Mystery Boy

Jacky called around one AM when Kelley and I were just getting into the festivities of our night. We'd just stuck a movie into the DVD player in her room and grabbed all the snacks we could find in the house before settling down on her bed, curled up in the purple blanket that I'd remembered even from childhood.

My phone was sitting on Kelley's table, plugged into her charger since I didn't have mine. She was closest, so when it rang she reached over with wide eyes and plucked it from the wooden nightstand.

"Is it him?!" she shouted loudly, looking at the caller ID, "It has a weird area code!"

I looked over her shoulder at the strange number. "Eight numbers!" I exclaimed, "Answer it!" I reached out for the phone before it could stop ringing, but Kelley was already ahead of me, pressing the button and holding it up to her ear.

"Hello?" she asked expectantly, "Is this Jacky?" A wide grin came over her lips so I knew he must've replied, his accent probably more noticeable to her than to me since I'd spent more time with the quiet, British boy. "This is Kelley," she added, nodding, "I'm Air's best friend."

I watched as Kelley waited patiently for him to reply. She smiled every time and after a moment pulled the phone from her ear, away from me, and said, "He's really quiet!"

I nodded and leaned back against the wall. "He's kind of shy," I told her, "Especially on phones. He doesn't really like them much."

Kelley nodded then turned back to the conversation that had grown silent. "Want to talk to Airea?" she asked into the phone, making sure he replied to her one last time before she reluctantly handed the phone over to me.

"Hey Jacky," I greeted, holding the phone up to my left ear as Kelley leaned in and tried to listen.

"Hey," Jacky replied quietly, a smile in his voice.

"How was your flight?" I questioned, smacking Kelley's leg as she started making gestures that I didn't quite understand.

"Okay," Jacky answered, "There was the kid that wouldn't be quiet though."

I frowned. "Why didn't you tell him to shut up?"

Jacky chuckled and I could almost see him shrug his shoulders. "It wasn't that bad."

"You're too nice," I told him, "If you were anything like Ronnie you would've made the kid cry or something."

Jacky laughed softly. It was a breathless sort of laugh that made me miss him even more. "I'm not like Ronnie."

I nodded. "I know," I stated, "I wouldn't like you if you were. At least, not the way I do."

Kelley 'awwed' almost silently next to me. She was still listening to the conversation from my side, and I could tell by the look on her face that she was falling more and more in love with the boy on the other end of the phone. By now, I wasn't sure what I was worried about. Kelley had always been like me and not always in a good way, but she was a better person than me. Always had been. Accepted everyone for who they were.

"I miss you," I said suddenly, speaking to both of them. The person I'd always spent my time with and now the person who I wished I could.

Kelley just smiled and patted my shoulder.

Jacky sighed on the phone. "I miss you too," he replied, more quiet than ever. He wasn't the type to talk about how he felt to anyone let alone to the person he felt it about. He was secretive, unable to be mapped out.

Kelley pulled the phone from my fingers and held it up to the ear that was farthest from me, ignoring the words I was spouting in protest. "Okay, Lover-boy," Kelley stated, "She misses you, you miss her, and I'm really digging the accent, but I have one night left with my best friend and it's a 'no boyfriend' kind of night. So she'll call you tomorrow." Kelley went silent as he replied. Then she rolled her eyes and handed the phone back to me.

"What was that?" I asked, my eyes staying on Kelley as she sat like a dejected child. I'd never seen her give in on anything that easily.

"Nothing," Jacky replied secretively. He was silent for another moment before he murmured, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Jacky."

We stayed on the phone for another minute, each of us silent as if the silence could say more than any of our words, even his accented ones. Then I ended the call and handed Kelley back the phone to put on the charger for tomorrow.

Kelley did and then looked back to me. "Do you love him?" she asked softly, smiling at the smile on my face.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know," I told her, finally looking up to meet her gaze, "Do you love Forester?"

Kelley copied my shrug. "I will someday," she said, "You have to give these things time." She leaned back against the wall, her posture matching mine as we pulled our knees up to our chest and thought about our question.

"I don't know if I believe in love," I told her. That pairing of words sounding complicated and foreign in my mouth.

"Why not?" Kelley asked, leaning her cheek on one of her knees.

I licked my lips. "Because," I started, "I thought my parents were in love for sixteen years and then I go and find out they barely even loved each other at all." I tucked my hair out of my face as I rested my cheek on my knee like Kelley.

She frowned. "That's tough."

I nodded. "Tell me about it."

"What's your dad's girlfriend like?"

"I can't stand her."

"Why not?" Kelley asked, unhappily surprised by the amount of blatant rage in my voice.

"She hates Jacky," I told her, "And I think she hates me, too."

"Why would she hate you?" Kelley asked, sitting up straight, her spine pressed against the bedroom wall.

I shrugged and stayed in the same position, letting my eyes close. "I'm not sure," I replied, "But I can see it in the way she looks at me and the way she talks to me. I'm not part of her family, you know? I think she thinks I'm messing everything up for her."

"I thought she was happy you came to live with your dad?"

"I don't think I was what she was expecting."

Kelley snorted unattractively. "You're a female version of your dad. How could she not see you coming?"

"Rude," I chimed, glaring at her, "I'm not exactly like my dad."

"What?" Kelley asked, "A cheating asshole who stole my best friend and dumped her in The City of Sin so that she could be whisked off by a British guitar player?"

"Uh, yeah." I laughed and shoved Kelley's shoulder. It wasn't until now that I realized just how much I'd missed her. Sure, the guys were great, but it was different having a girl best friend. I could tell her all my secrets, we could curl up in one tiny bed, watch movies that nobody else likes, and act completely stupid together because we know that the other person would never think a bad thing about us. I'd missed her a lot and I knew when I left that the dull ache in the bottom of my stomach would grow into full fledged pain. It would be painful to leave her again.

I knew that leaving didn't have to mean goodbye, but it terribly hard to leave without saying anything. 'I'll see you soon' didn't work because I wouldn't. And, 'I'm going to miss you' couldn't cover the actual amount of 'miss' that I'd be feeling when Kelley wasn't insight, or even in the same state anymore.

We'd been friends for a long time, and even though I had Jacky to keep me from going insane at my new home, it wouldn't be the same. It would be equally as good, but in an entirely different way.