Bradley's parents never came into her room anymore. Stacy wasn't sure if it was because she was a teenager or if it was because she was a genius. Either way, it allowed him to leave a chalk portal open in her closet. They'd been disappearing from his bedroom since they were children, but somehow Bradley's parents were less suspicious. Or maybe Stacy's parents were just nosier.
As Stacy twisted the knob without knocking, confident that Bradley was both expecting him and not physically in the room, her father hollered to him. His voice was so thickly accented Stacy's own parents couldn't understand him, and Stacy often wondered why he bothered using English; Stacy's Spanish was certainly good enough to handle pleasantries, anyway.
"Gracias no, Senor Sanchez," he called back. If it had been cactus pies, he'd have eaten three. That was probably why Bradley's dad never offered them.
Bradley's room was quiet and dark. The lava lamp glowed softly, slowly changing colors, casting just enough light for Stacy to see the impeccably neat furnishings. The window was open to the chill night air, no doubt to make it look as though they had crept out in a more conventional manner. Since the room was also empty of people, Stacy didn't resist the odd compulsion to straighten his shorts and shirt to match the décor, something he fought down viciously when in Bradley's presence, though he wasn't sure why. He definitely had stranger quirks.
Chalk Zone for instance, though she shared that with him. Maybe it was just that it was silly, in a way that Chalk Zone, despite its silliness, never had been. Stacy glanced at the lava lamp, again. Bradley had her own quirks, too. Like her glasses, which she didn't actually need anymore. 'They're for safety, Stacy,' her words echoed in his head. And he knew that, but sometimes, he wished she'd just take them off. Maybe that's why he did it, fought the urge to hike up pants that weren't sagging and pull down hems that fell just fine. He didn't want Bradley to want him to stop doing it, so he didn't start.
Stacy leaned in the window for a minute, enjoying the way the breeze made the hair on his arms stand up. He wondered what Sophie was doing tonight. Her tenth birthday had been last week, and Stacy had given her the biggest portable portal he could find, a blackboard bigger than Aunt Tillie's kitchen sink, but small enough to balance on Sophie's lap. Bradley had given her boxes filled with magic chalk, all but one of which sat just inside the portal point mounted on the wall inside the downstairs bedroom of 2442 Harness Circle. Stacy looked over the skyline in the direction of Riderton, just on the other side of Plainville. As much as he adored Sophie, he really didn't want to her in Chalk Zone tonight.
It had been long enough, now. Stacy bumped around a bit on his way to the closet. Here we are, settling in to a movie. Or sneaking out the window, whatever worked. Stacy closed the door nearly soundlessly. Where most teenage girls had a mirror, Bradley had a full-length black board. He smiled, always feeling like the Halloween version of Alice through the Looking Glass when the chalk curtain was drawn and he stepped right into the apparently solid surface.
Stepping out into Night Zone, Stacy shook the curtain back into place. He didn't immediately see Bradley or Rudy and so headed for the daylight. He wondered what they were doing, or if they were even doing it together. They got on well enough, but Rudy didn't have that way of always turning up where Bradley was like he did with Stacy.
"Hey, Bucko!" Right on cue. Stacy smiled to himself. "What are we doin' today, uh, tonight, I guess? How's things in the solid world?"
"Oh, you know, same old same old," Stacy replied, looking over Rudy's shoulder. Rudy was drawing on a piece of chalk-paper with a chalk-pencil. It looked a lot like Blocky. Then Rudy erased it. "Um, what are you doing?"
"Hey!" Rudy drew the word out. "I thought that if things get erased into Chalk Zone from your world, maybe things that are erased here wind up somewhere else." Stacy blinked, that… was an interesting concept. One he privately doubted. And found a little disturbing. Hopefully, the fact that only 'Creators' and not Chalk-Residents could use the magic chalk that grew in Chalk Zone meant the universe had some kind of failsafe against that kind of thing. "You didn't just come here to doubt my genius, did ya?"
"Actually," Stacy rocked back on his feet, "I was looking for Bradley."
"Oh," Rudy said, a little distracted. Dodged a bullet there. "She's takin' a nap in the Two-Lips." He pointed without looking up again.
