Terms and Agreements (on hold indefinitely)

There Might be...Stirrings. Not Feelings. Stirrings. Alright, Feelings, Damn you

                                                                                            35

"Tell me everything."

Jenna had called me almost the moment I got home. She was demanding details, details! I was tired, energy drained from trying to be 'comforting'. I didn't want to recount all of the nonsense. The weirdness.

I also hated talking on the phone. Even to Jenna, my friend for years. I don't know what it is, but I just hate talking on the phone.

I groaned, flopping down onto my bed. "I don't even remember most of it. I swear my memory is as bad as Dory's."

I heard her sigh on the other side of the phone. "Come on, Ali, don't keep me in suspense! Did you kiss?"

"Ew! No!" I sputtered, sitting up, gripping my phone more tightly in my hand, "why would you even—?"

"I can't believe you didn't kiss him."

"I can't believe you'd expect me to."

"Well, what did you do?"

I laid back down, trying to recall what all had taken place. "Well, I got there, we bowled. Come to think of it, he knew my shoe size — well almost — which was weird —" Jenna made some strange cooing noise "— we played songs on the jukebox — I accidentally played 'Love me Tender', which was awkward."

"Why was it awkward? Was it perhaps because you wanted him to love you tender?" Jenna giggled.

"Ugh, stop it. It was awkward because you've made me suspicious that every time he's looking in my direction he's got hearts in his eyes."

"Because it's true," she insisted.

"Whatever, Jenna."

"Anyway, then what?"

I gave her a brief overview of the pizza, the jokes, then...I didn't know if I should tell her all of the...weirdness. But I had to. I had to tell someone, even if she'd turn it into big romantic nonsense. Which honestly, it probably was big romantic nonsense to start with.

"Well, we didn't know what to do—"

"I can think of a few things," she cut in suggestively.

"—so he asked," I continued pointedly, "if I wanted to go somewhere kind of random, and I was like 'okay, as long as I can drive there', and that's how we ended up at this scenic overlook thing in the fog."

"How romantic!" She crooned, "then what? Did he confess his undying love for you, swear to always love you?"

"What is this, a Whitney Houston song? Come on, Jenna, that's ridiculous." I stopped, and she grumbled about me being an idiot while I considered if I should continue. I had to tell her. It was too weird to keep to myself. "But...."

"But what? Something did happen, didn't it? Didn't it?! Oh my god, Ali you're finally going to have a boyfrie—"

"Stop! Don't get all crazy, okay? But like, it was weird because he like," I paused, unsure how exactly to explain everything. So I did it in the most blunt way possible.

"Well, he got all sad and told me about his dead mom and then we hugged and then we weren't hugging anymore and just staring out at the trees and fog and stuff and for some stupid reason I had the urge to hold his hand, which I didn't do because I put my hands in my pockets instead."

There was silence on the other end. I was beginning to fear Jenna had suffered a heart attack from all of this information.

"Well?" I prodded for a reply.

"I'm just trying to...process this," she said finally, her voice quiet and distracted. "So...he told you about his mom, who passed away?"

"Yeah, apparently he spread her ashes there or something," I told her, and then I realized the gravity of what he had shared with me.

"Oh Ali," Jenna's voice was so very, very serious. The Joker would disapprove. "He bared his soul to you."

So it had been a soul-baring thing.

"And that means...?"

"He really does like you," she said, "a lot. Enough to take you somewhere so special where he did something that he probably wouldn't want to talk about with just anybody."

"Does it make it any more intense if this was the first time he's been there since, and I was the one he chose to return with?" I awaited the answer — which I was already quite sure of — tensely.

"Much more," was her simple reply.

There was silence from both of us. What on earth was I heading into here? I mean, I didn't want to lead him on, if I didn't like him back. But then there was a part of me that wondered, what if? 

What if....

"Do you like him?" Jenna asked after a few minutes. "Because if you don't, you need to tell him so he can move on. And if you do, you need to do something about it."

I ran a hand down my face, cupping my chin and saying something I thought I would never confess. "What if I don't know?"

"Then you need to find out." Jenna didn't even hesitate. She didn't seem surprised.

"You knew this would happen." I sounded a bit too harsh, too accusing.

"I knew he liked you, almost from the start," she said, and I can hear her grinning, "and I figured you'd come around. Or at least I hoped you would. I think you two suit it each other. I mean yeah, he was stupid to put your name in the Goblet of Fire but like...I don't know. You're good together."

"Why?"

"I don't know. What I do know is we need a friends meeting, me, you, and Wes. And Chase will probably be there, too. And we need to figure out a way to help you figure out how you feel."

"Oh no," I protested, groaning, "I don't wanna have to talk about all this weird crap in front of three people."

She laughed. "It won't be so bad. It'll be good for you, actually. Seriously though, we do need to figure this out, for both your sakes."

"I guess...." I was surprised at how easily I gave in. Exhaustion, I guess. I didn't normally deal with stuff like this, and Merlin's beard was it tiring.

"Okay, get some sleep, Ali. We'll talk more tomorrow, 'kay?" Jenna said, her tone soothing. "And don't worry about all this. It'll all work out, everything will be fine. Don't overthink everything and freak out."

"I'm already freaked out, but okay."

"Okay. Good night. I love you."

"Ditto," I replied, because I'm awkward and can only say 'I love you' to animals, apparently. "Good night."