"Finding Harmony"
Chapter 10: Friends with Benefits
It was Saturday morning. The sound of Alli's buzzing cell phone caused her to practically jump out of her bed. "Who the heck could be calling me this early?" she mumbled to herself, brushing her hair out of her eyes and glancing at her cell phone. It was probably Johnny.
"Hey," he said.
"Good morning," Alli said politely, not wanting to sound upset. If she told Johnny that he'd interrupted her beauty sleep, maybe he'd just give up and drop the call.
"I wanted to invite you over tonight," he began.
"What?!" Alli exclaimed, putting him on speaker phone. "I don't think I heard you right."
"But... I'll understand if you don't want to come."
"Okay, um... why do you want me to come over? Is it something extra, really, very important?"
"It's just... it's something I had planned weeks ago. For... us." Clearing his throat, he started again. "But since we're not us anymore, I just want to spend some time with you as a friend."
"That sounds good," Alli agreed. Anything to avoid telling her parents about her suspension.
"I'll pick you up at four thirty then."
Alli nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "Yeah. That'll be great."
"See you later," he said, and Alli smiled.
"Bye." Maybe this friendship could work out after all.
--
When she woke up again, which was around eleven, Alli went into the kitchen and began making breakfast. Her dad had already left for work, Sav was still sleeping, and her mother was....
"Good morning Alliana," Mrs. Bhandari said.
"Ahh!" Alli screamed. "Mom, you scared me!" Her mother was seated at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper and sipping a tall glass of orange juice.
"Well, you walked right past me, I don't know how you didn't see me," Mrs. Bhandari said. "Come, have a seat."
Alli took up her blueberry muffin and her carton of milk and walked over to the kitchen table, sitting down across from her mom.
Alli's mind was full of ideas. Mainly ones concerning how she could avoid telling her parents about getting suspended. There was no way they would ever accept this. Nothing as bad as the Holly J. thing had taken place in almost three months. They would call her an "unruly female" and claim she was putting all Muslims to shame.
Embarrassing your family members was something people of her cultural background took very seriously. She had three options: a) tell them, let them sign the paper and get grounded for two months, b) don't tell them, leave for school and then return home after they'd left for work, or c) don't tell them, stay home and forge the signatures.
Since Sav was already plotting her demise, Alli figured that it'd be best if she just forge the signatures and keep herself out of hot water. Then they'd never know and everything would be fine. Unfortunately, she couldn't hide the scrapes and bruises from the fight – but she could lie about them. Or better yet, hide them with cover up.
When her mother cleared her throat, Alli guessed that she had missed something. "I said, Alliana, do you have any plans for today?"
"What? Um, no, of course not mother. I would have told you about them a couple of days in advance." Alli tried not to shift in her seat too much, but she was feeling very antsy. Her mother always looked so professional, business-like and mature... it was all sort of intimidating.
Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into Alli's mind. "Mom, do you need help with any work stuff? You know, filing, shredding, faxing?" Alli bit into her muffin. Her mother glanced down her nose at her and sighed.
"What is going on, Alliana? Usually I have to beg you for help with my work 'stuff', as you call it." Although she knew her mother was getting suspicious, Alli needed these last few moments to get on her good side.
"I was just feeling a little generous is all," Alli said.
"Are you sure that's it? You don't want any money, nothing?" her mother pressed on, turning a page of the newspaper.
"Yeah, that's it," Alli lied. She did have to ask to go somewhere, because Johnny had said he was going to pick her up at four thirty. With her new extended curfew that she'd worked so hard to get, she wouldn't have to be home until nine thirty.
Finishing off her muffin and draining her carton of milk, Alli licked her fingers and stood up from the table. "It was nice talking to you mom," she said, putting her plate in the sink and tossing the empty carton of milk into the trash can. "I'm gonna go study now."
"Okay Alliana," Mrs. Bhandari said, flipping another page in the newspaper.
