like i can \/ nancy wheeler

iv. africa

Colby was on his way to lunch when he felt someone tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he gripped his paper bag, containing a sandwich and a bag of chips, narrowing his eyes at the girl in front of him.

"Hi!" exclaimed Nancy cheerfully. "Uh, me and Jonathan are gonna head out to his car to eat lunch. You wanna come with us?"

Her and Jonathan. He wondered if the boy had taken credit for taking Nancy home— if he had, Colby couldn't blame him in the slightest. They both had a crush on Nancy, whether that be past or present.

"Oh, I would, but," Colby pointed back towards the cafeteria, "Reese and Jaden-"

"Listen," Nancy grabbed his hand, pulling him closer to the wall of lockers, "this isn't... this isn't a casual lunch. Steve wouldn't listen to me. I really hope you will."

Colby swallowed thickly, staring at Nancy for a minute, his eyes on her lips for far longer than he would like to admit. Then, he sighed. "Okay. Are you alright?"

Nancy stayed quiet, again taking his hand and leading him out to the parking lot. Colby could already see Jonathan, sitting on the hood of his car. He waved above his head, smiling at them. Colby smiled back. Nancy, however, still looked somewhat stressed.

"Hey!" greeted Jonathan as the other two took a seat on the hood of his car.  "What's up?"

"Did you take me home last night?" Nancy demanded, stressed.

"W-What?" stammered Jonathan, his eyes flickering over to Colby, who was staring at the ground, nodding subtly. "Oh, oh, yeah."

"We got into an argument," huffed Nancy, "I told him that he was bullshit and we weren't really in love. B-But... he... Steve asked you to take me home?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he was upset." continued Jonathan. "I mean, he was... he was really upset."

Nancy looked solemnly down at the concrete.

"We were worried about you." mumbled Colby in agreement. When Nancy looked over at him, he added quickly, "I-I mean, like everyone at the party, you know."

Nancy sighed— clearly that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Hey, just cut yourself some slack, okay?" Colby almost put a hand on her shoulder, but immediately stuffed his hand back in his pocket. "People, you know, say stupid things when they're wasted. Things they don't, you know, mean."

"Yeah, but that's the thing." she shook her head impatiently. "W-What if I did mean it? All this time, I've been trying so hard to pretend like everything's fine, but it's not. I... I feel like there's this... I don't know, like this-"

"Like this weight you're carrying around with you." finished Jonathan consolingly. "All the time. I feel it, too."

"Yeah, but it's different for you. Will came home."

"Yeah." agreed Jonathan calmly, although there was pain in his eyes, as if he were recalling a distant memory. "Yeah, he did. But he's not the same, you know? I try... I try to be there for him, you know, to help him, but... I don't know. I mean, maybe, maybe things just can't go back to the way they were."

"That doesn't make you mad?" Nancy seemed perturbed.

"Mad?" repeated Jonathan, confused.