Another Piece from Back in the Day - "This Could Last Forever"

This Could Last Forever 

A Short Story 

“Holden, do you think aliens exist?”  Alyssa asked me, as we both stared up at the night sky. Mid-November never seemed to be the best time for it, but when else could we? This is the first time I’ve seen her in three months, since she got back from North Carolina. I had my arms crossed under my head, Alyssa was lying on her side, taking her eyes off the inky horizon long enough to look at me. 

“Yeah, why not…? There’s no way we’re alone,” As I spoke, a shooting star streaked across the sky. The moon loomed like a crystal ball filled with ice as it emerged from some feeble clouds. It wasn’t’ just cold, it wasn’t the clearest of nights, either. Funny, this felt like something I had seen in a dream; déjà vu much? 

“What are you up to tomorrow?” Well, that was a sudden change in subject. How did we go from talking about aliens to what I was doing tomorrow? 

“I don’t know yet,” I answered. “What about you?” 

“Hmm, I think I have plans,” she answered, pushing hair out of her eyes. I raised an eyebrow (which she didn’t notice) 

“Think? How do you not know?” Alyssa slugged me on the arm playfully. “Hol-den!” she groaned. She always did space out my name like that. She thought it was cute, I found it kind of annoying. Smiling, she decided to look back up at the sky again. She sighed, and a little puff of breath wafted out. Was it that cold already? She had piercing eyes that shifted between blue and green. I could never get over those. I always joked she looked like Alyssa from Chasing Amy. Maybe it was coincidence, or life (fate maybe?) was trying to tell us something. I couldn’t decide which.

“I’m meeting some other friends; I just don’t know what time. I think we’re going to see the new Bond movie.” Alyssa was perpetually busy – even when she wasn’t in school, she always had plans to do this or that with people. Back in high school (middle school even) she had been like that, too. A real social butterfly, she was. She had friends in every cliché teenage social circle you could think of. I don’t know how she pulled it off either, but she managed to be a cheerleader and be in the fall play at the same time. 

“Have you seen Zack and Miri yet?” she asked me. “Nah,” I answered. “Haven’t you seen it five times already? Kevin Smith’s your hero,” 

“He is not,” she protested in that same sing-song voice she used when she spaced out my name. “Seth Rogen is hilarious, and Elizabeth Banks is hot.” I couldn’t disagree with her. I was pondering what I could say next when she sighed again and repeated, “This is so peaceful. Ever wish this could just last forever?”

“Yeah,” I replied shortly. She scooted closer to me, smiling innocently. “So what’s on your mind, buddy? You seem really quiet tonight. I thought you’d be more excited to see me. I’ve been away so long…” 

Truth was, I am. Being platonic friends can be quite problematic. I didn’t want to seem too eager to see her and be excited to hang out again. That didn’t mean I wasn’t happy to see her at all. I figured now would be time to test the depth of our friendship. Trying to lean over and kiss her, I looked like an enormous idiot (to say the least) when she blushed and pulled back. “Whoa, Hold, you’re awesome and I love you and all that, but let’s not risk our friendship.” Dammit, the whole “let’s just be friends” card.  

Obviously, this was awkward. She tried to chuckle it away and slugged me playfully on the arm again. “Look, I gotta run, I’ll see you around buddyboy.” And just like that, she was up and away into the night. 

* 

I hadn’t wanted to mention it to Alyssa (especially since I got the feeling she didn’t really like the guys) but the next day I was supposed to hang out with Brandon and Jake. I hadn’t seen them in awhile, and besides, I had to have someone to talk to. I tried calling and texting Alyssa, but she didn’t answer. Looks like I really screwed up last night. 

Anyway, once I got to their apartment, I knocked. Hearing a yell of “Its open” I tested the knob to find the door was indeed open. I entered Brandon and Jake’s apartment to find them on the couch playing Gears of War 2. Brandon’s girlfriend, Ginny, was sitting between them watching. 

“Top left, top left!” she squealed, pointing to the screen. Brandon gritted his teeth. “I see him!” Jake yelled, “Tickers!” as a buzzing, clicking noise emanated from the speakers. “Where’s the flamethrower?” 

“Argh!” Brandon shouted, as I heard his character die onscreen. “Maulers! Coming up the stairs!” All three of them groaned when a huge enemy swinging a flail pummeled Jake’s character. 

“Hey guys,” I said tentatively. They had been so wrapped up in the game they hadn’t noticed me, apparently. 

“Holden!” Ginny beamed, getting up and hugging me. She had been friends with me and Alyssa forever. I met Brandon and Jake through her, actually. “How are you? What have you been up to?” 

“Oh, this and that, you know, nothing special,” I grinned. Being around Ginny always cheered me up. It was hard not to be glad whenever she was around; she was just like that. “Dude, Holden, you wanna get in?” Jake stood and slapped hands with me. 

“Nah, man, I’m good.” 

Jake shrugged and headed towards the bathroom. “Whatever, I’ll be right back,” he said. 

Brandon turned off the game and sat back, rubbing his eyes. “Man, me and Jake had been up all night at this, I should take a shower.” 

I sighed exasperatedly.  “C’mon man, we were supposed to hang out.” Ginny went into the kitchen for a snack while making small talk with me. Jake came back and went to sit back down on the couch.

“You seem like you got a lot on your mind, man. What’s going on?” 

“Eh,” I said, heaving another sigh as I sat down next to him, “it’s Alyssa.” 

Jake nodded. 

“Oh yeah… how’s she been doing lately?” he asked.

“Well, I was hanging out with her last night, stargazing and stuff, and then she sets up a moment for me to try and kiss her, right, except she pulls away and says we shouldn’t risk our friendship. Shit, that won’t happen…” I trailed off, suddenly not sounding too sure about that. Man, relationships could really be overrated. Jake and Ginny exchanged dark looks as she returned with a wrapper of crackers in her hand. 

“Yeah, it seems like that’s been everyone’s problem lately,” Ginny explained after she saw the puzzled look on my face. 

“Really…? What do you mean?”

“Trust me man, you don’t want to know.”   That answer only made me want to know.

 “You two didn’t mess around behind Brandon’s back, did you?”

“No, it’s nothing to do with us,” both of them answered at once. “It was Holly.” I opened my mouth again, about to ask what Jake’s girlfriend had to do with this, but they gave me looks that said, “Don’t ask.”

Those expressions only made me want to ask even more, so I did. 

Jake glanced up to make sure Brandon hadn’t come back yet, then shot a look at Ginny as if to say, “should we tell him?” 

Ginny nodded resignedly. “Look, if you really want to know what Holly did-”

“Maybe it’s better if I explain it,” Jake said, cutting her off midsentence. 

“Either one of us,” Ginny replied, “instead of Brandon.”

“What happened?” I asked impatiently. 

“She stirred up some drama,” Ginny said quickly, as if she was trying to get the words out before they made her sick.

“Between all of us, things haven’t been the best,” Jake went on. “We haven’t seen or talked to her since it happened.”

“We basically stopped hanging out with her. Brandon’s mad,” Ginny added.

“Why would he be?” I asked. “I mean, isn’t he shiny happy right now?” I meant being with Ginny. I knew Holly was Brandon’s ex, and apparently Jake’s current girlfriend. 

“Like I said, you don’t want to know,” Jake said. 

I guess if knowing is half the battle, this is a battle I didn’t want to be part of.