Wildly Acceptable

Green Light

"I'm not mad!" He said as he walked away quite fast, I had to jog a bit to keep up. "Okay, great because if you were mad that would be stupid because there's no reason to be. Right?"

I rammed right into Gilbert's back when he abruptly stopped and then turned to look at me and then to Charlie who was a few feet away, "Right. We're not together anymore, we haven't been for months. I'm dating Ruby, so if you want to date Charlie you have nothing but green lights." I looked at his eyes and couldn't help but feel like there was a hint of jealousy behind them, but it's Gilbert, I believe what he's saying and I trust that he's not.

"Okay," I stood there awkwardly as Clover jumped at Gilbert trying to get him to pick her up. I could hear Charlie's footsteps coming towards us slowly, "Hey, Gil." His voice was slightly deeper than Gilbert's. I hadn't noticed until now.

Gilbert turned his full attention to the boy behind me, "Can I talk to you?" I took that as my cue to leave, "I have to get going anyways, it's getting late. I'll text you later." To top the cake, both boys replied, "Okay," and my heart ached. I was saying that to Charlie, but how could I not be saying that to Gilbert. I clutched Clover's leash a little tighter and urged her to keep up with my pace. My mind was racing in a million different places, until it reached the corner that read, Diana has a crush on Charlie.

Gilbert's POV

"So you're dating Anne now?" I asked Charlie. Both of our eyes followed her as she walked away. Despite what just happened, I silently prayed that she makes it home safely. Charlie's weight shifted next to me, "Yeah. I, um, really like her. I guess." The thing about Charlie is he sucks at expressing his emotions. I remember this time in 8th grade when he told a girl he likes that emotional girls can't have kids, which is completely false, but the girl absolutely lost it and slapped him. The point is "I guess" is not going to cut it. Not for Anne.

"What do you mean you guess?" He shrugged, "I mean obviously it won't be anything serious. We're freshmen. We're bound to break up at any given point." Jesus. "Charlie, you can't go into a relationship expecting to break up. That's a real shitty move, for you and Anne."

"Why do you care?" I could feel myself getting defensive, "Aside from the fact that it's Anne and she's... well... she's Anne? You. You're my best friend. It's my job to call you out on crap like this." Charlie rolled his eyes at me, "Listen, you're right. It's Anne, so when we break up she'll have experienced that miserable romance stuff she's always reading about." He started walking away, when I muttered, "Tragical."

Charlie turned to me with a confused look, "What?" I walked to him so he would hear every word, "Anne reads about tragical romances and kindred spirits. She loves October and the beach and she hates how she can't go to the beach in October. She loves her dog and her family and her friends and she does that with her whole heart. She works in extremes, it's never just a minor thing with her. She has the most beautiful hair, and eyes, and smile, and laugh, and mind. She's perfect, don't take advantage of that."

"If you think all this, then why are you dating Ruby?" Charlie nearly yelled. I shrugged, I genuinely didn't know anything except, "We're freshmen. We're bound to break up at any given point."

Anne's POV

Diana has a crush on Charlie. Diana has a crush on Charlie. Diana has a crush on Charlie. My mind couldn't stop saying it. Diana has a crush on Charlie. Diana has a crush on Charlie. Diana has a crush on Charlie. I was in the train station where the first cart would stop, so no one would see me have my freak out. "Clover, I really messed up."

"Doggy!" I jumped, not realizing there was a woman with a toddler coming towards me. The toddler was a little girl with red hair nearly the same shade as mine. I gave them a small smile, "She can pet her, if that's alright. Clover is really friendly." The girl looked up at her mom who nodded. The girl was absolutely gentle, barley petting Clover's head.  Clover was living for it, her tail was wagging and I swear she had a smile.

When I made it home I was pacing again. My room was a mess, so I was stepping over clothes. Diana is the one with a crush on Charlie. I didn't like him until he kissed me. I can't do this to her. We just made up. We just started being friends again. So I called her. I had to tell her before she heard it from the long line of big mouths I call friends. I would prefer to tell her this in person, but I already took one trip to Manhattan, two would be too many.

As the phone rang, I continued to pace. I pressed the speaker button, so I wouldn't have to hole the phone to my ear as I waited for her to answer. Listening to the phone ring was torture, what if in this time she's not answering the phone, she's actually finding out the news. "Come on, Diana. Answer!" I yelled into the phone just as a "Hello" came through the speakers.

"Jesus Anne. Don't yell." I sighed, "Yeah, sorry. I have to tell you something." Diana stayed quiet, signaling for me to speak, "Okay so, I was at the dog park and I ran into Charlie and we spoke for awhile and one thing led to another and he kissed me and now I think I have a boyfriend. Please don't be mad."

"Why would I be mad at you, Anne?" I paused, was she not mad? "Because you like Charlie. No?" She let out a small laugh, "Anne, it's okay. You are my best friend and I don't want any boys getting in the way of us. I'm not mad." Thank God.