"Thanks, Rudy!" Stacy replied enthusiastically, hoping his friend would take that as a substitute for attention when he realized he's been ditched, and headed off in that direction.
Stacy was pretty sure the giant field of Two-Lips was Bradley's favorite place in Chalk Zone. Personally, when it came to chalk-flowers, Stacy preferred Pop!ies, but the noise did make it hard to sleep. When it came to real flowers - and both his parents asked, for some bizarre reason - Stacy always said poppies, because the association made him giggle inside.
Bradley must have been really taking a nap. When Stacy arrived at the edge of the field, there was no sign of his best friend. He'd just have to walk through the growth until he spotted her under the blooms. He set off on his search, headed towards a patch of Two-Lips with gargantuan petals, secretly pleased at the fluttery feeling of the blossoms darting kisses onto his passing calves. He spotted Bradley, right where he thought she'd be. He looked down at her face in the shifting shadows as the big Two-Lips reached up to smooch him hello about the thighs and hips, one even making it as high as his navel.
Bradley was something else, laid out peacefully beneath the flowers, one arm resting in the softly drawn grass above her head, the other curled around her waist. Stacy sank down to sit among the Two-Lips, hardly noticing when the plants greeted him again, pushing satiny kisses all over him. One tiny bud on a very long stem even got twisted in his hair. Stacy gently worked it free, not really considering the idea that he could pick it and tuck it into Bradley's wavy locks. The pink petals would look good there, in Bradley's long, dark tresses.
He almost laughed. He could imagine Bradley's reaction. 'Oh!' confused but pretending to be delighted, 'Thank you very much, Stacy.' Honestly, Stacy preferred it when she just blinked at him; he could tell how confused she was by how wide her eyes got. Or the way she laughed when she was actually delighted. The way she had laughed when Stacy ran his palms over the freshly shorn peach fuzz on the sides of her head. Her hair was so thick that it cascaded over the blank spaces as if nothing were missing. Bradley had given a very scientific explanation for how it made her mane more manageable.
Stacy had thought she was just a little more rock-and-roll than anyone gave her credit for. He still did. He thought a lot of things about Bradley. He thought about her lovely chestnut hair, about her shinning sable eyes, her great big beautiful brain. And after all this time, Stacy knew more about Bradley than anyone else, even herself sometimes. Like how Senora Sanchez had bought Bradley this orange dress so she could be more fashionable, but Bradley only wore it on laundry day, because seriously. And how Stacy was sure that Bradley secretly adored the dress because it made her look fabulous.
Extra fabulous.
Rudy didn't understand dresses, which was pretty normal, Stacy supposed, considering that he was a chalk drawing made by an eight-year-old boy. Stacy, on the other hand, had grown up, and boy did he understand dresses. Particularly this dress. He let his eyes roam over Bradley, who was too asleep to mind. The sunset color set off her skin. The cut of the bodice showed off her curves without giving them away. The skirt swished a lot when Bradley moved, and that always got Stacy's attention.
Bradley always got Stacy's attention.
As if sensing said attention, Bradley shifted subtly. Or maybe Stacy was just breathing too loudly. He calmed himself. Stacy hoped that Bradley liked him just as much as he liked her, but there was always a chance he was wrong, and being downright creepy certainly wouldn't help. Sable eyes blinked open, looking up at him drowsily. Bradley smiled but didn't say anything. The silence stretched until eventually Bradley levered herself up onto her elbows. She looked expectantly at her best friend, but still didn't say a word.
Out of nowhere, Stacy heard himself say, "Michelle Norwegiano asked me to the Sadie Hawkins dance, yesterday."
"I heard." Bradley sounded none too pleased and Stacy had to fight down a smile. He loved to needle his best friend about her pencil thin green streak, and it wouldn't work if he cracked now.
"I told her I couldn't go."
Bradley's eyebrow shot up. "Why wouldn't you be able to go to the dance?"
"I said I was already going to the dance with someone else." Stacy bit his lip, feigning shyness, but really just clamping down on a mischievous grin.
For a moment Bradley was silent, gaping at him, before she exploded, "Someone asked you to the dance and you didn't tell me?"
