We'll Keep a Secret (If You Keep Me Guessing)

“What am I going to do without you?” I whined to Erin as we spoke on the phone. It was already Saturday night, and she was getting ready to go on her date with Rian.

“Why don’t you go hang out with Alex and Jack?” she suggested.

“Alex has been M.I.A., and I don’t really want to be all alone with Jack. He’s a bit of a freak.”

She laughed. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Rian just got here, and I have to go.”

I pouted. “Fine. Have a nice time.”

“Thanks. Bye,” she said before hanging up.

I sighed and flopped backwards onto my bed. I hated being alone on the weekends. I mean, I could have hung out with my parents, but that was pretty much a last resort option. Alex hadn’t been answering my calls for the past couple of days, so I figured I’d go to his house and see what he was up to. I got up, threw on a pair of sneakers and ran down the stairs. Just as I was halfway out the door, I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I turned around slowly to see my dad staring down at me. “Um,” I stammered. “Alex’s house.”

He removed his hand from my shoulder and folded his arms across his chest. “And what do you plan on doing over there?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Hang out, maybe go to Jack’s.”

He looked at me skeptically, his dark brown eyes rolling over every feature on my face, trying to make me nervous. They did their job very well. “Be careful and don’t stay out too late.”

I relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. What a typical father statement. I nodded before turning and heading down the street to Alex’s house. His car was parked in the driveway, which was a sign that he was home. Then why hadn’t he answered any of my phone calls? I walked up to the door, pushed the bell and waited a few minutes. No answer. I pushed it again. After a couple of minutes, the door cracked open, and Alex poked his head through. I could see a mix of anxiety and agitation on his face.

“Hi,” I said with a small wave and a bright smile on my face.

His expression didn’t change. “What’s up?”

“I called you, like, ten times, and you never picked up.”

He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

I shrugged, letting him know that it was alright. “I was dying of boredom at home, and I didn’t want to hang with my mom and dad, so I came over to see if you wanted to do something. Maybe we can go see what Jack’s up to.”

“I’m kind of busy right now.”

“At home? What important things could you possibly have to do?”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Just stuff, okay? Why do you always act like you need to know everything that I’m doing all the time? You’re not my mom, Sophie. I don’t have to tell you anything.”

I just looked at him, baffled. What was all the attitude for? Was I the bad guy for being a curious and concerned friend? I was about sick of it and the way he had been acting for the past few days. I didn’t want to ask him about it anymore because the only answer I would get was a short, simple lie, so I told myself to forget it. When he was ready to really talk to me, he would.

I sighed, and without a word, I turned around and walked away, off to Jack’s house by myself.



“Jack, stop it! I can’t breathe!” I yelled in between gasps.

Jack and I had been in his basement playing video games for a couple hours, and of the many games we played, I hadn’t won a single one. Jack, like always, was talking trash and rubbing it in my face, and it made me upset, so I called him a dirty cheater. He got offended and retaliated by trying to tickle me to death.

“Apologize and I’ll stop.”

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!”

He smiled but continued tickling me. “Tell me that I’m not a cheater and I’m just better than you.”

“You’re not a cheater; you’re just better than me.”

“Good. Now say you’re a terrible sport.”

“Jack!” I whined.

“Do it and I’ll let you go.”

“Fine! I’m a terrible sport. Now stop, please. I’m gonna die.”

He laughed and rolled off of me. I sat up and tried to catch my breath while he continued to roll around on the floor like an idiot.

“Jerk,” I mumbled before hitting him in his crotch.

He gasped in pain and curled up in a fetal position. It was my turn to laugh at him.

“I hate you so much,” he groaned weakly.

I patted his head. “I love you too, Jacky.”

After a few minutes of recovery, he sat up and took a deep breath. “That was a low blow.”

I shrugged and smiled. “Now we’re even.”

“Whatever,” he said as he moved to the couch and stretched out on his back.

We were quiet for a bit. Jack pulled out his phone and started playing around on it, and I remained on the floor next to him, letting my mind begin to wander. As much as I tried to fight it, my thoughts couldn’t help but to drift to Alex. I didn’t want to think about him after he had been such a prick to me earlier, but he was still my best friend, and I still cared.

“Hey, Jack?”

He pulled his attention from his phone and looked down at me. “Yeah?”

“Do you know what’s been going on with Alex for the past few days?”

“Uh-uh,” he answered, shaking his head. “When I talk to him, he seems spaced out and his answers are short, and when I ask if he wants to hang out, he just says he’s busy but never says what he’s doing.”

It stung a little less to know that I wasn’t the only one that Alex was being cold towards. “That’s the same way he’s been with me. I went to his house earlier and asked if he wanted to do something, and he got an attitude and said he was busy. You think something’s up?”

Jack shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe he found a new chick and he’s just trying to keep a low profile.”

It wouldn’t have surprised me if Alex had indeed found another girl, seeing as he and Rebecca split months ago. Whenever he struck out with a girl, it never took him too long to get back in the game. But why would he feel the need to keep it a secret from us? I just couldn’t understand it.