Wild and Running

Spencer stood at the end of her driveway, her foot tapping impatiently as she stared at the house across the street. She often wondered if her best friend spent more time fixing himself to go to school than she did, but it was irrelevant. It wasn’t her place to complain if he wasn’t out of the house on her standards, considering he did provide her with a ride to and from school. Still, she was upset. This day specifically had been rumored between her friends that a certain someone would be asking her to the Prom, and she had an idea of who that might be. If only her friend would hurry up.

Andy rushed out of his bedroom and down the stairs, backpack in hand as he hurried into the kitchen. His mother stood at the sink, he gaze lingering out of the window as he opened the fridge. All he wanted was cheese, and his morning ritual would be complete. After retrieving a couple singles from the middle drawer in the fridge he closed it shut, and turned around to face his mother.

“Spence has been standing out there for nearly ten minutes now; you might want to hurry up.” She laughed as she handed him the keys that rested on the counter beside her. With a nod, Andy thanked his mother and made his way out of the front door. When his best friend was outside early, it meant that she wanted to be at school early, and he knew that.

“Andrew Dennis Biersack!” Spencer yelled as she walked across the street to meet him at his car. Andy’s light laughter floated through the air as he walked around to the driver-side door. “You almost got your ride stolen, just so you know.” He simply smiled as his blue eyes locked with her hazel ones. His heart skipped a beat as she smiled back. He was only hoping he could contain the excitement that relished through his veins. Today was the day he had been waiting for…the day he would ask his best friend to Prom, and the day he would finally tell her how he had felt for her after all these years.

“Spence, I don’t really think you would have gotten very far with my mom watching from the kitchen window,” Andy stated, unlocking his door before climbing inside of the vehicle. Spencer crossed her arms as he shut his door and started the car only to roll down the passenger window ever so slightly to speak to her. “You can have fun walking to school now, all because you threatened to steal my baby.” He teased. They both knew he would never do such a thing. He cared too much.

“If only you had the balls, Lightning Thunderstein.” No sooner did the words leave her mouth did Andy have her door unlocked. The teasing game was over, for she had retaliated well, “Exactly.”

Ohio’s School of Creative and Performing Art’s was a good twenty minutes from Andy and Spencer’s home. Ten minutes through the ride and Andy still hadn’t mustered up the courage to tell Spencer what he had been yearning to tell her since the budding of their friendship. Instead he gripped the steering wheel of his car, eyes focused on the road as her eyes focused on whatever they passed on their journey.

Andy couldn’t take it anymore; this was his chance. “So, you excited for Prom?” Really, Andy, that’s how you are going to start this off? He mentally yelled at himself as he watched her turn away from the window from the corners of his eye.

Spencer nodded and smiled. “Yeah, everyone has been telling me that someone is supposed to ask me today, actually. That’s why I wanted to get to school earlier…I have a hunch on who it might be.”

Andy shifted his eyes as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel, he was getting nervous. He licked his lips and spoke once more. “Ah, and who might that be?”

“Bryce Michaels, that guy in our English class.” Spencer laughed, biting her lip as she looked over at Andy. The spark in her eyes was enough for his heart to drop in his stomach. A sense of uneasiness rested within him as he realized what this meant. She didn’t want to go to the Prom with him, she wanted to go with the douche bag from English who hit on her on an everyday basis. “You know who I am talking about?”

Andy simply nodded his head, hurt flooding his body at the thought of her going with him. The thought of Spencer even dating somebody was enough to drive him insane. The entirety of the friendship he loved so much would change.

“Andy?” Spencer’s voice was soft as she laid her hand gently on his shoulder. It was just enough to pull him from his thoughts to pay her attention. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared at her friend. She knew that he wasn’t fond of Bryce, but she didn’t grasp what the underlying problem was at all.

“Yeah, he seems okay, I guess. The only thing he ever said to me was something about you, so yeah.” His dull tone didn’t go unnoticed by Spencer, but she blew it off. Staying silent was her best option. She knew that Andy wasn’t fond of him, for he had made it quite clear after Bryce had said something about the eyeliner her best friend wore.

The only thing Andy could think of was a back-up plan. He didn’t want to appear jealous and pathetic to Spencer. If she liked someone else, he didn’t dare mess it up. He cared too much about her to be selfish. It just wasn’t right. He figured that if she had felt the same way about him she would have told him by now. She was, after all, the type of girl that went after whatever she wanted. She wasn’t shy, but then again he knew he wasn’t shy either. It was just the fear of losing her that made him keep his secret.

“He’s really nice once you get to know him.” The words left Spencer’s mouth in merely a whisper as Andy pulled into the parking lot nearest to their school. “Who were you planning on going with?”

Andy licked his lips as her question replayed itself in his mind. He knew better than to say anything about asking her, so he simply nodded his head. “ I haven’t really thought of it.” He lied, and she smiled.

“You should ask Scout Compton…I know she has had a crush on you for a while now, she’d be more than happy to be your date.” Spencer’s words were the answer to everything. The sentence that left her mouth told Andy that she wasn’t interested, and he knew what he had to do to move on.