vi. when we're underneath the lights, my hearts no longer broken
AFTER RICKY FOUND OUT THAT HIS parents were splitting up, he went round Big Red House for the night so the three sat around just chilling.
"Tell me when to stop, do you like it hard or soft?" Big Red asked, pumping up the air mattress.
"Are you sure that is even a bed?" Ricky asked, looking at it suspiciously.
"You know Ricky, I have a spare room since my older brother left for UCLA, you can sleep there, we don't bite," She explained.
"Dont worry, I'll be fine here," He said and she nodded, leaning back on Big Red armchair.
She had been there for Ricly throughout everything that had happened with his parents. They had been struggling for about a year and so had Ricky.
She knew how it felt for your family to fall apart, for everyone to pity you and treat you differently. Andy had lost her father the same year she had lost EJ as a friend.
"Do your parents know you're sleeping over?" Big Red asked, moving the pumped up bed to the side.
He shook his head, "I texted them but I'm not asking for permission," he explained and he sighed, lying down.
"I'll see you two later, remember, I'm here if you need me," she said, going home, leaving the boys alone.
☆☆☆
LATER THAT NIGHT, SHE HEARD A
knock on the door and opened it to see EJ. She looked down at her watch confused, it was 9pm.
"Caswell?" She questioned and he sighed, sniffling slightly as he looked at the floor.
There was something clearly wrong and she couldn't tell what it was or why he was suddenly appearing at her door in the early hours of the night.
"Can I come in for five?" He asked and she nodded, ushering him inside.
Her older sisters, Vivian and Charlie, who were 19 and 21 respectively, both watched as EJ walked in.
They got up from the couch, waving goodbye before walking away, basically gossiping with the rest of the family about what was going on.
Charlie was 21 and had just arrived back from University. She was tall and confident, a marketing major who was going to be staying for the year.
Vivian wasn't planning on going to school and instead worked in a local cafe. She was 19 and a little bit shy and introverted.
Andy ignored her sisters walking away and turned to EJ, looking at him, "Whats wrong EJ?" She asked and if he wasn't upset, he would have smiled, she never called him EJ.
"Well, Nini kind of broke up with me and I-I just didn't want to be alone," he explained and she nodded her head.
"Oh EJ, I'm sorry. Do you want tea, coke or something?" She asked and he nodded, wiping his eyes discreetly.
The two walked to the the kitchen, her Uncle James waving at EJ. "Hello EJ, it's been a while,' he said.
"It has been a while hasn't it sir," he said, small talk ensuing before James walked out, going upstairs to gossip with the girls.
Her Uncle James moved in after her father's death, acting as a father figure to her even though he knew he could never replace him. He always did love EJ, thinking he was a good influence on her.
EJ sat down on the seats at the kitchen island, watching as Andy poured the two some coca cola before sitting opposite him.
"What happened?" She questioned, watching as she drank the drink with no enthusiasm whatsoever.
He sighed, "She doesn't want to be with me after the phone incident, I just, I just thought we were solid you know," he explained, trying his hardest not to cry.
"Okay, you wanna watch a movie or somethin', I have your favourite, treasure planet," she said, nudging him teasingly and he chuckled.
"Treasure Planet hasn't been my favourite movie since I was like seven," he explained, smiling for the first time since Nini broke up with him.
She had a cocky smirk on her face, "Okay, whats your favourite movie then?" Andy asked and he folded his arms across his chest.
He mumbled something under his breath, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear that," she said mockingly, placing a hand to her ear to listen clearly.
"Treausre Planet, my favourite movie is still treasure planet," he explained and she jumped up.
"Okay, I'll be right back, then we'll order pizza and watch Treasure Planet, deal?" She asked, holding her pinky finger out.
He chuckled, "Deal," EJ replied, linking his pinky finger with hers.
She smiled as she walked out of the room, seeing Vivian and Charlie eavesdropping.
"What do you want?" She asked, looking at them sitting on the barstools on the island.
Charlie looked at her younger sister, "I'm just curious, what's EJ Caswell doing here?" She asked.
Andy didn't look up, ordering the pizza, "He's got a problem,"
Vivian scoffed, "Its just that you haven't talked to him for like three years," she stated.
