Take Me Anywhere

Mia and Sidney made it to the apartment around seven o'clock, a lot later than they had expected. Mia knocked on the door before fitting her key inside the lock and pushing it open, revealing Jordan laying comfortably on the couch while Alice was sitting on the other side of the room, flipping through the channels on the television.

"Welcome home," she called. "What took so long?"

"Traffic," Mia shrugged, kicking off her shoes. Sidney did the same as well. "I'm surprised you two are so far apart right now. I was half-expecting to see you guys rolling around on the floor naked."

Jordan just smirked as Alice covered her face with a pillow. Mia looked at both of them and pretended to gag.

"Gross. You're going to Febreze this whole apartment, I hope you're aware."

Alice chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I'm hungry. Want to make food?"

Mia tapped her finger against her chin, tossing her coat aside before taking Sidney's as well. "I guess I could. What do you guys want to eat? Is pasta okay?"

"Is pasta okay?" Jordan repeated, shooting up from the couch. "Pasta's amazing!"

"Alright then," she laughed before moving towards the kitchen.

The apartment was a lot bigger than Sidney had expected. The entrance area had hardwood flooring, and marble tile led into the kitchen. The living room had a lush beige carpet, and the walls were painted a pale green with framed pictures and paintings scattered about. A separate hallway led to the bedrooms and bathrooms, and he could see from where he was that one of the rooms was blue and the other was red.

One of the pictures on the stand by the entrance caught Sidney's eye. It was a framed photo of Mia and Nate, his arm around her waist and her hand on his chest as they smiled at the camera. They looked like the picture-perfect couple.

Sidney stared at it intently, clenching his jaw just a bit. Mia peered over from the kitchen and saw him leering at the frame, so she rushed over. She picked it up, opened the drawer and shoved the picture inside.

"Sorry," she apologized with a small smile. "I haven't been home in five months."

Sidney just nodded as she retreated back to the kitchen. Alice was shuffling across the apartment, looking for what he assumed to be Febreze, when he poked her on the shoulder and tugged her out of Mia's line of vision.

"What?" Alice asked, watching as Sidney made sure that Mia couldn't see them. "You look like you have a deep dark secret to tell me. Which might not be the best idea, since I like to talk."

"Can I ask you a serious question?"

"Go for it."

"What happened between Mia and Nate?"

Alice let out a heavy sigh. "I knew that this was going to come up. Well, a few months ago, while Mia was out on tour, they broke up. They weren't even really fighting or anything, and when Nate dumped her, she took it really hard--"

"Wait," Sidney interrupted. "He broke up with her? What for, is he insane?"

Alice shrugged. "Could be. I think he just got sick of her never being home. He couldn't go with her on tour because he had a job that needed him during the week, and they never really saw each other, and so he broke things off."

Sidney shook his head. "He should have known. That's what happens when you date a musician."

Alice looked up at Sidney. He was staring down at his shoes, and she snapped her fingers two inches from his nose so that he would look up. Once his gaze met hers, she hissed, "Don't even think about it."

He cocked his head to the side. "Think about what?"

"Don't you dare ask her out," she whisper-shouted. "Do you realize that she and Nate had been dating for three years? We've known Nate and his family since the dawn of time. He was there for her before she became a famous musician. He went from being able to go to every single one of her local shows to not seeing her for months at a time because she was away in Australia or something. They were in love, and I wouldn't doubt it if she still isn't over him."

"I-I wasn't going to ask her out," Sidney stammered. "I was just--"

"Don't make things worse by lying to me, buddy," Alice seethed, wagging a finger in his face. "I see the way you look at her. I know that you like her, and Jordan does too. It's the most painfully obvious thing I have ever seen. And I'm not telling you that you're forbidden to talk to her or anything, but think about it. She's a travelling musician, you're a travelling athlete. How are you going to make things work? She couldn't even hold on to a stable relationship where she could actually be with him for a month at a time."

Sidney stayed quiet, pursing his lips together. Alice let out another sigh and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Sid. I didn't mean to sound so horrible, but it's true. Look, just get to know her better first. We only really met you guys a week and a half ago. She's a lot more private than she lets on, and I know that you are too. Be her friend first. That's all she really needs right now."

"Dinner's ready," Mia called from the kitchen. Alice gave Sidney a small pat on the back before grabbing the bottle of Febreze and rushing back to the living room.

Sidney let out the breath that he had been holding for the last minute. Leaning his shoulder against the wall, he let his forehead bump against it a few times before shaking any thoughts of himself and Mia together from his head.

Alice is right, he thought to himself glumly. It just wouldn't work.