Relax, Rebound

Nicole Franklin sat in the middle of her bed, her knotted brown hair a mess around her face and her usually clear blue eyes red and puffy from hours of sobbing. Her beat-up cell phone lay in front of her, its scratched screen blank reading ‘no new calls.’ Nicole pulled her heavy, worn duvet over her slender frame and wrapped it tight around her, enjoying the warmth.

She was a wreck, plain and simple. It had been months since he’d last called. When he left he had promised her that he’d check in every day, and that they’d survive the vicious odds of a long distance relationship. He’d given her a sweet kiss on the cheek, his large, calloused hands brushing her hipbones lightly, dragging her body closer to him. There was one last kiss, a single, mournful look, and then he was off, his dark green jeep kicking up dust on the Arizona road.

She kept her phone with her at all times diligently, waiting, praying for it to ring; all she wanted was to hear his voice. Days stretched on and no phone call came; and soon days stretched into weeks, and weeks into months... She felt pathetic, waiting up day and night for a phone call that she knew deep down would never come.

Nicole was anything but pathetic. She was strong, independent and had a good sense of humour. That was what made her attractive to him; her strong will and her brilliant smile. The way that when the sun shined, it glared off her shiny brown hair, making her glow. Unknowingly, Nicole had fallen head over heels for him. He had simply... returned the favour. He had been a lot of her firsts; she had been none of his.
In some cruel trick of fate, Nicole had convinced herself that he still loved her, even though the day he left was the last day she’d heard from him. Today however was different, it was the breaking point for her; today was the day all her carefully constructed delusions came crashing down around her.

The beginning of the end came in the form of an anonymous email. Sent from a blank account came a series of pictures, all containing her boyfriend with his hands all over a blonde girl whose boobs were so big that they nearly swallowed her face. Today was the day that Nicole’s heart shattered into a million pieces.

She hadn’t moved from her bed all day. She’d cast away her laptop in disgust and it now lay, its screen cracked, by the foot of her bed. Now that she thought back, she had actually fallen out of love with him the day that his tires hit the road, but still, it stung like a million paper-cuts soaked in lemon juice.

Whether or not Nicole was still in love with him, Thomas Winter had broken her heart. And that pissed her off beyond belief

***

Nicole had fallen asleep, her covers wrapped tightly around her shuddering body and tear tracks making her cheeks stiff. A heavy knocking ripped her from her peaceful slumber- jolting her back from a world where she still had a boyfriend that loved her “Nick?” The banging ceased for a split second. Nicole groaned, snuggling deeper into her warm bed. “Nicki!? You in there?!”

“Go away!” Nicole called, pressing her threadbare pillow over her head tightly, muffling the knocking persistent knocking. She just wanted to be alone right now, no one could see her like this, so broken and defeated.

“NICOLE FRANKLIN!” The voice boomed again, impatient now. “Nick! It’s John open up your fucking door!”

Nicole shot upwards, her covers sliding off her body. She climbed out of her bed slowly, grabbing her light blue silk robe from her doorknob and shrugging it over her shoulders, tying it tightly around her. She felt so stupid, how could she forget about today?

Nicole and John had been friends for absolutely ages. They met back when they were six years old. It was a wonderful age to be at; the world was still full of hope, the tooth fairy was still real, it didn’t matter what you wore or how you looked, and you chose your friends by the names of their imaginary playmates.

That’s how John found Nicole. It was the first day of school, and both kids were terrified. Nicole clung to her mother’s leg, her tiny frame shaking.

“Go on Nick.” Her mother soothed, gently prying her daughters clammy hands from her calf, “Go play with the other kids honey.”

The young Nicole had shook her head frantically, her little brown pigtails swinging from side to side. She clung tighter to her mother’s leg, her wide eyes scanning the room full of anxious six year olds, many of them exhibiting the same behaviour she was. One stood out from the crowd however, his slightly cocky demeanour and sly smile unusual for a boy of his age. His brown hair was messy and uncared for- even back then- and his eyes were glinting happily in the bright fluorescent lighting of the cheery classroom.

He approached a trembling Nicole and her slightly impatient mother who was late for a meeting. He reached them, a broad grin stretching its way onto his face. Nicole noticed that his left front tooth was missing and the pink of his tongue was showing through.

“I’m John.” The boy stuck out his hand, offering it to Nicole. “What’s your name?”

Nicole just closed her eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the classroom.

