Coffee & Criminals

12. Half-Baked Potato

"Talk to you?" Ade suddenly stiffened, his eyes flashing angrily. Whatever I had said, it seemed to have hit a nerve. "Really, Florence. Talk to you. Don't you think that's just a little bit ironic considering you never return the favor?"

My mouth dropped open. "What do you mean? Of course I talk to you! You're the only person I really ever do talk to-"

"Come off it, Florence." Ade snapped. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and pushed his glasses up higher. "You know what? Forget it. I'm gonna be late for class-"

He turned to leave. My hand shot out and captured one of his, and I dragged him back once more. Ade and I never fought. The last thing we ever had a fight over was seven months ago and it was about whether or not Candy Crush purposely tried to fail you. Our grudge barely lasted a day and we both promised to never play the game again. So this was a bit out of my element. I was never good at holding grudges. I ended up guilt-tripping myself and crying hysterically over a carton of ice cream whenever I was involved in an argument. I was determined to get to the bottom of this and I wasn't going to let Ade wave it off as nothing. There was something bothering him and I was going to find out what.

"Ade!" I lowered my voice, noticing that we were attracting quite a bit of attention. He wouldn't look at me, not even when I grabbed his chin and tried to peer up into his eyes. My stomach clenched uncomfortably. "Tell me what I did wrong! Are you mad at me for something that I did? What is it? We have been friends for way too long to act this childish now-"

"Childish?" Ade yanked his hand out of my grip. "No, Florence. What's childish is you keeping secrets from me as if you can't trust me!" He whisper-yelled. "I know about the Brooklyn Crowns! But I know that because Clancy told me. Not you, Florence. You didn't tell me anything about them! I thought we didn't keep any secrets from each other. You could have told me what was going on. It's not like I'd go blabbing to the cops, like you did yesterday. That's what the problem is."

Ade turned and began walking away. 

I was shocked. "How does everyone know about that?" I cried after him. 

I chased after him, nearly walking into an elderly lady. Ade had gained a lot of ground while I was mulling over what I'd done wrong. It was true that Ade and I told each other everything, from my worries of when I was late on my period to how many Twizzlers I could stuff in my mouth at one time (9 of them). He was hurrying towards the university, ignoring my pleas. Pretty soon, I ran out of breath. As a last tactic, I ran ahead in front of Ade and blocked his path.

"I was going to tell you!" I poked his chest angrily. "Dammit, Ade! Will you listen to me for one second? I was going to tell you. I was just trying to find the right time to do it. I wasn't going to keep this from you. Ade, you know me. I can't keep a secret if my life depended on it."

"Well, it seems like this one does." He muttered angrily. "Come on, Flo. I have to get to class."

"You found out from Clancy?" I sniffed, trying to hold back my tears. "It should have been me. I was going to tell you everything, Ade! But you wouldn't reply to any of my messages, ignore me when I tried to contact you for three days straight! What was I supposed to do? I couldn't track you down and spill the beans. Why spill the beans when you can eat the beans? Have you ever tried chili from-"

"We spent the entire morning together." Ade gritted his teeth. "When, in the two hours we've just spent, was not the right time to tell me? Were you even going to tell me, Florence? If I hadn't found out from Clancy, if I hadn't brought this up at all, would you really have told me in your own time? He's dangerous, Florence! Don't you realize that?"

"Yes! Yes, I do realize that, Ade!" I snapped. "What do you think I was trying to do when I asked Clancy to take me to the police? It's not like I want them here, Ade! Is that what you think? You're not being replaced by Wolfe Sterling, goddamn  it, Ade-