Night Train || cth

t h i r t y - s e v e n

"Alright, Claire, now I have a very serious question for you," I begin as Claire looks at me with a quizzical expression on her face. "What the hell is going on with you and Michael?"

She rolls her eyes dramatically at me as she dismisses my question. We've been hanging out at my house doing absolutely nothing for three hours, and I'm tired of the simplicity. It's about time we spice it up a bit.

"I have no idea what you're getting on about, Tay." She continues to play around on her cell phone as if this is no big deal. Well, she could'nt be anymore wrong because this is a serious issue. The two of them have been practically inseperable for weeks, and I'm getting impatient with them. It's easy to see that they have some type of feelings for each other, but unfortunately neither one has the balls to say anything.

"Fine. I guess I'll just call Mikey and ask him about it." I try my best to give her a death glare, but she just continues to ignore my antics. "Here I go. I'm going to call him right now." My cell phone is literally in my hand and I'm about to dial his number once she hops off the couch. She runs over and smacks the phone out of my hand, which is definitely enough proof that she's crazy about him.

"Don't you dare," She warns. It's amusing how she thinks I don't know her and how she acts when she fancies a guy. Whenever she's around the special guy she always gets flustered and can't speak clearly. Her words always come out wrong and she has to try and correct her mistake. It's quite hysterical to me, but it only frustrates her even more.

The years that she spent with Jake caused her behavior to mellow out since she was so accumulated to him and the way he acted. Now that she's been hanging around Michael, whose actions she has not learned yet, she's not as confident as she usually is. They won't go back to the way they were for awhile, but I know that it'll only happen if her and Michael get used to each other. Which, in my eyes, can only happen if they get together because they're meant to be.

"Claire, don't be a whimp. We both know that you like him, and I'm pretty sure he likes you too. There's nothing to lose!" Although I'm getting hyped up over this, I decide to keep my position on the recliner. I would make an attempt to flail around and make dramatic motions, but I'm way too lazy to do that.

"Yes there is, okay? There's a lot to lose, especially for me," She mumbles the last bit as she hides her face behind her hair. Her gaze has fallen to the floor, and this is enough to provoke me to finally move from my spot. There's something hidden in her words and I need to decipher what it is. I carefully creep over to her and kneel in front of her, pushing her hair out of her eyes.

"What? Tell me what's swimming around in that pretty head of yours," I soothe. She sighs as she slowly raises her head, her eyes staring into mine.

"I've been cheated on before, you know that, and it's a shitty feeling. I felt as if I was nothing to him - that I was just a piece of trash he threw to the curb. And for what? For some skank at a stupid ass party. Two years with that douche and it's all wasted over nothing. I don't want to feel like that again, Tay."

The vulnerability that she is expressing right now is a bit overwhelming. Even though we've been friends for many years, I've hardly ever seen her like this. In all of that time she's always been the tough one in our relationship, and I've been the weak one. She's been my rock through all of the shit I've gone through, and now it's my turn to be hers.

"Listen to me. I promise you that Michael would never, ever hurt you. He can barely hurt a fly let alone a girl he cares deeply for." Her mouth parts slightly and curves into a small smile at my words. "He likes you Claire, I swear to you, and trust me he wouldn't ever fuck it up like Jake did. Jake was an asshole who was the lowest of lows."