A Friend Like Me

I don't wanna lead you on,
But the truth is, I've grown fond.
Just Friends - Jonas Brothers

“Hey,” someone said to me while I waited for my order at Starbucks, tapping me on the back. “You're Ava Summers.”

I turned around, puzzled. How did this girl know my name? “Uh...yeah?” I said hesitantly.

I took the chai latte I had ordered, sipping it, as the girl said, “You're Joe Jonas' girlfriend!”

I gagged on the chai latte, nearly inhaling it up my nose. “No! Nah, we're just friends.” I checked my watch. “Well, I have to go meet someone now. Uh...bye.” I walked out of Starbucks, toward my apartment building.

Soon, I finally got to my apartment and all I had to do was wait until those Jonases get here.

I sighed, my mind still on Starbucks Girl and what she had said, which wasn't even a little bit true. Not that I didn't wish it was true, though. That Joe and I were dating, that is. It's just that…okay. Maybe I've had this little crush on him.

Fine. It's more than that.

I don't know why I even decided to fall for him, though. The perfect guy should be smart, sophisticated, mature, and we'd get perfectly along. Joe's not even any of those things, so why him of all people? He's stupid, not polite (to me, at least), immature, and we always argue with each other.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. “Hello?” I answered it.

“Hi. We're here. Bye,” Joe said at the end of line and hung up.

See what I mean by not polite?

You know what I'm going to do? I'm just going to go over there. I'm over him. That was the last straw, that single, three-sentenced phone call.

I'm going to meet with him and not have a crush on him, just good, friendly feelings.

{∞∞∞}

So, you know that plan about me seeing him, having gotten rid of all of that stupid crush?

Yeah, it failed.

I mean, I walked into that hotel lobby, my confidence at an all-high level.

All that confidence vanished when Joe walked up to me and said, grinning, “Hey, I missed you.” Then he hugged me. That's what you call overkill, my friend. Overkill.

“You saw me two months ago,” I reminded him. “At your birthday.”

“So?” he said. “Let's go eat now, I'm starving.”

Okay, so I saw him two months ago and tried the same plan. I just thought I'd be stronger now, you know?

“Wait,” Nick suddenly said. “There's someone I need you to meet.”

“Uh, okay,” I said.

“Ava, this is Vanessa,” he said, introducing me to a girl with short, dark hair. “Vanessa, Ava.”

“Hey, I know you,” I said. “You're Vanessa Hale. You're on Disney.”

Which, you know, might not be on the Top 10 Things to Say to Someone When You Meet Them, but oh well.

“What's taking so long?” Joe said. “I need food!” He prodded my side. “C'mon.”

“What?” I said, grinning. “Oh, alright, come on. And stop poking me.”

“Nick has a crush on her,” Joe blurted out as soon as we were out of the hotel.

“I know,” I replied.

“What?” Joe asked. “How?”

“Because...the way he looks at her. It's, like, that smitten look.”

“You're joking. You just want to seem like you know something before I did.”

“Uh...no. Anyways, let's watch that Toy Story double feature thing.”

“What? No! Let's watch Zombieland. It just came out last week.”

“No. That movie looks stupid. Besides, it's my turn to pick.”

“You always pick the crappy movies, though.”

“Name one time I picked a 'crappy' movie!”

“Made of Honor.”

“You're still not over that? That was, like, a year ago!”

“No. It was too weird.”

See what I mean about the disagreements?

{∞∞∞}

“Okay,” I said after the movie, “you have to have enjoyed that. It's Toy Story and Toy Story 2! That's, like, two wins. Also, it's on the movie theatres. That makes it a triple win.”

“Fine,” Joe said. “It wasn't that bad.”

We were walking out of the movie theatre and the cold air suddenly hit me. I shivered.

“It's freezing,” I said.

“I know,” Joe replied.

…No comment.

Deciding to just get to the point, I said, “Can I borrow your sweater?”

“What?” he said. “I'm cold, too.”

Niiiice.

“Why didn't you bring your own sweater?” Joe asked.

“Because,” I said, “it was supposed to be a hot October day. I'm still cold, though.”

“Go get your own sweater.”

...Ugh. I bet his sweater smells good too.

Oh dear God. Did I really just think that? Why can't I stop thinking and feeling like this? I'm turning into those dependent, weak people. If I keep like this, I'm going to be the kind to throw themselves off a cliff when their boyfriend leaves. Or I'll drop out of college to be with my “one true love.”

Please shoot me if I ever do those things.

I sighed. “Let's just get something to eat.”

“Hey, hey, hey, look at this,” Joe said, pulling out a deck of cards from his hoodie's pocket. “I found these deck of cards in this one store from 1989! That's when we were born!”

I laughed. “You're so dorky. How do you even know they're from 1989?”

“It said on the package. It was like, 'copyright 1989', like those books.”

Wow. Just wow.

Not in a bad way, though. In a way, I really like how he gets excited over things like these and his pranking and craziness. Don't get me wrong, it's annoying, but it's also so…funny at the same time. I don't know. It's just the way he is that makes me so crazy for him, you know?

It's just…when he smiles, my insides, like, melt. And speaking of his smile, it's so – so wow. I swear, it can light up a whole city or my day or anything, really. And how it's all different, like when he's truly happy, his smile quite literally goes from ear to ear. When he's about to prank someone or say this cocky comment, his lips curl up in this mischievous way. And –

Okay. I'll stop.

I know. I'm pathetic. And I've been falling in love in the most cliché way possible – with my best friend.