Chasing Dandelions

Chapter 7

Charlie drove thirty minutes to Victoria's apartment from his dorm room, his palms sweaty against the steering wheel. Their friendship was still new, only three months between them and never seeing each other again. The three months had been full of long texts, longer nights, and extra visits to the coffee shop just to see her. He pulled into the lot, locked his car, and took the steps up to the third floor of her apartment building, rapping his knuckles playfully on door #311.

Victoria swung the door open to let him in but didn't say anything. He'd noticed she'd seemed a little more reserved over text, but hadn't known if she'd been stressed with work or school so he'd left it alone. She stood there in her leggings and gray hoodie, her hair up in a messy bun with no makeup on. She didn't look like she cared if he was there or not, closing the door behind him and shuffling to the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. "Want a beer?" she called, checking the refrigerator to make sure she had his favorite.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

He shuffled awkwardly a minute and then asked if she'd like to watch the game or the next season in the show they'd been streaming. She grunted that she didn't care, so he grabbed the remote and turned to the game. She popped the top off the beer and handed it to him without a word, sitting further than normal from him, and munched on Cheetos. They sat in silence for several moments, watching the commercials before the kick-off.

"Pass me a Cheeto?" Charlie took a swig of beer, his eyes never leaving the screen. Victoria grabbed the bag and tossed it at his lap without saying a word. She leaned further into the couch, her arms folded across her chest and her left leg tucked underneath her right one. She'd barely said a word since he'd arrived.

"Uh...thanks?" Charlie dusted off his jeans, a bit annoyed.

"Yep." She took a sip of wine, her tone curt.

"May I help you?" Charlie muted the television, turning to face her in astonishment. He'd never seen her act so rude.

"Excuse me?" Victoria turned to him, her eyes wide.

"You good?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You just seem a little... off tonight, that's all."

"Nope. I've never been better, buddy." Victoria pursed her lips and turned back towards the television, her eyes trained on the game that was on.

"What is going on?" Charlie pressed, his eyes wandering over her face, confused.

She hugged herself tighter and said more firmly. "Nothing. Let's just watch the game, okay?"

"Listen, if I wanted to have a passive-aggressive conversation, I'd just head on back to my dad's house. What's up?"

He'd hit a hot spot. Victoria looked at him, unable to hide the hurt on her face. "What's up? Why don't I ask you that?"

"What? We're watching a game." Charlie gestured to the television as if making an obvious statement.

"No, not that. Forget the game. What's up with us?"

"Is this a multiple-choice question?" Charlie arched an eyebrow, taken aback by her boldness.

"No." Victoria met his eyes, looking a bit vulnerable. "I'd just like to know if I'm wasting my time here or not because if you want to be friends, that's fine, but I don't want to just be friends with you. I kind of thought you felt the same way about me. It's been three months, you still haven't said a thing about where this is headed, and it's really starting to hurt." The words tumbled out like she'd rehearsed them a thousand times, leaving Charlie speechless.