People Change
Double Date
“You’re hiding.”
“I’m not hiding. I’m right here in front of you.”
“Not hiding from me, silly, hiding from the world.”
“I’m still not hiding. I’ve just changed my mind. There’s a difference,” Sydney answered, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. She sat firmly on her bed, refusing to get up even though Matt and Jason were set to be there any minute. “I’m not ready to start dating again.”
“It’s not a date!” Lanie protested, sitting down next to Sydney with her hands resting in her lap. “It’s just a get-together with friends! I don’t expect you and Jason to suddenly start becoming an item after this. You need to get out of this damned apartment, and you need to have yourself some fun.”
“I know,” Sydney sighed. “But it’s hard! Can’t I just stay home?”
“Absolutely not,” Lanie answered. “You’ve gotten all dolled up and everything.”
Sydney looked down at herself. Okay, so maybe she’d slipped into a cute dress and even color-coordinated her shoes, but that didn’t mean she wanted to go. She’d also taken pains with her makeup and did something more to her hair than blow it dry and drag a comb through it. So maybe she did want to go, just a little bit, but not enough to actually carry through with it. She looked back up at Lanie and slowly shook her head from side to side. Lanie let out an exasperated little scream, threw her arms above her head, and stomped out of Sydney’s bedroom.
Sydney rose to her feet and walked to her window to look out at the alley below. She watched as Jason and Matt arrived, climbing out of their car and making their way up the stairs. Sighing deeply, Sydney walked back over to her bed and sank down onto it once more as she heard Lanie open the door and greet the two men in hushed tones. Sydney wondered what, exactly, Lanie was telling the two of them, so she rose to her feet and strode over to the door. She pressed her ear against the door but couldn’t make out what the three of them were saying.
She exhaled quietly and leaned slightly away from the door. In that same instant, the doorknob turned and the slab of wood burst open, hitting Sydney square in the forehead and forcing her to take several steps backward.
“There was something blocking it,” Jason said matter-of-factly from the other side.
“Yeah, my face,” Sydney grumbled as he pushed the door the rest of the way open. She clutched her forehead with both hands, feeling the rough edges of the healed-over scar that spread from the middle of her forehead to her left temple against her palms. Jason’s jaw dropped and he rushed to Sydney’s side, apologies sprouting from his lips as he dragged her hands away and kissed her forehead to make it better.
“Whoa,” Sydney muttered, running her fingertips gently over where her head still throbbed from its recent contact with the door. The instant Jason’s lips touched her skin,
that immediate area tingled in an amazingly pleasant way, and Sydney really did feel better.
“Whoa what?” Jason asked, taking advantage of her distraction and leading her by the wrist out into the living room. Sydney followed complaisantly behind, still confused by the tingling sensation that had since ceased in her forehead.
“Oh, nothing,” Sydney answered off-handedly, looking over her shoulder at Lanie and Matt walking behind the two of them. Jason pulled Sydney out onto the metal landing and began to lead her gently down the staircase. Pushing that strange tingling sensation to the back of her mind, Sydney broke out of her disorientation and realized exactly what Jason was up to.
“I really—” Sydney began, taking a step backwards up the stairs and tugging gently at the wrist enclosed in Jason’s fingers.
“Oh, come on,” Jason sighed, pulling on Sydney’s wrist. She refused to budge, ignoring Lanie’s impatient expression as her and Matt stepped down beside them to let Jason convince Sydney to accompany them. “Brian fucked up big time. It was a douche move on his part. He shouldn’t have thrown someone as remarkably perfect as you away like that. You didn’t deserve it, and he doesn’t deserve you. Stop wasting your time on him and come have fun with a few old buddies.”
Sydney could feel her will-power to stay home crumbling away. She opened her mouth for one last feeble argument, but Jason just grinned and turned around, pulling her down the rest of the stairs. Sydney knew she was beat; Jason obviously knew it too. The two of them climbed into the backseat; Matt and Lanie exchanged smirks before Matt put the car into drive and slid out onto the street.
