Chapter 10

"Alright soldier. Your mission is simple," Dan said in his manliest American accent. "You're in the middle of the maze. Your goal is to eat all of the yellow dots. See those spirits. You're gonna wanna attack them from behind or else they'll consume you. Also in this maze? Four sets of cherries, one in each corner. Eat those, and you become invulnerable but only for fifteen seconds. You can use this power to attack the spirits from any angle. Are you ready?"

I saluted Dan. "Sir, yes sir!"

"Best of luck to you soldier. I believe in you."

I clutched the controller like it was the only thing keeping me alive. I maneuvered my way through the maze cleverly, making sure to steer clear of the ghosts. I consumed the last yellow orb, ending the game. "Victory!" I shouted, jumping up from my position on Dan's floor. It was a rainy day and Phil was tutoring a neighborhood boy so Dan and I decided we'd spend the day playing video games. We'd already ripped our way through several missions on Skyrim, Halo 2, and Portal. I had made the suggestion that we play something less mind-numbing and violent. We had torn through Dan and Phil's collection of video games seven time before finding an old-school Nintendo version of Pac-man. We then scrounged around the house until we finally found his Nintendo. I'd just completed the first round in one attempt.

"That was intense," Dan commented. "Like more intense than battling a snarling ogre in Skyrim."

"Right?" I sat back down, laying my head in Dan's lap. He immediately took to playing with my hair. I yawned.

"Rainy days make me feel soooo sleepy. I just want to drink cocoa and sleep."

"So do it," I replied. "Who's stopping you?"

"You."

I looked at him quizzically.

"I wouldn't be a very entertaining host if I slept, now would I?"

"Yeah. probably not."

"Plus I don't trust you. You'd probably all over my face with permanent pen."

I laughed. "Yeah probably."

It fell silent. Dan playing with my hair was soothing, and I found my eyes fluttering closed.

After a few seconds, I felt pressure, warmth. I opened my eyes to find Dan...kissing me. His soft lips fit almost perfectly with mine, and the kiss was gentle. Gentle but wrong. For some reason, though, I continued to let him kiss me. Maybe because I was lonely. Maybe because it was comforting. In any case, I let him kiss me. He pulled away, looking at me for a second and finally saying, "Nope. Nothing."

"Yeah, we could never be more than friends."

He looked a tad guilty. "Sorry..."

"It's okay. We were both wondering."

The he started to laugh, first normally, then uncontrollably. His obscure laughter caused me to join in with him. When we were left with nothing but to gasp for air, he said, "We are such weird people."

"It's why we make perfect friends."

He sat there for a minute, then, "Thanks for not totally freaking out."

"No big deal. It's nice to have some clarity."

The phone began ringing. "I'll get it!" Phil shouted from the front room. Dan turned to me, a mischievous smile painted on his face.

"Soldier!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Your next mission is Mission: Innuendo. You will pick up the phone located in this room. Listen very carefully to the conversation. Your goal is to wait for a mild suggestive-sounding sentence. once you hear one, you must insert the word 'naked' at the end. Are you up for this mission soldier?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"Best of luck to you, soldier. I believe in you."

I picked up the phone, making sure not to breathe heavily and listened.

"You know I can't." Phil's voice.

"But I miss you...as much as it pains me to say that." A woman's voice. My stomach drops.

"I miss you, too. But I can't stand to see my family right now. The only one in Manchester that likes me right now is you."

"We can just spend time together then."

"Can't risk it." A pause. "Hey, you should come visit London."

"Would your friends be okay with this?"

"Yeah totally! They really want to meet you!"

Another pause. "You haven't told them about me, have you?"

"No."

"Phil!"

"I'm sorry, I just...I figured with the whole situation that it would be better to just not tell, you know?"

What is Phil not telling us?

"They'll have to know sometime."

Sigh. "Maybe. But seriously, you really should come visit."

"I might sometime soon, but for right now, I've gotta go. I love you.'

And then Phil uttered four words that for some reason upset me. "I love you, too."

Click.