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"HOW WAS STUDYING WITH PETER?" Beth asked over the phone. This was their ritual, always call each other the night before a test. Usually, it was for reassurance, but for once, Kaelyn actually felt good about her test the next day. "Did he look at you with heart eyes the whole time? Oh, and how are you after practice? No cracked ribs, I hope?"
Kaelyn shrugged even if her best friend couldn't see her. She was laying on her stomach on her bed, her door shut and locked to keep her curious brother at bay. "It was fine, I guess. Also, even if I did have a cracked rib or something, I can't afford hospital bills so I'm pretty sure I would just have to live with it."
"It's okay, you're pretty enough, we could always start a GoFundMe and just have people give you money," Beth suggested jokingly, her lively laugh ringing clear through the phone.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," the redhead snorted, rolling over onto her back and twisting a strand of hair between her gentle fingers, "I don't know, Peter was nice. He made me feel like I wasn't stupid, so that was nice."
"That's easy considering you aren't stupid," the other girl was probably rolling her eyes, Kaelyn knew her well enough she could tell just from the tone of voice.
Kaelyn scoffed, "Debatable. I might try and study with him again, there's something about him that makes it so much easier to concentrate."
"Probably because he doesn't flirt with you every two seconds like every other guy," Beth suggested, "Or did he do that, too?"
"No, no there was no flirting. Thank God," Kaelyn reassured with a hearty laugh, "Oh, gosh, I don't even think he would know how to flirt that kid has no game whatsoever, I mean, look at him. Like, he's cute, but he definitely doesn't know what to do with it."
Beth was quiet for a moment before she said, "Oh, you can't see me, whoops, but I just nodded because you're absolutely right. He's cuter than most of the football guys that get girls like crazy, and yet... he's hopeless. You should flirt with him just to mess with him, poor guy has probably never had a girl talk to him like ever."
"I'm not in the mood for mind games, sorry," the redhead giggled, a smile lighting up her face, "He's a dork, I don't even think I could pretend to like him."
"You say that, but I can hear the heart eyes in your voice."
"What does that even mean?"
"Oh, you know what it means," Beth sighed, a small and breathy laugh following her statement, "Ah, shit, my mom's calling for me, I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow?"
Kaelyn agreed, "Talk to you then!"
After the call ended, Kae sighed, staring up at her ceiling and contemplating the words that had just been exchanged. Sure, Peter was cute, but he was not the type of boy Kaelyn would ever be interested in. Shaking her head, as if reassuring herself, she got up from her bed and stepped out into the hallway. Tip-toeing past her brother's closed door, she grabbed her key before slipping out the front door. Padding up to the roof, she sighed with relief once she felt the cold air hit her skin. The feeling was always able to lift her mood, even if she was already having a good day. The sounds of the city far below, the wind hitting her face, it was chaotic yet peaceful at the same time. This felt more like home than her own apartment did sometimes. She walked over to the edge, leaning on it with her arms crossed, eyes trained on the city of lights below. The city never slept, and neither did Kaelyn.
