Setting Up For a Fall

Chapter One - Mahal

His friends had often wondered what the real score between them was, but Jeremiah insisted that he and Skye were strictly just friends and that she was his best friend, almost like a sister to him, which shattered her heart although she would never let him know that.  When she heard him tell his friends exactly what she meant to him and how he saw them in a strictly platonic kind of relationship, that was when she decided to let go of her crush on him and just be content that he considered her his best friend, and move on.

As they became upperclassmen, Skye became busy with her advanced and advanced placement classes, classes that didn't have Jeremiah as her classmate.  She became even more studious than ever, prepping her way for college admissions. She was always swamped with homework everyday, hers and other students' homework for she was an after school tutor.  She also joined various clubs at school and did volunteer work after school and over the weekend whenever she had time.  She wanted to make sure she beefed up her high school resume, so to speak.  Jeremiah found himself signing up for tutoring sessions not only because he actually needed them, but also to see Skye.  He missed his best friend the last few weeks and months. 

Skye started hanging out with a boy named Aaron, a boy who was pretty much a male version of herself.  He was cute in a nerdy kind of way, his blond hair parted on the side, but not in the style du jour way guys wore their hair parted on the side.  He wore wire rimmed glasses and seemed to always wear his uniform of khaki pants and collared cotton polo shirts on a daily basis.  They had a few classes together and tutored together in the afternoon.  Jeremiah was out on a date with a girl named Kimberly at a local fast food joint that many high schoolers frequented when he spotted Skye enter with Aaron.  The twosome were laughing at something when they walked in.  Jeremiah couldn't help himself and stood up to greet her.  She was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hi, Skye!" he said happily and even kissed her on the cheek.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" he couldn't help but ask.  She usually didn't hang out at places like this.

"Study break.  We got hungry," she answered easily.  "Do you know Aaron?" She gestured to the harmless looking boy standing next to her.

"Hi. Jeremiah," Jeremiah held out his hand.

"Aaron," the other boy shook his hand.

"Kimberly, my date," Jeremiah introduced the pretty blonde with pouty lips and legs for days who now stood up from her seat in the booth and stood next to him.  

"Hi," Skye said shyly to the tall girl with the supermodel good looks.  She turned back to Jeremiah.  "Didn't mean to interrupt your date.  We'll just go ahead."

"You can join us," Jeremiah said quickly, not minding the look of annoyance that passed Kimberly's face.  "Come on, it'll be fun.  I miss you.  I miss my best friend.  I haven't seen you in weeks." 

Skye didn't miss that look on Jeremiah’s date’s face, however.  "That's alright.  We'll just get something to go.  We still have a lot to do with our project.  I promise we'll catch up soon.  See you in school," Skye gave a wave and smiled at the couple in front of her and motioned for Aaron to follow her to the counter to place their orders.

Jeremiah couldn't do anything but watch as she walked away with a smitten looking Aaron trailing her like a puppy dog trailing its owner.  He felt helpless, like he didn’t know what to do to get through to his best friend.  It was like she found a new best friend, someone with whom she had more in common with, someone she bonded more with, and he absolutely hated that fact.  He was used to being number one in her world, and lately he seemed like he was last on her list of priorities. He had to admit to himself that he was jealous of Aaron, jealous that he had plenty of solo time with Skye, and hang out with her like he used to do with her.  They were going off to college soon, and he wouldn’t be able to see Skye as much anymore when that happened.  They had been accepted to different universities, of course.  Skye was on a whole different level, academically speaking, and she was going to go to a private university in Malibu.  The school he would be attending was not too shabby, but it was not on the same caliber as the one Skye was going to attend in the fall.

Before Skye and Aaron could exit the restaurant, he blocked her once more and gave her a friendly embrace. 

“I’ll call you later, okay?” he whispered into her ear.

“Okay.”

“Don’t go to sleep so early,” he joked with her.

“As if I can nowadays,” she pushed him on the chest lightly.  “Try not to stay out too late with your date so I don’t fall asleep on you.”

“I will try.”

“Don’t try; do,” she flicked his ear playfully.  “But I won’t hold it against you if you break your promise.  Those pouty lips and legs for days?  Danger zone.  You are in big trouble, my friend,” she laughed at him before heading out of the restaurant with Aaron.

As tempting as Kimberly’s pouty lips and long, long legs were, he kept his promise.  Kimberly was no competition for Skye.  Skye would always be on the top of Jeremiah's priority list, and he would like to keep it that way.  And he stayed on the phone with Skye for an hour, talking about the most mundane things, but it was one of the most meaningful conversations he has had with another person in a long while.