Stacy reached out, fingering the hem by Bradley's knee. "Well," he began shyly, before her startled incredulousness could become something… less hilarious. "It might have been a little presumptuous of me… She hasn't actually asked me, yet." He looked up, giving Bradley's skirt a few delicate tugs. "But I figured it was a safe bet." Stacy held her eyes. 'In the name of King Mumbo Jumbo, please ask me,' he thought, a little desperately.
By unspoken agreement, Stacy and Bradley had gone to every dance since the sixth grade together. Neither one of them ever asked, or ever asked anyone else. But this year was different. And not just because Michelle had asked him. He was pretty sure that had been directly related to the fact that Reggie Bullnerd had asked her out five minutes prior. Stacy was literally the next boy she had seen. He smiled thoughtfully.
Michelle Norwegiano was the salt of the earth and captain of the cheerleading squad, but even if Stacy hadn't been head-over-heels for Bradley, he'd have said no. Flash Diamondbacker, the quarterback of the football team and catcher of the baseball team, was an all-around good guy, who just so happened to look like his balloon had been popped when he walked out of Jazz Band rehearsal to hear Michelle's frantic request. 'I'm sure that would be fun and all Michelle, but someone's already asked me, and I'm pretty sure Flash has been waiting for you to ask him all week. Bye!' Stacy had hightailed it around a corner before turning back to see Flash blushing furiously as Michelle asked him out. Homecoming King and Queen get together, news at five.
Now, if only Bradley would just ask Stacy out. That would truly be news worthy. Even better than when Responsible Reggie had hit it off with Reasonable Regina. When the silence stretched to disquieting lengths, Stacy babbled out the story about Reggie and Michelle and Flash. At least that made her smile.
"So, is there someone you need me to nudge into asking you?" She gave him a sly grin, waxing conspiratorial.
Bradley had to be doing this on purpose. Stacy bit his lip, shaking his head. He would have asked her the second he saw the poster, but that wasn't how the big, winter Sadie Hawkins Sock-Hop worked. Why couldn't this have been Homecoming? Why didn't Stacy ask Bradley to Homecoming?
Pink blossoms swayed around their heads as the Two-Lips were subjected to a gentle breeze. The edge of Bradley's skirt was still between Stacy's fingers. He rubbed the silk nervously, eyes flicking everywhere on his best friend's face. He felt helpless as she watched him back, expression elegantly dissolving into something serene.
The flowers continued to sway.
Heart pounding, Stacy finally glanced away. He studied the intricate purple and blue birds splotched across the fabric hiding Bradley's thighs. He could feel this moment slipping away like sand…
"Stacy?" His head snapped up, locking eyes with Bradley as she said very seriously, "Would you like to go to the dance with me?"
Relief washed over him and Stacy couldn't help it, he laughed. Pain darted onto Bradley's face but was quickly suppressed. Grinning irrepressibly, Stacy leaned forward, eager to chase away the hurt. "I thought you'd never ask."
Bradley's pretty mouth dropped into a gentle oh of surprise, eyes blinking slowly. Stacy pulled her towards him and she burst into delicate giggles, allowing herself to be swept into her best friend's arms. "Oh, Stacy." She tucked her face against his neck. Stacy breathed in the earthy scent of Bradley's hair and the slightly chalky perfume of the Two-Lips. Slowly, Stacy allowed himself to become completely absorbed into the reality that was Bradley Sanchez.
Suddenly, the flowers descended on them.
Kissing Stacy and Bradley all over, and pushing playfully between them, the Two-Lips eventually dislodged the clinging teenagers. Flopping onto the ground, Stacy didn't even try to control his laughter as the ticklish assault continued. He looked over at Bradley only to see her similarly afflicted. Taking one last opportunity to stun his best friend, Stacy grabbed Bradley's hand. She laced their fingers together. Pressing his lips briskly to the back of her thumb, Stacy saw and heard Bradley gasp.
The Two-Lips retreated slowly, leaving Bradley flushed and grinning and still holding fast to Stacy's hand as they lay in the green chalk grass.
"Hoi calloi," Rudy clucked, making his way through the field of flowers like an overly aggressive blueberry. "Took you two long enough."
Stacy's heart pounded in his chest. He stared into Bradley's eyes, mildly entranced. It sure had taken them long enough. Long enough to last a lifetime.