Alli walked into the living room and started on her homework. By the time four o' clock rolled around, Alli knew her mother was in a more relaxed mood, so she figured now would be the best time to schmooze. "Mother, I wanted to know if Clare and I could work on our poetry books at the library," Alli said, batting her long eyelashes. "Please? Pretty please with rainbow sprinkles on top?"
"No, that's not a problem, Alliana. I love poetry and I know you'll do well on this assignment. Lately, you've been getting more B's than A's." That was because of all the secret meetings with Johnny.
"Yeah, I don't know where my head was. But now it's screwed on straight again." Alli smiled.
"Okay, well, go get ready," her mom said. "Remember to be home by nine thirty!"
"All right!" Alli yelled in response. Heading back into her room, Alli changed into a classier outfit. Johnny had invited her over for dinner, and dinner was always equivalent to fancy in her mind. She pulled a long coat from her closet and slid into it.
Now her clothes were hidden and her mom wouldn't be wondering why she was so dressed up. "Bye mom!" Alli shouted, heading out the door in a bit of a hurry. Lately her mom had been paying a little bit more attention to her, and it was slightly unnerving.
Getting out of the house was an easy way to avoid her parents and their twenty questions. Walking up the block towards Johnny's usual parking place, Alli kept her eyes peeled for his sleek, black Honda. Oddly enough, she didn't see it; even after she'd walked up and down the sidewalk twice.
Suddenly, the sound of a car horn honking startled her and she whirled around. Johnny was sitting in a red convertible and he'd been watching her the whole time. "Hop in, Princess," he joked, starting up the car.
"When did you get this sweet new ride?" Alli gushed, climbing into the car and buckling her seat belt. She ran her hands over the upholstery.
"Sadly, it's not actually mine," Johnny explained, turning to look at her. For some reason, something told Alli that Johnny had probably stolen this car. It wasn't like he'd ever done it in the past (she hoped), but it wouldn't be a surprise to find out that the car wasn't his in that sense.
"What do you mean?" she asked, sitting up straighter. Then she remembered what he'd told her about jumping to conclusions. Johnny wasn't an accessory to the crime Drake had committed, just like he wasn't a car thief.
As she looked into Johnny's eyes again, Alli noticed that there was something different about him. He looked younger. The hat he usually wore all day, every day was absent. He'd shaved recently and his bright eyes glowed their lovely green. Alli almost leaned in to kiss him, forgetting that they were now only just friends. "My car's in the shop. I'm renting this one until I can get my other apparently not-so-sweet ride back." He smirked.
"No," Alli said, shaking her head. "It's just that this car is so sleek and new and fresh and... not you," she realized, wrinkling up her nose.
"Yeah," Johnny said, looking over his shoulder as he backed the car up towards the corner of Alli's street. "No wonder we broke up, huh?"
"I guess," Alli said softly, staring out the window. He drove in silence at first, but then Alli felt a hand on her knee.
"So, how have you been Backwoods?" He grinned into the rearview mirror and watched Alli's facial expressions change as she pondered his question.
Although what he'd asked usually required a simple, easy and short answer, Alli honestly did not know how she felt. Ever since they'd broken up, she'd been a mess. Her parents and Sav were on her case. She hadn't spent any quality time with her friends lately. Her behavior and her grades were slipping off track. Maybe Johnny had been the solution to all her problems, the glue holding the most important elements of her life together. "I'm doing pretty good... I think," Alli finally answered.
"Wow. It only took you two years to answer," Johnny commented. "And what do you mean you think you're doing pretty good? How could you not know for sure?"
"Lately, I haven't been sure of a lot of things," Alli confessed. "I don't know why it's been that way... that's just the way it is."
"Well," Johnny began. "Does it have anything to do with us not being us anymore?" He wondered, stopping at a stop sign. He turned to look at her and Alli noticed that his eyes looked even greener.
