Best Friends Since Kindergarten

Blondie

AMY

Ryan and I made our way to the diner down the street from the school. They were used to Ryan there and had given up on keeping him away during the school day. We plopped down in our usual booth. For some reason, Ryan sat next to me instead of across from me, practically crushing me against the wall. My heart pounded. I loved and hated when he did this.

“Ryannnn,” I whined, trying to force him back a few inches. He grinned gleefully and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, planting a kiss on my cheek.

“Yes, dear?” he asked cheerfully.

“I don’t have enough room to breathe,” I complained.

“Breathing is for vertebrates.”

“Why am I not a vertebrate exactly?” I asked sarcastically.

“You are what you eat, and you only eat plants,” he said with a shrug. I snorted.

“I have a backbone!” I insisted. He drew his finger from the base of my spine up my neck, making me shiver. “Jesus!” I said sharply.

“Just doing some fact-checking,” he said mischievously. I smacked his shoulder. The waitress, Eileen, came over and took our usual order. He always got eggs benedict while I went for waffles. He scooted a little to the side after she left, giving me some room to breathe.

“So what happened today?” I asked.

“Who’s blondie? He new?” Ryan retorted, pointedly ignoring the question.

“Andres. Actually, yeah. He just moved here a few months ago.” Ryan’s eyes narrowed.

“He seemed awfully close for just a few months,” he said.

“He’s not,” I said with a snort. “I didn’t ask him to come along, he volunteered.”

“Mmhmm. So he’s in love with you.” It wasn’t a question.

“Ryan, he is not. He’s just a nice guy.”

“You say that about everyone,” he said, rolling his eyes. “When are you going to settle down with a nice young man? I want grandkids!” he squawked. I smacked his shoulder, making him laugh.

“Shut up. I have barely spoken to the guy before today.”

“What changed today?” he asked curiously.

I blushed, remembering my sighing fit at lunch. “My friends thought I was sick.” His eyes widened, and pressed the back of his hand to my head.

“Are you sick?” he asked worriedly. I pushed his hand away.

“No!” I said quickly. “Just bitter about the food selection. It was burger day again.”

“I missed burger day?” he said sadly.

“Ryan, you miss every day.” He laughed.

“Still don’t see how that means he isn’t in love with you. Think my theory is pretty spot on,” he said with a wry grin. The boy knew how to kick a dead horse.

“Why would he be in love with me?” I snapped in annoyance.

“Who wouldn’t be?” he retorted. I blushed. Before I could question him further, Eileen returned and set down our plates.

“Enjoy!” she said cheerily, either unaware of our conversation or determined to rescue me. I quickly turned my attention to my food, though I was still painfully aware of Ryan watching me for a minute before tucking into his food too. We ate in companionable silence. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. By the time I finished, I felt significantly more human. I hummed happily to myself as I leaned back against the booth seat with my eyes closed.

“You are such a dork,” Ryan chuckled. I opened an eye to glare at him.

“I was just happy!” I grumbled.

“In the dorkiest possible way,” he said, shoving the last of his food into his mouth. I scowled, though my expression lost some of its venom as I watched him lick his lips. God. I was so screwed.  “What?” he asked. “Something on my face?” I licked my thumb and rubbed it against his cheek roughly. “Hey!” he protested, trying to push me off him.

“Oh wait! That’s part of your face,” I teased. He snorted and shoved me gently. I grinned widely at him and turned sideways so my back pressed against the diner wall and put my legs over his lap. He rested his hands on top of my legs, pretending to play piano on my shin. It tickled, so I tried to jerk away, but he held me firmly in place and smiled at me. “You’re such a jerk,” I complained.

“For practicing my music?” he said, fake-offended. “Truly heartless.” I rolled my eyes. Suddenly, a shadow leaned over us. Ryan scowled and turned his head to look at Andres.

“Mind if I join you?” Andres asked politely as he sat down opposite us.

“Yes,” Ryan said sharply. I didn’t answer- to be honest I kind of agreed with Ryan. Alone time with him had been rare recently. Andres smiled cheerfully at us.

“You’ll be happy to know that Jake will be alright,” he said.

“Who?” Ryan growled.

Andres’s smile slipped. “The kid you beat up. Jake.”

“Oh. Forgot about him,” Ryan said with a sigh. “I’m delighted.” Eileen came over with a cup of coffee for Andres. She blushed and smiled at him as he thanked her charmingly. Ryan turned his head to me and rolled his eyes quickly, making me laugh. Andres returned his attention to us as Eileen quickly walked off to tend to another table.

“So why’d you do it?” he asked Ryan point-blank as he took a sip of his coffee. Ryan’s grip on my legs tightened for a moment.

“He talked s**t and got hit,” was all Ryan said. Andres frowned and opened his mouth.

