"So, TJ was never mad?" Gretchen asked, sipping on her Frappuccino.
"I guess not. He told me some of the guys were starting drama and he needed some alone time. That it had nothing to do with the incident. He even told me he's stopped talking to Ashley for what she did." Spinelli replied. She took a bite of her scone and sighed. She couldn't help but get the feeling that TJ was lying, but she couldn't deny her happiness when he called her last night.
"Well, I'm glad we're okay."
"Yeah."
The two girls sat in the Starbucks, watching the hustle and bustle of the town walk by. It was a somber Sunday afternoon and the girls had no idea what to do to pass the time.
"Well, I need to go meet up with Vince. He's taking me to the movies after practice." Gretchen abruptly stood up and downed the rest of her coffee.
"What? And leave me?"
"You'll be fine, love. Look, I really got to go, maybe we can do something tomorrow after school." Gretchen grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Spinelli just watched in amazement. She couldn't believe her best friend was ditching her.
Spinelli sat in the coffee house for a total of two seconds before she left herself. If she's going to have a lazy Sunday, she better do it right. She went home and headed straight for her room. She took off her clothes and climbed into her most comfortable pajamas. She pulled out the braids in her hairs and crawled under her warm blankets, and turned on the TV. Sunday on the Horror channel is B rated movies, back to back and she couldn't wait to get started. She started off with the Critters, a great movie to start off with little fuzzy creatures from planets beyond eating farm people; tasteful. The next movie was The Birds, her all time favorite B rated film. Spinelli was really zoned into the movie that when she her a tapping on her window she jumped nearly three feet off her bed, thinking it was a processed bird coming to get her. But when she opened her curtains, expecting a suicidal crow, she found TJ smiling at her. She opened her window and rested her arms on sill.
"What're you up to?" TJ asked.
"Just watching some movies, you?" Spinelli brushed her hair behind her ear and TJ couldn't help but make a note on how pretty she was with her hair down.
"What mo-" A woman screams in the background of Spinelli's room. "B rated Sunday?" TJ asks.
Spinelli smiles and confirms his suspicion.
"Want to come in?" She held open the window.
"I thought you'd never ask." TJ climbed through the window into her room. "Wow, it's clean,"
Spinelli beamed with pride, having cleaned her room yesterday.
"You're mom did a great job," He joked. Spinelli punched him in the arm and crawled back into her blankets. TJ took off his shoes and sat next to her.
"Need some blanket? It's kind of cold in here," Spinelli holds up a side of the blanket for TJ to crawl under, and he did, tucking in the blanket so there wouldn't be a draft. They finished up the movie and made fun of the female actors or their performance and compared B rated movies to newer horror movies. The next few movies came on and they watched and laughed at the lack of acting the whole time.
TJ finally looked at his watch.
"Where are you parents? It's almost ten-thirty."
Spinelli yawned and stretched. Did she really spend nine hours watching B rated movies back to back?
"Mom's at a woman's retreat and dad is on a business trip. They're both going to be back Tuesday."
"What about Joey?"
"He's home."
"Ah, got'ya." TJ pointed a finger at her and winked.
"What about you? I'm surprised Janet hasn't called me to see if you were here." Spinelli said, pulling her knee's closer to her chest.
"I told her I was staying at Vince's tonight."
"But isn't he on a date with Gretchen?"
"Yeah. I'm gon'na head over there around midnight when he gets back."
Vince is keep Gretchen out till midnight? On a school night?
"Oh, okay. Want some food while you wait?" Spinelli stood up and slipped on her slippers.
"Sure. Steak and baked potato's with a dash of cilantro."
"Macaroni and cheese it is," Spinelli left the room and headed for the kitchen. This wasn't unfamiliar. TJ's stayed all night before. But for some reason, she felt nervous, like she needed to prove something.
TJ sat on her bed, rubbing his hand over the spot that she vacated. He couldn't get her out of his head and it was driving him crazy. And now she's making him dinner, which is so damn cute that he just might explode.
Keep your cool, man.
TJ thought every now and then what it would be like to kiss her again. The guys made them do it in the fourth grade to see what would happen but it was a kid kiss, so it didn't actually count. He wanted to know the softness of her lips on his. He wanted to pull her into his arms and tell her that she means more to him than the world. That he might even... love her. But he doesn't want to hurt her, or ruin their friendship if she doesn't feel the same. And what if when they get older, their feelings change? He couldn't break her heart and he knows that he wouldn't be able to handle a broken heart himself.
"Here's your food," Spinelli said, walking through the door carrying two bowls of macaroni and cheese.
"Thanks." The two friends ate their food and commenced with the B rated horror films, ending the night with the two falling asleep on Spinelli's bed.
TJ's eyes fluttered open as he looked up at the alarm clock on the night stand. four-eighteen. He yawned and closed his eyes again, snuggling closer to the body next to him.
This is nice.
TJ's eye's burst open realizing who was wrapped in his arms. Her small head rested on his chest and her black hair was laying in all directions. His heart beat picked up in pace when he looked down to confirm that it was, in fact, Ashley Spinelli laying on him. She looked so peaceful sleeping that he couldn't believe what he was about to do. He slowly eased out from under her and replaced his body with a pillow. He crawled out of bed and looked down at her. She didn't even shift when he moved which meant she was in a deep dream. TJ stroked her hair and smiled, bending down over her face.
"Sleep well, dear." He whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek. A small smiled formed on her face when he pulled away. He wished he could have done more, but he didn't want to scare her. So instead he covered her up with more blankets and headed out to the living room where he would try to sleep on the couch for the next three hours. And by sleep, he means by thinking of Spinelli and dreaming of Spinelli while being wide awake until her alarm goes off as a warning to get up and get ready for school.
