Forces of Nature

Taking A Chance

A/N: Sorry, rough draft. Please excuse any typos or excessively repeated words. Enjoy!

"Why so glum, chum?"

I arched a brow and glanced in Mel's direction. She was sitting at the counter sipping from a mug, perfectly content and far too chipper for seven fifteen in the morning if you asked me. Her thick black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and today's attire consisted of a knee length pencil skirt and a black short sleeved turtleneck.

"It's the crack of dawn on a school day," I groused, clanking the coffee pot around noisily just for the hell of it. Not even the decadent aroma could soothe my aggravation. "Give me one good reason why I should be dancing around the kitchen singing a merry little tune."

Rather than let my sour mood deflate her, Mel cracked a wide grin and slid from her stool at the counter. "Because today could be the day you get answers," she said in a prophetic sounding voice.

I had to resist the urge to cringe and throw something at her simultaneously. Against my better judgement I'd come home on Tuesday to tell her all about the trip and everything we'd done. Including everything I'd done with Tyson; things I hadn't even told Courtney about yet.

Today was Thursday morning and I hadn't seen nor heard anything of him. I'd actually woken up on Tuesday sick to my stomach at the thought of seeing him, afraid that he'd deny everything that had happened between us the night before. Yeah, well, I needn't have bothered working myself up. He'd left at five in the morning to head back home because Quinn's boss called and said he needed him to work the midday shift at the restaurant he waited tables at. The only thing I'd come downstairs to was Courtney and Drew canoodling on the couch with silly little grins on both of their faces. Three guesses what they'd done the previous night.

So to recap, apart from being angry about the early hour, it was a safe bet that I was also nursing some seriously wounded pride and a heart that couldn't take much more of Tyson's antics.

"I think you're forgetting the fact that he totally blew me off yesterday," I said, heaping sugar into my coffee mug.

Mel was undeterred. "He didn't blow you off. He was absent."

"Same thing. He has my number, he could have called."

"Maybe he lost his phone and hasn't yet learned your number by heart," Mel suggested.

"He knows where I live," I countered, stirring a bit more vigorously than I needed to.

"Ran out of gas," Mel was quick to provide.

I glared at her. "Why are you making excuses for him?"

"Why are you so quick to condemn him?"

"Ah, gee, because right before we made out he told me he didn't want to date me. Oh, I'm sorry, I mean he said he "couldn't" date me." I used air quotation marks when I spat out the word "couldn't".

"People change their minds," she said, still the blind optimist.

I made a noise of deep frustration, but before I could squash her useless notion of there ever being something between me and a boy who was just too busy for me, my phone rang.

"What?" I snapped into the mouthpiece, hoping that maybe it was Tyson and that maybe he'd finally understand how much his games were messing with my head.

"Well, it's always nice to know how loved I am. I have to say, I definitely heard the sisterly affection in your voice, and even if I missed it there was just no mistaking that lavishing greeting for what it was."

Sarcasm aside, Riley sounded highly amused.

"Sorry, thought you were someone else," I said, and mouthed my brother's name at Mel, who was hovering over me with a hopeful expression on her face and her hands clasped together in front of her. Upon finding out it was only Riley she huffed in disappointment and returned to her seat and the morning paper.