“Nick sweetie, be polite.” Her mother said, unwrapping her daughters arms from her legs for the third time.

“Nick?” John said, cocking his head to the side in confusion, “But that’s a boy’s name.”

“Nicole.” She said, levelling the scruffy boy with hard stare- it was pretty impressive for a six year old. She did not like to be compared to a boy. “My name is Nicole. You can call me Nicki.”

“Cool.” John smiled, taking her hand in his and leading her towards a bin of colourful Lego. Nicole’s mother smiled proudly as her daughter sat down beside her new friend and began building something that slightly resembled a dog.

They had been inseparable ever since.

Nicole reached for the door handle, wrenching it open and revealing a very bouncy John O’Callaghan. He hadn’t changed much over the years, his hair was still a mess, all though a bit longer, and his eyes still held the sparkling spirit of his former six year old self.

John and Nicole had a tradition; the first second John arrived home from tour he would rush over to Nicole’s house- no matter how indecent the time- and they would sit together and watch movies while John recounted the many adventures of tour to his eager to listen best friend.

“Nick?” John stepped into the apartment, his face contorting into shock as he took in her bedraggled appearance. “Jesus Nick, what happened to you?”

“You were right John.” Nicole dragged her feet over to the couch, dropping down on it and burying her face into her hands, “About Thomas.”

“I’ll kill him.” John growled, sitting down beside his friend and pulling her close, stroking her hair soothingly.

“Don’t even bother,” Nicole sighed, discovering that she couldn’t shed any more tears over the boy that had supposedly broke her heart, “The douche bag isn’t worth your time Johnny Boy.”

“You sure Nick?” John ran a calloused hand over Nicole’s cheek, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Cause I swear to god I will. They guys will back me up too on this; we’ll fucking tag team that SOB.”

Nicole laughed softly, wiping her now dry eyes. “Thanks John.” She said, placing her hands on his cotton t-shirt clad chest and squeezing, “That means a lot.”

They sat in silence for a while; John concentrating on Nicole’s uneven breathing and Nicole listening to John’s steady heartbeats, letting them lull her into a peaceful sleep. John looked down at the now asleep girl in his arms, a faint smile tugging at the corners of lips.

Up until they were 15, John had never seen Nicole as anything more than a friend. Every time he looked at her, he saw the slightly gangly, uncertain six year old he had befriended. But everything changed in that summer between grade 10 and 11. Nicole had went away to visit relatives upstate, and was gone the entire summer. It was the longest time that the two had spent away from each other, and all though they diligently called each other every Monday, Thursday and Sunday, it still was hard for the both of them.

When Nicole’s parent’s old tan car pulled into the driveway of their nice, two story home; John had rushed over as fast as he could and embraced his friend in a bone crushing hug, picking her up and twirling her around, cry’s of joy sounding from both their mouths. When they separated, they were both surprised to find how much the other had changed over the course of the summer. Nicole had grown into her 5’5 frame, all baby fat gone from her body. Her hair was slightly longer and pulled up into a high pony tail, her blue eyes wide with happiness.

John was taken aback; he had never really noticed how attractive Nicole was. But now, after a summer of separation, John saw his best friend in a totally different light. It was after that summer that John’s small crush on Nicole had transformed into something that he never expected; John fell in love with his best friend.

He had never liked Thomas Winter; John thought that he was all wrong for Nicole. He was too loud, drunk a little too much, and took way to much interest in other girls when Nicole was around. He would never admit it, but John was thrilled when Nicole told him that Thomas and her were over; it gave him a chance. A small chance, but a chance none the less.

He looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms, hair a mess and face red and blotchy from crying. He still found her beautiful.

John slowly slipped out from under Nicole and laid her down gently on the couch, trying his best not to wake her from her slumber. He pulled the light afghan over Nicole and tucked it in around her slight frame, smiling softly as she leant into his hand.

He pulled his hand away softly, not wanting to wake his snoozing best friend. He lumbered over to her messy kitchen quietly, rummaging around in the near empty cabinets, searching for something he could make both of them. He finally settled on an old, slightly soggy box of Kraft dinner and fired up the old stove, cursing silently as Nicole groaned and sat up sleepily.

“What are you doing?” She mumbled, pushing her hair out of her face.

“Sorry I woke you up,” John said, dumping the box of cracked noodles into the boiling water.

