Not Another High School Love Story

13. A Night Like Any Other

Fuck. I'm not sure how to feel about Brent throwing rocks at my window. All the self-respect I have begs me to ignore him, or at the very least tell him to go away, but I feel so shitty and it helps me make the wrong choice. He's half hidden in the darkness below, and I can just barely make him out, but I know he sees me well enough as I hold a finger up to tell him to wait. I'm in a bit of a hurry, but I take a second to throw on a fresh shirt before I creep out into the hall, listening down the stairs to see if I can hear anything. It's quiet, and all the lights are off, so I know I must've been right about my dad being gone.

The night air feels nice on my skin when I go outside, and I circle back around the side of the house until I can see Brent. Maybe I don't have to feel so bad about giving in, I mean, I'm not the one who went crawling back to him. Whatever he wanted to say to me after the game must've been pretty important, because I don't know why else he'd bother going through all this to hunt me down. Brent spots me immediately and his face lights up with a grin that somehow manages to cut through the night.

"What are you doing here?" I whisper. My dad might be gone, but I still have neighbors, and I don't need to cause any more trouble.

"Come on, don't act like you're not happy to see me." He takes it all too lightly as he comes closer, and even from here I can smell his breath. It's the first time he's smiled at me in weeks, but I wish it wasn't like this.

"Have you been drinking?" The question is more rhetorical, I don't need an answer. Still, he hums to himself like he's debating on it while he comes to a stop in front of me. His hand balances on the house as he leans in closer, more of him becoming clear in the glow of the streetlight.

"Just a little, don't tell anyone. I'm celebrating, we won!" His voice spikes and I have to shush him, but he only laughs it off. When he finishes he eyes me again, licking his lips like he has more he wants to say, but he's not sure if he should. Clearly his judgment isn't the best, because his smile only gets bigger as he continues. "I thought maybe you'd want to celebrate with me, but you didn't show up."

"Did you really expect me to?" I play it off like the thought had never crossed my mind. Again he seems to think about it, and then he shrugs heavily as his smile fades.

"Aw shit, should I not have come?" Now he's a little wiser, as if he's just noticed I'm not jumping for joy to see him. When I don't answer right away he seems to accept it, and he clears his throat as he leans back to give me more space. "I'll go if you want."

"I didn't say that." It's stupid, it'd be better for both of us if he left, but I see more of that guy I knew in him right now than I've seen in a while. My eyes fall to my feet as I struggle to speak my mind, because I know that once I do I'll have said too much. What better chance am I going to get though? "It's just, you know, one day we're cool and the next you're acting like you don't ever want to see me again. I guess I'm confused."

"Okay, well what if I apologized for being the world's biggest jackass? Then will you talk to me?" Brent tilts his head almost playfully, and I'm at least glad to hear that he knows he was being a jerk. Still, I'm not sure how seriously he's taking everything right now, so I say nothing as I glance away again. He touches my arm softly after a minute, prompting me to look at him as he sobers up for just one second. "I'm sorry, Jonah."

"You don't have to apologize." I mumble, acting like it's all water under the bridge. It's not, he really hurt me, and I would still deserve to be mad if I wanted to, but I'm finding that I'd much rather forgive him. The quiet minute that goes by makes me uncomfortable, and I finally hold my head up like I'm not some wounded animal. "We can talk if you want, but we've got to go somewhere else. You good to walk?"