“If he won’t tell me, he definitely won’t tell you,” I warned Andres. Ryan smiled winningly. Andres shrugged.

“Fine, have it your way. That’s not really why I came down here.”

“And why’s that?” Ryan asked

Andres smiled at me, ignoring the fact that the question had come from Ryan. “Amy- you understand what’s happening in chemistry right? The stoichiometry stuff?” I nodded, confused.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Well I don’t,” he said. “Was wondering if you could help me out after school today?”

I shrugged. “Uh, sure,” I said as Ryan spat out a terse “No.” I blinked at Ryan blankly, surprised by the amount of ice in his expression as he stared at Andres.

“Didn’t ask you,” Andres told Ryan before turning his bright smile towards me. “Great! I’ll walk you home then.”

“Uhhh, I don’t think that’s a great idea,” I said.

“Why not?” Andres frowned.

“Because we walk home together,” Ryan said.

“We’re neighbors,” I added.

“Sounds fun!” Andres said cheerfully. He drained the rest of his coffee and pulled a $5 bill out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of us. “See you after school then.” He winked at me then stood up and left. Ryan let out a low growl once he was a few tables away. He pushed my legs out of his lap before looking at me accusingly.

“Seriously?” he demanded.

“What?” I asked.

“That brat does not need help with chemistry,” he snarled. I frowned at Ryan. “He just wants to get you alone. Why did you agree to that?”

“It’s polite,” I shrugged again. “He’s new here and I really do think he’s been struggling with chem. He asks about a thousand questions in that class.”

“He’s in your chem class?” Ryan questioned, raising his eyebrow.

“He’s in our chem class,” I corrected. Ryan snorted.

“Forgot about that,” he grumbled, though his eyes looked oddly interested now.

“There’s a test coming up you know,” I warned him. He grinned wickedly.

“Does that mean I get to study with you and blondie today?”

“Do you want to?” I asked in confusion. Ryan was never interested in studying. He winged every test and never seemed to struggle.  

“Most definitely,” he told me.

“Okay then,” I smiled at him. I got the sense he wasn’t really looking to study chemistry, so much as he was hoping to study Andres, but I wasn’t about to complain about spending more time with him. He hooked an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in tightly against his chest as he ruffled my hair with his other hand. “Hey!” I complained, swatting at him. He planted a kiss on top of my head.

“Let’s get you back before the next class starts,” he muttered into my hair.

“What time is it?” I asked worriedly.

“2 minutes before the bell,” he said brightly. He pulled out his wallet while I gaped at him. He took his time sorting through bills and counting up slowly.

“Ryan!” I finally managed to choke out. “We have to go, like NOW!”

“Okay, okay!” he said with a laugh, immediately pulling out the correct bill and leaving it on the table with Andres’s $5. He moved like a sloth getting off the booth seat, making me crazy. Finally I was free and I launched past him and out of the diner, with a quick thank you shouted to Eileen over my shoulder. Ryan chuckled and followed me as I hurried up the street. He jogged a second to get next to me, then wrapped an arm around my shoulder, slowing my pace. “Don’t panic. You won’t miss anything in the first 5 minutes anyway.”  I bit my lip, torn between wanting to get to class on time and enjoying the feeling of Ryan’s arm around me. We finally arrived at the school and he walked me to class through the empty hallways. I could see the other students in the room looking at us curiously. Ryan and I’s friendship wasn’t the most well-known fact. The thought of what they must be thinking made me blush. Before I could run off into the classroom, he tugged me in for a quick hug. I grumbled and pulled back with a glower.

“Stop making me late!” I snapped. He laughed and let me go, walking away with a wave over his shoulder. I slunk into the classroom, sneaking around to my spot in the back next to Susan. Andres was sitting on the other side of my seat. They gave me identical blonde, blue-eyed grins. They’d be cute together. I slumped into my seat, glad that the teacher didn’t seem to be here yet. I lay my head down on my desk, my heart racing. Susan tapped me on the back with her pencil.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Ryan always stresses me out,” I told her, talking into my desk. Susan laughed. She was the only one who knew I had a huge crush on him. I hadn’t even told Lucy, worried that she would pass it on to Rob, who would pass it on to Ryan, and then everything would be ruined.

“Then why do you bother with him?” Andres asked sharply. I’d forgotten he could hear me.

“Best friends since kindergarten, remember?” I said simply. “I would joke about hiding a body for him, but I don’t want to tempt fate.” Susan laughed. Our teacher walked in, apologizing for being late. Apparently the staff-room printer had chewed up our pop quizzes on “Macbeth” so we would be missing out on that today. The entire room sighed with relief. I sat back up, thinking about getting back to Ryan after classes today. The last few periods couldn’t go by fast enough. I stole a glance at Andres, who was already staring at me. I quickly averted my eyes. Then again, maybe I could wait.