...And a Happy New Year

January 4, 2014

Chaney woke up to someone obnoxiously knocking on her bedroom door. Dreading it being her parents asking her to run errands, she was reluctant to open the door, and instead burrowed further into her bed under the covers. She was too cozy in her bed, and had been dreaming all night of John and she didn’t want to be disturbed. Besides, she couldn’t shake off the fact that she finally talked to him after eighteen odd years and he actually offered to hang out with her, even if it was out of pity. She would take what she could get.

She was smiling to herself as she began to drift back to sleep when she heard Halvo’s voice on the other side of the door. “Dammit Indy, you better be decent because I’m coming in!”

The next thing she knew, Halvo picked her lock and came barreling through the door, collapsing on top of her in attempts to wake her up.

“God Halvo. Do you have to be so obnoxious? What the hell are you doing here? It’s Saturday morning.”

He chuckled. “Dude, it’s like 11 am, it’s not that early.” He was laughing more to himself about the situation since it was eerily similar to how they woke up a couple mornings ago.

“Well, 11 am or not, I don’t understand why you’re lying on top of me. You’re cutting off my air supply and disturbing my sleep.”

“Ha. You mean your dreams of John…”

She mumbled her reply, “So what if it was…”

“Oh my god Indy. Haha. Well, luckily for you, I have some good news.”

“Yeah and what would that be? That you’re going to get off of me so I can go back to sleep?”

He laughed, and rolled off of her so he was lying down next to her with his hands perched behind his head. “Eh, I moved over. But uh, no, this is much better than that. Your boy John talked to me.”

“So. That’s not new news. You guys are best friends, I’m sure you talk all the time. So you woke me up on a perfectly fine Saturday morning to tell me you talked to your best friend. Terrific.” Chaney then slipped further under her covers and proceeded to pull them over her head in hopes of drowning out Halvo.

He rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket off her head, observing her hair all over the place and in her face paired with her annoyed look at him for pulling her out of her warm cocoon. “Yes, thank you genius for pointing that out. I’m well aware of the fact that John is one of my best friends. What I was trying to tell you was that your boy John talked to me yesterday…about you.”

At this Chaney quickly sat up wide-eyed and looked down at Halvo. “You’re shitting me. What did he say?”

“Haha, he was just asking me if I knew that you lived across the street from him. When I told him yes, he kinda flipped out on me.”

“Flipped out on you? How so?” Chaney asked, clearly perplexed and interested in what Halvo had to say.

“Well…I don’t know. He just sorta kept asking me stuff about you. Like how long you’ve lived here, why I never introduced you two…So I have no idea what the hell you two talked about but apparently it’s working. What exactly did you two talk about?”

“You mostly.” She replied deadpan.

“What?! Me?! Why?”

“I don’t know…He asked me how I knew you and I told the SparkNotes version of how we became friends. Well, at least how we met. He found it amusing.” She told him, with the hint of a smirk on her face.

“Dude. I didn’t find it amusing. Do you know how long I spent working on those impressions in an attempt to impress you? Do you know how hard it is to impress you?”

“Woah woah woah. Why the hell did you think for one second that your stupid impressions would impress me? Did you never notice my less than amused face when you did them in class?”

“Well, yeah…but I thought it was an act. I was just trying to combat my nerves when I found out I was partnered with you.”

“Why was that? Surely unsociable me didn’t intimidate you…”

“Hell no! I wasn’t scared of you! However, I knew that you were good at school and I wasn’t, so I was really just hoping I could get you to like me enough to do the project so I wouldn’t have to.” He retorted with a laugh.

“Ah, so the truth finally comes out Halvorsen. Nice to know you think so little of our friendship. Haha. Guess I was just your get-out-of-homework card?” She asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yes. Yes indeed. You’ve finally figured me out after 15 years. It’s about damn time girl. Now let’s go grab some lunch. I’m starving.”

Halvo then jumped off the bed, out of the room, bounding down the stairs as he called back to Chaney, “I’ll be waiting down here. Hurry up!”

She just rolled her eyes and laughed. Chaney often wondered how she was so lucky to have such a great friend. Halvo was quirky that was no secret, however he was also one of the best people she has ever met. She admired how he was always so protective of her and looked out for her. He was never afraid to defend her when need be, but also didn’t hesitate to give her the push she needed and call her out on her shit. It was the same for Chaney. She would always be there for Halvo just as much as she knew he would be there for her. They had this odd friendship that on paper doesn’t make sense, but worked for them.

