[ nora ]
"Nora, where's the popcorn?" Georgia asks from the kitchen.
My friends decided that I needed to spend more time with them, so they marched over to my house with a box full of movies and blankets.
"Do you have any candy?" It's Spencer's turn to talk. "I really like putting skittles in my popcorn."
"There are some m&m's in the left cabinet and the popcorn is by the microwave."
Soon, Spencer and Georgia enter the room with two large bowls of popcorn and a few bags of candy. Bottles of soda and water sit in front of me on the mini table.
"You must really like m&ms. There are tons of them in there." Spencer plops down next to me. "There must have been at least forty bags."
Georgia sits a little more gracefully.
"Actually, I'm not a fan. My dad has a really bad addiction to them. He buys some nearly every weekend." I lean in close like I'm about to tell a secret. "I have a Jolly Ranchers fetish."
Georgia grabs a water. "I didn't see any Jolly Ranchers in any of the drawers."
"That's because I hide them really well." I smile at both of them.
They've both been extremely great friends to me. Sleepovers, movies, and eccentric conversations at the lunch table had become our things.
Plus, when I started talking to Cole more, they didn't judge or get mad at me for spending less time with them.
They simply invited themselves in to watch a Star Wars marathon.
I press play to start episode one.
"You know what bugs me?" Spencer pronounces loudly.
"People that talk during movies?" Georgia gives her a sarcastic grin.
"No." Spencer then turns her attention to me, waiting for an answer.
"No idea."
"Gosh. Do you guys not listen to anything I say?"
The famous Star Wars music plays behind her speech.
"Christopher makes me mad. You know, he's probably out with some other girl right now. I asked him if he wanted to hang out this morning and he never responded."
"Spencer, it's lunchtime."
"Yeah, and it's been over an hour." Her eyes widen.
She's overly protective, or maybe suspicious would be a better word, but she really does care about him.
"Look, Spence." Georgia has on her sympathetic face that she makes whenever she's about to break hard news to someone and wants to soften the blow.
"You're being a little paranoid. You're a crazy girlfriend, okay?" She takes her hands. "Can you understand?"
Spencer shakes away from her grasp and sinks further into the couch.
Georgia gives me a look that says at least she's quiet now.
We go a full 10 minutes without anyone talking. We just sit, watch, and enjoy.
But then Spencer decides to lunge over my body, her hands frantically searching for something.
"What are you doing?" I look down at her, extremely startled.
"Pause the movie!!" She keeps repeating herself until she finds the remote and completes her task.
"Spencer-"
"Shhhhhhhh." I watch as she sticks one hand over Georgia's mouth and uses the other hand to answer her cell phone, which apparently had been ringing on vibrate.
"Hey, Chris." She giggles into the speaker.
Georgia rolls her eyes and pries Spencer's hand off of her face.
"Just hanging with Georgie and Nora. What're you up to?"
Spencer twirls her hair and I raise my eyebrows.
"Oh, it's okay."
"..."
"Yeah, I'd love to."
"..."
"I'm sorry too, Chris. I love you."
"..."
"Okay, bye love."
She turns off her phone and looks at us. "What?"
"Oh, nothing." Georgia smirks. "Just thought that maybe he was with another girl."
Spencer shoves her.
"Apparently, he was sleeping. Normally, I wouldn't believe that excuse, but it seemed like he just woke up. He sounded horrible."
"What else did he say?" I ask. You have to at least show some interest in other people to be a good friend.
"He wants to take me out Saturday."
"Where?" I shove popcorn in my mouth.
"It's a surprise." She giggles some more.
Spencer only giggles when she thinks of Chris. She's too strong willed any other time.
"So Nora, how's it going with Cole?" Georgia asks the question, but Spencer is the one to lean in close.
"It's going fine. We talk a lot now."
Georgia nods her head in satisfaction, but Spencer presses on.
"So are you just friends or..."
"Just friends." I answer quickly.
"But do you like him?"
I ponder over the question.
Do I like Cole?
I'm not exactly sure what I feel for him. He can be a jerk one day and my best friend the next. He's absolutely complicated and only partly beautiful. His soul could use some polishing.
No matter how rusty he is, though, he's fun. But more often times than not he would accidentally say something that hurt my feelings. Not to mention how he was always hiding from his mother, randomly running out on me, and occasionally he would lose his temper.
Through all of that, however, I still cherished his friendship.
We hear a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." I quickly flee the room, safe from answering the like question. How do you know when you like someone, anyway?
As I approach closer, I realize that I wasn't expecting anyone. Who could it be?
There's only one person who shows up at my door unexpected.
Cole.
"Hey, Nora." He begins to bounce on his toes as soon as I clear the space between us.
I find myself nervously chewing on my lip, thinking of the two friends I have sitting on my couch.
He doesn't seem to notice and glides easily around me.
"I just thought of some stuff today, and I remembered how you always have an answer to everything. I could really use some opinions."
He reminds me of a child questioning life for the first time.
"Cole, I'm kind of-"
"What's that smell?" He interrupts, heading straight towards the living room. "Did you make popcorn?"
I try to catch up to him, but his long legs are much faster than mine and soon he's standing in the door frame, just staring.
I get a good glimpse of the scene. Georgia and Spencer look at him with wide eyes and opened mouths, more shocked than I've ever seen them.
Cole resembles a statue.
"As I was saying, I'm kind of busy."
He breaks his pose to scratch his head.
Spencer, as expected, doesn't gape long. She ends up laughing so hard that she has to clutch her stomach.
"We were just watching a movie." I try to end the awkwardness of the situation, but in the end it's Cole who deserves the award.
"Star Wars?" He grins from ear to ear. "I love Star Wars."
His athletic body lands onto the couch right beside Georgia. He acts as if it's the most normal thing in the world.
"Mind if I join, ladies?" Charm resides among his face.
They both shrug, all of us equally stunned.
I place myself at the end of the couch just as he clicks play.
"I thought only geeks love Star Wars." Spencer gives him a look of speculation.
"Guess I'm a geek then." It almost looks like he cringes slightly, but his smile is so bright and his voice so light hearted that I ignore the idea.
We end up having a grand time, disproving all of my worries.
He cracks jokes with Spencer, shares smiles with Georgia, and makes short comments about nearly everything that happens in the movie.
It's the most innocent I've ever seen him. I love every bit of every single moment.
"Nora, eyes on the tv." He catches me staring. "I know I'm cute and all, but seriously, just look at how adorable little Anakin is."
I smile, but don't take my eyes away.
I may not be sure if I like him, but I'm glad he decided to pay me a visit.
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[A/N]
short and awkward but...