One Way or Another

Nicole’s POV

I finished fixing my hair, adding some last minute hairspray and placing the black sequined hair band over it.

It was Friday night and we had agreed to hang out at my place. Maybe bond and stuff, and give out second chances. Yeah, I’m not really sure about it though.
And by WE, I mean: Me, Gerard, Mikey, a friend of his Ray, and ……Ally.

I wasn’t excited or anything about it. I mean, she was with Mikey. I actually thought we were hitting off again. But anyways, this is what it’s all about. Just erasing all the shit that happened in the past and moving on. Besides, now I’m with Gerard. I couldn’t be any happier. And well….I might as well want the same for my best friend.

Despite our fights, I still felt she was my BFF. I was gonna tell her just that tonight. And we would soon all get along just well.
I hoped.

********************************

“Ally….hey!” I greeted her at the door, managing to sound friendly.

She gave me a weird look.
Mikey, who was right beside her, nudged her and gave her a look.

“Nicole! Hey girl!”

The next thing I know she’s giving me a tight hug, just like the ones we used to share before.

“Come on in guys” I moved aside a bit, letting them in.

Just as I was about to close the door, I heard someone call out to me.

“Wait! Don’t close!”

I pulled the door back opened again and stared at a man with an afro kind of style.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

He smiled and got in too.

“I’m Nicole. Sorry for that”

“It’s ok. I’m kind of used to it.”

I felt touched.
So was I.

“Used to what?” I asked, playing dumb. Just in case I wanted to know if he was referring to the same thing as I was.

“You know….being kind of ignored. Invisible.”

Yep, it was.

“I know. I mean….I know what’s it’s like”

He smiled, that little hints of embarrassment disappearing

“Nice. I guess” He laughed.

I nodded and lead us to the couch to take a seat.

Turns out his name was Ray. Yeah, pretty much had to be. Unless Mikey had forgotten to bring his friend.
I had to admit the guy was really interesting. Well, nerd like at least. Which is good, cause we had lots of things in common.

We talked for a pretty long while. Until I saw something that made my stomach sick.

“Ugh….” I murmured. But Ray heard me.

He seemed to look at the same thing I was, and than at me.

“Umm….so you and Mikey…dated?”

I turned my full attention to him.
Well, at least 80% of it.
I mean they were making out right in front of us.

“Yeah, we did…..but it was long ago. Wayyy….long agoo”

He seemed to buy my whole “he was the stupidest mistake I’ve ever made” act.
And as hard as it seemed, it wouldn’t hurt if I bought it too.

****************

I made my way through the living room where they were all just lounging around listing to music and chatting….and making out like animals.
Gross much?

I opened the door and was soon wrapped in a warm and loving embrace as the most soft and perfect pair of lips met mine.
I didn’t want to pull away.
And apparently, neither did he.

“Umm guys? Please don’t do that in front of the guest” I heard Mikey’s whining voice cross the room.

“Speak for yourself” Ray shot back at him.

See? I really like Ray.

“Sorry for not being able to make it here earlier. Especially since I promised you to….um…you know….”

I didn’t.
At first, that is.
After realizing what he meant, I turned bright red, keeping my back to everyone so they wouldn’t notice.

“It’s ok. Really, no worries. Come on in”

We both walked to where everyone else was, after I closed the door behind us. Gerard greeted Ally with handshake, which was really weird….
And then gave his brother a bear hug. Which was even more weirder……

“Ok, so umm….what do you guys wanna do?”

“I don’t know. What can we do?” Mikey asked, running a free hand through his now partly blonde hair.

I decided I would just got to my room and see what I had. Maybe a board game or something not as boring.

“I’m gonna go to my room and see….I’ll be right back.”

I walked to my room, hearing footsteps behind me.

“I wanna help you” Gee’s voice scared the shit out of me when I finally got to the room. Especially cause he had closed the door behind us.

“Sure. Let’s see what I have….”

