What You Mean to Me

Frank.

I opened my eyes, a faint noise waking me from my sleep. I looked around, still in my sleep-like daze, finding myself still in Lena's room.

I guess I fell asleep here last night. Not that it was a big deal-- me and Lena had been having sleepovers since we were five. We fell asleep at each others houses on a regular basis, and neither of our moms really minded.

I glanced over at her window, seeing the first rays of the sun peeking in through the cracks of the drawn curtains, and immediately dropped my head back down. I hugged Lena closer to me, pulling her back against my chest, resting my head on her shoulder blade.

She smelled really good-- it was a sweet, almost fruity and flowery, but not fruity and flowery at the same time scent, if that makes any sense. But whatever it was, she smelled amazing.

I sighed, wanting to stay like this forever, feeling very comfortable. I was slowly drifting off to sleep again, when I heard her mother yelling from downstairs.

"Lena! Get up! It's time for school!"

I felt Lena stir underneath me, looking around. "Frank?"

"What?" I mumbled into her hair.

"Good, you're still here," she whispered, resting her head against the pillow again.

"Lena!" her mother yelled again, repeating the same phrase again in Spanish.

Lena sighed, starting to get up, but I pulled her back, keeping her against me.

"Frank," she laughed, clearly amused. "C'mon Frank, we've gotta get ready for school."

"No, no school," I pouted like a five year old, hugging her closer.

"Frank," she sighed, not struggling against me, shifting so she was on her back.

I shifted with her, on my side, looking down at her, one arm propping my head up, the other one around her.

"Lena," I responded, looking her directly in the eyes.

She sighed, looking away after a moment, putting her hands up to rub her face momentarily.

"Ay Papi," she complained in Spanish. "Ya, por favor."

"What?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

"Stop," she translated.

"But why?" I asked. "We don't need to go to school. School is for losers--"

"Elena, ven aquí ahora!" Her mother yelled in Spanish. "Tú tienes la escuela hoy, y tienes trenta minutos. Y es el mismo para Frank!"

[Translation: Elena, come here right now! You have school today, and in thirty minutes. And it's the same for Frank!]

I knew that once her mother called Lena by her full name, which is something she never did, she really meant business. I never really understood why she just went by 'Lena', where she only dropped the first letter of her name 'Elena', but hey, whatever. Lena just looked at me with an I-told-you-so look.

I grinned. "I told you it was time to get up Lena, but no… you don't wanna listen to me…"

She rolled her eyes, getting up and out of bed, walking out her door.

I remained in her bed, lying back down, a smile forming on my lips. Having Lena so close to me was enough to drive me to the point of insanity. Her skin was so soft, she smelled so good… why did she have to be my best friend? Out of all the people in this world, she was the one who was my best friend.

I was thinking of saying something to her. I was about to tell her I love her, but her mom kind of interrupted…

What's the use? I'll never get the nerve up to tell her I love her. Who am I kidding? Only myself. I'm kidding myself, thinking that she would ever care about me like I do for her. I'm pathetic.

"Hey, Frank, you coming?" Lena asked, sticking her head in the doorway, apparently done brushing her teeth, dressed, and ready to go.

"Uh, yeah, coming," I nodded, getting up.

I brushed my teeth with the toothbrush I always kept at Lena's house and changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that I had apparently left a few weeks ago, before going downstairs. She was at the kitchen bar, sitting with a plate of food in front of her, her mom in the kitchen cooking breakfast.

"Ay, buenas dias, Frank," her mom smiled at me warmly.
[Translation: good morning, Frank.]

"Morning, Blanca," I yawned, knowing she wanted me to call her by her first name, taking a seat next to Lena.

"Frank, honey did you sleep well?" She asked in perfect English.

"Yeah, great, thanks," I nodded.

She smiled, handing me a cup of coffee. "Here, specialty from Colombia."

I took a sip of the scorching dark liquid, instantly feeling better and more awake. "You seriously know how to start my day. Thanks."

It was her turn to nod as she passed me a plate with a plain cheese quesadilla cut up in small triangles served with homemade salsa and guacamole, the same as Lena.

I grinned, starting to eat. "I swear, your mom is the best cook," I mumbled with my mouth full.

"I know, right?" Lena agreed. "Hey, mami, are you taking off tonight?"

"Yeah mija," she nodded. "I'll be back in a few days."

"Where you going?" I asked, being the nosey person I am.

"New York," she nodded. "There's some final things that need to be done before the gallery opens this weekend, so I have to go take care of them."

"I can't wait to see how all your work is gonna come together," I said, shoving more food into my mouth. "I know it's gonna look great."

"Thank you Frank," she smiled. "That helps that I have the support from you."

I returned to my food, quickly eating the rest that was in front of me.

"Okay you two, you better get going," Blanca told us after a few more minutes. "You don't want to be late."

Lena nodded, taking my plate and sticking it in the sink wit hers before grabbing her messenger from the corner.

"Thanks mom!" She called as we walked out the door. "Love you! Bye!"

The two of us ran across the street to my place so I could grab my books, before getting into her car and speeding off towards the hell called school.