Best Friends Since Kindergarten

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

AMY

“Okay. Thanks, Lucy.”

“Sure thing, bubby.” She smiled. I snorted at the old nickname she used for me. I picked my phone back up- 1 new message.

8:00pm

RYAN: hey

I chuckled. He had never been much of a texter.

AMY: hey you, and I gave up.” I blushed, grateful that hiding my face in his shirt kept him from seeing my ashamed expression. I kept doubting him and it wasn’t fair. I wasn’t sure when I’d gotten this pathetic but I didn’t like it.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“Amy, don’t be sorry,” he said, rubbing my back soothingly. “You can’t read my mind. I can’t read yours. We both have our own insecurities and that’s okay.”

“What are you insecure about?” I asked pointedly, leaning back so I could look at his face.

He sighed. “That I’ll go too far and hurt you or get you tangled up in something unsafe or that you’ll get bored of me or meet someone more attractive and just… move on,” he said lightly. His eyes were troubled though. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Ryan, I have known you for 11 years,” I told him. “If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that you’ll never bore me.”

He chuckled. “Most of my fantasies about you involve cooking and being domestic together.”

“That’s interesting!” I insisted with a laugh. “Would not have guessed that! Also I think you’re the most attractive person I’ve ever met. Except when we were kids. That was a rough time for you,” I teased.

“Hey!” he complained, though he knew it wasn’t true- girls (and a couple boys) had been all over him since preschool.

“As far as going too far or getting tangled up in stuff, both of those scenarios assume that I am not an active decision-maker in my own life. I know this sounds rich coming from me probably, but you’ve gotta trust me.” He nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s a fair point. Though I insist if I trust you that you trust me too.”

I grinned at him. “I think I can do that.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “Oh! Also a heads up, Giselle apparently developed a bit of a crush on you last night. If she’s extra nice to you…” I trailed off, not sure what I wanted to ask him to do.

“Who’s Giselle?” he asked, confused. I rolled my eyes.

“Redhead? One of my friends? Cheerleader?”

“Ohhh. I thought her name was Isabel. I guess it rhymes.” He winced. “We’ve known her since like third grade right? I should probably have figured that out by now.” I laughed. My chest felt a little lighter. He hadn’t even bothered to remember her name. It pleased me in a horrible way. He yawned. I glanced at the clock. It was only 10:30, but I felt just as tired as Ryan seemed. His yawn was contagious and I found myself yawning too. “I should probably get going,” he sighed.

“Please stay,” I asked him, grabbing hold of one of his arms. He looked at me in surprise.