FATE

22. F.R.I.E.N.D.S

JONAH

"Can you do it or not?", I impatiently ask while rolling my eyes.

"Sure man", Jamal says while still staring at my phone screen, "it's not that hard"

"Okay"

He takes out his phone and clicks a few buttons, "I got a class now though, I'll text you later when I'm done"

I would have preferred if I could know now but Jamal's the only computer guru I know, "okay, that's fine"

"But why you do you want to know who this person is so bad though?", He hands me my phone

I collect it, "That's none of your business Mal. Just do your job and I'll pay later"

I thought someone was stalking Hailee but I was wrong. It was far from it. For a moment there, I hoped she would have just said something else. Something other than the fact that she was trying to be a good friend, something different from how she didn't like that Hailee was being unfaithful. Something like she wanted me to see it because she felt something and thought I could feel it too, that we both wanted to be more than just friends.

It felt like those words might have saved me.

"She's not here", a low voice says and I turn to my left. It's the librarian.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're Brooke Collins' friend, aren't you?"

I nod.

"Well, she left a while ago with her friend, she's not here"

"Oh okay", Fuck. "Thank you..."

Before I can actually remember what, her name is, she waves her hand dismissively and struts away, towards a small blue beetle sitting in the parking lot.

I am left in front of the library. I wanted to see her, even if I wouldn't have spoken to her. I wanted to drop her off still, have her sit next to me in Hailee's car and if she pushed hard enough, tell her that the feelings she thought I had for Hailee were feelings that were sprouting from my heart all because of her smile, her voice and everything that was her but I guess it's too late to do that now.

I walk back to the car and get in. It's getting late, Hailee would be worried.

***

"Yo, you're late!", Hailee exclaims when I walk in through the door.

I drop her takeout on the center table in front of where she sits on the couch and say nothing.

"Jonah?"

"I got you a burger. Just eat please", I drop next to her and sigh, "where are your parents?"

"Work. They always work during weekdays, you know"

"Oh yeah". Mrs. Hartford wanted to stay with her sick daughter this morning but was begged to go to work instead.
When Hailee said, "Please just go and don't be worried, I'll be fine", she actually meant, "you're making me feel like I'm weak and can't take care of myself".

"How are you feeling now?", I ask.

"The same", she pauses "Jonah!", She whines loudly, "what's wrong?"

"Brooke thought you were my girlfriend all this time"

There is silence in the room for a while, then the sound of Hailee picking up the takeout on the table.

She chuckles, "that's funny but did you explain to her though?"

I turn to stare at her amused face.

Funny?

"Yes, I did", I say flatly, "and why is this funny to you?"

"I'm just wondering what could have been going through her mind every single time she saw us together. Maybe it's the kind of stuff I think about when I see couples together. Is he hitting her right? Does she moan his name or does she call him daddy during sex? Do they even have sex?"

"What?", I snap.

"Yeah, I know", she giggles as she begins to eat.

"Hailee, Brooke thought we were dating", I sit up and turn to face her, gesturing between us.

She eyes me warily, "I know Jonah and you said you already explained it to her so why are you so worked up about it?"

I pause, "nothing"

"It's not like there aren't a whole lot of people in school who still think we're dating. I mean you tell girls I'm your girlfriend at parties all the time so they'll leave you alone"

And it works well too. I almost laugh.

"Yeah"

"So is the problem really that Brooke thought we-", she chuckles again, "-were dating or is it that it was Brooke who thought it this time?"

I hesitate to answer remembering Brooke's face when I asked her why she did it. I shouldn't have walked away.

"Jonah?"

I come back from my trance to meet Hailee, eating with a smug look on her face.

"Yes?"

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing"

"You sure?"

"Why the fuck would she even think that?", I stand, pacing around the room.

"I don't know, because people can't accept the fact that a boy and girl can be best friends without anything involved"

"I know but did she ever see us kiss? Or make out? Or all of that weird stuff couples do?"

She shrugs, "she probably didn't think that far"

"Her dumb friends got her thinking all sorts of bullshit"

"Yes, they did", she bites into the burger in her hand.

"And that dumb Instagram account"

Hailee pauses her chewing and frowns, "what Instagram account?", she mumbles incoherently.

I sigh and sit next to her, "she saw you and Louis at the movies and thought you were cheating on me. She didn't know how to break the bad news to me so she created a fake IG account and sent me pictures of you and Louis"

Her frown leaves and the amused look returns. "Oh my God", she begins to laugh.

"It's not funny Hailee"

"It is", she laughs, "holy shit, why didn't I come to school today?"

"Because you're sick"

"Fuck it, I'm better now", she drops the burger and continues to laugh loudly.

They say laughter is contagious but I think it's only contagious around the right people like Hailee. I begin to laugh too and it becomes a moment where I wish I had seen things the way she did when I was with Brooke.

Maybe I was a little bit too hard on her.

I said I didn't trust her. Nobody wants to hear that. I would die if she ever said that to me. I begin to panic.

"I don't know what to do right now", I say once the laughter dies down.

"Maybe start by admitting the real reason this whole thing bothers you", she grabs her half-eaten burger.

"What's that?"

She rolls her eyes, "Jonah, do you think you might have feelings for Brooke?"

I freeze.

Every time I asked myself before, I had a bunch of different answers but now, just one came to mind.

"Do you?", She asks again and I bite my lip.

"Yeah"