“Sorry I fell asleep.” Nicole said back, standing up shakily and walking over to John, hoisting herself up onto the counter beside the stove. “You must have been bored.”

“Nah,” John said, stirring the softening noodles slowly, not daring to meet her inquisitive eyes. He let a small smile creep up onto his lips as he remembered the peaceful expression that adorned Nicole’s face as she slept. “I think I fell asleep too, no worries.” He lied easily.

They sat in silence for a while, John keeping a careful eye on the bubbling pasta, and Nicole keeping a careful eye on John’s concentrated face.

She had never noticed before, how handsome he was. The way his eyes sparkled in the dim light, the subtle curve of his lips, the way his hair never looked like he had at least attempted to run a comb through it....

Stop it, She told herself firmly, This is John you’re thinking about! You’re best friend! You just got your heart broken! You shouldn’t be thinking like this!

But as Nicole thought, she realized that she actually wasn’t that heartbroken. Sure, it hurt that her supposed boyfriend had cheated on her, but after she got over the initial sting of rejection, she wasn’t that hurt.

But still, The pesky, nagging voice in the back of her head sounded, This is John you’re thinking about. J-O-H-N. JOHN! You’re childhood best friend!

But as she thought back, Nicole was surprised to find that in some way, shape, or form, she had always had these feelings for him. The casual brushes of their hands when they were walking together always made her heart beat a little faster, and anytime that he had complimented her, her palms would get a little sweaty and her thoughts would race.

She had been in love with him the whole time, and not even realized it.

“John?” She said quietly, her cheeks still burning a bright red from her newfound realization.

“Wassup Nick?” John said, scooping a nearly cooked noodle out of the boiling water with a plastic spoon and popped it into his mouth, promptly spitting it out into the sink, his bottom lips burnt. “Shit,” He cursed, probing the fresh burn gently with his tongue.

Nicole rolled her eyes at John’s idiocy, but jumped off the counter and reached into her freezer, pulling out a bag of peas and wrapping them in a semi clean dish towel.

“Here,” She said soothing, brushing John’s fingers out of the way and placing the freezing bag of vegetables on his swollen lip. He slowly raised his hand up and placed it on top of hers, which was still tenderly holding the icepack to his face.

“Thanks.” He muttered around the ice. She just shot him a shy smile, flicking the hair out of her face uneasily. Nicole was suddenly aware of the fact that she looked a mess, and John stood before her, looking as put together as ever. Their closeness made her heart speed up slightly, her arms shaky, her palms slick....

She looked up into his eyes uncertainly, unable to tear her gaze away from his inquisitive stare. Nicole gently pulled the ice pack away- not breaking eye contact- and was pleased to see that the redness had faded to a dull pink.

“All better.” She murmured quietly, “Nicole saves the day again.”

John just sent her a barely-there smile, placing his hand in hers, pulling her closer. Nicole had barely had any time to register John moving his head closer to hers before his slightly chapped lips were on hers, his hands placed firmly on her hips.

Nicole froze for a second, unsure of what to do. Slowly she brought her hands up to John’s messy hair and stood on her tip toes, opening her lips subtly. John’s hand slipped under the hem of her baggy shirt and began to creeped up her side, his fingers leaving a trail of goose bumps behind.

They both broke away, panting heavily, cheeks tinted with the slightest of reds.

“I don’t want to be just a rebound.” John blurted suddenly, blushing profusely when he realized what had just come out of his mouth. His hands were still on her hips and her’s tangled in his hair.

“Good.” Nicole grinned, her heart soaring,“Cause I don’t want you to be.”

“Nick-” John said, a thousand unsaid worries in his eyes.

“John.” She cut him off, “I wasn’t even that upset when I found out about Thomas. You know why? Cause I knew I still had you. That’d you’d be there for me, that’d you’d beat him up for me if I asked you to.”

“I really will.” John said seriously,

“I know.” Nicole gave him a soft smile, “And John...” She took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say. “That’s why I’m in love with you.”

An earth shattering smile broke out onto John’s face, and he abruptly pulled her closer, smashing his lips onto hers. He pulled away, wincing slightly, his hand going to his burn gingerly. Nicole let a chuckle slip out from between her lips.

“I love you too Nicole.” John said, a small smile creeping onto his face. “All ways have. All ways will.” Nicole grinned, and pulled him in for another kiss- this time minding his burnt lip.

The pasta that had been cooking on the stove bubbled over, sizzling on the hot burner.

They didn’t notice.