Maybe it was fate that day in fourth grade when her teacher assigned her and Halvo to be partners on a science fair project. Maybe she did something right in a past life to deserve such a wonderful friend in her life. Moreover, it was a relationship she knew she didn’t deserve, but never neglected to be thankful for. Her friendship with Halvo meant the fucking world to her and she would never take it for granted.

***

Chaney and Halvo were walking back to her house from the car after eating, cutting up as usual when they heard someone yelling at them from behind.

“Yo Chaney! Halvo! Wait up!”

They both turn, and to Chaney’s surprise, none other than John O’Callaghan himself came jogging over to them from his house across the street.

“Are you sure I’m the one that’s stalking the other because I’m pretty sure that was a pretty creeper move there John…” Chaney jested.

“Ha ha. No, I wasn’t creeping on you. I was actually about to go wash my truck, but I saw you two across the street and thought I would say hello.”

“Well hello John. How are you on this magnificently pleasant Saturday afternoon?”

“Cut the cheese Halvo.” John retorted.

Halvo screwed up his face before saying, “Whoops! Too late…”

Both Chaney and John exchange confused glances until Chaney scrunched up her nose and punched Halvo on the shoulder, shortly followed by John doing the same to Halvo’s other shoulder.

“Halvo! What the fuck dude? Was that really necessary? God!”

“Indy, chill. It’s not that big of a deal…”

“Dude, Halvo. It totally is.”

“Is not.”

“Is too!”

“Children, children! Calm thyselves!” John interceded.

Both Chaney and Halvo stop and turn to John with questioning glances.

“Now that I have both of the children’s attention…”

Chaney and Halvo, still sporting confused expressions, just turn and face each other, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Halvo just shakes his head, and then pats Chaney on the shoulder.
“Well Indy, I’m gonna make like a baby and head out. I’ve had a blast chillin with ya, but I’ve got some housework to get done.”

“Aww, did little Halvo turn his shirts and underwear pink again?” Chaney teased.

Halvo just looked at the ground and mumbled, “One fucking time, and she never lets you live it down.”

At this both John and Chaney laugh hysterically. Halvo shakes his head and walks back to his car, flipping them both off as he walks away. He didn’t turn to wave to them as he climbed in the car, and quickly drove off.

John then turns to Chaney and asks, “So, I’ve been friends with Halvo for years, but I legitimately can’t tell if he’s genuinely upset at this or not…He can be such a wild card with these things…”

“Nah, he’ll be fine. He’s just pissed that I picked on him, especially with that story. Haha. He’ll be fine in a couple hours once he gets over his embarrassment. No worries.”

Chaney began to turn and walk back inside when John stopped her again.

“Chaney?”

“Yeah?”

“Hey uh, did you have any plans the rest of today?”

“No, why?”

“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to join me to wash my truck and then maybe grab some coffee and you could tell me more of yours and Halvo’s crazy stories? I swear, he’s like a different person with you. I’m seeing a completely different side of him than what he shows me and it’s amusing.”

Chaney just laughed and nodded. “Sure John. I’d love to.”

***

“No fucking way! He really did that?!” John was laughing, struggling to breathe, after hearing the crazy stories about his best friend from Chaney.

“Dude I swear. Halvo’s a weird kid.” She replied as she took a sip from her coffee.

John and Chaney found themselves in a small coffee shop, and were sitting across from each other at one of the smaller tables inside.

John was still trying to control his laugher as Chaney continued to sip on her coffee and observe the coffee shop.

“So John, how did you find this place? I’ve lived here almost my entire life and never knew this place existed.”

He nodded as he began to answer her question. “Well, honestly I just stumbled across it. I like to walk around and gather my thoughts from time to time. One day I took this road, and was walking down the sidewalk. I actually almost passed this place completely, but something caught my eye.
Curiosity took over and I ventured inside, only to find the best coffee I’ve ever tasted.”

“I must say, you do have a knack for finding great coffee. I’ll definitely be back here.”

There was a short, semi awkward silence before John started to speak. “So, uh Chaney, I have a question…and if you don’t wanna answer that’s fine, but I’m curious…”

Noting his seeming nervousness, Chaney sat up straighter in her chair and leaned over the table a bit more towards him, and replied, “What’s your question?”