@@@@@
“Here, Jason,” Matt said as the four of them stepped out of the restaurant into the warm velvet darkness. He pressed his car keys into Jason’s palm, holding onto Lanie’s hand with his other hand. “Lanie and I are walking back to my place for some boogie time. Just take Sydney home, will you?”
“Yeah,” Jason drew his answer out slowly, giving his brother a strange look. Sydney gave Lanie the same look over Jason’s shoulder, and Lanie just smirked and shrugged. “Boogie time. Right.”
“Use protection. I don’t think I’m ready for little Berrys to be running around the place quite yet,” Sydney warned. Lanie grinned and patted Matt’s back pocket.
“Already got it covered, dearest,” Lanie answered. “Now, c’mon, Matt, I bit my tongue eating my grilled chicken and I need you to help me make it feel better. See you tomorrow, Sydney.”
“Yep,” Sydney replied as Matt and Lanie started to turn away. “Just don’t bring the details home with you!”
Lanie waved a hand towards Sydney before the darkness beyond the range of the streetlight swallowed them whole. Sydney looked over at Jason and shook her head, pulling a face. Jason grinned and led the way towards the car.
“Do you want to come in, or...?” Sydney asked uncertainly several minutes later. Jason just pulled into the alleyway, and had turned the vehicle off. Now they sat in near darkness lightened only by the yellow-tinted light above the apartment doorway.
“Oh, no, it’s several milliseconds after my bedtime,” Jason answered, looking down at his watch. Sydney smiled and started to climb out, but Jason’s hand snagged her wrist. Sydney turned back towards him, blinking as a single image flashed into her mind: that of looking into Brian’s chocolate brown eyes the previous year as he begged to know how to get Sydney to forgive him. Jason’s eyes were chocolate brown, too, but they were richer than Brian’s, speckled with pale yellow and even hints of gold.
“Yes?” Sydney asked imploringly.
“Maybe I should come in,” Jason said off-handedly, his gaze sliding away from Sydney’s eyes. Sydney felt somehow emptier all of a sudden; it was the same emptiness that always tugged at her insides when Brian wasn’t at her side back before the accident.
“No, just tell me here,” Sydney replied impatiently, turning so that her whole body faced Jason.
“You’ll probably say no,” Jason continued quietly, releasing Sydney’s hand and looking down at his lap.
“You can’t tell until you tell me,” Sydney wheedled, leaning forward toward Jason a little bit.
“I was wondering if maybe...well, if maybe you’d want to get back together with me some time...just us...alone,” Jason said slowly and carefully. His cheeks flushed red, and Sydney could see it through the darkness. He slowly lifted his gaze to meet Sydney’s, and he looked so sheepish and undeniably adorable Sydney couldn’t find any way to turn him down. She realized in that instant she didn’t want to turn him down in the first place.
“Of course, Jason,” Sydney answered brightly. “I’d love to get together with you some time.”
Jason grinned in relief and as he hunted down something for Sydney to write her number on, the light above the apartment door fell onto his face. It shone gently on his face, sprinkling gold into his dark hair. He lifted his gaze back to Sydney, and his eyes caught the light, simultaneously darkening and lightening them; his pupils turned into orbs of molten gold, and then his head shifted and the illusion was gone. Sydney felt mesmerized as Jason sheepishly handed over a pen and said she’d have to write it on his hand because he couldn’t find any paper. She’d never really noticed how cute Jason really was until now.
“Just give me your phone, silly,” Sydney heard herself saying. “I’ll put my number in there, safe and sound.”
“Oh, right, right,” Jason replied, and Sydney blinked several times as he fumbled in his pocket for his phone. She felt back to normal by the time he handed the little rectangle over. Sydney quickly punched her number into his phone book on his phone before handing it back over. “I’ll call you,” Jason promised, smiling as Sydney turned towards the open car door again.
“Sounds great,” Sydney answered. They said their farewells and then Sydney climbed out.
Several moments later, Sydney closed her apartment door behind her. She leaned back against it and closed her eyes. Her forehead started to tingle again suddenly, exactly where Jason’s lips had pressed only hours before. Sydney began to realize that maybe it wouldn’t be as hard to get over Brian as she first assumed.
