When In Doubt - Freshman Year

Chapter 7

"Yas queen, I'm kind of confident about, you know, all of this," Ali gestured to herself, and Heather snapped her fingers at the "Pitch Perfect" quote.

"I acca-believe it!" Heather quoted back. Matt had laughed too, but Jared had a blank expression.

Well, at least one of them got the reference...

"Who else are we waiting for again?" Jared wondered. "I only have three more spots left in my Jeep."

Matt had done a mental tally. "Just Peter, Tony, and Jack are left, and they should be here soon."

Heather turned towards Ali. "Thank god I'm not the only girl going anymore, now I have back up in case Jack decides to hit on me again."

"That guy creeps me the fuck out." Ali rolled her eyes. "I'm more than happy to help out."

"Hey guys!" Peter exclaimed as he'd walked in with Tony and Jack. "Who are you guys talking about?"

Jared had been able to corral the whole group into his Jeep as they'd set out onto I-94 West towards Hudson, Wisconsin. Matt had sat in the passenger seat, Peter was wedged in between Ali and Heather in the backseat, and Tony and Jack had laid down in the trunk. Whenever a cop had driven alongside them, the two of them had both flopped down so they wouldn't have gotten caught.

The Hudson Chipotle location was located at the end of a strip mall just off the highway near a hospital, and as Jared had pulled into the cramped parking lot, they winced at the line that had almost stretched all the way down to the other end of the mall.

"Don't worry guys, I have some blankets in the trunk." Jared looked back at Tony and Jack. "Can you guys grab those?"

While they'd all waited outside in line, Matt had shared a blanket with Heather while Jared and Ali shared the other. Peter and Tony were fine, but Jack had made a comment about how he hadn't gotten a blanket.

"Dude, you've got your robe," Jared shot him down. "The ladies get first dibs either way."

"No, that makes sense, we're fine without them," Peter said as he'd nudged Jack, trying to avoid any argument.

The line had luckily moved quickly despite its length, and after only about ten minutes, they'd all made it inside and had gotten their orders, so Jared collected the blankets and stuffed them back inside his Jeep.

Ali had sat down next to Heather when they'd been able to grab a table.

"Ok, so I'm glad I was able to do this with you guys," Ali admitted. "I'm not gonna lie, it's actually kind of nice to hang out with someone other than my girls."

"I've been meaning to ask, and tell me if I'm being rude, but how exactly are you and Lindsay best friends?" Heather inquired.

"Oh no, you're fine, we've been asked a lot." Ali waved it off. "I get it, we're total opposites, but we've been neighbors for as long as either of us can remember. We've always been close, but I can admit Lindsay is the type of person to cling to what's comfortable or familiar, so while I've branched off over the years, she's remained a constant part of my life, and I love her to death, but sometimes I wish she'd just go off on her own, you know?"

Ali shrugged. "While I guess it's fine how we'd gone to the same school as our moms did, I feel like she can't be her own person. Like, she needs me to be there to constantly guide her. It sounds bad, but I'm hoping college allows us to grow apart, just so she can find herself."

Heather nodded. "High school was all about conformity and fitting in, so it makes sense."

"Like I said, I love her to death, but she's, like, way too clingy sometimes." Ali sighed. "I feel like she's started to take me for granted, that I will always be around by default."