Bolts And Feathers

Chapter Two: Going Home

Chelsea glanced and her friend and smirked mischievously. "Yes you have."

Alexis blushed. "No - no I haven't."

"Yes you have!"

"No I haven't!"

"Yes you have." Chelsea leaned over to the passenger seat. "Who is he?"

"No! I haven't!" Alexis insisted, but her complexion gave her away.

"Tell me who he is," Chelsea prodded in a singsong voice. "Is he from college?"

"No."

"Is he from PM City?"

Alexis did not answer.

"Oooo! A hometown boy! A childhood friend! What's his name?"

Alexis looked down at her lap. "Dylan."

"Dylan." Chelsea rolled the name in her mouth. "Dylan. Who is this Dylan? Is he cute? Where did you guys meet?"

"We... worked together."

"You worked together? Hmm, maybe you should drop him. Relationships with coworkers don't usually work out."

"Chels-"

"There was this one guy I dated when I worked at Chickfila, and he was super cute, but the only dates we went on were in the Chickfila we worked at, so I dumped him and got a job at Starbucks."

"Chelsea-"

"Okay, you got me. I totally made that up. But still, you-"

"Chelsea! We haven't even been on a date! I don't even know if he likes me!"

Chelsea slammed on the breaks. "Excuse me? What did you just say? You think he's your soulmate, but you haven't been on a date yet?"

Alexis glanced around nervously. "Chelsea, we're in the middle of the road. Don't you think we should keep moving?"

Her roommate checked the rearview mirror. "No one's coming. We're staying right here until you promise to listen to me."

Alexis sighed in exasperation. "Okay, fine. I'll listen to you." The car began to move again. "You didn't have to make me promise. It's not like I'm going to jump out of the car and run away or anything."

"I had to be safe," Chelsea explained. "Now listen: you need to do something about Dylan. I know you: you're just going to wait for him to say something. Well, Alex, now is the time for you to take action. Go up and tell him how you feel. If you ever want to marry him, you need to be honest." She turned into a neighborhood and parked by the side of the road. "Woah, look at all the cars! Kavi's house must be packed."

The girls got out of the car. Chelsea looked Alexis up and down and snorted.

"Why do you always dress like a housewife from the 50's?" she asked.

Alexis was wearing a loose brown blouse and a light pink, knee-length skirt. Her brown hair was in a braided bun. She glanced at what her friend was wearing and smirked.

"Well, at least I don't dress like a biker from the 80's."

Chelsea was wearing a black leather jacket and skinny jeans. Her raven hair reached almost down to her waist.

"Hey, the invitation said to dress casual."

"You call skinny jeans casual? I bet my skirt has bigger pockets than those pants."

The girls strode side by side down the sidewalk, following the sound of blaring music.

***