We looked around some boxed stuff and found several classic but yet boring board game.

“Ooohh, how about this?” he asked holding the box of Twister in his hands.

“Are you serious??”

“Hell yeah I am. Why not?”

I thought of all the bad things that could happen playing the game and well, actually it wasn’t such a bad idea.

“I suck at it”

He laughed.
But as I like to think, not at me, but……ah never mind. He did laughed at me.

“I can’t see how that’s possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you seem pretty flexible to me”

I blushed, once more.

“Am not”

“Are too”

“Not”

“Too”

“Nott!!”

“Nott!!”

“Too!!” oh fuck…

We laughed sitting on the floor and when I was less expecting it he threw me a pillow at me, knocking me down on my back.

“Owww!”

“Sorry…..come on, let’s go play Twister. And don’t worry, I’m the one the sucks”

I took his hand and we headed back to the living room, boxed game in hand.

******

“Ok, Gerard you go first. Right hand green.” Ally yelled a little bit too loud.

We had decided to play first. Meaning me, Ray, Gerard and Mikey.

“Nicole…left foot red”

Wow this wasn’t so bad after all.

“Ray, left hand blue”

“Mikey, left hand blue.”

We kept playing on like this till we were in an umm…..really weird position.

“Mikey….right foot red”

I looked around at the mat.
God, no….

I watched as he stretched his leg and move a bit around position himself right.
He was now on top of me.
Well, on top with space between us. If that makes sense.

“Ok, Gerard…..”

“Ugh fuck, I can’t hold on any longer!”

I watched as he felt to the floor on his back. Now there were only three of us left.

“See, I told you I sucked.”

“Yeah well, I told you I was flexible” I smirked

“Yes, of course you did….”

Now it was Ray turn and to be honest I wasn’t really sure of how much longer I was gonna last.

Ray placed his right foot on a green circle, now leaving me and Mikey on the other side of the matt.

“Ok, Nicole….right hand…oh god…on green”

I looked down at the matt.
She had to be kidding me.
There was no way in hell I could stretch my hand to the other side of the matt.
It just wasn’t humanly possible.

But I tried.

Too bad I failed terribly, making Mikey loose the few balance he had on himself.
I ended underneath him. Both of loosing. Which meant Ray was the winner.

“Fuck yea! I won!!” he got up on two feet (no hands on floor) and started jumping around like he had just won a marathon.

I tried to move from underneath Mikey, but there was something that made me stop. Something I wasn’t expecting.

No, it wasn’t his weight. I mean the guy weights probably 90 pounds max.
It was something else.
Something called a boner.

I could tell he knew I felt it cause he was desperately trying to stand up. But failing, since no one was even helping us. Instead they were jumping around with Ray.
Traitors.

*****

I had managed to get up all by myself and help Mikey up as well.
I was now in the kitchen making us some drinks and grabbing some snacks.

“I would have won if you hadn’t knocked me down, you know”

I turned around and saw Mikey leaning on the near by counter.

“Ohhh, yeahh righttt…….I would have been able to reach that green circle if I didn’t have you on me”

“What?? You knocked me on your pathetic attempt, please.”

I laughed, he was fooling around.
I missed this guy.

“You. Are. Such. A bad loser.”

He made an offended kind of look and crossed his arms pouting.

“Aww, poor Mikey lost???”

He gave me an “yeah, right” look and came closer to me.

“I didn’t loose. I just didn’t win.”

I nodded, even thought it made no sense to do so. I was busy pouring some lemon flavored Vodka into 5 glasses.

I felt him sight and then a couple of arms around my waist. Followed by his head on my shoulder.

“I’ve missed you.”

“Me too”

I didn’t know it what I said was proper. I mean, I did miss him. I had the right to, right? In a friend kind of way.

I felt the same bulge from before press onto me.
I was gonna move forward since I still had some space between him and the counter.
But he beat me, pushing me against it.
Now I was stuck.