It Started with a Bet...

It's pretty late by the time I realize what I'm doing. Trevor's breathing has long since steadied, but how long have I been playing with his hair for? I pull away, thinking about the best way to get to bed. Mom and Dad have ER duty to tonight, so they won't be home until 6 tomorrow morning. That being said, I still don't want to sleep on the couch sitting up.

I lift Trevor's head off my lap and get off the sofa. I try to set a pillow down and let Trevor's head down slowly, but as I do so, he grabs my arm.

At first I think he knows it's my arm, but it soon becomes apparent that he's mistaken it for a stuffed animal. He tugs on it, and whether it's by force or will, I end up lying on the couch with him, my arm his captive.

It's an awkward moment for me. I can't sleep comfortably on my back, especially not on a couch, regardless of how large this one is. But I, apparently, have become Trevor's new teddy bear.

"Geez, Trevor. I'd rather be sleeping in my bed than on the couch." I don't expect him to answer, but he does, his voice breathless and broken like he's speaking to one in his dream.

"Haley, who's hotter: me or Corey?" It's a silly question, really. But even if Trevor's sleeping I don't want to break it to him.

"Corey," I say finally. "But you are definitely second." He frowns. I feel guilty.

"Trevor, you didn't ask me the more important questions."

"Who do you trust more?" He mumbles.

"You."

"Who do you like more?"

I pause. Neither? Both? And if the answer is the name that pops into my head the second the question leaves his lips, dare I say it out loud? "Goodnight, Trevor." I tug my arm out of his grasp and head to my room. Just as I slip into bed, my cellphone begins to vibrate.

"Hello?"

"Haley, it's Clarice." She's choking back tears. I let out a sigh.

"Where are you?"

I grab a post-it and stick it to Trevor's forehead.

Clarice upset. Borrowed car. Hope you don't mind... I'll call if I'm not coming home.

I snag Trevor's keys from the counter and drive off into the night.

***
"Haley, I'm so glad you're here," Clarice sniffs as she opens the door of her apartment. She leads me to her room and flops down on the bed.

"What's up?" She wipes her eyes and hands me her phone. It's a picture texted from Janice. A picture of Janice up against a locker, Matt's face pressed against hers. There's no way to say Janice initiated it. No way. And the locker room setting means they're definitely not drunk.

"I'm sorry," I say finally. "Have you talked to Matt yet?" She shakes her head.

"I'm trying to think of possible explanations. I don't want to get mad at him and find out I had no reason to be upset. Janice is known for screwing with girls whose boyfriends she wants." I feel bad. I actually feel bad. I remember Clarice trying to comfort me all those years ago. In her puffy eyes I see my own. I pull her into a hug.

"I'm sorry." I really am. Trina won't mind, will she? "The picture definitely shows Matt kissing her, but isn't it odd that it would be on her phone? I mean, if she's kissing him, how is she simultaneously taking a picture from that angle? It seems set up." Clarice shakes her head.

"But I don't see any way she could have gotten him to kiss her without seducing him. And in that case, I should be mad at him." I pick her phone up and thumb through the contacts. Finding the one I want, I hit dial and put it on speaker.

"You're going to have to talk to him." Clarice sniffs and nods, steeling herself. But when she hears Matt's deep, "Hey, babe, what's up?" she freezes.

"Clarice? Hey, are you okay, babe?" I prod her, but she still can't speak. "Should I come over?" Finally, I speak.

"Is that you, Matt?"

"Hey, Haley. Is Clarice okay?" I look at her, but she shakes her head vigorously at me. She doesn't want him to know.

"Uh, yeah. She just went to bathroom and I realized I've been sitting on her phone. I must've called you on accident." I can tell by Matt's voice that he knows something's up, but he drops it. We say our goodbyes and hang up. I turn to Clarice. It's unfortunately adorable that Matt knows something's wrong without even talking to her.

"What's wrong?" She buries her head in her hands.

"I want to hear him say it's a mistake. But what if it isn't?" I pull her into a hug again. We spend the next hour prank calling people we know. Like Janice. And Trevor. And Corey. No one picks up, but it definitely gets Clarice's mind off Matt.

"So how's the love triangle?" I look at her like she's insane.

"The what?" She carves a triangle into the carpet with her finger.

"You, Trevor, and Corey. Those guys are pretty obviously fighting for you." I sigh.

"I know. But I don't think I like either of them." Clarice looks at me like I'm insane. "I find them attractive," I say quickly, knowing that's her argument. "But..." I trail off.

"You can't really like someone, can you?" I look at her in surprise.

"You know?" She nods.

"It sounds creepy, but I've been keeping an eye on you for a long time. I know you better than you think." I just stare at her. She knows? She's always known? And she hasn't called for help, she hasn't pushed me away? I sit still for a minute, then something unexpected comes out of my mouth.

"I think I might start liking Trevor." Her face splits into an enormous smile.

"It's about time! He's been crushing on you forever!" I want to laugh at her, but I'm not stupid. I know she's at least partially correct. But when did this become about me instead of about her? She looks so excited that I don't dare ask.

Then we start playing ghetto phone darts. We sit on the floor, a picture of Janice propped up on the sofa. We start throwing our ridiculously ghetto phones at it. You know the kind: the ones that are hip enough to be functional but cheap enough that they never break. Sometimes they hit, sometimes they bounce off and hit the floor. As mine rebounds off Janice's now-punctured nose, it starts buzzing. I don't feel like talking to anyone, so I wave at Clarice to pick it up. It's next to her foot anyway.

"Hello?" The other thing about ghetto phones? You can hear both sides of the friggen conversation from a mile away. A deep, sleepy voice rumbles through my ears.

"I got your sticky note. When are you coming home? Is Clarice okay?" I snag the phone as Clarice's mouth forms an O.

"That's Trevor!" she mouths. I nod my head. I know who the hell it is. I use my thumb to press the volume down button on the side of the phone. No need for Clarice to hear more than necessary.

"I was thinking of either spending the night or bringing Clarice over to my house for the night. She's fine, it's just girl stuff." As expected, he doesn't press further.

"Okay. If you want to bring her home that's fine too." I like how he refers to his house as our home. He's kind of right, though.

"Sounds good. I'll see what she wants to do. If I don't come home tonight, I'll swing by tomorrow and pick you up for school. I'll be by early though, I need to get changed." When I hang up, Clarice is sitting in front of me, hands on her hips.

"Why does Trevor Choi want you to 'come home'?"