thanks for all your reviews! you're all so sweet! this is the last chapter. and i apologize in advance because i've always been so horrible with endings. but thank you to everyone who has reviewed, you guys are amazing!
Spinelli was the first one to wake up. TJ's arms were still around her. To wake him up, she jabbed her elbows into his gut.
"Oof!" TJ opened his eyes as Spinelli was standing up now. "Guess I deserved that."
"We gotta meet the guys at Kelso's," she told him, changing her shirt. He couldn't help but watch.
"For what?"
"We gotta pick names for Secret Santa."
"Oh yeah…" TJ took a breath before starting again. "Spin-"
"Get up," she urged, going to the bathroom to brush her teeth. He sighed, putting on his navy blue beanie and his jacket. Spinelli came back from the bathroom and put on a heavy jacket and a red hat with ear flaps. TJ smiled. He had given her that hat last Christmas.
"What are you smiling at?"
"Nothing," he lied. "Let's go." On the way to Kelso's, TJ couldn't help but try to grab his best friend's hand. Each time she pulled her hand away. But he wouldn't give up.
"Stop it, Teej."
"Spin, don't you miss me?" he stopped in his tracks, and she could see the hurt in his eyes.
"Of course."
"Have you…hooked up with anyone?"
He saw her eyes look down and then back up at him. "TJ-"
"I won't be mad. I just wanna know. I was honest with you. Please be honest with me."
"HK."
"HK? You hooked up with Hustler Kid? Francis Hustler Kid?"
"Yeah."
TJ sighed. "Well, you did always think he was hot." They continued walking.
"We didn't have sex," she said bitterly.
"Anyone else?"
"I made out with Gordie again."
TJ's eyes went wide. "Ok."
"And I…I uh…"
"You what?"
"May have had sex with uh…"
"Who?"
"Bob."
"YOU HAD SEX WITH KING BOB!" He stopped again.
"Yeah…and his best friend," Spinelli looked down.
TJ's jaw dropped. "Is that it?"
Spinelli looked up at him sadly. "Dave. And that's it. I promise."
"You had sex with Bob, his friend, and Digger Dave? In three months? I've had sex with three girls in my whole life." He was heartbroken.
"I thought it would help me get over you."
"Did it?" They continued walking. Spinelli didn't answer. The rest of the walk was spent in silence until they got to Kelso's, where everyone else was already waiting.
"Hey guys," Gus greeted.
"TJ, are you alright? You look extremely pale." Gretchen asked.
"I'm fine," he assured them, putting his beanie in the middle of the table. Mikey had already written down the names of everyone on little pieces of paper. He put them inside the hat and Gretchen shook it up.
"Here you go, kids," Mr. Kelso came back with six hot chocolates. "TJ, how are ya! I haven't seen you since the summer."
"I'm great, thanks," he lied.
"I assumed you both wanted hot chocolates like the rest of them," Mr. Kelso said.
"Thanks Mr. Kelso," Spinelli spoke up so that TJ's fake happy voice wouldn't be questioned.
At that moment, who else would walk into Kelso's but Ashley A. and Ashley Q. The two girls waved at TJ and Vince, who politely waved back. Ashley A. didn't want to start anything between him and Spinelli, especially since Spinelli was shooting daggers at her. The two Ashleys got a couple magazines from the counter and were on their way. When they left, Spinelli turned to TJ.
"Really? You gave her your hoodie?"
"Oh give me a break, it was freezing, I had to give her something!"
"As always, youngest goes first," Gretchen interrupted. "Go ahead, Spinelli," she urged. Spinelli picked and looked at the paper. She had to get Mikey a present. TJ went next, and he picked Gretchen. Then Vince went, who picked Gus. Gretchen then chose Vince's name, Gus chose Spinelli's, and finally Mikey got TJ.
"Trouble in paradise?" Mikey asked to the table when Spinelli got up to go the bathroom.
"What makes ya say that?" TJ asked bitterly.
"You haven't even looked at each other, man," Vince said. TJ shook his head. "Hey, you promised no more secrets," Gus pointed out.
"However, I do believe that as a couple they are entitled to their own secrets," Gretchen put in.
"They're not a couple though," Vince replied.
"Yes, but they have a relationship of sorts and I don't think it's appropriate for them to tell us every detail if they happen to get in an argument."
"Still here, guys," TJ rolled his eyes.
"This is a bad one, huh?"
"Worse than ever before," TJ shook his head as Spinelli came back. Everyone was quiet.
"Ok, so it's obvious you were just talking about me," she sat down. "What'd you tell them, Teej?"
"Oh don't even go there I would never do that."
"Oh here we go," Vince mumbled. The rest of the group rolled their eyes, expecting Spinelli and TJ to go into a brawl.
"Don't worry, I refuse to fight with her in front of you guys," TJ said.
"Yeah, 'cause you guys sitting in silence and giving death glares to each other is so much better. Let's go, guys," Vince said to everyone but TJ and Spinelli.
"No, I'm gonna go. You guys stay here," TJ announced, standing up to leave.
"I'll go with ya, man. Let's go to my house and play some video games." TJ nodded at Vince's suggestion and they said their goodbyes.
"Spinelli, why don't you come home with me?" Gretchen offered. "We haven't had girl time in a while." Spinelli agreed and they said goodbye to the remaining two boys.
