Friends?

Chapter 1

Dil Pickles' head rested on his desk. It was the last day of school, when Mr. Starr gave his talk about the summer vacation. A paper ball hit his ginger head, causing him to sit up and look for the ball. He looked behind him to see his friend, Jasmine Reynolds, smirking at him. She cocked her head to the paper ball's direction; it was by the left side of his table. He picked it up and opened it silently: 'a minute from now, and we're free!'

He turned around and whispered "Psst! Jazz!" Fiddling with her plum colored hair, she looked up at him with her sea green eyes. Dil nodded and grinned at her. Before he could say anything, the bell rang; their freshman year was over.

They quickly ran out of their school, but Dil stopped "I have to wait for the guys. You know we always walk home together." "How could I forget?" Jasmine said after she chuckled. Dil's brother, Tommy, was in his junior year, which now ended. The Pickles brothers had their childhood friends and they were inseparable.

"So listen, you know my flight to Paris is tomorrow." Jasmine said as he nodded. "I really want you to stop by tonight to say goodbye." She smiled.

"When'd you say you're coming back?" Dil asked.

"I think the day before we come back to school. I hope we could Skype or something." She said.

"I hope so too, I mean I want to, but it's up to you, if you'd be available." Dil shrugged.

Jasmine saw her father's car "That's my dad over there. Are you sure you don't want a ride?"

"Nah, that's okay. I'll wait for them. I'll stop by tonight. I'll call before I come over." They shared a grin before she left him.

A few hours had passed since they came back from school. Dil showered, changed and went downstairs. He was really upset that she had to leave, and leave so soon. "I'm really going to miss her.", Dil sat sadly on one of the chairs in the kitchen.

His mother, Didi, came closer to him and patted his shoulder "She'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, it's not like she going forever!" Tommy yelled from the living room.

Didi sighed "It'll be alright, honey. You won't be lonely this summer, you can be sure of that. When did you say you were going to see her?"

Dil looked at his watch "Oh, crap! I don't want to be late. See you!" Dil quickly got up from his chair and ran to the entrance door. He opened and closed it behind him.

He rode on his bicycle to her house. When he saw the familiar light blue house, he stopped and placed the bicycle near the door. He knocked on the door and waited. The door opened to reveal Jasmine in her bathrobe and her hair, cascading down her shoulders, was wet. She smiled at him "Hey! Come on in!" She closed the door after he entered. After greeting her parents, Dil followed Jasmine up to her room.

Her room wasn't a typical girls' room; she didn't dolls on her bed, the walls were painted mint green and around him he saw posters of Elvis, The Beatles and one of her idols, Marilyn Monroe.

"So…" They said in union. They chuckled when they noticed what happened.

"What are you plans for the vacation?" Jasmine asked him.

"I don't know yet. Maybe work with my dad, we'll see." Dil answered. Stu Pickles was still inventing new toys and selling them.

"Oh, okay. I really appreciate it that you stopped by." She said, grateful.

Dil shrugged "Of course I'd come! We need to plan our new pranks on Principal Mayer. If you have an idea, don't hesitate to tell me, my partner in crime." Dill flashed a grin as she smirked.

"Sure thing! If I see something cool, I'll get it for you."

"Thanks!" He looked around and saw her open suitcase "You haven't finished packing?!" He exclaimed.

"No, I still have more things in put in."

"It looks to me that that suitcase would blow up any minute!" Dil was stunned; it was indeed packed with a lot of clothes.

Jasmine shrugged apologetically "I'm a girl, what'd you expect?"

Sometimes he truly had forgotten. He always thought of her as a tomboy who loved to prank people. Seeing the suitcase made him think that she was discovering her femininity. He hoped she wouldn't change radically after she would come back. "Yeah." Dil said under his breath, which made Jasmine chuckle lightly.

After a slight pause, Dil asked "What time is the flight?"

"11:30 a.m."

"Pretty early." Dil said, surprised. Jasmine laughed; Dil wasn't much of a morning person.

"Yeah, but I get to sleep during the flight so I don't care!" She grinned, making it Dil's turn to laugh.

"Jasmine! Dinner!" Her father called out.

Jasmine got up from the bed and opened the door "Alright!"

"Does Dil want to eat with us?" her father asked. Jasmine looked at Dil for an answer.

Dil answered "Um, I think I'll go. My mom's making my all- time favorite dish."

Jasmine simply said "Okay. I'll walk you to the door then."

As they went down the stairs, Jasmine told her mother she would be right back. Dil bade her parents goodbye as Jasmine went after him outside. Jasmine closed the door.

"I hope you have a good time in Paris. And you know, we have Skype, so we could always talk." Dil said, hopeful.

Jasmine nodded "Yeah. Have fun during the summer." He knew she was upset.

"I'll miss you, even though it's just for a couple of weeks." She said. Dil unexpectedly pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed his hands on her waist. Dil felt weird since she wasn't wearing anything under the robe. He felt her breasts on his chest, which made him slightly uncomfortable and perhaps slightly aroused. Pulling away from the hug, she planted a kiss on his cheek and walked away a bit. Dil was confused; he didn't understand what was going on. 'Why did she kiss me?', he wondered.

"Why did you-?"

"Bye, Dil." Jasmine cut him off, pretending not to hear his question. Dil nodded curtly, got on his bike and left her neighborhood.

Jasmine sat down on her front porch and buried her head in her hands. 'He would never understand how I feel about him. He only thinks of me as his best friend', she thought sadly. She wanted to look on the bright side 'Maybe when I come back, it'll change. Or maybe not.' She heard her mother call her name, which was her cue to go inside and eat dinner.