After school, I met Breton in the parking lot as promised, and he drove his beautiful car home, where we then walked over to my house and waited for Dallas and Peter.
“How much do you want to bet Peter will show up in a few minutes,” Breton asked.
“No way. He has after-school detention,” I challenged, “it will be another half-hour at least.”
The doorbell rang, and Breton raised an eyebrow at me.
“Seriously?” I cried. “He skipped out on detention?”
I opened the door, and sure enough, there was Peter.
“I skipped out on detention to show up early so I could annoy my cousin,” Peter told me.
“Yeah well, your cousin just got money because you showed up early,” Breton said smugly.
“Why are you guys fighting, anyway?” I wondered as I let Peter in and closed the door.
“We’re not fighting, exactly,” Peter told me.
“It’s just cousinly arguing,” finished Breton.
“About what?”
“He’s mad because he lost our latest video game championship,” Peter laughed.
Breton scowled. “I was distracted.”
I changed the subject, sensing an argument approaching. “When do you think Dallas will show up?”
Peter checked his watch and said, “Right about now.”
The doorbell rang and I didn’t even question it, walking over and letting Dallas in.
“Hey, Dallas, come on in,” I invited.
He stepped in with a nod.
“What’s up?” Peter and Breton asked.
“I have a confession,” blurted Dallas, ignoring their greeting.
“Do tell,” chuckled Peter, rubbing his hands together like evil geniuses in movies.
“Your dad wasn’t blackmailing me,” Dallas told him. “I’ve never had anything to do with your dad.”
I gaped, Breton looked confused, and Peter nodded casually.
“I read George,” Dallas said, “and read about ‘Mr. Scary Voice Man’, and how you told Georgie all about when you and Breton worked for him. I thought it seemed like a good excuse.”
“Hold up!” I shouted. “Why are you just telling me this now? I thought you were all good! I thought your life was fine, aside from moving across the country to be with your fairy cousin. Your parents accepted you, your grades are great, I figured maybe Mr. Joel was bothering you a little and encouraged you to quit! Now suddenly it’s more complicated than that?”
“My parents didn’t accept me,” Dallas mumbled.
“Are you kidding me?! You could have brought this up sooner, Dallas! Uuuggghhh,” I groaned, stomping out of the room and coming back in with George and a pen. “Talk amongst yourselves and resolve any issues you might have left. I’m going to angry write.”
I threw myself onto the floor, uncapped the pen, shook my head, and began to write.
Day 45 has been stressful, George. Really stressful. Breton was grouchy earlier because he didn’t sleep, and is still angry with Peter because Peter beat him in video games. Dallas’ life is a lie. Peter has bad timing, and I need to rant to someone, but I’m not about to yell at my boys again. I’ve accepted their stupidity and am moving on. I just…asdjkheghjoigfbpjofiofbejpfikdjfgrin!!!!!!!! Like, what the heck?!?!?
Is it too hard to tell your friends that your parents didn’t accept you, Dallas? Is it really? Because as far as I remember, we’ve been supporting your from the beginning, even when you left me hanging!
Peter will you please just keep your mouth shut for like three days so that you have time to think of what you want to say? Because suddenly confessing your feelings to me right before I go on my first date with a boy is really not the greatest time for that sort of thing! I appreciate you telling me, and I’m sure we could’ve had a nice, best friend chick-flick moment, but GGRRRRRRR! Explain yourself!
Breton, you’re perfect, and I love you from my head to my toes, but get over it already it’s a video game! You can beat him again later, SUCK IT UP!
I apologize, this is all very rude of me and I’m about to talk to them to try and understand better what they were thinking.
“Speak,” I commanded the three boys, who had been watching me scribble in silence.
“I just wanted-“ Peter started.
At the same time, Dallas said, “I wasn’t going to tell you-“
“I was champion!” Breton pouted at the same time.
“One at a time!” I ordered. “Breton first.”
“Boyfriend privileges,” Peter joked to Dallas. I shook my head wordlessly, daring him to say more as I raised an eyebrow at him. “Or not,” the offender whispered, taking back his words. I nodded.
“I was champion!” Breton repeated. “And he took advantage of a weak moment and sniped me!”
“You got pwnd,” I told him. “Take back your champion crown some other day. Besides, if he sniped you, you didn’t have a choice regardless of being distracted. We’re going to skip this topic and talk about our relationship.”
“Ooh, he is in trouble,” Peter smirked. I glared at him.
“Breton, I’m just a little bit confused why you kissed me the day you brought George back.”
Breton blushed. “I was jealous because you and Peter seemed so close, and so I kissed you.”
"Next question. What did you write on your paper of things you like about me?" I was planning on using this interrogation business to my advantage.
"I can answer this one!" Peter yelled happily. "He carries the paper in his pocket!"
Reluctantly, Breton brought out the paper. I eagerly opened it up and read the one word that sat there.
Everything.
"Moving on, Peter you’re next.” I waved Breton away and gestured to Peter.
"That's it? You're not even going to talk about that?" asked Peter.
"No," I said, "because I've known him for forty-five days but he's been one of my best friends and I understand the way Breton thinks, and I feel the same way about him, even though I took the time to actually list most of his qualities. Now talk."
