Mess To Be Made

52

            "Nice," I replied, gripping my backpack strap as a strong gust of wind blew through the tunnel of cars. 

            "So you'll be there then." Sean raised his eyebrows, testing me.

            I bit my lip and gave a casual shrug. "Yeah, I'll try to make it."

            Sean groaned and pushed himself off the car to stand up straight. "Come on, Allie. I can't remember the last time you came and partied at my house."

            Brian nodded. "You got a boyfriend and became boring."

            I opened my mouth with every intention to argue that I didn't have a boyfriend. Nothing came out though and Chad let out a chuckle at whatever expression was on my face.

            "Bring Tyler," Sean said with resolve.

            I let out a single laugh and looked down the row of cars, spotting Tyler's towards the very end. "You say that like it's easy."

            "Come on—"

            "I'll try," I cut off my blonde best friend, giving his arm a small shove. "For real."

            "Promise?" Sean asked as I began to walk away.

            I gave him one last smile and nod.

            When I finally reached Tyler's Suburban, he was already inside with the engine running. He was staring at his phone in his lap when I slipped into the passenger seat, leaning over go peck him on the cheek the second I had the door closed behind me. He looked at me but wasn't surprised. All week, every greeting and goodbye included a kiss.

            "Ow, owwwww!" Lindsay sung on Monday when Tyler kissed me in the hallway before we went our separate ways to first period. A stark contrast from Rachel, who gagged dramatically when I deepened a kiss we shared outside our Anatomy class.

            Now, Tyler rested his hand on my knee before pulling out of the parking lot.

            "So," I started as Tyler turned onto one of the many roads that mazed back to our street. "It's Brian's birthday on Saturday."

            Tyler hummed lightly.

            "Sean asked us to go."

            "Asked you to go," Tyler corrected without hesitation.

            "I'm not going if you're not going," I retorted quickly. When I got silence as his response, I glanced over at him to see he was preoccupied. Staring in his rearview mirror with an intensity that skittered goosebumps across my arms.

            "Tyler?"

            His eyes snapped to mine, yet his mind seemed somewhere else. "Hm?"

            "Will you go with me?"

            "To?"

            "Sean's."

            He was gone again, his hazel eyes dark as they fixated on his rearview mirror.

            I looked over my shoulder to see a large Escalade behind us. Windows so tinted they were darker than the black paint coating the exterior of the car.    

            I felt Tyler accelerate. The car behind us kept up.

            "Who's that," I asked, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.