Crystal Ball

I awoke to the sound of a fist banging on wood, shortly followed by a familiar voice. “Alex? Emma? You in there?”

I looked to my side where Emma was still curled up against me, her hair spread over the pillow and across her eyes. I didn’t want to wake her when she looked so peaceful, beautiful. But Jack continued to call to us from the other side of the panel door.

I cautiously pulled away from Emma, though it was the last thing I wanted to do, and looked around the tree house. Our clothes were strewn carelessly, but I found my boxers easily and slipped them on. Quickly, I gathered the other garments and placed them by the makeshift bed. After making sure Emma was covered, I opened the door a crack.

“What?” I asked in a voice roughened by sleep. I tugged on my hair, trying to tame it a bit.

“Your mom said you and Emma were up here last night. Where’s Emma?” he asked trying to peer around me into the tree house.

I closed the door a little to keep him from seeing inside. “Yeah, we fell asleep up here. Emma is still sleeping. What did you want?” I didn’t mean to sound uncaring or rude, but I knew I couldn’t let Jack find out what had happened last night.

“Oh,” he said, lowering his voice. “I just came to see if you guys wanted to hang out today.”

I rubbed a hand over my face. “Maybe later? We were up late last night, and I’m still not really awake.” It wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t exactly a lie. “Can we call you later?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure. See you later.” I waited until he had climbed down the ladder and was walking across my back yard before I closed the door, being sure to latch the lock again.

I tiptoed back to the bed, and lowered myself onto it. I hoped I would be able to work myself back into the position I had woken up in, with Emma curled into my side.



Later that day we met up with Jack. I was trying hard, but couldn’t seem to keep my eyes off Emma the entire time. When we had finally gotten up and dressed, we didn’t say a word about the night before. She just smiled and kissed me on the cheek before we left the tree house and drove over to Jack’s.

I wanted to talk to her about it, to see where we stood now. Despite her constant assurance that our friendship wouldn’t be affected, I couldn’t help but think it would. But she acted as if it hadn’t even happened. As if nothing was different just like she said it would be.

“Earth to Alex!”

“Huh?” I asked, snapping myself from my thoughts.

Emma laughed, shaking her head. “We’re at Rian’s. You coming in?”

“Yeah, of course.” I nodded as I followed behind her and Jack up the driveway.

It started out as just the four of us, but soon enough, many more people filled the house. It was a Saturday night, which meant a party. I wasn’t in the mood for a party. There was only one person’s company I wanted at the moment. And she was off chatting with Rian and Sarah, the girl he had yet to ask out.

“Hey, babe.” I turned my head as Vanessa wrapped her arms around my waist, standing on her toes to leave a small kiss on my cheek.

“Hey,” I replied meekly.

“Why aren’t you drinking?” Her eyebrows were raised slightly in confusion as she surveyed my empty hands, the hands that sat at my sides instead of embracing her back. I shrugged, forcing my hands to rest lightly on her hips.

A couple hours later, the party had died down, the number of people left dwindling. A semi-circle of seated bodies had formed on the living room floor, the furniture pushed to the side of the room. I couldn’t help but gravitate toward them.

“Hey, Alex. Wanna play Never Have I Ever with us?” someone asked. I tried to focus on who it was, but only saw Emma sitting between Jack and Sarah. I could tear my eyes away. I nodded without a word as I sat down.

Soon the circle was completed and consisted of mainly our core group of friends, though there were a few people I either didn’t recognize or barely knew. I could feel Vanessa’s presence on my right, but focused across the circle at my best friend and the girl I couldn’t get out of my head.

“Never have I ever played ‘Never Have I Ever’,” a girl whose name I couldn’t recall began. Everyone but her and the girl next to Vanessa took a drink.

“Never have I ever pierced anything but my ears,” the next person said. A few people drank, including a girl with a nose ring and an older guy with his lip pierced.

Next, it was Jack’s turn. “Okay let’s heat it up. Never have I ever had sex with someone in this room.” I took a sip from the drink that Vanessa had gotten me sometime before while never moving my eyes from across the circle. Emma discreetly took a sip from her cup. My eyes instantly swept across the group to see if anyone had noticed, but no one seemed to and my shoulders slumped as I relaxed.

“Never have I ever,” Emma began, pausing as he thought. “Had sex in a car.”

“Never have you ever had sex,” Jack commented after taking a drink, laughing quietly. Emma didn’t look at him, but I could plainly see the blush on her cheeks from across the room. “Oh my God!” Jack exclaimed, noticing the obvious redness. “You have? When?”

Emma shrugged before turning to Sarah. “You’re turn.”

And the game continued, secrets being revealed and becoming common knowledge. Jack was antsy the rest of the night, badgering Emma about her no-longer-existent virginity. And when she wouldn’t say a thing, he started questioning me, because ‘as the best friend, I had to know’.”

And I did. I knew all too well.