“Okay, so maybe this isn’t a big deal, maybe it is. But ok, answer me this. I notice Halvo calls you ‘Indy’ all the time, and over the years I remember him always referring to hanging out with an ‘Indy’ but assumed it was a guy. Now I know it was you. Anyway, I guess my question is, why does he call you Indy?”

Chaney just stared at him and burst out laughing. The reason she was called Indy was nothing sacred; it was almost stupid.

At her laughing, John looks up at her with furrowed brows.

Chaney rolls her eyes and explains, “Halvo has called me Indy for as long as I can remember. He’s rarely called me Chaney since. He really only calls me Chaney when he’s trying to tell me something serious. Anyway, I would’ve thought this was obvious? Well, Halvo found out a long time ago that I was obsessed with Indiana Jones as a kid. Actually, I had a thing for Harrison Ford…as Indiana Jones of course. Who doesn’t love an attractive, adventurous, archeologist? When he first found out of my infatuation with Indiana Jones, he began making fun of me, much to my distaste, by calling me ‘Indy’. At first it irritated the shit outta me, but now it’s like a term of endearment. It’s his ‘special’ name for me, and he’s always prided himself in how he came up with that all by himself.”

John sat there for a moment, taking in what she said. “Well, yeah, that does sound like something Halvo would do. Take something he can make fun of you for, and turn it into a nickname. God that kid…”

“What’re ya gonna do with him huh? Ha. Can’t live with him…”

“Can’t live without him. Yeah, that dude has been there for me for so much. From what I can tell, you seem to have been there for him as well, and I’m glad he’s got a great girl like you lookin out for him. He needs a good influence in his life.” He chuckled after the last statement.

“Are you saying you’re not a good influence O’Callaghan?” Chaney asked with a raised eyebrow and teasing in her voice.

“Ha well…let’s just say I’m not as innocent as I’m sure you perceive me to be. I’ve got a few skeletons in my closet.” He moved to take a sip of his coffee and winked jokingly at her over his coffee cup.

Chaney just rolled her eyes. The conversation died down after that, and she took back to taking in her surroundings. She observed those around her, and particularly John. The more she talked to him, the more she was intrigued by him. Granted, it’s not like she wasn’t ever intrigued by him as a person. Hell, it’s the reason she wanted to kiss him at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Why that particular night? She didn’t know. Something about it seemed so fantastical and romantic; like she was living out a fantasy that could actually happen. However, she wouldn’t deny that now her whole perception of him was changing, though not in a bad way. If anything, the more she talked to him, the more questions she had. Initially she was drawn in solely by his charm, good looks, and magnetic personality. Now to hear about the strangely dependent friendship he has with Halvo as well as his supposed skeletons, she can’t help but wonder what else lies beneath the complex layers of this man.

Chaney hadn’t realized she had zoned out until she noticed John’s hand frantically waving in front of her face, attempting to get her attention. He laughed softly to himself once she joined reality due to the fact that she had been staring not so subtly at him. She was thankful he didn’t say anything about it nor make any jokes about it like Halvo would.

John cleared his throat to try and break some of the awkward tension that seemed to surround them in the last few moments. “Hey uh, Chaney, you ready to head out? I’ve gotta get back and get ready for tonight.”

“Oh, uh yeah that’s fine.” She smiled forcibly.

Chaney was perturbed at his sudden desire to leave, afraid her awkwardness was the cause. She gathered her things, and threw her coffee cup away, barging out the door without a second glance back and without waiting for John. She hastened towards his newly washed truck and waited by the passenger door for him with crossed arms. She couldn’t believe herself. She had turned her back to the coffee shop, and leaned her right side against the passenger door before she began chastising herself.

“God Chaney. Could you be anymore of an idiot back there? God. John probably now thinks I’m some sort of freak who enjoys ogling him and making situations awkward. Perfect way to kick off a friendship. Awesome. No wonder he wanted to leave. Idiot. I—”

Chaney was cut off by a soft clearing of a throat behind her. She whipped her head around and noticed John standing a couple feet behind her, looking down at her with worry etched in his features. He was trying to gather his thoughts so he could approach the situation correctly. “Am I uh, disturbing something?” He laughed a little hoping to ease some of the tension she was harboring.

Chaney felt the chagrin fill her face before shaking her head and quickly averting her eyes to the
ground.