"I thought you hated him," Charlie questioned.
She looked up at him and ignored their comments. She shook her head, not wanting to admit that she enjoyed him being here before she walked back.
☆☆☆
They sat in the living room, halfway through the movie, basically just laughing together instead or really watching it.
"Here," he said, throwing his sweatshirt at her. She stared at it confused, furrowing her brow.
"You're cold, its obvious," EJ said, "Put it on dumby,"
She shrugs it on, watching as he smiled at her from across the sofa. He didn't want to get confused, his girlfriend just broke up with him and now his long lost feelings for his old best friend were starting to reappear.
Yeah, he was totally head over heels for her when he was younger. But after she started to become friends with Ricky and Big Red, he felt like he couldn't connect to her and their friendship fizzled out. He was happy they were friends again.
They were about halfway through the movie when Andy heard her phone start ringing, a ringtone blaring through the room.
"Hello?" She asked, picking up Rickys call.
He sniffled on the other end of the line, "Can I sleep round?" He asked.
Despite it not being on speaker, EJ still heard. He started to pack his stuff up, Andy not noticing.
"Of course Ricky, just one second," she said before seeing EJ packing up his stuff, "What are you doing?"
"I'm leaving, he needs you more than I do," He explained and Andy shook her head.
She didn't understand why he would leave, although it doesn't make any sense to her, it made perfect sense to him.
"You come over when you can okay Ricky, call me later," she said, saying goodbye and hanging up the phone.
"What the hell Caswell, you don't have to leave," she said, the movie still playing in the background.
He shook his head, "I'm not being here when he's here," he explained and she sighed, following him to the door.
"Oh come on Caswell, don't be such a big baby!" She said as he opened the door, chasing him out.
"You know something Andy, I just realised something," he said, watching as she folded her arms in front of her chest, "You call me Caswell when you're angry,"
"I don't see the relevance here," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Thank you Andy, I really needed a movie night with my friend," he said, smiling at her before walking to his house.
"Caswell!" She yelled out as he walked into his house, waving goodbye with a smile before entering his house.
Andy barely noticed she was still wearing his sweatshirt before Ricky walked up to the door.
She didn't have any time to be mad at EJ because Ricky was here now and he needed to look after him, "Hey, hey. Come in," she said, Ricky walking in and seeing the movie on the screen.
"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" He asked and she just shook her head, turning the movie off.
"No, of course not. I already talked to my mum and uncle before, uh," she didnt want to mention Ej, "-before the movie and they're alright with it," she explained.
"Whos sweatshirt is that?" He questioned, narrowing his eyes at her.
She blushed, looking down at the red sweatshirt, hoping he didn't see the words Caswell engraved in the back of it.
"Nobody's, just an old sweatshirt I found," Andy brushed it off, knowing Ricky wasn't in the mood for this.
The two went upstairs to the room he was going to be staying in, her brother Tommy sticking his head out of the door.
"If you and EJ are coming up here to have sex, please be quie-" Tommy said, freezing when he saw Ricky "Hey Rick."
Tommy was her older brother, 22 years old. He was annoying, rambunctious and he was planning on moving out with his girlfriend soon.
"You were with EJ?" Ricky questioned, finally seeing his last name in the sweatshirt.
"It was a movie Ricky, nothing important. Now, lets get you set up before my brother decides to be an even bigger dick," she said, glaring at her brother before ushering Ricky to the spare room.
"So, EJ Caswells sweatshirt?" Ricky questioned and Andy ignored him.
"Sorry about the mess, Nate didn't tidy up that much and Tommy often comes in here to practice," she explained, moving some stuff out of the way as she avoided the question.
"Can we talk about what just happened?" He asked again and she shook her head.
"Ricky, you don't need my drama, just have a nice night, don't worry about anything. We'll talk in the morning," she said, letting him get settled.
Andy walked to get room, lying down before recapping the night. She couldn't believe any of it had really happened. Maybe her friendship with EJ was back on track.
She pulled off the sweatshirt, hanging it on her door. But she could still smell him in her room, something that was comforting and unnerving at the same time.
Andy fell asleep shortly after, her sisters and brother all gossiping about what had happened and staring at her through the door. She knew this was going to be a long night.
1729 words