I Guess I'll Never Get To Call You Mine

I’ve always loved the rain. As a kid, I used to jump into puddles with my brother and leave tracks all over the mudroom, to the dismay of our mother. She thinks rain is just depressing. Today, looking at the overcast gray sky and with the big, fat drops already starting to soak through my T-shirt, I might actually agree with her for the first time.
“Chuck, wait up!” a voice called from behind me. I turned to face Ashley as she jogged up beside me, her blond hair loose around her face. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts and a tank top that was starting to get transparent due to being soaked. I turned away slightly to avoid looking directly at her cleavage.
“Took you long enough,” I said, smiling as she slipped her hand into mine. “Are you cold?” “Yeah, well, I turned around for three seconds and you weren’t there,” she grinned. “And yes! I’m freezing! Give me your hoodie will you?” “It’s already wet, I really don’t see the point,” I chuckled, handing it over. She laughed as she quickly slipped the garment over her head. “I just really like the smell of you,” she admitted. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her toward my chest. I felt her hugging me back and we stood there like that for a while, just holding each other and ignorant of all the stares people were giving us.
“Um, honey? I think you’d better let go,” Ashley smiled. “It’s still raining and people are starting to point.” “What? We were having a moment here!” I said teasingly. “Come on, let’s find a place to eat. What about that Burger King over there?” I suggested. “Aw come on, where’s the romance in that? What about that place over there?” She pointed to a dimly lit Italian restaurant tucked away in a secluded corner. I could feel my stomach tighten a little. “I, uh, sure…if you want…”
“Good evening. My name is—oh my gosh, is it really you, Chuck?” Jerry stretched out his hand to shake mine. Despite my best efforts to hide behind Ashley, Jerry managed to locate me anyway. I plaster a smile on my face. “It’s good to see you too, Jer,” I said. “It’s been a while.” “So you do know about this place!” Ashley beamed. Jerry flashed her a grin. “Of course! Best Italian cuisine in Montreal! Chuck comes here a lot with…” He glanced at Ashley, looking slightly puzzled. I quickly turned to him, and shook my head slightly, hoping Ashley wouldn’t notice. A look of understanding crossed Jerry’s face, and his smile quickly returned. “I’ll find you a private booth,” he announced. “Tonight’s mushroom-and-onion pie is on the house!”

“So what can I get you two young people today?” Jerry grinned, hovering over us with a knowing look in his eye. “Nice catch, sir. She’s definitely a keeper.” Across him, Aline blushed and ducked her head under the menu. Her long caramel-colored hair—not blond, but not brown either—fell over her face like a curtain of corn silk. “Um, we’re just friends…” she mumbled. Jerry laughed. “But, of course!” he winked. “I’ll be back with some water, while you discuss your order. We do serve spaghetti for two you know.”
As soon as he left, Aline let out a groan and let the menu drop from her hands. “If he tries to recreate Lady and the Tramp I say we bail and find a Pizza Hut.” I laughed and reached over to give her knee a reassuring squeeze. “He’s just teasing. You know we’re only friends.” I thought about that for a moment. Aline and I have been friends since forever. We’re the classic boy-and-girl-next-door pair and grew up together. We even shared the same birthday. We had attended the same schools and hung out with the same circle of friends. She’s like a sister to me.
“The food does look great! I think I’m getting that spaghetti.” Aline smiled. “And you’re right, this place really is pretty. Well, okay, it’s a little overdone with the gas lamps, and the mustached violinists right there and these candlesticks look really expensive.” Her eyes, normally a light hazel, look golden in the candlelight. I swallowed hard. “This is so going to drain my salary,” I joked. Usually when we hung out we split costs but this was the last summer we were ever going to have together before starting CEGEP. It’s bad enough when she moved away to Ottawa last year, so I only get to see her when on occasional visits. It’ll be much harder when we’re both in college. We almost had a fight when I told her we were going to a restaurant and that I’m paying.
“Nah, they just dress it up to make it look real fancy. The prices are okay,” she chuckled. “Maybe next time you should’ve asked me to catch a movie. It’ll save you a couple of bucks.” “Um…yeah,” I said. “But maybe…” “Maybe what?” She looked at me, and suddenly she was no longer smiling. I can feel my heartbeat race. “Maybe I’m feeling like spaghetti too! Want to share?” I said quickly. “Huh?” For a moment Aline looked as lost as I was, but she quickly regained composure. “I thought I said no Lady and the Tramp!” she laughed.

“Chuck? Are you okay?” Ashley asked me. I turned to face her automatically. We’ve been going steady for about nine months now. Okay, we actually met five years ago at a party thrown by my best friend Pierre, and we dated before. We broke up twice and now we’re finally back for good…I guess. I found myself staring directly at her boobs and felt my hormones bubbling up.
“Stop checking me out,” she said, giving me the smile that made me take her back even after our last breakup, which was something I never liked to discuss. “I wasn’t checking you out,” I said. “Sure you weren’t,” she laughed. “I was trying to remember why I’m with you,” I smirked. “Well, let me remind you then,” she said, grinning wickedly.
I closed my eyes and let her brush her lips against mine. I let her mouth ghost against mine before opening up my own lips and giving a contented sigh, pulling her closer to me. We don’t kiss publicly often. It’s too risky—someone might recognize me and take a photo. Okay, I’m not a high-profile celebrity like Rihanna but being the drummer of an international band counts for something and I’ve got a reputation. You might have heard of us. We are called Simple Plan, and we’ve been going strong for almost six years now and released two studio albums. My supposedly best friend and the band’s lead singer Pierre Bouvier and I are actually due to meet in a couple of few weeks to come up with ideas for a new album.