John realized she didn’t feel up to talking about it so he dropped it. Instead of unlocking the doors from the driver’s side, he just took his keys out of his pocket and began reaching for the passenger door handle to unlock it.

Noticing his actions, Chaney shyly took a step away to allow him easier access to the door.

John half smiled at her, as he unlocked her door and opened it, motioning for Chaney to get in. She bit her lip slightly and sheepishly got into his truck. John shut her door and made his way to his door. He unlocked it and got in. He turned on the car, followed shortly by the radio, hoping the music would dispel the awkwardness now suffocating them both in the cab of the truck.

The abrupt end to their afternoon was not what Chaney had wanted or expected to happen. She knew she was coming off as a bit of a bitch, and she really didn’t mean to be. When she gets embarrassed it seems to set her off and she becomes closed off to those around her, often giving the perception of being anti-social.

She was only growing more agitated at herself for how she was acting, and leaned her head against her window, wishing the drive home would go by quickly so she could just curl up in her room on her bed and get today over with so she could start fresh. Besides, she still had another day off before starting back at work. She could distract herself tomorrow in house work and preparation for the week.

Chaney was drowning in her thoughts until she heard John once again clear his throat to gain her attention.

“So Chaney, uh, tonight Halvo and I are hosting a party at his place. Are you going?”

Chaney was taken aback because Halvo had never mentioned anything to her about a party, and she was always the first person he told about a party, especially when he knew John would be attending. “I uh, Halvo didn’t tell me anything about a party…” She said with disappointment lacing her voice.

“Oh, well you’re still invited. It was a kinda last minute thing. He had texted me about it while we were at the coffee shop, which is why I suggested we leave. I had to get ready for the party he decided to throw last minute.”

As if on cue, Chaney’s phone goes off, and she looks down to see the notification is a text from Halvo reading ”PARTYYYYYYYY!!!!! Ya betta get yo ass here cuz ur boi John and I are hosting. It’s @ 7, my place. Get there before and you can fill me in on your juicy gossip from today”

She rolled her eyes and laughed at Halvo. Of course. She quickly typed a reply saying she would be there and asking what time she should get there before turning to John and saying “Yeah, I’ll be there.”

***

“Wait, so you totally cold-shouldered him? Indy what the hell?”

“Halvo chill. I freaked out okay! We were getting along fine, and I don’t know. There was a lull in conversation and I found myself getting caught up in his complexities. Next thing I know, he’s waving his hand in front of my face to get me out of my ‘John-trance’. God, he must think I’m so creepy now.” Chaney then plopped her head on top of her folded arms that were rested on the top of the island in Halvo’s kitchen.

“Look, I’m sure he doesn’t find you creepy. Hell, when I texted him about tonight, he was tellin me that you guys were having a good time and he hated to cut it short but he would to help me get ready for tonight. Trust me, it’s okay, Indy.”

Halvo walked around the island and stood beside Chaney, as he stroked her hair to help calm her down.

Their moment was disturbed by a very loud John calling in from the front door. “YO HALVO! GET YOUR FAT ASS OVER HERE AND HELP ME LIFT THIS SHIT. THERE’S MORE IN THE BED OF MY TRUCK THAT NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT IN. WHY THE FUCK DO WE NEED ALL THIS SH—oh, uh, sorry for the yelling…Is everything okay?”

Halvo just turned to John who was now standing in the entryway of the kitchen, and rolled his eyes before giving Chaney’s head a gentle pat before heading towards the front door to help John bring in the food and drinks.

John quickly set the bags he was carrying on the kitchen table and softly approached Chaney. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze to get her attention, since her head was still buried in her folded arms.

She jumped a few inches in the air, and in the process knocked John’s chin with her head.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize you were…you scared the shit outta me!”

He nervously chuckled, rubbing his chin where her head recently hit him, “I’m sorry, I was just wanting to make sure everything was alright.”

She turned to face him and nodded softly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Are you sure because you seemed pretty upset by something…”

“Honest, I’m okay. I’m uh, gonna help Halvo unload.”

John went to stop her but she was already out the front door.

***

Chaney found herself, once again, being the wallflower of the party. She was drinking another plastic cup of cheap alcohol, not knowing now exactly just how much she had already drank. She lost count after the first couple of cups. All she knew was as long as she was here and John was across the room, she would need to keep her cup full if she were to survive the night. Sure they had sort of spent some one-on-one time together, but she was still nervous as hell around him. He still intimidated her, and she feared he always would.

