Tea For Two

5

Disclaimer: This is part of an original work of fiction. These characters belong to me, as well as their lives. Do not steal them from me.

Thanks. Enjoy.

~~~

About a week later, on a Friday, I arrive at the baseball field just before they're going to get let out. Coach Van has them all in a huddle, and Emily is right in the middle of it all.

"All right, get out of here," I hear Coach call to them, and they scatter.

I walk to the side of the dugout where Emily jogs off to, to collect her duffel bag. There's a small window, and she sees me walk up.

"Oh, hey, August," she says with a smile. "It'll only be a second."

"Sure."

A few of the guys walk into the dugout as well, giving me the short, upward jerk of the head reserved just for me. I return it.

Sellers walks in, and I fight the same urge I've been getting around him for about a week- I'm not going to flip him off, or cuss at him. Gratifying though it would be, I'd like to believe I'm better than that. I'd like to be- I'm not sure I am.

Emily emerges from the dugout still in her practice clothes, but she's changed out of her cleats. Ever since Sellers pulled her down during practice, she's worn nothing but shorts. I haven't asked why, but I think it's so that he can see that she doesn't care. Either that, or jeans rub the sores the wrong way.

"Ready?" I ask.

"Yeah." She says, and we walk away.

I know that Emily and I are just friends. I know. But there is something really interesting about her. When I walk with her- to school, home from baseball- or when I sit and have tea with her, I get this feeling. She reminds me of everything I'm afraid of- coming out to my parents, getting kicked out because of it. She reminds me that there are bad people in the world- people like Jake Sellers, for instance. But she doesn't remind me of all that because she's part of it, or resembles it. She reminds me of it because she's in the thick of it all, and she doesn't let it carry her away.

She's grounded, those are the words I'm looking for.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks, derailing my train of thought- safely. No passengers were harmed.

"Trains."

She snorts. "Of course you are. Who isn't?"

"You, I'm guessing."

She attempts to imitate my game show announcer voice- badly. "Survey says: you're right! I'm not."

"Uh huh," I say, elbowing her in the ribs. "What does the survey say you're thinking about?"

"Tonight. I'm pretty stoked," she says.

"Me too."

Tonight, my parents both went out of town to visit my moldy old maiden aunt Lena in the next state, and I was staying over with Emily. We were planning on sleeping up in the tree house that someone left in three trees in her back yard about six years ago.

"Do you think it'll rain, though? A bunch of the guys were talking about it," She says, looking worried.

I glance up at the sky, with only a few grey-ish clouds in sight.

"No way. It hasn't rained in months," I reply, not wanting to confirm it and ruin our plans.

~~~

We're sitting at her small kitchen table, with her in her usual spot facing the window, and me- in her stepdad's chair- facing her.

"Oh, shit," she says, looking out the window.