"What's going on, man? You guys fighting is ruining the group."
"I fucked up, Vince. But it's not just my fault. She's the one that said be single. She's the one that didn't wanna be with me."
"What'd you do?"
"Ashley A. was at my school visiting her cousin and we, well, we had sex."
"Damn, no way!"
"I know. But you gotta see where I'm coming from."
"Oh I get it, don't worry. And hell, Ashley A's hot, not as hot as Ashley Q of course, but still hot."
"But it's not just her looks, Vince, it's her whole package. I think I like her. She's just the complete opposite of what I'm used to, ya know? She's, I don't know, normal. She'd let me take care of her, she'd put me on a pedestal , she'd always know what to do like the leader she is. Maybe I need someone like that. I mean, she's kind of the girl version of me. With Spinelli I never know where I stand."
"I think you're just making yourself like her because you slept with her. And you don't sleep around."
"Yeah, I know."
"So you wanna justify yourself and say that you like her. But dude, you tried it before. It didn't work. Just like it didn't work with me and Ashley Q. They're great. They're so much cooler than they were when we were younger. They're normal girls who will treat us great, but when you get to the bottom of it, they're still Ashleys. Normal Ashleys. And you can try all you want, but normal's just not what we need in girls, dude. 'Cause we're not normal. You need Spinelli because she won't put you on a pedestal. You need her because you're already a leader, and Spinelli is your right hand man. And yeah, she usually doesn't let you take care of her, but that'll change, just like it has sometimes in the past. Maybe you like Ashley, man, but you love Spinelli."
"But she doesn't wanna be with me. She's been hooking up with a lot of guys."
"Sex and all?" Vince inquired. TJ nodded. "Damn. But, it makes sense. She's got low self esteem and has always hooked up with lots of guys in order to raise it. She's probably just trying to get over you."
"I know, I know."
It was Christmas Eve. The gang had exchanged gifts earlier that afternoon. Gretchen had given Vince two tickets to a Giants' game that she had won on the radio, knowing they were his favorite football team. His eyes lit up like she had never seen, and he gave her the biggest hug she'd ever received. She was in a good mood, in her own little world, when her doorbell rang. Confused, Gretchen opened it, and there stood Vince, standing in the light snow.
"Vince! What are you doing here?" she stepped outside on her porch with him.
"I just wanted to thank you again for the tickets."
"No problem. I hope you and Chad enjoy them."
"Actually, you're coming with me."
"What?"
"I want you to come to the game with me."
"Oh I couldn't, I don't know anything about football."
"I'll teach you," Vince smiled.
"You will?"
"Yeah," he grinned wider.
"Ok," she smiled too, rubbing her arms in the cold.
"I uh, got you this book," Vince held out a red book.
"But I thought TJ had me for Secret Santa?"
"He did…this isn't for Secret Santa. I just, I remember you saying that you couldn't wait to get this so, I figured it'd be a good Christmas present."
"Thank you, Vince!" she hugged him.
"Merry Christmas, Gretch," he kissed her on the cheek. With that, he stepped off the porch and began walking home. Gretchen put a hand to her cheek as soon as she got inside, not able to believe what had just happened.
TJ was fast asleep in his bed when a knocking at his window woke him up. He looked at the clock, which read 3:17 am. Confused and disoriented from being half asleep, he opened his window in the darkness.
"Teej," he saw familiar eyes shimmer in the darkness. She climbed inside and shut the window behind her. "Hi," she greeted quietly.
"What are you doing here? It's Christmas Eve."
"I don't know," she told him honestly. She saw TJ open his arms in the darkness, dressed in plaid pajama pants but no shirt. She greatly accepted his hug and he held her tightly. "I'm sorry. About everything."
"I'm sorry too," TJ answered, rubbing her back. "Let's just go to bed. We'll talk about everything in the morning." They got under the covers and Spinelli cuddled up to him.
"Teej…Do you think I'm a slut?" she whispered in the darkness.
"Spin! I would never think that."
"I saw the way you looked at me after I told you about everyone I got with while you were gone."
"You know I don't judge you, Spin."
"TJ, I saw the look in your eyes."
He sighed. "I was just hurt. And not just because you were getting with people other than me. I know that you have low self esteem, but guys aren't the answer to that." He tucked some hair behind her ear. "I don't want you to start sleeping around just to make yourself feel better. If you need an ego boost, call me. I'll tell you how beautiful you are and how you're the single most amazing person I've ever met in my entire life. And how I've always been so proud to be your best friend. And how completely in love with you I've always been."
"I love you too," she kissed him for the first time since he had left for school. He then held her until she fell asleep, stroking her hair. TJ, however, was wide awake, staring at the ceiling and thinking of the future. He didn't know what would happen between the two of them, or any of the gang for that matter. This wasn't some episode of their favorite show where everyone ended up at the same college and you married your childhood neighbor. In a perfect world, maybe the gang would have all gone to college together, with everyone dating exactly who they wanted to. But the world's not meant to be perfect, and TJ knew that. Maybe one day he would end up marrying Spinelli, or possibly Ashley A., or even some random girl he meets on the street. But he knew that in that moment, all he wanted to do was fall asleep with the girl he loved. And as he looked down at the sleeping girl on his chest, he fell in love with her all over again, letting his worries subside and contently closing his eyes.
