“Why do we have to get up this early?” she muttered incoherently to Sandra, who was standing at the sink. Sandra ignored her and continued brushing her teeth. Christine showered, got dressed, and immediately headed down for breakfast.
“Hey, Chris,” Nick mumbled. “What’s up?”
Yawning, she managed to reply, “Nothing much. I want to go back to sleep.” This morning, she decided to have a piece of toast and a glass of milk. It’s not a bagel day, she thought as Brian stepped into the room. He looked around, then sat next to her.
“Hey,” he said shyly. Being rejected was not something he was particularly familiar with. It wasn’t that he was egotistical, but he was just so attractive!
“Hey, what’s up?” Christine answered. She wasn’t quite sure how to act around him, either. She held out the orange juice carton, but he shook his head.
“We need to talk,” he whispered. “Do you want to go somewhere with me on lunch break?”
“Sure,” she said softly. After all, it was the least she could do after breaking his heart. She shot a glance at Nick, which he returned, but she wasn’t able to read the meaning.
After she finished her toast, she went upstairs to call Katelyn. Granted, it was only six-twenty in the morning there, but it was probably the only chance she’d have all day, and Katelyn deserved to know what was going on.
“Hello, Mr. Milton, it’s Christine,” she said into the receiver.
“Christine! How are you? How’s your new job working out?” Mr. Milton replied. “All we keep hearing about is how Kate is going to see you in September, and she’ll be able to meet the Backstreet Boys, and this and that about you and your dancing job.”
Christine smiled. “I’m sure. That’s Kate for you. It’s going pretty well. I’ve only had a day of rehearsal, but that was fun,” she lied. In truth, it was terrible because she and Nick hadn’t been getting along at the time, but Mr. Milton didn’t need to know that.
“Hang on for one second. I’ll put Kate on the phone,” Mr. Milton said.
“Hello?” Katelyn muttered groggily.
“Guess who?” Christine said.
“Chris? Hey, what’s up?” Katelyn said, immediately becoming her normal, enthusiastic self.
“Hi, sorry it’s so early. A lot has been going on. Between Nick and Brian, I’m going to go insane!” Christine exaggerated.
“What? Brian’s being an ass, now, too?” Katelyn replied.
“Actually, it’s just the opposite. Nick is being cool. Last night, we all went to Nick’s for dinner. Then I got bored and annoyed with Nick because I heard him tell Samantha I was a total bitch, so Brian and I went outside. He tried to kiss me, and I pulled away. I just don’t feel like that for him, and last time…” Christine trailed off, hoping Katelyn would get her drift.
“Yeah, I get it,” Kate said. She instantly understood. “Wait, Brian’s twenty-four. Why-”
“I don’t know, but that’s what happened. Anyway, he was devastated, or so I hear, so he went back inside, and I went for a walk. Guess who I see? None other than Nick, sitting on the beach, crying. I said hey, and he basically said fuck off if you’re going to be a bitch, and I said I was just trying to help. So then he was really nice and he told me that Samantha had just broken up with him and she didn’t even care that she hurt him, and he was really upset. When he wanted to know why I was out there, I figured he deserved to know the truth, so I told him about Brian. Then I started crying because of memories of Jeff, and he told me it wasn’t that bad. Brian would get over it. So I told him all about Jeff.”
“You told him about Jeff?!?!?” Katelyn exclaimed. “You never told anyone besides me and Lil about Jeff!”
“Yeah, well, I needed to talk to somebody, and I couldn’t wait to call you. He held me for awhile, and then we both stopped crying and went back. Now I don’t know what to do about Brian.”
“Wait, he held you? Are there romantic sparks here?” Katelyn asked. Christine could visualize her raising her eyebrows and smiling slyly.
“No, no. He was just comforting me,” Christine replied quickly, almost too quickly. As attractive as Nick was, there was nothing going on between them.