"Maybe," she said, wanting to remain as mysterious as possible. "But that's for me to know and you to find out," she joked, tapping him on the nose. A car horn startled them both, and Johnny turned the corner.
"Don't do that when I'm driving Backwoods. That's dangerous you know."
"Whatever. You're the one that's supposed to keep your eyes on the road, buck."
"And you're the one who's supposed to refrain from distracting me while we're on the road!" Johnny kept one hand on the wheel and stuck the other between Alli's leg because he knew he'd catch her off guard.
"What are you doing?" Alli screeched. "Hands off!" She reached up and pinched one of his cheeks.
"Ow!" Johnny's hand flew to his cheek and Alli giggled.
"That'll teach you to keep your hands to yourself mister!" They drove in silence for the next few minutes until Johnny snapped the radio on.
"You know Alli... I've missed you, too. It hasn't been easy trying to get over you... and I think I'm done trying. I love you too much." He glanced at her quickly, eager to get a response.
"Um... well, I love you more closest, most personal, bestest friend!" Alli squealed, pinching his other cheek. This time, Johnny didn't look so defeated after she'd basically shot him down and she was glad. If she thought about it long and hard, Alli knew that she'd eventually admit she felt the exact same way Johnny did. She just wasn't ready to admit it yet. It was too son.
When they reached Oak Gardens, Johnny made a show of hopping out of the convertible without actually opening the door. Alli knew it was all for play because Johnny was definitely not a show-off. When he walked around the front of the car to open the door for her, Alli's jaw dropped. Johnny was wearing dress pants! He never, never, ever dressed up – not in the least – so this was a real shock. Like it was April Fools Day or something.
She got out of the car and really studied him. The long sleeved gray T-shirt he was wearing hung loosely on his body. Alli smiled. He was pretty thin, but he tried to make his whole body look as muscular as his arms, which weren't that bulky in the first place.
Suddenly, he removed a bandanna from his pocket and grabbed Alli's hand. "There's a surprise for you inside," he lied. "Close your eyes." He stepped behind her and tied the bandanna over her eyes. Then he grabbed her hand and began leading her through the other rows of trailers.
This was all an act. The fanciest thing Johnny was contributing to the evening was his attire. He just wanted an excuse to hold Alli's hand. As they walked along, Alli began to realize that she wasn't as blind as she'd originally thought. Johnny was making circles on her palm with his thumb. It kind of tickled, but Alli liked the way it felt.
Upon reaching his trailer, Johnny helped Alli up the stairs, opened the door and helped her inside. "Can I take this off now?" she whined, slipping out of her coat and handing it to Johnny.
"Nope, not yet." He put her coat in the hall closet and then placed his hands on her shoulders. He began guiding her towards the kitchen. Once they were in the doorway, Johnny tapped her on the shoulder. "Now you can take it off, Princess."
"Whew!" Alli breathed out, removing the bandanna from her face. "Oh my gosh!" she shouted when she saw what was spread out on the table in front of her. A tablecloth that looked more like a bedspread dressed up the table, which had two candles sitting in the middle of it. Three platters of food encircled the candles.
Taking a step closer, Alli sighed and turned to look at Johnny. "Johnathan George DiMarco, why didn't you do any of this while we were dating?"
"I had this planned weeks ago. I didn't expect you to dump me flat on my ass last Saturday. Why do you think I still invited you over?"
"Because you'll never be able to get enough of me," Alli said, placing a hand on his chest.
"Okay Backwoods," Johnny said, trying not to laugh. Alli slipped out of her sweater and hung it on the back of her chair. Johnny noticed that her heels were higher than usual. She was also wearing an extremely short and tight tube dress. Her smooth, tan legs were almost all the way exposed. The pink, yellow and orange colors of her dress made the whole room light up.
Although he knew he was practically drooling, Johnny couldn't help himself. He finally looked away and opened the top left cabinet over the stove to find some plates. Removing a stack of dinner plates from the bottom shelf, Johnny turned and walked back over to the table and set the plates down.
