Secrets in Disguise

Hunter

As far back as I could remember, Scarlett Hatherley had always been a part of my life; it was shortly after my eighth birthday that she and Fritz became best friends, and ever since then, I'd felt compelled to treat her like a younger sister. Things took a turn as we grew up, however; I could see the way Fritz looked at her starting from their seventh grade year, and I wondered how long it would take him to come clean that he had a crush on her. The time did come, and the summer after they'd graduated eighth grade and I was gearing up for my senior year of high school, they were a couple. I'd been with my steady girlfriend, Rose, for over a year by this point in time, and I was waiting for Fritz to come to me and demand to know if I would chauffer him and Scarlett around on double dates.

If there was one thing to be said about Rose—other than the fact that she was gorgeous and was the daughter of my father's best friend, a heart surgeon—she was an incredibly patient person. It was no surprise to her that Fritz wanted to go on double dates with us; in fact, she thought the whole thing was incredibly cute. Those were her exact words about it—incredibly cute—and she never let me forget it. Rose and I went through the predictable ups and downs of anyone who was dating during their high school years—the fights, the breakups, the makeups, and then there was prom, where Rose insisted that I take her virginity. It was an incredibly awkward moment, and I remember driving her home in silence afterwards, and she was just over the moon. I got her home by curfew and then trooped back to my place; my parents were out of town again and I walked in to see that Fritz had invited Scarlett to stay the night.

"Dude," I said, finding him in the kitchen, putting an over-abundance of whipped cream on top of an ice cream sundae that I hoped was for the both of them, "do Mom and Dad know that you two are here unsupervised?"

Fritz scoffed, adding some chocolate sauce to the top of the whipped cream, despite the fact that the ice cream was already coated in it. "Relax, man. Besides, think of all those times you had Rose here by yourselves."

"That was different, and you know it," I reply, surprised that I am speaking through gritted teeth, although such a thing is lost on Fritz.

"How? Just because you're the oldest?" Fritz asks.

"Exactly! And I'm more responsible than you are," I call after him as my younger brother rolls his eyes, making his way back into the entertainment room. I can hear him and Scarlett speaking to one another before Scarlett comes into the kitchen, and smiles at me.

"Hey!" she says, her face flushed, and I wonder then if she and Fritz were making out in the entertainment room, a thought which revolts me. "Wow, you look really good in that tux! Hey, your handkerchief is—"

"Red, yeah," I say, interrupting her, cursing myself for picking the one labeled 'scarlet'.

"Right," Scarlett says, obviously not wanting to press the matter as she crosses to the fridge and opens it. She bends over then, and I immediately turn away at the eyeful she could've given me, as she retrieves a bottle of water from a lower shelf and turns back to face me, shutting the door behind her. "How was the prom? Fritz is really looking forward to when it's our turn to go," she explains, unscrewing the cap of the bottle she holds and lifting it to her naturally red lips. "I hope you and Rose had a nice time."

"Right. Yeah. Nice," I say, nodding. "And Fritz is the only excited one?" I ask her. "I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but girls usually get excited, too..."

Scarlett shakes her head. "Waste of money, I think," she replies. "I mean, the only time you should ever buy a dress worth that kind of money is when you're getting married, but that's not going to happen," she tells me.