Firefight

We lay silently on your bed for a while. It's still weird being around you again. Your cell phone rings in my pocket. It's your friend Tim. I let you take the call but I don't let you go. I can hear his voice scratch through the receiver but I only catch the occasional "okay" or "sure" from your lips. You hang up the phone and release me, opening your closet. You throw a pair of jeans at me and my eyebrows shoot up.

"Put them on, we're going out." I roll my eyes, pulling your comfortable sweatpants off and replacing them with jeans.

You walk back in the room with clean clothes on and grab your keys holding the door open for me. I walk past you to Shane's room and you groan. You didn't know your mom left him here with us. I laugh and open his door to get him.

Once we finally get to the restaurant where we were meeting Tim, Shane already has to go to the bathroom. We've hardly said anything to Tim, and it's extremely uncomfortable for me. He's on your basketball team and I've always avoided him. Shane keeps complaining about having to go to the washroom, and after a long argument about going alone, you go with him. I'm left with Tim Kirch and it's awkward to say the least.

"I don't care, you know." He speaks up. I look everywhere but at him. I don't even know what he doesn't care about, but I don't bother to ask.

"About you and John,"Tim clarifies, "I don't care." I still have no idea what he's getting at so I just smile a bit at him then sip on my coke that makes it to our table. He rolls his eyes and groans.

"Do you even speak, Brock?" I can tell I'm frustrating him but I'm too uncomfortable to say anything. "A few months ago John was at my place and we got really drunk. Then he started crying over you and it was the weirdest experience of my entire life. But the point of me telling you this is I know about the two of you and your fucked up friendship and I don't care, so if you would at least look at me that'd be great so I don't feel like I'm making a fool of myself." I looked at him then. He no longer looked like the Tim Kirch I'd heard about, he just looked like a guy who was genuinely concerned about you. I nodded a bit, it was nice to know you made friends who you could be close to, but it also hurt. I was feeling replaced. I didn't get anywhere near replacing you, you occupied every single one of my thoughts.

Tim leans forward and I lean back. He lowers his voice before glancing at the washroom again. "I don't care about you and John, and I promise to stay out of your business on one condition." I cringe. Conditions could be brutal. I find myself nodding to get him to continue.

"Don't break his heart."