He crossed the kitchen and took two wine glasses out of another cabinet. "I know you were expecting Veuve Clicquot, but all we have is Heineken," Johnny said, passing Alli a glass. "I honestly don't think you should be drinking any beer," Johnny told her. "Not after the post-concert happenings."
"I'll have some water," Alli said tartly. She'd caught Johnny ogling her earlier, but she hadn't wanted to say anything about it. Now she just wanted to eat and not feel so tense.
"Aaron's out, so you won't have to worry about any unexpected appearances," Johnny assured her.
"Cool." Alli exhaled slowly. Leaning forward in her seat, Alli lifted one of the platters and saw one plate of macaroni. She lifted the cover on the next platter and saw another plate of macaroni. Under the last cover was a heaping plate of frozen chicken tenders.
"Hey! You weren't supposed to peek!" Johnny complained, taking up the plates and sticking one of them in the microwave. "We also have some mixed vegetables," Johnny said, lifting the cover on a pot on the stove. "I begged my aunt to help me make these. Even though I know cooking is one of Aaron's secret hobbies. The burning of the waffles the other day was fake."
Alli shrugged. "I'm a girl and I don't cook at all."
"Wow, as a Muslim girl I thought you would have been cooking at age five."
"You don't know squat about Muslim girls so shut up and stop being a butthole."
"You know, you could just say asshole. I won't tell." With a smirk, he poured water into her wine glass and beer into his. Alli laughed and poked him in the abdomen. She took one of the hot plates of macaroni and set it down in front of her. She added some vegetables and chicken tenders to the plate and took a sip of her water.
"Wow, what a nice array of foods," Alli quipped. She wasn't trying to be sarcastic, but her words came out sounding that way.
"Yeah. It's the best I could do," Johnny said, fixing his own plate. The candlelight flickered in his eyes, and Alli took another sip of her water. Just looking at Johnny made her thirsty.
"Do you miss how things used to be?" she wondered out of the blue, gingerly setting her wine glass down. "With us, I mean."
"How could I not?" Johnny began gulping down his beer. "You were so much fun, Alli. That's why I fell in love with you."
Taking a bite of one of her chicken tenders, Alli smiled. Johnny's kind words were already beginning to make her heart melt. If they both felt the same way, wouldn't it make sense if they got back together?
"I also miss our wackiness, or rather, my wackiness," Johnny added. Alli wrinkled her eyebrows together and shoved a spoonful of mixed vegetables into her mouth. Pulling up his sleeves, Johnny bit into a chicken tender, chewed and swallowed. "Like when I let Holly J. of all people break us up."
"Yeah, that was pretty stupid," Alli admitted, starting on her macaroni. "You really did break my heart that time. For no reason."
"I did feel really bad about it afterwards and I apologized, you took me back and all was forgiven. Am I right?" Nodding slowly, Alli took another bite of her chicken tender.
"Thanks," she said softly.
"For what?" Johnny wondered.
"For this. I know you hate fancy stuff. It was really nice of you."
"Well, like I said, I planned this out weeks ago. I wasn't going to scrap it all just because you dumped me."
"Still," Alli insisted, "it was very sweet." She kicked him under the table, remembering that Johnny was only her friend. The whole atmosphere of the dinner was very romantic, but it wasn't supposed to be.
"Hey, what was that for?" Tipping his head back, Johnny emptied the rest of his wine glass into his mouth.
"We're friends. We're supposed to get down and dirty."
"Okay Princess." Johnny rose from his seat and walked over to the fridge to get another beer. Glancing at her watch, Alli smiled and finished her macaroni. It wasn't yet six o' clock, so she had about another three and a half hours to spend with Johnny.
He sat down with his beer-filled wine glass. Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. Rising from his seat once more, Johnny sighed in exasperation. Aaron had promised to stay out with his friends until at least eight-thirty.
