After school I head out to the parking lot with Dallas to ask him for help.
"Can you do me a favor?" I throw out there mid conversation.
"Sure thing Torres, what's up?" He says willingly. Dallas always has my back. He never questions anything, he's a go with the flow kind of guy.
"Do you think you could hotwire Bianca's car for me?" I ask. I decided to ask him because one, he's good with cars, and two, he won't think twice about helping me.
"Are you asking because I'm black?" He asks with a straight face.
"What? No! Of course not. You're just good with cars so I thought-" I spit out.
Dallas cuts me off before I can apologize, "Relax Adam, I'm messing with ya!" he jokes, "And yes I can help you with Bianca's car," he says, still laughing as we reach Bianca's car.
I reach for the car's door handle, hoping that it's unlocked. Hotwiring is one thing, but I don't really want to resort to breaking one of her windows just to get into the car. That being said, if I can find a guy who knows how to hotwire, I think I could find a guy that knows how to break into a car without actually breaking anything.
Much to my relief, I pull on the handle and the car door swings open. Phew! That's one less thing to worry about.
"One sec Dallas, we're going to have to set up jumper cables first," I inform him, "Bianca said she couldn't start it yesterday."
I leave Dallas waiting at Bianca's car as I leave to retrieve my car. When I pull into the spot next to Bianca's I see that Dallas already has the car running.
Dallas is standing next to the idling car, "Problem solved," he says.
"What? I thought the battery was dead," I say slightly confused as to how he got the car to start.
"Nope, it started right up," he confirms. Weird, why would Bianca lie about that?
"Hmm, alright. Well thanks," I say while tossing him the keys to my car, "You and Drew can take the car."
"Cool, see you at home," Dallas says while walking back to the school.
I get into Bianca's car and make my way over to her place for the third time today. Hopefully it doesn't end the same way, with her slamming the door in my face.
…..
Bianca's POV
I'm lying on my bed waiting for my nails to dry when I hear a knock on the door. I almost don't believe it. There's no way Adam's stupid enough to show up here again. It has to be someone else.
I swing the door open only to see Adam standing there, "Seriously? Are you stupid or do you enjoy getting doors slammed in your face?"
"Both," he jokes.
"Good then let me do you a favor," I say while starting to shut the door on him.
"Wait," he says while blocking the door with his foot.
"What now?" I ask clearly angry.
"I just thought I'd mention that your car is parked in your driveway," he says proudly. How did he get my car here? I'm almost positive the keys are sitting on the kitchen counter.
"You brought my car?" I ask clearly surprised, a smile threatening to spill onto my face. That was really sweet of him.
"Yeah, I want to see you in school tomorrow," he says with a smile. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see him too. This no Adam deal I made with myself is not going to last, especially if he keeps doing nice things like this.
"You didn't have to do that," I say.
"But I did it anyways," he says and I finally allow myself to smile back at him, "Well I should get going," he says while turning to walk away.
"Wait," I find myself saying. Adam turns around waiting for me to say something. I'm not entirely sure why I told him to wait, I just know I don't want him to leave yet. "Uh how are you going to get home?" I ask.
"I'll walk," he answers. I can't let him walk the whole way home.
"That's ridiculous, I can drive you," I offer, "Just let me change." I say turning around but leaving my door open.
…..
Adam's POV
I don't know why she feels the need to change, she looks great all dressed down like that. I'd even be willing to say that her natural look is even more beautiful than when she dresses to impress. What am I saying? Bianca looks great all the time.
Not really sure whether or not I'm welcome in her house, I just hover at the door. She didn't exactly tell me to come inside, and I don't want to make her mad, so I'll just wait here.
Bianca reads my mind, "You don't have to wait outside," I hear her voice from inside the house.
I hesitantly step in the house. It's cozy. Not as big as my place but it feels homey. I can smell a scented candle burning in the living room, the walls are painted a warm, welcoming color, and I hear music playing from another room. All in all, I like it here, not that I'll ever be welcomed back.
Not really sure how long this is going to take her, I take a seat on the couch. 20 minutes later, Bianca walks out wearing shorts and a red tank top, her hair is curled, and she has make-up on.
I stand up as she walks over to me, "Get all dressed up for me?" I ask teasingly.
"You wish," she says playfully while slapping me lightly on the arm, "let's get going," Bianca says while walking to the door. Just for a moment I can't help but watch her leave. It's a nice view. Any idiot with eyes can see that she's hot as fuck. "You coming?" She says turning around to look at me. An amused look appears on her face followed by a smile, she definitely caught me staring.
"Yeah, right behind you," I say catching up with her.
We get into the car and she asks the obvious question, "So how'd you start the car?"
"I have my ways," I say mysteriously. She just smirks but doesn't say anything back. The rest of the car ride is pretty silent, with the exceptions being small talk about school or Drew. She puts the car into park in front of my house but I don't move to leave. She's looking at me expectantly, waiting for me to either leave or say something, "So Bee, I've been thinking," I say starting off this conversation slowly. I rather take this conversation slow so I can gauge her reactions as it goes.
"About what?" Bianca asks.
