Hanging by a Moment [Completed]

Further Away

I could make out Tina watching me from the corner of my eye. “We don’t need to do this, you know? I appreciate that you thought of it but-”

And there I’d been, thinking I couldn’t feel like more of a jerk till that moment. “No, hell, I’m sorry. I’ll do it right this time round.”

“You-”

“Let’s not argue.”

She complied, and I forced a smile onto my face. “So, baby, let’s go.”

As we resumed our procession to class, I found Peyton nudging me gently so I was walking even closer to her, and then he signing that I should put my arm around her.

Three paces on and she decided to break the silence. “So, there’s this joke that’s kinda silly but it always makes me smile.”

“Yeah?”

“My grandfather always told me to watch my health and not my money.”

Her pause made me feel obliged to speak. “Okay?”

“But one day, as I was watching my health, someone came and stole all my money,” she paused for effect, “It was my grandfather.”

She hadn’t cracked into a smile – she was pretending to be all solemn, and I couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

And by the looks of things, she’d timed it perfectly so that we were just within earshot of the sister.
She seemed pleased. As did Peyton.

“That was pretty good timing,” he commented, nodding in approval as he surreptitiously turned around to see whether or not her sister had heard. We’d passed her by, pretending we hadn’t been concerned by her presence. “She was looking at the two of you.”

I grunted.

“Sweet. Although, I have been intending to share that one with anybody who would listen,” Tina’s smile was intact, “It amuses me a lot.”

I couldn’t think of anything but another “Yeah?”

That earned me another disapproving shake of the head from my best friend. However, she didn’t seem to mind. “Yeah, I mean, I imagine it like a cartoon. One person sitting on a couch intently looking at…I don’t know, that’s irrelevant, and then an old guy sneaking out from the back with a sack over his shoulder. You know, tiptoeing and…”

“That is pretty funny,” my laugh was genuine.

In retrospect, think that was the point I started to warm up to her some.

“And I’ve got one for you, too.”

“What is it?”

“Uh, guys? Not a good time.”

We’d reached class.

*

“Hey!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Aw, come on, I’m not allowed to wait for my sister?”

I didn’t know either girl that well, but it was obvious that the other girl was enjoying this, whatever it was, and that Tina was struggling to refrain from responding.

When her co-conversationalist realized that she wouldn’t say anything, she spoke again. “So, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

I almost thought she was going to snap, but she simply closed her mouth after opening it. Then, more with more calm than I’d expected from the look of her stance and clenched fists, “This here is Peyton,” it was unnecessary, but she looked at him as though to clarify, then at me, “and this is Jayden.”