𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞

A L E X A N D E R

"Reed, did you eat all the chips?" I ask her from where I stand in the kitchen. She turns around from her spot on the couch, her eyebrows furrowed. I haven't seen her here in a while but she could have come over when I've been out.

"It was me," Farris surprises me by claiming responsibility. Farris has a competition coming up and he hardly ever eats anything that's made up of less than ninety-percent protein unless it's a pepperoni pizza once in a while. He has one guilty pleasure, and it isn't potato chips.

I want to say something else but I don't want to make him feel bad about eating a bag of goddamn chips, so I drop it, hoping Reed does as well. Charlotte wouldn't know his eating habits well enough to comment.

Farris and Reed are quieter than usual, sitting together with a foot between them on the couch. More space than I'd ever seen dividing them, even before they started dating. I escaped under the guise of preparing snacks and Charlotte gives me a confused look, silently asking what the weird tension is. I shrug.

Lately, I've noticed Farris more withdrawn than usual, and my guess is that it has something to do with Reed's absence, now that she's not glued to his side. I make a mental note to talk to him about it tomorrow, not wanting to ruin our night.

When I'm done gathering popcorn and drinks, the girls are chatting and Farris is on his phone, scrolling. With Charlotte's upcoming hospital date, things between us have been a little tense, due to all of the stress and overwhelming thoughts, mine due mostly to my own ignorance. Tonight is my way of bridging the gap between our group, hoping for a low-key occasion with my closest friends when everything else feels out of my control.

"Hurry up, I can smell the popcorn from here," Reed says and I crack a smile.

"That's because I'm right behind you," I say, dropping a couple pieces of popcorn onto her shirt.

She leans her head back and crosses her eyes at me, sticking out her tongue and proceeding to eat the popcorn off of her shirt. I half expect Farris to eat one, but he keeps his hands to himself and his eyes on the screen, now going through our movie options.

The girls are the ones speaking up, making the decisions about what to watch while I try my best to keep up with them and simultaneously keep an eye on Farris, observing his odd behavior. We settle on a superhero movie that Charlotte's seen a million times, no surprise there, though Reed put up a good fight when it came to a newly released comedy with one of her favorite actors.

The couch seats three, and I move from where I was standing behind the couch, gesturing for Charlotte to stand up so that I can steal her spot. She lets out a little gasp of surprise when my hands span her hips, turning her and putting her in my lap. When the shock wears off, she swings her legs to the side, using the armrest to lean on and face the other two. Farris sits on the far side with Reed in the middle, and we press play on the movie when he gets back from turning off the light.

Charlie squirms every once in a while, and I'm thankful for her position, lower on my thighs so as to avoid any uncontrolled reactions on my part. I don't realize my hands are still on Charlie, the one around her back having moved so that my hand spans her stomach, until her hand comes to rest on mine, looking at me for a second in the dark with a shared smile.

Despite it being her second choice, Reed's excitement when the main character appears on screen is visible. Her movements are jerky and her whispers are loud enough for all of us to hear clearly, I smile when she pushes and pulls on Farris' arm next to her.

Charlie stays still, but she and Reed share thoughts about the movie, uncaring about the two of us who still have yet to watch. As she becomes more and more comfortable, as time goes on, Charlie relaxes against me, her entire side curling into my chest with her head resting under my chin. Charlie's breathing grows more and more steady, as mine threatens to beat out of my chest and make a mess of the both of us.