“I’m not hiding. I’m right here in front of you.”
“Not hiding from me, silly, hiding from the world.”
“I’m still not hiding. I’ve just changed my mind. There’s a difference,” Sydney answered, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. She sat firmly on her bed, refusing to get up even though Matt and Jason were set to be there any minute. “I’m not ready to start dating again.”
“It’s not a date!” Lanie protested, sitting down next to Sydney with her hands resting in her lap. “It’s just a get-together with friends! I don’t expect you and Jason to suddenly start becoming an item after this. You need to get out of this damned apartment, and you need to have yourself some fun.”
“I know,” Sydney sighed. “But it’s hard! Can’t I just stay home?”
“Absolutely not,” Lanie answered. “You’ve gotten all dolled up and everything.”
Sydney looked down at herself. Okay, so maybe she’d slipped into a cute dress and even color-coordinated her shoes, but that didn’t mean she wanted to go. She’d also taken pains with her makeup and did something more to her hair than blow it dry and drag a comb through it. So maybe she did want to go, just a little bit, but not enough to actually carry through with it. She looked back up at Lanie and slowly shook her head from side to side. Lanie let out an exasperated little scream, threw her arms above her head, and stomped out of Sydney’s bedroom.
Sydney rose to her feet and walked to her window to look out at the alley below. She watched as Jason and Matt arrived, climbing out of their car and making their way up the stairs. Sighing deeply, Sydney walked back over to her bed and sank down onto it once more as she heard Lanie open the door and greet the two men in hushed tones. Sydney wondered what, exactly, Lanie was telling the two of them, so she rose to her feet and strode over to the door. She pressed her ear against the door but couldn’t make out what the three of them were saying.
She exhaled quietly and leaned slightly away from the door. In that same instant, the doorknob turned and the slab of wood burst open, hitting Sydney square in the forehead and forcing her to take several steps backward.
“There was something blocking it,” Jason said matter-of-factly from the other side.
“Yeah, my face,” Sydney grumbled as he pushed the door the rest of the way open. She clutched her forehead with both hands, feeling the rough edges of the healed-over scar that spread from the middle of her forehead to her left temple against her palms. Jason’s jaw dropped and he rushed to Sydney’s side, apologies sprouting from his lips as he dragged her hands away and kissed her forehead to make it better.
“Whoa,” Sydney muttered, running her fingertips gently over where her head still throbbed from its recent contact with the door. The instant Jason’s lips touched her skin,
that immediate area tingled in an amazingly pleasant way, and Sydney really did feel better.
“Whoa what?” Jason asked, taking advantage of her distraction and leading her by the wrist out into the living room. Sydney followed complaisantly behind, still confused by the tingling sensation that had since ceased in her forehead.
“Oh, nothing,” Sydney answered off-handedly, looking over her shoulder at Lanie and Matt walking behind the two of them. Jason pulled Sydney out onto the metal landing and began to lead her gently down the staircase. Pushing that strange tingling sensation to the back of her mind, Sydney broke out of her disorientation and realized exactly what Jason was up to.
“I really—” Sydney began, taking a step backwards up the stairs and tugging gently at the wrist enclosed in Jason’s fingers.
“Oh, come on,” Jason sighed, pulling on Sydney’s wrist. She refused to budge, ignoring Lanie’s impatient expression as her and Matt stepped down beside them to let Jason convince Sydney to accompany them. “Brian fucked up big time. It was a douche move on his part. He shouldn’t have thrown someone as remarkably perfect as you away like that. You didn’t deserve it, and he doesn’t deserve you. Stop wasting your time on him and come have fun with a few old buddies.”
Sydney could feel her will-power to stay home crumbling away. She opened her mouth for one last feeble argument, but Jason just grinned and turned around, pulling her down the rest of the stairs. Sydney knew she was beat; Jason obviously knew it too. The two of them climbed into the backseat; Matt and Lanie exchanged smirks before Matt put the car into drive and slid out onto the street.