“Chaney, I thought we were making progress here…”

Chaney turned to her left to see an exasperated Halvo standing beside her, nursing his third bottle.

She just rolled her eyes and turned back to the party.

“God, how much have you drank tonight?”

Once again she didn’t reply and shrugged her shoulders.

He grabbed the cup from her hands, sniffed it before walking away and coming back with a fresh cup. “That shit smelled awful. I have no idea how you could stand it, much less what the hell it contained. It’s strictly water for you tonight if I have anything to do about it.” He shoved the cup of water in her hands and rejoined the party.

Once he was gone, she stumbled into the kitchen, dumping it down the sink before grabbing a handle of vodka and pouring that in her cup. As long as Halvo couldn’t smell it, he wouldn’t know it was vodka.

She was leaning back against the wall, trying to figure out her approach to get John to kiss her when fate seemed to answer her.

John was standing on the coffee table, quite a bit tipsy himself, and proclaiming, “Truth or dare shots in the backyard in five minutes!”

She thought this plan was perfect so long as Halvo played. She just knew he would go to her or John for a dare and ask one of them to kiss the other, and boy would she willingly oblige. She made it to the backyard, much to her surprise, unaccompanied, and looked for Halvo or John so she would have someone stable to stand beside. She didn’t know John very well, but she trusted him more than the other inebriated guys that were seeming to join the game.

Unfortunately she found Halvo first, and stumbled over to him, collapsing against his shoulder.

Halvo saw her state, saw her drink, grabbed it from her hands, and immediately tossed it in the grass. He didn’t have to bring it to his nose to know it was straight vodka. He could smell it from where he stood and Chaney all but reeked of it.

Chaney wrapped an arm around his waist and he placed a protective arm around her shoulders, hoping to stabilize her more than anything.

A few minutes later, a sizable crowd was gathered around the fire pit and John came out, carrying a two bowls containing various of slips of paper. He walked over and joined the circle across from Chaney.

One bowl was for truths and the second was for dares. Any person that didn’t answer truthfully or didn’t do the dare to the standards of the rest of the group had to take a shot.

Most of the game had been pretty lame thus far, not really containing anything too compromising in terms of truths or dares, so Chaney wasn’t too worried, yet she still hoped she somehow was able to use this dare to her advantage to ultimately win John over. By this point in the night, her decision making wasn’t exactly in its best form, but she didn’t dwell on that too much as her turn approached and she was asked truth or dare.

“Dare.” She said seductively while looking towards John. The person to her right held out the dare bowl for her to choose from. She pulled a slip of paper out and her features fell. She quietly read what her paper said, “Kiss the person to your left.” She looked to her left and saw a confused Halvo standing next to her with his arm still around her shoulders. She shrugged her shoulders and gave him a small peck on the lips.

She went to grab the bowls from the person to her right to pass to Halvo when the rest of the crowd booed her and demanded that she really kiss him. She rolled her eyes, and turned back towards Halvo.

She took a deep breath, and then the idea came to her, to really put a show on, to make John jealous and want to be the guy she was kissing.

Halvo looked at her with a quirked eyebrow, noticing her change in expression from one of nerves to one of determination.

She grabbed both sides of his face, and forced his head to hers and began to passionately make out with him.

Halvo was initially unresponsive, completely thrown off by her actions. However a couple seconds after he realized what was happening, one hand went to her lower back and the other to the back of her head to bring her closer. He never really realized until that moment, drunk or not, how right this kiss felt. Much to his dismay, it was over almost as quickly as it started, to the cat calls coming from the crowd around them. Halvo felt the blush rise to his cheeks as he looked down to Chaney who was sporting a cocky smirk.

She was looking at John, but then turned to Halvo, quickly pecking his cheek before walking away, flipping her hair off her shoulders in her wake as she sashayed inside.

Halvo then realized how deep he was in, and wondered how this whole thing would pan out. For Chaney’s sake he couldn’t act on what happened for the fact that she was infatuated with John. Secondly, she was extremely drunk, her senses weren’t exactly on point, and she would most likely forget this event in the morning. He breathed in deep as he watched her walk inside, figuring she would most likely crash in his room, and chose his slip of paper as he drowned his sorrows in more alcohol.