Sweet Silver Lining

“What did I do?” Annabelle cried, leaning her head against the back of the couch at Lily’s apartment. Landon was having a sleepover for the night, and Dave was out with the guys, so Lily and Annabelle decided to get together and watch a movie. But, they hadn’t gotten to the movie yet, as Annabelle continued to wonder if she had made the right choice in breaking up with Andrew.

“Okay, I know you’ve already told me, but I need you to tell me again. Why exactly did you break up with Andrew?” Lily asked, seeing her friend in distress.

“Because it’s what’s best for Landon,” Annabelle told her.

“And, how is this best for Landon?” Lily asked softly.

“You sound like Andrew now,” Annabelle groaned.

“I’m serious, Annie,” Lily told her. “How is this what’s best for Landon? His sister is miserable right now. His idol is miserable right now. Landon’s the only one that’s happy right now, but that’s not going to last for long when he realizes everyone around him is unhappy,” she pointed out.

“You weren’t there when Landon…wait a minute. Did you just say Andrew’s miserable?” Annabelle asked suddenly when she finally had comprehended what Lily had just said.

Lily laughed at her. “Yeah, he’s miserable. Dave said he’s completely off at practice, and all he talks about is you and how you made a stupid choice. He really cares about you, Annie.”

“I can’t do it to Landon,” she told Lily, who stared pointedly at her. “Seriously, Lily, you weren’t there when Landon told me he hated me. Lily, he seriously hated me for going out with Andrew, and I couldn’t stand that.”

“So, instead, you’re going to go around all mopey for the next however many months because you’re not happy? Just so you can make Landon happy? Come on, Annie, you know this is absolutely ridiculous. Listen, you’re my best friend, and I love you no matter what, but I have to be frank right now. You’re an idiot,” she stated bluntly.

“Thanks a lot, friend,” Annabelle said sarcastically.

“Just think about it,” Lily told her. “Now, let’s pick a movie, shall we?” she asked, letting the matter drop for the moment.

“Yeah,” Annabelle said, putting a fake smile on her face as she stood up and walked to Lily’s monstrous movie collection, picking out the first movie that looked good to her.

***

“She dumped you because of her brother?” Adam Burish asked Andrew as they, along with Dave and Colin Fraser, sat down to eat lunch on their off day.

“Yeah, that’s basically what happened,” Andrew nodded, surprised that Adam could put into one sentence everything that had happened between he and Annabelle.

“Wait a minute,” Colin spoke. “That makes no sense whatsoever. You need to start from the beginning again.”

“There’s not much to it. Landon didn’t want her dating me, and she decided to listen to him,” Andrew shrugged, playing it off as if it wasn’t a big deal when in reality, it was eating him alive. Annabelle was the first girl in a long time that he had liked this much. And, to have their relationship end because her brother didn’t want them dating still made him angry.

“She listened to a six year old?” Adam questioned, unable to believe it.

“Yeah,” Andrew sighed.

“She’s an idiot,” Adam told him.

“She’s just trying to keep Landon happy. He’s been through a lot. He lost both of his parents and he’s had health problems with his heart.”

“We know what Landon’s gone through,” Colin reminded him. “And, that doesn’t make it right.”

“And, I can’t believe you’re defending her right now!” Adam exclaimed. “She broke up with you, and yet, here you are, still defending her decision. What is wrong with you?” he questioned.

“I don’t know,” Andrew said. He turned to look at Dave, who was just sitting there listening to what everyone else had to say. “You’ve been awfully quiet,” he observed. “What are you thinking?”

“Lily said that Annabelle’s not happy with her decision,” he admitted after a long battle with himself as to whether he should tell Andrew or not. He wasn’t sure how Andrew was going to react to the news, and he didn’t want him to be worse off than he already was.

“What?” Andrew asked, his mouth slightly ajar.

“That’s all I know,” Dave told him. “That’s all Lily said.” He waited for Andrew to say something, but he just sat there silently. “Ladder?” he called.

“Sorry,” Andrew said. “Can we just talk about something else?” he asked.

“So, I’ve got a new neighbor,” Adam said, switching subjects.

***

Lily walked through the door of Dave’s condominium throwing her purse down on the couch and taking her coat off. “Bad day?” Dave asked with a laugh, walking out into the living room.

“Yes,” Lily muttered, and Dave grabbed her hand, pulling her to the kitchen table where he had prepared dinner for the two of them. “Aw, Dave, this is amazing. Thank you for cooking,” she told him, giving him a kiss as she looked at the bowl of pasta and chicken sitting in front of her. She sat down with Dave sitting down across from her.

“So, you want to talk about it?” he asked her.

Lily nodded her head as she chewed the pasta and swallowed. “My best friend is an idiot,” she stated, and Dave laughed at her. “What? She is! She obviously still wants to be with Ladder, and yet, what is she doing? She’s listening to her freaking six year old brother and staying away from him. She’s an idiot,” she muttered as she took another bite.

“She’s doing what she thinks is best,” Dave stated.

“Are you taking her side?” Lily questioned with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not,” Dave assured her. “I agree with you that she’s being an idiot. I’m just saying that she thinks she’s doing what is best. It’s not what’s best, but that’s what she thinks she’s doing.”

“Okay, Dave, that made no sense,” she said with a laugh. “But, I think I know what you meant. How was Ladder today?” she asked, concerned for Andrew. While Annabelle was her best friend, she was close to Andrew, too, and she didn’t want to see him hurting.

“He’s trying to play it off like he’s okay with it, but it’s obvious that he’s upset,” Dave answered.

“Would it make me a bad person if I said that I just wanted to beat Landon until I knocked some sense into him?” Lily asked.

“Yes it would,” Dave told her with a nod of his head. “But I’d still love you anyways,” he added, and Lily laughed at him.

“I just want them back together,” Lily told him.

“I know,” Dave nodded.

“Can you think of anything we can do to help them?” Lily asked, but Dave shook his head. “Hey,” Lily said suddenly, a smile forming on her face. “Is there any way that you can get me a couple of extra tickets to tomorrow night’s game?” she asked.

“Probably. Why?”

“Well, I’m thinking that maybe if we can get Ladder and Annie at least into the same vicinity, then maybe they’ll talk to each other. And, if they can talk to each other, then maybe Annie and Landon will see how stupid they’re being. And, if they see how stupid they’re being, maybe Annie and Ladder can get back together,” Lily explained, getting more excited with every word.

“Lily, I’ll get you tickets,” Dave told her. “But, I wouldn’t get your hopes up for a reunion.”

“What do you mean?” Lily asked.

“I don’t think that just by Annie going to a game that she’ll realize she made a mistake and beg for forgiveness from Ladder,” Dave explained.

“Dave, why can’t you just let me dream for a little bit?” Lily asked jokingly.

“Sorry,” Dave laughed. “Let me help you. Annie will realize that she made a mistake and they’ll get back together. And, then Ladder will propose, and we’ll have a double wedding with them,” he laughed.

“Hmm…a double wedding?” Lily asked. “I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, when we get married, I want to only be focused on you, not my best friend, too,” she said with a laugh.

“Okay, single wedding it is.”