@@@@@
“Here, Jason,” Matt said as the four of them stepped out of the restaurant into the warm velvet darkness. He pressed his car keys into Jason’s palm, holding onto Lanie’s hand with his other hand. “Lanie and I are walking back to my place for some boogie time. Just take Sydney home, will you?”
“Yeah,” Jason drew his answer out slowly, giving his brother a strange look. Sydney gave Lanie the same look over Jason’s shoulder, and Lanie just smirked and shrugged. “Boogie time. Right.”
“Use protection. I don’t think I’m ready for little Berrys to be running around the place quite yet,” Sydney warned. Lanie grinned and patted Matt’s back pocket.
“Already got it covered, dearest,” Lanie answered. “Now, c’mon, Matt, I bit my tongue eating my grilled chicken and I need you to help me make it feel better. See you tomorrow, Sydney.”
“Yep,” Sydney replied as Matt and Lanie started to turn away. “Just don’t bring the details home with you!”
Lanie waved a hand towards Sydney before the darkness beyond the range of the streetlight swallowed them whole. Sydney looked over at Jason and shook her head, pulling a face. Jason grinned and led the way towards the car.
“Do you want to come in, or...?” Sydney asked uncertainly several minutes later. Jason just pulled into the alleyway, and had turned the vehicle off. Now they sat in near darkness lightened only by the yellow-tinted light above the apartment doorway.
“Oh, no, it’s several milliseconds after my bedtime,” Jason answered, looking down at his watch. Sydney smiled and started to climb out, but Jason’s hand snagged her wrist. Sydney turned back towards him, blinking as a single image flashed into her mind: that of looking into Brian’s chocolate brown eyes the previous year as he begged to know how to get Sydney to forgive him. Jason’s eyes were chocolate brown, too, but they were richer than Brian’s, speckled with pale yellow and even hints of gold.
“Yes?” Sydney asked imploringly.
“Maybe I should come in,” Jason said off-handedly, his gaze sliding away from Sydney’s eyes. Sydney felt somehow emptier all of a sudden; it was the same emptiness that always tugged at her insides when Brian wasn’t at her side back before the accident.
“No, just tell me here,” Sydney replied impatiently, turning so that her whole body faced Jason.
“You’ll probably say no,” Jason continued quietly, releasing Sydney’s hand and looking down at his lap.
“You can’t tell until you tell me,” Sydney wheedled, leaning forward toward Jason a little bit.
“I was wondering if maybe...well, if maybe you’d want to get back together with me some time...just us...alone,” Jason said slowly and carefully. His cheeks flushed red, and Sydney could see it through the darkness. He slowly lifted his gaze to meet Sydney’s, and he looked so sheepish and undeniably adorable Sydney couldn’t find any way to turn him down. She realized in that instant she didn’t want to turn him down in the first place.
“Of course, Jason,” Sydney answered brightly. “I’d love to get together with you some time.”
Jason grinned in relief and as he hunted down something for Sydney to write her number on, the light above the apartment door fell onto his face. It shone gently on his face, sprinkling gold into his dark hair. He lifted his gaze back to Sydney, and his eyes caught the light, simultaneously darkening and lightening them; his pupils turned into orbs of molten gold, and then his head shifted and the illusion was gone. Sydney felt mesmerized as Jason sheepishly handed over a pen and said she’d have to write it on his hand because he couldn’t find any paper. She’d never really noticed how cute Jason really was until now.
“Just give me your phone, silly,” Sydney heard herself saying. “I’ll put my number in there, safe and sound.”
“Oh, right, right,” Jason replied, and Sydney blinked several times as he fumbled in his pocket for his phone. She felt back to normal by the time he handed the little rectangle over. Sydney quickly punched her number into his phone book on his phone before handing it back over. “I’ll call you,” Jason promised, smiling as Sydney turned towards the open car door again.
“Sounds great,” Sydney answered. They said their farewells and then Sydney climbed out.
Several moments later, Sydney closed her apartment door behind her. She leaned back against it and closed her eyes. Her forehead started to tingle again suddenly, exactly where Jason’s lips had pressed only hours before. Sydney began to realize that maybe it wouldn’t be as hard to get over Brian as she first assumed.