“Are you sure?” Katelyn asked doubtfully. “It certainly sounds like something is up.”
“No, Kat, there’s nothing up. I promise,” Christine groaned. “Brian wants to have lunch with me today, alone. He wants to talk.”
“Okay. He wants to talk. I would say it’s the break up talk, but you aren’t even together. That means he’s going to beg to go out with you,” Katelyn said matter-of-factly.
“I don’t know,” Christine said. She collapsed on the bed. “Listen, I gotta go. I have rehearsal in half an hour and we leave in, like, five minutes. See you later!”
“Yeah, good luck with Brian and Nick!” Katelyn said. She hung up.
Sighing, Christine looked around the restaurant. It was small and clean, and there were only a few people there, most of them middle-aged to elderly. There were three waitresses and about fifteen tables. Brian probably took her here to avoid being recognized, and it certainly worked. They chattered mindlessly until dessert came, then both of them fell silent. After about thirty seconds, it became unbearable.
“So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?” Christine said awkwardly.
“I think you know. I, uh, wanted to talk about last night,” Brian replied flatly. Christine didn’t say anything, so Brian continued. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to move so fast. It’s just that you’re an amazing girl. I like you. I like you a lot.”
“Bri-” Christine was interrupted.
“Wait, let me finish. I understand if you don’t feel the same way. I realize that…that I can’t force you to like me, and I have to accept that. You’re seventeen and I’m twenty-four. That’s illegal and we could both get into a lot of trouble. If something happened, it could ruin both of our careers and maybe put me in jail. Besides, it would be really weird working with you, and if something were to happen and we were to break up, then it would be even more awkward.”
“You’re a really awesome guy, Brian. You’re one of the coolest guys I know. I just don’t like you like that,” Christine stated quietly. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s fine, Chrissie. You don’t have to apologize,” Brian assured her. “I understand.”
“Where did Brian and Chris go?” AJ asked Nick.
“I think they went to lunch. Brian probably wanted to talk about what happened last night,” Nick replied quietly. He sat down at one of the tables in the cafeteria and nibbled on his potato chips.
“Oh, really? I feel really bad for him,” AJ said. “It hurts to be let down.”
“Yeah, I know. He’ll be fine, though. You know Brian. He’s always getting crushes on new people,” Nick said.
“But Chris seems different. I’ve never seen him this spaced out over a girl before. I mean, look at rehearsal today!” AJ exclaimed. All morning, Brian had been missing steps and messing up. It was really hard for him to deal with the rejection from Christine.
“Well, Chris is a pretty cool girl. You can’t blame him,” Nick said, looking away.
“Wait a second. Twenty-four hours ago, you couldn’t stand to be in the same room as Chris! Now she’s your best friend?” AJ groaned. “I’m not comprehending this.”
“I was judgmental. I didn’t bother to get to know her. Instead, I was just a total ass. I found out last night that she’s a really nice person,” Nick said. “She helped me, even though I had been such a jerk to her. That really impressed me. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to do that. I can see why Brian likes her.”
“She’s really pretty.”
“Yeah, she is,” Nick said. A dreamy look came over his face.
“Uh oh, Brian isn’t the only one with a crush on Chris,” AJ teased.
“No, no, no! I just think she’s pretty, that’s all!” Nick argued. He wasn’t getting a crush.
“Sure, Mr. Romance. You like her,” AJ insisted. He smiled and pinched Nick’s cheek. “How cute!”
“No, Bone, I don’t like her. I mean, not like that. I like her as a friend. Nothing more!” Nick insisted. “Strictly platonic!”
“Okay, whatever, lovebird. I’m going to go talk to Fatima,” AJ said. He got up and threw his plate in the garbage.
Nick sighed and laid his head down on the table. He didn’t like Christine. Not like that. She was Brian’s crush, and that was something that best friends just didn’t do. Christine was only a friend. A very pretty friend, but still, only a friend. Okay, so maybe he liked her a little bit…