I Guess I'm Stuck With You

Chapter 6: In Which An Explanation is Owed

3:07 PM

"There you are!" Lizzy shouted throwing her hand up into the air. She approached me, pushing her glasses up. "Where were you?"

I slowly came to a stop in front of Lizzy. While she was still my best friend, I definitely had questions. She had never said anything about hurting Jordan to me. Students passed around us in the hall, and I fixed my gaze on them all. When I didn't respond immediately, Lizzy placed a hand on my arm, eyebrows scrunched up together in concern.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

I look at her and sigh. I needed to give her a chance to explain herself. Maybe she had some sort of reason why she never told me.

"I've had a long day." I say, and I drag her to my locker. As I crouch down to open it, I add, "We need to talk."

Lizzy shuffles slightly. "Okay I guess?"

I grab my notebooks and binders, then slam the door shut and turn to Lizzy, who looks really confused.

"What do we need to talk about?" she asks, "Is this about another fanfic you're writing or something?" I shake my head, but smile a little as the two of us start walking down the stairs, doing our usual routine of going to the local ice cream place, Federico's, after school.

"No, I'm still working on the Chipotle story. Mia is begging for me to start writing the next chapter," I chuckle, thinking to my other friend Mia who I had met at Trinity. "But I have a question about what really happened between you and..." I look around at the stairwell, making sure no one we knew was within earshot, "Jordan."I whisper. Immediaely, Lizzy stiffens and she pauses midstep before continuing down the staircase and opening the door for me.

"Why?" she asks coolly. I turn to her as she follows me out the door and we are finally out in open sunlight.

"I was stuck in an elevator for like," I count it out on my fingers, "Four hours."

"Wait what?" Lizzy blurted out, turning to me shocked.

"Yeah."

"Oh god, wow. That must have been really scary and stressful." Lizzy responded. "I'm gonna pay for your ice cream today."

I start to protest, but she puts up a hand to silence me.

"It'll make me feel like a decent person, and besides," she teases, "I put others' happiness before my own." I roll my eyes at her and kick at some leaves on the pavement as we walk toward's Federico's. "But still, how exactly does that relate to Jordan?"

I stare at my feet in silence for a few moments.

"I was stuck in there with him." I say, and Lizzy goes dead silent. All that you could hear was the crunch of the autumn leaves under our shoes.

"For four hours," she finally said, and I sigh.

"Yeah..."

"And I'm guessing you two talked." I nodded. We approached Federico's, opening the door towards the mildly crowded place. We grabbed a small table in the back. Lizzy pinched the bridge of her nose. "What exactly happened?"

"Oh, um...well..."Lizzy looks at me expectantly, tilting her head to the side. When I don't make any effort to finish my statement she sighs.

"Look, I am going to buy us some ice cream," and I open my mouth to protest but she holds up a finger. "No, no, no, no. This doesn't change the fact that I'm getting you ice cream ok? And by the time I come back, you better be ready to tell me exactly what happened." And with that, she walks towards the end of the line.