Stay With Them Tonight

TYLER P.O.V.

I had invited Allie out to bowling on an impulse; I had been studying, checking the clock for some reason, and saw that my sister was out of school. My first instinct was to go grab Kelly and go out somewhere, but then I thought about how she was just recently going out with Ryan, and she would no doubt talk about him incessantly.

The next immediate thought I had was of Allie, and I acted on it, grabbing my keys and walking out the door. It had taken me less than a minute to get to the school, and students were still streaming out of the building. I noticed that a lot of girls looked at me, probably just seeing an older guy with a car. I called Allie, hoping she didn’t have other plans.

And here we were.

I pulled into her driveway just as her mom was running out the door. She barely noticed us until she was getting in her car, right next to mine. Although she only had two children, she had a family vehicle, a huge Buick monstrosity that seated seven. She loved the thing, and they always used it for road trips and camping.

“Hey, Allie. Well, hi, Tyler. I haven’t seen you around recently.” I grinned at her.

“No, not really.”

“Well, you’re welcome to come over anytime. I need to see you more often. Why don’t you and Kelly come for dinner this week sometime? And your mom, too.” I looked at Allie, who nodded happily.

“Alright. I’ll talk to my mom, and she’ll call you about it.” By now, I was used to Mrs. Anderson’s spontaneous offers of dinner, and we’d done it plenty of times before.

“I’m on the run right now, but it was nice seeing you, Tyler.” She got in her car and drove off without another word.

“My mom is a little crazy,” Allie told me.

“I know.” I smiled and got out of the car. I went to open her door, but she did it before I got there, rolling her eyes at me.

“What? I can’t be a gentleman?” I asked.

“I’ve had enough of ‘gentlemen’ today,” she said, walking to the door. I wondered what she meant, but didn’t ask. She put her key in the lock that her mom had just secured and left the door open for me.

“So, you’re going to cook for me, right?” She asked hopefully, hoisting herself onto the breakfast bar one-handed, her legs dangling on the kitchen side of the counter.

“I can’t promise gourmet, but yes, you will have some type of food in front of you,” I promised. I didn’t know this house very well, but I was familiar with her old one, and where everything went there. I found everything with little trouble. I cracked eggs in a bowl and gave them to Allie to stir with a fork, adding things as she mixed them in.

I decided to make omelets, partly to impress her, and partly to see if I could still do it- I hadn’t attempted them in a few months. I took out a couple of potatoes and peeled them, setting them in a pan to cook. I got the eggs and turned them on at a low temperature, so they would be ready at the same time as the potatoes. I shuffled around in the fridge until I found a pound of bacon, the maple kind. I cut some up and put them with the potatoes.

“Wow, awfully daring, aren’t we?” Allie teased. I laughed easily.

“Hey, I got practice in Chicago. It’s hard eating store-bought food every day.” I remembered when I had first moved into the dorm, and I ate cereal or breakfast sandwiches from the local deli for a few weeks straight. Lunch was Ramen, and dinner was oven pizza, which I got really good at making just right, but got sick of eating.

“So how did you learn? I didn’t think you could have figured it out on your own.” She looked at me doubtfully.

“I had some help,” I said elusively. “Can you hand me the salt?” I asked. She threw it underhand to me, the top pushed in so salt didn’t fly everywhere.

“So who taught you? Obviously, they must have been good,” she guessed.

“Uh . . . my girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend,” I said quickly, not looking at her reaction. I don’t know why I felt guilty. Maybe because my ex looked similar to Allie, which I was just now realizing. The blonde hair and green eyes, although Allie’s were a lot lighter. And they were both great cooks. But my girlfriend had been spoiled and demanding, whereas Allie had never been that type of girl.

“Hm. She must have been good,” Allie said again. I anticipated a different reaction, but when I looked back she seemed perfectly fine. She gave me a slight smile.

“Not quite as good as you, though.” I felt like slapping myself. What had I just said, exactly?

*****

ALLIE P.O.V.

I didn’t know how Tyler meant it. It sounded like he was saying two things at once, but I wasn’t quite sure. What I did know was that he had never once shown the slightest bit of interest in me, like that, so I figured I was making more out of it than there actually was.

“That’s because I’m the best,” I bragged, grinning. However he meant it to sound, he just said I was better than his girlfriend. He laughed and turned around, back to making what smelled good. He wasn’t flustered at all, looking like he had made this stuff many times before.

I hadn’t known before that he had had a girlfriend, but now it seemed pretty obvious. I mean, he was very attractive, and he was the type of guy that always treated a girl right. Jason was the type of guy a good girl wouldn’t date, but I could see Tyler with a female valedictorian or future congresswoman or something. He was interested in social relations and the healthcare system, and was going to school for medical sciences. It was only natural, with the type of guy Tyler was.

Thinking of the pretty, smart girl he must have dated, I was glad I hadn’t met her. It was alright, with Tyler here in my kitchen and single, choosing to spend his time with me. If he had been dating her and brought her here, I would have been pretty jealous. I knew that he was older, but he was my childhood friend, and what was a couple years difference when you were fifty and had spent your whole life with someone?

I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts. Tyler wasn’t interested, and I was leaning towards Jason, way more than I wanted to. I felt something writhe oddly inside of me when I thought about him and Ginger together, and I hoped it was just that I really disliked Ginger, rather than really liking Jason.

“You’re unusually quiet,” Tyler noticed. I shrugged.