Opening the door, Johnny wasn't surprised to see his brother standing there, a cocky grin plastered onto his face. "What are you doing here?" Johnny said through his teeth. "You promised me we'd have this one last night alone."
"Sorry John," Aaron said, stepping inside. He patted him on the shoulder and laughed. Alli had been standing in the kitchen doorway listening in on their conversation. When she heard their footsteps coming up the hallway, she hurried back over to her seat again.
"You did this on purpose," Johnny grumbled, sitting back down across from Alli.
"How could anyone possibly ruin a ghetto dinner?" Aaron exclaimed. "Frozen Tyson chicken nuggets, overdone mac n' cheese and vegetables that Rissa helped you make? Come on, John."
"Just shut up and leave us alone, Aaron." Finishing off her water, Alli pursed her lips and set her wine glass down. Thankfully, Aaron didn't acknowledge her and stalked into the living room.
There was another knock at the door, and Johnny stood up again, taking his wine glass with him this time. When he answered the door for the second time in three minutes, he took a sip of his beer and then staggered backwards. "Rissa? What are you doing home so early?
"Oh Johnathan, look at the tools I bought for you and Aaron to use. You didn't forget you promised to work on my car, did you?" Setting down his glass, Johnny helped her with her bags and closed the door. His night with Alli was now going to be a party for four.
Johnny saw his aunt heading towards the kitchen and he raced after her, trying to grab her arm, but it was too late. Stumbling into the kitchen, Rissa put her bags down and then glanced over her shoulder. "My goodness!" Her hands flew to her mouth and she stepped closer to Alli. "Is this her? Is this the girl?" She pointed at Alli and turned to look at Johnny.
"Rissa, you didn't answer my question. What are you doing home so early? You weren't supposed to get off 'til ten."
"Hello dear. I'm Marissa, Johnathan and Aaron's aunt." Alli shook the woman's hand and smiled.
"I'm Alli Bhandari. Johnny's... friend." It was hard to introduce herself, because Alli had no idea what she was to Johnny anymore.
"I've heard so much about you. I couldn't wait to finally meet you!" For some reason, when Johnny had said he lived with his aunt, Alli thought grandmother. Marissa was much younger than Alli had expected her to be. She looked almost exactly like Johnny, almost as if she could have been his mother.
"Same here," Alli said, "I've always wanted to meet you, but Johnny insisted on keeping you a secret."
"Why Johnathan! How dare you keep such a beautiful young girl from meeting me! Why not make her feel like a part of the family?"
"Rissa...." Johnny blushed, and Alli could feel her own cheeks heating up.
"Believe me, it really is an honor," Alli covered for him, smiling at Marissa again.
"Since you guys are finished eating dinner, how about I take you all out for ice cream? Then we can get to know each other a little bit better."
"Sure," Alli said, rising from her seat. She slid into her sweater again as Johnny put the dishes in the sink. Aaron stayed in the living room like Alli hoped he would. Maybe he'd cooled down since last Saturday, but Alli wasn't sure she'd be able to deal with his ever-changing testosterone levels combined with her mixed emotions about Johnny and where they stood.
Once they were outside, Marissa linked arms with Alli and started walking, leaving Johnny to trail behind. "I thought we were going out for ice cream," Alli said, glancing at Marissa.
"Oh, Baskin's is five minutes away," she told her with a wink. "Okay, your name is Alli, right?" Marissa asked. She was really bad with names. Nodding, Alli smiled at the middle-aged woman. "Johnathan never shuts up about you! He really does love you to death. I hope you know that."
"Yeah. I do." Alli turned to look at Johnny, but he wasn't paying attention.
"I know that people of your background wouldn't usually make friends with people like Johnathan," Marissa said softly. "How did your parents like him?"
"Actually, um," Alli bit down on her bottom lip. She wasn't sure if a lie was necessary or not. When Johnny didn't cough or interrupt her, Alli continued with caution. "Johnny hasn't met my parents yet."