The night was dark and cold, which certainly matched my mood. I had started a band with a bunch of my friends, and the future looked pretty good to me. It didn’t go too well with my parents when I told them that I was quitting CEGEP so I can tour Canada with the rest of the band. Dad and I had a huge fight and things had gotten ugly.
Rubbing the side of my cheek where he had unwittingly struck me, I slammed the door shut and took off the woods behind my house. I wasn’t surprised when I soon heard another door close and footsteps coming after me.
“Chuck! Wait up! Hey CHUCK!” Aline soon caught up with me, and I reflexively slowed down to let her catch her breath. “It’s not a good time to talk, Al,” I growled. “I saw you run out,” she said simply. “Good eyesight. Now go back home!” I shouted. “I can’t, my mom’s busy with last-minute packing and she doesn’t want us to disturb her. We’re moving out.” Everything I was about to say died on my lips. “Wait, WHAT? You’re moving? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Mom got promoted. We’re leaving for Ottawa tomorrow. She just managed to get train tickets. I was going to tell you last week but I thought I’d give you and your parents some space.” It started raining, and we quickly ran toward the trees cover. By the time we managed to duck into cover, we were both soaked to the skin.
“You should’ve told me,” I said flatly. She shook her head and plopped down on the grass. “You’ve got bigger things in mind.” The rainfall grew steadily stronger. I sighed and sat down cross-legged next to her. “They wanted me to go to McGill and get into law.” “You’re a good student, Charles, but the university isn’t your thing.” “Try telling that to my dad. I’m, like, the oldest in the family and I have to be perfect every single time,” I said bitterly. “Your parents care about you, dude. You ought to tell them what you feel.” “They won’t listen to me!” “Well, write them a letter or something. No one’s perfect. You’re not wasting your time doing the things you want to do.”
Aline pulled her knees up to her chest and turned to smile at me. “They’ll understand,” she said. We were quiet for a moment, just watching the rain forming puddles around us. “Just promise me that one day, when you’re famous and successful…you’ll come back here and tell me all about your adventures.” I smiled. We’re a long way from success that’s for sure, but her confidence amused me. “Sure, I’ll even bring pizza.” Her eyes widened. She had this thing for pizzas. “With extra cheese?” she said hopefully. “You bet! You’ll also have to promise to come back to Montréal one day.” She stood up and held out her hand. “Sounds like we’ve got a deal,” she grinned. “You’ll write that letter?” “I’ll try.” “I know you will. Tell me all about it later, okay?” she said, giving me a quick hug. “I have to go now! The others will probably be wondering where I am. Love you, bro!” I watched her quickly working her way through the muddy puddles back to her house. I smiled slightly and ran a hand through my wet hair. “Love you too.”

“And this is why you’re with me,” Ashley smiled as she pulled back. “As if I needed reminding,” I said, smiling back and feeling a little dizzy. This is not a good time for a flashback. Why am I suddenly thinking of Aline anyway? Sure, she is my best friend…or was, I guess. We still meet up, but we’ve all gone down different paths. I shook my head and leaned over to kiss Ashley again, our tongues fighting an unwinnable war. “Get a room!” someone yelled. “You know what…” Ashley said, standing up and signaling me to do the same. I caught the mischievous gleam in her eye. “I think we will.”

It was late when I got back at my apartment. I heard noises in the living room and sighed. Pierre. I gave him my spare set of keys since he came around often for songwriting sessions. But he often raids my fridge and takes advantage of my Wi Fi and cable TV. That’s why I was surprised to see Sébastien at the couch eating a bowl of Fruit Loops.
“Hey,” he grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, Pierre gave me your keys. I was on my way home and I thought I’d say hi but you weren’t here. Then I got hungry and well…” He gestured dramatically to his cereal. “It’s fine,” I said gruffly, settling down next to him. “SpongeBob, Seb? Really?” “Hey! It’s a classic! You know you love it too. Why else would you have Nickelodeon in your list of TV channels?” “I think David had that installed for me.”
For a moment, we said nothing and enjoyed the movie together. It’s like one of those late-night sleepovers my friends and I used to have in my parents’ house. Ah, the nostalgia of being teenagers again.
“How are you and Laurence?” I asked. Seb smiled. “Great. We planned on a vacation once we’ve finished our new album. We needed that.” “That’s nice.” “Yeah, she’s looking forward to it. You and Ashley?” “We’re doing great too.” I think I might have said that a little too cheerfully, because Seb gave me a funny look. “I saw Randy Young today…” He looked at me carefully, as if waiting for a change of expression.
“Oh. He’s in town?” “Yeah, with his sister. They’re staying at the Hilton for a whole week before going back to New York.” It’s clear he had a hidden agenda here, which I am pretty sure I did not want to know. “That’s great.” I turned back to the TV to watch Plankton try to steal Mr. Krabs’ Krabby Patty formula. Then I realized that Sébastien is still staring at me.
“What?” I said, annoyed. “Well, don’t you want to see them?” Seb asked. “The guys and I thought we could hang in the weekend, you know. Go bowling or something.” “Hmm…I don’t think I can make it. Ashley wanted me to take her shopping on Saturday.” “Come on, Chuck, what is it with you lately? We haven’t seen Randy and Aline in ages! Besides, how can you take Ash shopping if you didn’t even have a driving license?” “I can take the bus.” Before Seb could say anything else, I held up my hand and grinned. “Okay, okay, I’m joking. All right, we’ll go see them on Sunday, okay? Now can we please go back to the show? SpongeBob and Patrick are going to annoy Squidward.”