“I’m having a mental dilemma. When did you start liking her?” I asked, trying to figure out if I really felt . . . something for Jason. Tyler shifted uneasily, and I regretted the question.

“I’m not asking because I still like you or anything, I’m just wondering what makes people like another person. Arg, just forget I ever asked,” I laughed. He smiled.

“No, it was just sudden.” He transferred the food onto plates, putting cheese in the omelet and setting it on top of the hash browns. I walked and grabbed the salsa from the fridge. He wasn’t looking at me.

“I don’t really know what made me like her. I just knew one day that I did.” I had a feeling he was avoiding answering the question completely.

“Actually,” he said slowly. “It was mostly just that I got so comfortable around her. We were friends before we went out.” He looked at me. “Does that help?” He asked, setting the plates down at the breakfast bar while I walked around it. He seemed to be looking at anything but me. I nodded, sitting down and staring at the food. It was steaming slightly, and looked delicious.

“If I didn’t just watch you make it, I wouldn’t believe that you did.” I told him truthfully.

“Go on, eat it. It’s good, I promise.” I laughed and dug my fork in, glancing up at him nervously.

“I can’t eat if you’re staring, Tyler,” I admitted, chuckling. He immediately dug his own fork in and took a bite. I finally ate my piece, widening my eyes in surprise as the flavor hit my tongue.

“This isn’t bad!” I said excitedly.

“You thought it was going to be?” he asked. I sent him a disbelieving look. “Oh,” he realized.

“Mom’s right, you have to come over more often!” I ate another bite, smiling as I ate it.
*****

RYAN P.O.V.

Jason had been silent since we got into Allie’s truck, sitting in the backseat and staring out of the window for the short ride home. Kelly and I exchanged amused glances. For the first time in a while, he was finally interested in someone. And that someone was our good friend Allie. Things couldn’t have been better.

Jason was never the type to fall for someone easily, and was slow to warm up to anyone. This natural tendency of his had grown worse with the whole Tracey affair, and he had become slightly more irritable since then. Allie would have a lot on her hands.

I parked Allie’s truck in her yard, pocketing her keys for the moment, and we walked across the lawn to our house.

I grabbed Kelly’s hand and entwined my fingers in hers as we walked through the door. My parents were finally home, and my mom greeted us warmly. She loved Kelly, and thought about how happy she would be when she found out that Jason liked Allie. I was scared and at the same time interested in what sort of antics my mom would come up with when she found out.

My dad was sitting in the den doing some work that he had neglected while on vacation, but he had a smile leftover on his face from the vacation. It was the most relaxed I had seen him in a while. Mom called him out and we sat in the living room talking for a little bit before Jason headed upstairs; although he was happy to see our parents back, he was still upset for some reason that Allie had run off. I wondered if he was jealous of Tyler, and decided to go tease him about it. I pulled Kelly upstairs and we walked into his room without knocking. He was laying on his bed, not doing anything. I contained my laugh.

Kelly spoke before I could make any excuse to mention Allie and tease him about her. I had a feeling Kelly didn’t want to let him know that we knew he liked Allie. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if he knew.

“Hey, Jason. We’re going to see if Allie’s okay. Let’s go,” Kelly said, leaving no room for argument. I grinned at her, which she returned.

“You guys are way too creepy at the moment,” Jason mentioned, looking at us warily. I raised my eyebrow and let go of Kelly’s hand long enough to punch him lightly in the shoulder.

“C’mon,” I urged. He sighed, standing up and following us out of the house.

“Kelly, come for dinner tonight!” My mom called after us. Kelly said that she would and we walked the short distance to Allie’s house.

ALLIE P.O.V.

We talked as we continued to eat, and I ate everything on my plate. We made our way to the sink, and Tyler washed the pans and I rinsed and dried them. When we were done, he grabbed two Dr. Peppers from the fridge, knowing they were my favorite.

The front door opened, and in piled Kelly, Ryan, and Jason. Jason looked over at me, and our eyes locked for a split second, before I slid my gaze to Kelly. I could see them from where I was, but Tyler walked from behind the wall, surprised at how suddenly they had come.

My gaze found Jason again, and he was staring at Tyler, seeming distant and unfriendly towards him. Since when did Jason not like Tyler? T Tyler seemed not to notice as he greeted his sister. I felt Jason looking at me, but I stubbornly ignored him.

“Hey, Allie? We actually just came to steal Tyler. Ryan and I wanted to, uhm, go see Ty's apartment. We can’t go in without him. Is that okay?” she asked. I narrowed my eyes at her, but she just smiled innocently.

“Ooookayyyy,” I conceded, looking between Tyler, Ryan, and Kelly. “I guess I’ll see you later,” I told Tyler. “Thanks for the food, it was amazing. And ask your mom about dinner,” I added. He came and gave me a hug before being ushered towards the door by Kelly.

I grabbed the plates and put them in the sink as I heard the door open and close. I looked up and almost jumped out of my skin when I saw Jason still standing there.

“Aren’t you going with them?” I asked nervously.

“I thought I was, but Kelly pushed me back.” He shrugged. “I’ll just wait until they leave.” He looked out the front window. I didn’t want to be rude, so I spoke before thinking about what it meant.

“No, that’s okay. We can hang out for a while or something.” I told him. He went into the living room and sat down on the couch. I rolled my eyes, although I couldn’t see him, and rinsed the plates. I was unreasonably annoyed at him, and kept on asking myself what had happened between him and Ginger earlier. I was making myself crazy.

Well, this is sure to be fun, I thought sarcastically.