Chapter 4: Best Buddy

Saturday, and Marley had absolutely no plans what so ever. Like usual. She was still angry with Ryder, and her other friends were busy. She walked downstairs, entering the kitchen, where her mom had placed a plate full of pancakes, covered in maple syrup, on the kitchen table. A huge smile formed on Marley's face, as she sat down and dug into the pancakes immediately. Shortly after, her mom entered.

"Wow, someone's happy I made pancakes!" she exclaimed when she saw Marley.

Marley laughed in between chewing, and nodded. "Best mom ever."

"I try," her mom smiled. "I'm going out to run a couple of errands, I'll be home around 2. See you then, alright?"

"Yeah, bye bye!" Marley replied, still going at it with the pancakes.

Her mom laughed as she left the kitchen, and Marley heard the front door open and shut a few seconds later. She finished the rest of the pancakes in less than 3 minutes, before she dropped the knife onto the plate and leaned back in her chair. She really loved her mom's pancakes. So much, she almost hesitated to what she did next - which was run towards the bathroom.

Two fingers pressed down her throat was all it took - and all the pancakes were out of her body again. She leaned against the bathroom wall, still sat on the floor, as she pulled the flush on the toilet. She wiped her mouth with toilet paper, and sighed heavily. It was like what she was doing wasn't even an option anymore. It was something she had to do. Throwing up her food was just as much of a routine as eating it.

She really wished she could call Ryder right now. Oh heck, what was stopping her? So he sang a song with Kitty? It was Ryder. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't survive without the guy. Pulling herself off the floor, she made her way into the living room and grabbed the telephone. She dialed his number.

"What's up, Ryder here."

Just his voice made her instantly feel better.

"Hi," she spoke. "It's me - Marley. Can we meet up and like, talk, or whatever? I don't want to be mad at you."

"Thank god," he chuckled. "Sure, where do you wanna meet? The Lima Bean?"

"Perfect. See you there in 10 minutes?" she asked, overjoyed he hadn't finally chosen to give up on her.

"10 minutes. See you soon," he said, followed by a click.

She immediately walked out into the hallway to grab her jacket, when she remembered something. Running into the kitchen, she opened the medicine cabinet and found breath mints. She popped one, and reentered the hallway. After all, she didn't want to have puke on her breath when she saw him. She grabbed her jacket and her keys, walked outside and locked the door, before she got on her bike and headed towards The Lima Bean.

20 minutes later both of them were sat at a table at The Lima Bean with a coffee each.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing they both blurted out, and at the same time.

They laughed.

"No, I'm sorry," Marley said. "I shouldn't have become so mad. I mean, if you say Kitty 'threatened' you, then I believe you. And it's none of my business what it is she has on you if you don't want to tell me."

"When the time is right, maybe I'll tell you," Ryder smiled lightly. "But I'm still sorry for doing a duet with her. She's not the most pleasant person around - especially not to you - and you have to know: I'm not enjoying any of it."

"C'mon, not even the part where you get to dance and sing with a really pretty girl?" Marley raised her eyebrows in disbelief, as she took a sip from her coffee.

Ryder shook his head. "She's not even half as pretty as you are, anyway."

A blush crept onto Marley's cheeks. "Uhm... Thanks. Not true, though."

"Then I must get an appointment with an eye doctor, 'cause it's about the most true thing I know," Ryder insisted, drinking from his paper mug.

Marley laughed and shook her head at his silliness, as the two went on to talk about nothing and everything for the next two hours. It was always like that with Ryder. Time just vanished, and there was no such thing as an awkward silence where neither of them knew what to say. She was just so comfortable around her - she could really be herself, cause she knew he didn't judge. He was her hero, after all.

"You know," Marley spoke, right after Ryder had finished telling a story of how he was convinced robots would take over the world someday. "You're like... one of the greatest people I know."

"I don't know if-"

"No, you are," Marley nodded. "It's crazy how comfortable I feel around you. Like I can do or say anything, and I know you'll stick by me. We're great together. You're... you're like... my best buddy."

"Best buddy!" he exclaimed. "Right, yeah. We're... best buddies, you and I."

"Yeah! It's so great to have a best friend. I don't think I've had one since, like, preschool," Marley said.

"Well don't get upset if I steal your crayons. Sharing is caring," Ryder joked, and Marley chuckled, as he looked at his watch. "Wow, we've been here for two hours? I best be going. It was great meeting you, though. Glad we're friends. No! Best buddies! Yeah, okay. Bye Marley. See you at school?"

He was now standing up, his jacket on, fully ready to leave. Marley was a bit caught off guard.

"Uh, I guess?" she responded, as he nodded hastily and quickly disappeared, out of the coffee shop.

Why the sudden hurry? She rolled her eyes and stood up, thinking there was no reason to stick around if Ryder wasn't here. She put her jacket on, and was ready to leave when a familiar voice called her name.

She turned around. "Jake?"

"Hey," he smiled. "Oh, were you just leaving? I just got here."

"Uh, no..." Marley shook her head quickly. "I was just... changing tables. 'Cause, you know, this one... still hasn't been cleared out - look at those mugs. Yeah. Do you wanna sit together?"

"Sure, let me just order," Jake replied.

"Oh, yeah - uhm, me too," Marley said, as they both got in line.

She didn't even like coffee all that much, but if hanging out with Jake meant getting another cup, then she definitely didn't mind. She wasn't sure what she'd been thinking the other day when she'd suddenly wished she had sung the duet with Ryder. Singing with Jake was what she had wanted since she landed eyes on the boy. If Kitty was going to sing at Sectionals, it was better she sung with Ryder than with Jake, right? Yeah.

A/N: 'Chapter 4: Best Buddy'? Read: 'Chapter 4: Friend Zoned'. Thank you again for the reviews!