"Well, you guys are going to have to do something about that, right?" Marissa nudged Alli's side and chuckled.
"Of course," Alli agreed. They reached the ice cream parlor and ordered what they wanted. Upon receiving their ice cream, they took seats in a booth by the window.
"I hear you're good in school too," Marissa announced before digging her plastic spoon into a scoop of chocolate ice cream.
"Yeah. I'm a pretty good student if I do say so myself," Alli replied. Johnny hadn't said anything since they left his trailer and Alli was confused. Wasn't this a part of the plan?
"How long have you two been friends?" Marissa asked, licking some ice cream off the bottom of her spoon.
"Um, since the beginning of the school year," Johnny mumbled.
"That's wonderful!" Marissa beamed at Alli and began scraping out the bottom of her cup.
"Yeah, we've been close for a while," Alli whispered, licking her vanilla cone. Johnny looked away and started slurping up what was left of his milkshake.
After everyone had finished their ice cream, the three walked back towards the trailer Johnny shared with his paternal aunt and his brother. When they came to Johnny's car, Alli and Marissa said their goodbyes.
"It was so nice to finally meet you!" Squeezing her tight, Marissa breathed in Alli's perfume.
"Same here." Alli smiled and pulled out of the hug.
"I hope you'll come back and visit us again soon," Marissa added. "Have a nice night!"
Waving, Alli called out, "I will. Bye!"
As soon as they were in the car, Johnny sighed. "So how'd you like her?"
"She was really nice. I wish my mom was half as nice as her."
"Great." Starting up the car, Johnny sat back in his seat and licked his lips, waiting for it to warm up.
"Look, I know you didn't want me to meet her, but... it was wasn't so bad. As a matter of fact, it wasn't bad at all. It was great."
"It's not that, Alli." Backing out of the parking lot, Johnny turned on his headlights. "It was just very unexpected and I didn't think we were both ready yet."
"Yeah, well I was. I know we're not together anymore, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring about you Johnny." He stopped at a red light and grabbed Alli's hand.
"Listen, I'm sorry Alli." He paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I miss you. I really do." Clearing his throat, he squeezed some of her fingers together and gave her a small smile. "I want you to be my girlfriend again." Leaning in closer, Johnny pressed a tender kiss to Alli's lips. Just as he was about to pull away, the sound of blaring car horns startled them apart.
"Shit!" Johnny swore, turning the corner. "I forgot we were at a stop light."
"Yeah. I can tell." Alli giggled. For some reason, she felt giddy. She hadn't felt this way during their first relationship at all. Maybe it was because of all the things they'd been through the first time around. She had truly grown to love Johnny and she felt like a woman now. Loving someone required maturity, and Alli knew that she now fully understood both concepts.
"So... what's next? What does this mean?"
"Well, I was thinking... maybe you should meet my parents first," Alli suggested.
"I think I'll need a nuclear bomb, a machine gun, and a whole entire army to walk in your house and come out without getting my balls chopped off."
"Oh stop it!" Alli punched him in the arm.
"We'll see," Johnny said. "Maybe we can work something out."
"We will. Or at least I will." Alli ran her fingers through her hair. "I really think they'd like you if I made them see past certain things."
Chuckling, Johnny turned onto her street and came to a stop near an abandoned lot. "Wow. Hmm... they'd have to see past the fact that I'm white, my whole entire lifestyle, my age...."
"The thing is, we have to convince them that we're such close friends, nothing bad could ever happen between us."
They both got out of Johnny's rental car and began walking. "You know, I wasn't sure that we could last," Johnny began, taking Alli's hands in his.
"And we didn't," Alli reminded him.
"Look." Johnny stopped walking. "I know it hasn't even been two weeks, but you're the one for me, Alli. I'm sure of that."
Smiling, Alli stood on her tiptoes and pecked Johnny on the lips. "Maybe we should be friends with benefits for now."
"Yeah," Johnny agreed, "maybe we should."
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