The Lunacy Fringe

It was two days before Felix got around to calling. I was sitting on the couch when the phone rang. Since my dad was at work, I jumped up to get it, nearly tripping over the dog on the way over.

"Hey, it's me," Felix said after I answered. Excitement burst out of me.

"Hi!" I replied. He laughed.

"Hi. How are you doing?"

"Better. Sorry—I acted really lame."

"You didn't act lame. It's fine."

"I miss you already."

"I miss you too." He sounded genuinely sad.

"How is it?"

"It's amazing. You should see this place and the equipment they have. I mean—I know it's not the best in terms of modern studios, but it might as well be. Definitely better than Aaron's garage."

"That's so cool. Have you guys started yet?"

"Not yet. We're just trying to get settled in and figure out what we're doing, I guess. They want to see if we can write some new material to see how we deal with deadlines. But we're hoping to get some things recorded in the next few days."

"I'm so excited for you guys."

"I know. I wish you were here so you could see this place. It'd be like your heaven."

"Yeah, I wish I was there too." He sighed deeply, still clearly bothered by something.

"I can't stay on for long because of the long-distance thing. Plus, we have to head over to the studio to meet with some people. I just wanted to call and check in with you. I'll call again soon, okay?"

"Okay. Talk to you later."

"Alright. Bye, Ruby."

"Bye."

I hung up and felt that same nagging feeling in my gut. I was happy they were having such a great time, but I was lonely without them. And I could just feel that Felix didn't want to stay on the phone with me long. I didn't know what it was. Something I did. Someone else. Maybe he just didn't like being on the phone.

I decided to take a walk. Cerbie liked to walk, and I didn't have anything better to do. Billie's house was a bit too far away, but I could walk to Quinn's and hang out with Crystal for a while. So I got my house key and Cerbie's leash and headed out.

She had a great time. But by the time we reached Quinn's, I felt like I was swimming in sweat and wanted to drink a whole gallon of water. And to never have to walk anywhere ever again. When I rang the bell, Jade was the one to answer, even though she probably shouldn't have been. She managed to get the door open and looked up at me quietly. She had the same brown eyes as Quinn and me but Steve's slightly lighter brown hair.

"Hi, Jade," I said. She smiled. I think she was really starting to warm up to me. But she hardly ever talked. She just stopped hiding behind her parents whenever I paid attention to her.

"Jade! What did I say about answering the door?" Crystal said, rushing around the corner to scoop her up. But she relaxed when she saw it was only me. "Oh. Hi, hon. Come on in. I didn't know you were coming by."

"I have my dog." I held the leash up.

"Oh, that's fine. You can bring her in."

"Can I play with her?" Jade asked, tugging on my shirt.

"Of course. She won't bite. She's very nice, but she might knock you over. So be careful, okay?" I handed her the leash, and she walked off to her room to show Cerbie her toys.

"I'm glad you decided to stop by," Crystal said as I followed her into the living room. "I was afraid I wouldn't be seeing you much now that Quinn is gone."

"I was feeling kind of lonely. I thought maybe we could do something."

"Oh, like a girl's day? That sounds fun. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, maybe we could kidnap Billie. I haven't planned anything beyond that."

"We could catch a movie. Maybe get some shopping in. How does that sound?"

 "Sounds great."

"Good. I'll get Jade ready, and we can grab lunch on the way."

She disappeared down the hall to get Jade and the dog. So I found the phone to call Billie and let her know. Then I had to call my dad to make sure he didn't freak out if he came home and I was missing.

Once Jade was ready, Crystal drove past my house so I could drop off the dog, and then we went to get Billie.

I wasn't a super big shopper. And it wasn't that I didn't like shopping. It was just that we didn't usually have the money for nice things. And Billie and Crystal were both the kind of people who could stay in a store for hours while they searched through every hanger. I, on the other hand, got what I wanted and was ready to go.

It was already late by the time I got home. Billie decided to just come home with me and then ask my dad for a ride if she had to go home. We were in my room putting my new things away when she brought Felix up.

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"Yeah, this morning, actually," I admitted.

"See? I told you he'd call." I was silent as I put a new shirt into the closet. "You're still upset, though, aren't you?" I turned to look at her.

"It's not that I'm upset. I just have this feeling in my gut that it's over."

"I'm sure everything will be fine. Felix is absolutely terrible at making phone calls. He would literally rather stab himself in the eye than make a phone call. So the fact that he called at all really shows he cares. Try not to be so paranoid, okay?"

"Right," I said, not feeling any better. "I guess I'll try."

"It's okay. This is a perfectly normal side effect of being in love. I read it in a magazine." I laughed and shook my head.

"Sure, Billie."