"These past few days," is all I say. She has a serious look on her face now that I've brought up the topic but doesn't say anything. "I know it's been weird between us but I want to change that," I say.
"Change how?" She asks cautiously.
"I think we should be friends," I propose, offering her a reassuring smile. She looks a little surprised by my suggestion.
"Friends," she says not really as a question or a statement. She thinks on it for a moment before saying, "I like the way that sounds," she says offering me her own smile.
"Good, friends it is. Well, thanks for the ride, friend," I say opening the car door to leave.
"No problem, friend," she says back to me. That worked out better than I thought it would. Fixing this whole Bianca situation lifts a weight off my shoulder. I already feel immensely better knowing that we're okay with each other.
The next day at school, I'm feeling good about going to my 1st period class. I'll see Bianca, we'll be nice to each other, and all will be good in the world.
"Hey Bee," I say walking past her while she's at her locker.
She gives a little wave and says, "Hey Adam," back to me.
She found me during lunch to ask, "Can I borrow your notes from yesterday's class?"
"Of course," I say handing her my chemistry binder.
"Thanks," she says genuinely grateful, "I'll find you later to return the notes."
After school, since everything was going so well, I found her at her locker and asked her if she wanted to come over, "Want to hang out until Drew gets home?"
Not missing a beat, she says, "Sure that sounds like fun."
This friendly banter and occasional hanging out continued for the rest of the week. It was easier than I thought it would be. Being her friend feels nice, I get to be around her, I get to talk to her, and there's no more awkward moments. We never declared topics that we won't talk about, but there's an unsaid rule that we don't talk about our relationships. I never mention any girls that I've been texting and she doesn't talk about Drew unless it's in a platonic sense. Which is why it makes this looming weekend the new elephant in the room. I know what her and Drew are going to do this weekend, she knows what they'll be doing, but neither of us have brought it up.
It's Thursday after school, Bianca and I are chilling out downstairs watching a movie. She's lounging on the couch and I'm on the floor when Dallas walks down the stairs.
"Mind if I join you?" Dallas asks while plopping down on the floor next to me.
"Course not," I say, "Practice finish early?" I ask.
"Yeah, the Zamboni broke down and the ice got too slushy to play in," Dallas answers.
"Shh," Bianca says from behind us, "I'm watching the movie."
Dallas turns his attention toward her, "Bee what are you doing here? I don't see Drew around."
"I'm hanging out with Adam," she says casually. Dallas looks at me but I give him and indifferent shrug.
"We're friends," I say to him as an explanation.
He looks back at Bianca, "So Bee, you excited for this weekend?" Dallas says suggestively.
"Shh," is all she says back while making an effort to look directly at the TV.
Dallas grabs the remote and pauses the movie, "Come on Bee, we're all friends here, right?"
"Sure," she says.
"So then tell us, are you going to get with my boy?" Dallas asks. Oh god, I wish Dallas didn't bring this up. Is it too obvious if I get up and leave? Probably.
Bianca notices my pained reaction, "Dallas just because you don't have a sex life doesn't mean you can hear about mine."
"Oh so there's something to tell?"
"I didn't say that," Bianca says.
"But you inferred it," Dallas retorts.
"I'm going to get something to drink, want anything guys?" I ask getting up to leave. That's my go to excuse to escape shitty situations.
"I'm good," Dallas says.
"I'll come with you," Bianca offers.
"No it's cool, I can grab what you want," I offer trying to deter her from following me up the stairs.
"No I'm going to get a snack too, so I'll come with you," Bianca says already behind me as I'm walking up the stairs.
As we reach the kitchen, neither of us our talking and there's a solemn mood in the air. I think we both realized that this weekend was an off-limits topic. Bianca has a sad look on her face that I can't help but notice.
"What's wrong Bee?" I ask, hoping that it doesn't have to do with this weekend.
"Just thinking about this weekend," she answers. Crap, we're going to have to continue this conversation.
"What about it?" I ask in a disinterested tone. I know I should sound more caring, but I don't want to encourage her to talk about this.
"I don't know, I might be having second thoughts," she replies honestly. We must be better friends than I thought because it sounds like we're going to have a serious conversation about her feelings. The sinking realization that I've officially been friend-zoned kind of bums me out. I know that's what I asked for, but now that it's a reality, I don't know if I like it.
"Second thoughts about what?" I ask. If there's anything I've learned about girls, it's that if you keep asking them questions they will continue to talk.
"About whether or not Drew is the one I want to be with. And I don't want to go through with this weekend if I'm not sure about Drew," Bianca says not making eye contact with me but focusing on the fruit bowl sitting on the kitchen counter. That was more information than I thought I was going to get. When did this become honesty hour?
"I didn't know you two were having problems," I say.
"We're not, everything is going great actually," she says.
"Then what's the problem?" I ask. Seriously, am I missing something? Girls are so confusing.
"I don't know, it's probably just all in my head," she says sounding like she's ready to change the subject.
"Yeah don't overthink it," I advise.
"Thanks Adam, you're a good friend," she says patting me on the shoulder and smiling. It's official, friend-zoned.
"No problem," I say grabbing two waters and carrying a bag of chips back downstairs.