The Line Drive

twenty-four

"You should probably go." Dane tells him.

"Fine." I hear Edwin sigh.

"Fuck." Dane says. "Amy's here."

"In you go." Noah opens the pantry and before I can leave, he shoves Dane in with me. I'm forced to step back and now it's the two of us standing in the fairly cramped space. The door shuts behind us.

"Hey." Dane whispers. "Want a beer?"

"Sure." I murmur back and take the beer that is shoved into my hands. "I thought Amy was your girlfriend. Why are you avoiding her?" My voice is barely above a whisper.

"She's my ex-girlfriend." Dane mutters. "And I'm avoiding her because she's a psycho and fucked my roommate." I'm shocked, but am quickly distracted by Amy arriving.

"Where's Dane?" She asks Noah.

"He's not here right now. Can I take a message?" Noah replies.

"I just saw him. Where is he?"

"Not here." Noah repeats. Hannah laughs.

"What are you laughing at, bitch?" I reach for the handle, ready to tell off Amy for calling my roommate a bitch. Dane grabs my hand and pulls it back. When I look at him, he shakes his head.

"You seem sort of desperate." Hannah says, clearly unfazed at being called a bitch. "Is everything okay with you?"

"Get out of my way. I know he went through that door." Amy snaps.

"That's the pantry, sweetheart." Hannah tells her. "No one is in there."

"Someone is in there!" Edwin has returned. "Are they hiding someone from you too?"

"Ew." Amy says. "Don't talk to me." I almost feel bad for Edwin, but I can't help the laughter that's trying to come out when she says this to him. Amy sounds truly disgusted, as if talking to Edwin is beneath her. Dane also looks like he's stifling a laugh and the two of us have to look away from each other to avoid laughing out loud.

"My girlfriend is in there." Edwin tells her, clearly not heading her warning.

"Well my boyfriend is in there."

"Ex." Hannah and Noah say together again. I wonder how long it will take them to get together, clearly they are on the same wavelength.

"Also, no one is in there." Noah says. "Hiding someone in the pantry would be pretty stupid."

"Plus, Mack is claustrophobic." Hannah lies straight through her teeth. Dane looks at me questioningly, and I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"She's lying." I mouth. Dane nods seriously. I'm struck by how close we are in this small pantry, and the really dumb part of me wants to grab Dane and kiss him. Another part of me thinks that Dane wouldn't want me if I did, and that's embarrassing. Still another part is worried that I'll be a bad kisser after not practicing for so long. And the final part feels like maybe Dane and I are becoming friends and I don't really want to ruin that.  

"You're a lying asshole." Amy sneers.

"At least I'm not a cheating bitch." Noah's reply is immediate.

"I'm gonna go wait outside his room. He can't avoid me forever." Amy tells Noah. I bet Dane is really thankful that his door has a lock right now. Judging from his face, he's a mixture of relieved and concerned that now he can't get back into his room until Amy gives up.

"Sounds kind of stalker-y." Hannah tells her.

"Fuck off." We can hear the sound of Amy's heels on the floor as she walks off.