The Perks of Being a Freak (Editing)

88. My Freaks

And so, the next day, my two best friends met my boyfriend, his two friends, and me for lunch at K and L diner. After we had sat down inside the warmth of the building and ordered drinks, the awkward silence descended.

Benny and Emily looked uncomfortable, Jaeb looked nervous, and Mitchell merely stared at each of us in turn. I felt Simon take hold of my hand under the table, and squeezed his fingers nervously.

“Sorry,” Jaeb finally said. “We should really… just… I’m sorry.” She looked down, copper hair shielding her face.

“Yeah, we were total assholes,” Mitchell shook his head, and the ends of his cornrows swung against his thick neck. “Sorry.”

“We weren’t much better,” Benny shrugged. “Don’t sweat it.”

“Good people do bad things,” Emily whispered, staring at her plate. “Doesn’t make them bad.”

“So, we’re all good?” Mitchell asked. 

“We’re all good,” Benny extended his hand over the table, and Mitchell shook it.

“Thank God,” I sighed. “I was worried.”

“Worried that we wouldn’t get along?” Jaeb teased.

“Terrified,” I smiled at her.

“I thought that there were more of you,” Mitchell frowned and leaned his face onto his hand.

“There were,” Emily looked downcast. “We lost them.”

“Tony and Raj,” I supplied. “They ditched.”

“Why?” Jaeb looked confused.

“Raj didn’t feel like he fit in with us,” Benny said. “And Tony didn’t approve of Lia and Simon’s relationship.”

“So they just left you?” Mitchell frowned. “That’s not cool.”

“Tell me about it,” I took a sip of water.

“Even if we were pissed off at first,” Jaeb was shaking her head. “We would never abandon our friend.”

“Honestly, before this whole thing started we barely knew each other,” Benny laughed. “Emily and Lia were best friends, and I was decent friends with the both of them, but we weren’t super close.”

I looked over at Simon, who had been silent this entire time. He was grinning broadly, staring at our friends talking to each other.

When he saw me looking his eyes brightened even more.

“They like each other,” he whispered. “They’re not fighting or anything.”

I pressed my lips against his cheek. “I think we did most of the fighting.”

“Can you two… not?” Jaeb demanded. Simon and I pulled our faces away and flushed. All four of the others were staring at us, all amused.

“Sorry,” I glanced down at our hands, still woven together.

“So adorable,” Benny leaned over and pinched my cheek. I swatted his hand and scowled.

“These two are perfect together,” Jaeb sang, ruffling Simon’s hair on his side.

“And that’s when I realized that letting our friends get together was a terrible idea,” Simon muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Because all they’re going to do is make fun of us.”

We all laughed, even Simon.

Maybe once we had hated each other, but the line between hate and love is thin. All we needed was one little push to tip us over the fence. As I watched Benny and Emily joke around and get to know Jaeb and Mitchell, I felt Simon’s hand squeeze my own. We had been that push. We had been the catalyst that tipped our friends from hatred to friendship.

And I couldn’t have been prouder of my freaks for putting the past behind them.