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FIVE CALL A TRUCE
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By the time they were back on the docks, the sun was high in the sky, and the afternoon was blending into the evening. They had fun swimming and fucking around and going places they probably shouldn't have. Summer days were always fun with his friends, Norman loved them dearly. He just forgot that sometimes. Their problems all tended to get in the way. As they went to unload the boat, though, James told everyone to stay in their seats. Curious to see what he had to say, Norman listened.
"All right, we've been having fun all day and I don't want this to ruin it," he began, which was never a good sign with James, "but Rocky, I gotta ask. You and Alisha have been acting so weird with each other literally all day. I noticed it this morning and the rest of us started to notice, too. Don't lie to us, just tell us what's up. What's got you guys acting like total strangers?"
Of course, their first instinct was denial. Why wouldn't it be? Alisha knew no one could know what had been discussed in Norman's room last night and secrets were always safe with her. She was an iron safe of secrets within the group. Once you told her something that shouldn't be known, her lips were sealed. However, she was an absolutely terrible liar.
"There's nothing going on, dude," Norman took over the moment he realized how nervous Alisha was. He stood up from where he was sitting and got into the forefront of James's vision to keep his eyes off of the girl who already seemed to be sweating at the idea of having to come up with a lie. He was going to protect her the way she protected him. "You're like squinting trying to read between lines right now, just chill out."
"No, he's right," Lila piped up, which was rare for the girl. Usually, she was so quiet she went unnoticed. It always took a drink or two for her to speak up, but never like this. "There's something fishy going on, just admit it. You guys look like two kids who just stole from a fucking cookie jar. Can you blame us for wanting to know what's going on?"
Norman sighed, running a nervous hand through his messy half-wet hair. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on the back of his neck and his cupid's bow and he was dangerously aware of how guilty he was trying not to look. Ideally, he wanted to look like a disgruntled innocent, but he wasn't. He knew he wasn't, but Norman was prepared and equipped to lie his ass off.
"Listen, if something was going on, we would be happy to tell you! When have I ever kept a secret from you? When has Alisha ever kept a secret from you guys?" The answer to both of those questions was many times, but Norman was going to pretend like it wasn't. He was always awfully good at pretending. Thankfully, his minor outburst seemed to throw his friends off guard and they paused their questioning for a moment.
Then, Gemma, the most kind-hearted and gentle person of the group, probably the only one of them that was a good person, spoke up, "I know you guys are hiding something and it feels like shit to see that you guys have a totally obvious secret because we're your friends, too. I feel like you guys forget that sometimes."