“I read George,” Peter rushed. “And I read about you knowing that I had feelings for you and were worried about how I’d take it when you told me you didn’t feel the same, so I thought that if I told you I like you as a sister before you went on a date with Breton you wouldn’t spend the date worrying about offending me.”
“You had good reasons, although your timing still sucks,” I said. “Dallas, talk to me.”
“Okay,” Dallas began, “I wasn’t going to tell you at first. You’re all great friends, and good people, and I didn’t want to ruin that.”
“Ruin it by telling us your parents didn’t accept who you are?” I inquired. “Do share how that works.”
“It’s not like that. They said they needed time, so I’ve been staying at Lucas’. Only, my parents believe in eternal chastity for me, and don’t like the idea of me staying at my boyfriend’s house. But I didn’t want to go home, I was trying to give them space to get used to the idea.” Dallas paused and looked at me. “That’s when you talked to me, and gave me the excuse of Peter’s dad, and then I stole George to find out more about him so I could come up with a convincing story.”
I frowned. George was stolen and I didn’t even notice?
“But later that day, my parents told me about my aunt and uncle, and Leila. And then I told you, and pretended that was all that was still bothering me. But I don’t know if my parents still need more time or not, and if I can handle moving across the country with them if they don’t accept who I am! I’m sorry for lying to you though,” Dallas finished.
“It was kind of a bad lie,” Peter pointed out. “Really random. I knew you were lying right from the beginning though.”
“How?” Dallas and I wondered.
“Mr. Joel doesn’t use blackmail,” Breton told us with a shrug.
“And neither of you two thought this was important information to share with me?” I asked incredulously.
The cousins exchanged looks. “Not really.”
I sighed, dropping my face into my hands. “Boys are idiots.”
“Hey!” the three boys protested.
“Well thanks for the extreme overload of information. That’s the perfect way to sit back and relax after school, having your three closest friends try to drown you in the secrets they were keeping,” I sighed.
“Technically, I wasn’t keeping a secret,” Peter defended himself. “I was just explaining myself to you.”
“Hey, me too!” Breton chimed in.
“Sssshhhh,” I shushed them, “I’m trying to make a point.”
“Well then, please, by all means continue,” Peter sassed.
“I am sick of everyone having secrets,” I announced.
“Good for you,” muttered Dallas.
“And so from now on,” I continued, ignoring him, “every day everyone will tell me one secret about themselves until I know you better than your mothers. There will be no more secrets, because these ‘moments of spilling everything to Georgie’ are not working for me. I have a strict no chick-flick moments policy, and when you suddenly all bombard me with your secrets, I feel completely overwhelmed with drama. Because DANG boys, even I’m not this melodramatic. For reals, I need a heads-up or something. A girl needs chocolate next to her when she goes through this sort of thing.
“Now that everyone has been sufficiently stupid,” I finished, “can we play Monopoly or something?”
The three boys huddled up, and suddenly I was tackled into a four-way hug.
“We love you, Georgie,” my boys chorused, “we’re sorry.”
“I love you too,” I replied reluctantly.
A minute later and we all sat in a circle on my carpet, watching Peter assemble the Monopoly board. I was sitting between Dallas and Breton, leaving Peter across the circle from me.
“I don’t even like Monopoly,” Dallas grumbled. “I always lose.”
“Me too,” I told him. “That’s why I’ve got dibs on Banker.”
We all smiled at each other, and then suddenly I was frantically digging in my bag.
“What are you looking for Georgie?” Peter asked, leaning over to place the Chance cards in their place. Triumphantly, I pulled a piece of paper out of the front pocket of the backpack.
“Alright everyone. Let’s sign the paper. A memory of the best school year ever!” I reached for a pen, and wrote down “Georgie The Weird Girl”, before passing the paper to Breton.
“It hasn’t even been a full year,” Dallas pointed out. I slapped the back of his head. “Signing the paper!” he yelped. “Good idea!”
He reached out and took the paper from Breton before Peter could get to it, quickly scribbling something down and tossing it to Peter.
“Everyone’s got this snappy little phrase to go with their name,” Peter commented. “What should I put?”
We shrugged.
Eventually, he signed it, and passed it back to me, where I just looked at it for a minute, thinking about how crazy these forty-five days have been.
“You guys are the best friends ever. Don’t forget to keep in touch, okay? No matter where you go off to college or if your fairy cousin blocks you from all forms of communication,” I told my friends.
We all laughed, and then Peter rolled the die, declaring it was his turn first. Breton argued that he should go first, and I said that since I’m the only girl it should be me. Dallas told us all that since he was moving across the country, we should let him take the first turn.
Already, Monopoly was tearing our friendship apart.
The Squad:
Georgie - The Weird Girl
Breton - The Nerd Boy
The Gay, Texas One (Dallas)
Peter the Supreme Ruler of Everyone. Bow to me!
~~
And they all lived happily ever after....
The End
Hahaha, just kidding there's still more!! One epilogue, coming right up! I know, this is really rushed, but I promise it's supposed to be like that.
Cover on the side was created by the amazing @Lujoca