It Started with a Bet... (Watty Awards 2011)

"I-I have a friend."

29: "I-I have a friend."

Corey grabs my hand as he walks me to first period. He picked me up from my house this morning and insists that he’ll be dropping me back off. It’s flattering, to say the least, even if I do have to get up early. I’m glad he told me this beforehand though. A run through the backyard in the early morning would have made for a very grumpy Haley.

When he touches my hand I instantly feel like pulling away. Not because it’s uncomfortable, but rather because my mind instantly flashes back to Trevor. I really need to stop.

Not necessarily, says a little voice in my head. What if Trevor can really put Trina to rest? I want to slap myself. I want to run away and never come back. How can I even think that? How could I ever forget Trina? Especially now that everyone else has forgotten.

Oh? What about last night? Trevor doesn’t seem to have forgotten her and he likes you anyway.

Now I’m confused. True, Trevor probably only remembers her because of me, but still. Is it possible to remember Trina and still be normal like everyone else? It didn’t seem like it. No one really seemed to remember Trina at all. It was just when I said her name, or when I mentioned cars. And they all remembered her death, not her life.

“Haley?” I look up to see Corey staring at me.

“Hmm? Oh, thanks for walking me to class.” I give him a quick hug as I see Trevor walk towards us.

“That was nice of him to drive you to school and walk you to class.”

I wait until Corey’s out of earshot and shrug.

“Seems kind of counterproductive, seeing as you and I are neighbors and have the same first period.”

“Oh my God, Haley, are you and Corey going out?” Some girl I don’t know grabs both my hands and starts jumping up and down.

“No,” I say. Trevor looks at me like I’m insane and I remember why I did this: to get them off my back. God, I’m an idiot. “I mean, we had our first date on Saturday, so…I guess.”

This is stupid. You like Trevor. Trevor likes you. Why don’t you just dump Corey and date the guy?

I look over at Trevor. Do I like him? It’s not even a question anymore. Yes. Yes I do, dammit.

Well then, it looks like Trina doesn’t matter doesn’t it?

She does matter!

Oh really? When was the last time you talked to her?

Last night? No. Was it the night before? No, definitely not. Then…while shopping. Two days ago. That’s not too bad, is it?

Sure. Until 2 days becomes a week and a week becomes a month.

My first response is to deny it, but I know it’s true. That’s why I wanted to stay away from Trevor in the first place. Because when I’m around him, it barely hurts anymore. And when it involves your best friend, hurt is good.

“Haley, are you okay?” Trevor’s big brown eyes look into mine.

“Yes. Yes I am,” I say a little too confidently before sitting down. He nods and hesitates before moving a seat away from me. “What are you doing?” I whisper in confusion. Trevor pulls out a piece of paper and scribbles on it a bit.

“Isn’t this why you’re dating Corey? Once you stick to one guy everyone leaves you alone?” I crumple up the paper and toss it into the trash. Thankfully the teacher doesn’t notice. This sucks. This. officially. sucks.

Corey grabs my hand as we walk towards the crew for lunch. I swear everyone’s eyes popped out of their heads. Matt looks happy for us, Trevor looks away, Clarice glares, Janice just about dies, and Spike…Spike just shakes his head and gets into the front seat of the car. Why is it that that look makes me feel so awful? It’s like I’ve disappointed Spike. But why do I care?

“Since when did you two start dating?” Janice coos from the middle seat. Trevor randomly sat shotgun, leaving Janice in the back seat between Matt-and-Clarice and me-and-Corey.

“Yesterday,” Corey says with a smile, tightening his arms around my waist. I see Trevor flinch in the side-view mirror.

“You’re dating Corey?” Spike pulls me aside after school. I shrug.

“Yeah, why? You don’t approve?” Why do I actually care what his answer is? “Aren’t you guys pretty close?” Spike scratches his head, his long dark hair falling into his hazel eyes.

“Well, yeah. But he’s…you know, not really your type.”

“Really? Then who would you say is more my type?” Spike puts and arm around me and points to the soccer field.

“See that guy?”

“They’re all guys.”

“Oh, come on, the really hot one.” I look at him.

“The what?” He sighs.

“Fine. The one standing right next to the coach.”

“They’re in a huddle, Spike.”

“Shoot! I’m late!” He starts to jog towards the field.

“Wait, Spike!” I realize, too late, that I don’t have a ride home. Plus, he didn’t answer my question. He jogs back towards me and puts his arm back around me.

“What? Miss me already?” I can’t help but giggle.

“Answer the question, Spike.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“Like you don’t know.”

“Dude! Either give me a ride home or answer the question!” He reaches into the pocket of his duffel bag and hands me the keys.

“You drive carefully, a’ight? And I want you back here to pick me up at five-thirty.” I roll my eyes.

“Yes, sir!”

A couple hours later I’m waiting outside the soccer field. I texted Corey telling him I was giving Spike a ride home, so I don’t have to worry about getting in trouble.

Spike jogs up to the car, vaulting himself inside and shuts the door. “Thanks,” he mutters, wiping sweat from his brow.

“So you were saying?”

“About?”

“About me and Corey not being much of a match.”

“God, you don’t give up do you? Why does it matter what I think?” I pause for a second.

“I’m not sure.” Spike laughs, pulling a water bottle out of his bag and sucking it down.

“Haley, are we friends?” I think about that one.

“I guess so.” He laughs again.

“I know so,” he replies. “Friends trust one another, right?”

“And value each other’s opinions,” I say slowly. I brake suddenly, throwing Spike and his precious bottle of water forward.

“Holy shit!” He yells, wiping the water from his shirt. “What was that for?”

“I-I have a friend.”

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Don't worry, my friends, nothing happens to Spike. Lol. Just practicing my dramatic preview writing skills. Because I've been watching shows where they do previews of the next episode at the end, and the previews are always 100x more dramatic than the actual episode, lol. So I thought I'd practice. But not to worry! Next chapter is going to be posted in a minute.

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