth, but there was still a part of me that worried this whole thing was going to come crashing down around me sooner rather than later. I’d learned to ignore that voice, but every time it took her awhile to respond it came back louder and louder.
Like right now. Thankfully my phone buzzed a moment later with a message.
“Down at the booth. You here?” she asked.
“Sure am,” I said. “Be there in a minute.”
One nice thing about being at a charity event rather than at a convention was it didn’t seem like everyone and their mother wanted to stop me to have their picture taken. That was very refreshing. Sometimes at the cons it felt like I couldn’t take more than a couple of steps without running into someone who wanted a piece of me.
Usually a picture, but sometimes more. Those were the most annoying.
When I got to the booth I felt like an idiot. None of the other girls were wearing their wings, but they were all up on a stand behind them and they looked decently impressive. Not quite as wide or as natural looking as the wings I’d made, but they were still pretty darn good.
“Hailey! You made it!”
I turned to see Cassie grinning. She walked up and wrapped me in a hug, but it was a bit of an awkward hug because she had to turn to the side at the last moment to make sure our costumes didn’t run into one another. Which was just fine with me. They could talk about making me a new costume all they wanted, but I wanted to make sure I kept this current one in good shape.
“Is Zoey around here? I texted her and she said she was at the booth,” I said.
“She’s over on the other side talkin
g with the lady who organizes this shindig. You should go around and meet her,” Cassie said. “Oh, and by the way, I have to say that the progress we’re making on your costume is amazing. It should be ready by our next event.”
I stopped and felt a chill run through me. The costume was amazing?
“What costume?” I asked, careful to keep my voice neutral.
“The one we’re working on for you as a group silly,” Cassie said, her smile growing wider and wider. “And you can’t get mad at us. It was a group thing. We want you to join us so we want you to have a new costume. It doesn’t have anything to do with Zoey or she-who-shall-not-be-named.”
I couldn’t help but laugh just a little at that new name for Natalie. It seemed appropriate considering I didn’t even want to think her name let alone hear it spoken. It brought up a case of the shivers, and not in a good way.
“Right,” I said. “I think I’m going to just go around to the other side of the booth and let Zoey know I’m here.”
“Good idea,” Cassie said. “I was sure she was going to break her neck the way her head spun around every time she heard a new car pulling into the parking lot. Now that you’re here she might be able to actually get some work done.”
I stepped around to the other side of the booth and there she was. She was so beautiful. I know I thought that every time I saw her, but it really was true. Zoey was one of the most gorgeous girls I’d ever seen. Plus she was geeky and she had the same dedication I did to putting together costumes.
I stopped to just watch her for a moment. She had a smile on her face and she looked so happy as she stood there talking to an older woman who I could only presume was the organizer of this little shindig.
“The final amount is going to be something like five thousand dollars I think,” Zoey said.
“Five thousand? That’s better than you’ve ever done before!”
“Yeah, well we almost didn’t have that much. It turns out Natalie was skimming money off the top and we all had to go in together to make up for what she took,” Zoey said.
