I really don't know what to say. Connor and I made up that morning after the Halloween Party, and since then…everything has been surreal, and that's to say the least. We didn't talk about our kiss, or anything of that nature, but we vaguely danced around the topic of our… "feelings" towards one another, though we definitely didn't word it that way. Anyways, we have been closer than even these last few weeks. We just finished Thanksgiving Break, and Christmas is right around the corner, so I've been trying to nonchalantly throw gift ideas off Connor, to possibly try and latch onto what he wants. I want it to be something special, and something Daria won't even think about getting. And yes, there was meant to be hostility in that last statement.

(…)

Yet another Friday at school is over, but this one couldn't have come sooner. First week back from Thanksgiving and it seemed like classes would never end. Tennis practice had just ended and Connor and I had plans to hang out, but I couldn't find him. I didn't think anything of it, so I texted him that I'd meet him at my car and we'd go from there. I had packed my racquet bag into my locker when coach shouted my name from his office, his head peaking out the door. I shut my locker and walked into coaches office with my backpack draped over my shoulder.

"Hey coach, what's up?" I questioned.

"Listen, Jude. You've been very impressive this year as captain, and not to mention a player."

"Thank you!" I replied, a smile sneaking onto my face.

"You've been my number one, go-to guy, right hand man, and any other phrase to voice my best student. Which is why I wanted to tell you, before I officially post the list, that I want you to play Line 1 singles in Districts this year." He said, leaning back in his chair and placing his hands on the back of his head.

I stood there. Speechless. I didn't know what to say. I'd been dreaming of this since I was a wee little freshman. This was such a big deal, and I couldn't be more grateful.

"Wow. Coach, are you serious?" I gawked. He simply nodded.

"I promise I will not let you down! This is such an honor. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I shouted.

"I also want you and Stevens to play Line 1 doubles. I think you boys have a real good shot at making it to state."

"That's great! I can't wait to tell him the news." I stood, starting to fidget, eager to tell the news. I saw coach staring at me.

"What are you waiting for, go on and tell him. Have a great weekend, Jude." He asserted.

No sooner than he'd said those words I was out the door. I grabbed my phone and dialed Connor's number, but no answer. I called him twice after that and still nothing. I stood confused, and annoyed until I saw him. Not him. Them.Under a tree a saw Connor and Daria…making out. My blood boiled. I walked over to the two of them and cleared my throat. Their lips parted, and Connor turned around to face me. He smiled.

"Hey, Jude." He said. His perfect white teeth shining through his grin. This normally would've made me weak at the knees, but right now, I wasn't having it.

"You read to go?" I questioned flatly.

"Sure." He answered. He grabbed his things and gave Daria a quick peck on the lips.

As we were walking away, Daria said goodbye to me, and I may have been a little rude. I said goodbye sarcastically, and while she didn't notice, I knew Connor did.

"What was that for?" He interrogated.

"What was what for?" I asked, playing dumb.

"You know what I mean." He responded.

"It was nothing." I said plainly, trying to deflect the question.

"It most certainly was something, I know you Jude, and that—"

"CAN YOU JUST DROP IT?!" I screamed, stopping in my place.

We stood there in silence for a second, before Connor said:

"Chill out, Jude. You don't have to yell at me. I thought we were past all of this childish nonsense." He cooed. He's right.

"You're right, Con. I just…after all this time, I'm honestly just still not one-hundred percent okay with you and Daria's relationship. That's all. It just made me uncomfortable watching you two go at each other, not to mention I was a little pissed because I'd called you three times because I had important things to tell you." I managed to say all of that in one breath.

"I'm sorry, Jude. I didn't realize all of that." He apologized, and we continued to walk in silence for a while. We reached my car, and I got into the drivers seat. I rested my hands on the steering wheels for a few seconds before I spoke.

"Like, why do you even like Daria anyway?" I questioned, intrigued to find out his reasons. I stared at his face for his reaction.

"She's hot." He said after a few seconds. Plain and simple. His face showed no change, but I did see his eyes wander, almost as is he had to manufacture a false answer. His answer had no solid conviction behind it. None whatsoever. And that kind of made me happy. Oh, what a twisted boy I am.

"I'm sorry, Jude. I really am." He admitted.

I couldn't help but smile a little bit. I really enjoyed the fact that he was apologizing. This wouldn't have happened a month ago. We would have gone on in an awkward silence, and not talked for a while. We had truly changed after the Halloween Party. Something just clicked, and we became closer. We bonded more than I thought we could, and we had reached a new level in our…friendship.

"It's ok." I replied.

"So. What is it that you wanted to tell me."

"Coach wants us to play Line 1 doubles at Districts!" I cheered.

Connor sat there. Wide-eyed.

"Wow. I can't believe this. This is amazing. I knew we were good, but I honestly never expected this!" He sat in awe.

"I mean, I knew IIII was this good, but your talent came as a surprise to me too!" I teased, sticking me tongue out.

Connor responded by shoving my shoulder. He knew I was kidding, but we sat silent after that. But it was a comfortable silence.

"You know, I like when we're like this. Like just chilling together and having a good time. Sometimes I feel like we can't always be like this with each other, but car conversations are the best."

I was driving with one hand clutching the steering wheel, and the other draped over the console. I felt Connor's hand clutch my free hand when he spoke.

"I feel the same way. We've had a really great last couple weeks, and I'm so thankful for it. You have really done a lot for me. Especially the way you saved me from a terrible night on Halloween. I am thankful." He squeezed my hand, and I looked down at our hands. Intertwined… What is happening. This is perfect. I love this. Our hands remained connected until we got to the mall. We got out and walked to the food court to enjoy a meal. We spent a few hours just walking around, when we crossed paths with the Nike store. As we passed, Connor stopped in front of the window and began staring at a pair of shoes. They were a limited edition pair of Nike tennis shoes that were popular in the 70's. They'd been redesigned and were white with blue leather.

"Those are some real nice shoes." I pried.

"You bet they are. I'd love to get my hands on a pair of those, but they're only around for another week or two. Not only that, but I just don't have the cash to get them." He shrugged his shoulders and started to walk away.

I knew exactly what I was getting Connor for Christmas. I had plenty of cash lying around from doing chores and various other things. Just to play along, I said:

"Sucks."

"Wow. Ouch, dude! Don't be so harsh!" Connor giggled.

He began to poke me in my side, and I doubled over and began laughing, when he abruptly stopped. I straightened myself up, and I looked over in the direction Connor had been looking. Walking over in our direction was a group of guys from our school. I didn't know them personally, but I knew that Connor was acquainted with him. I'd seen him briefly with them at the Halloween party, obviously they were all getting a bit drunk together. There was one that was obviously the ring leader, and he approached Connor.

"Hey Stevens, sup bro." He extended his fist, and Connor bumped them.

"Not much, just looking around the mall you know."

"Yeah…so…are you here with….him?" He nodded his head in my direction and stared at me.

Connor cleared his throat and I saw his eyes shoot off in my direction.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to get away from the girlfriend. You know how it is, Derek!" He forced a laugh.

I stood there kind of awkwardly. I leaned over and told him that I was going to get some ice cream from Marbleslab and he could come join me when he was through talking to the guys. I went over and got some cookies n' cream ice cream. I stood and watched Connor interact with the group of guys. There were some awkward laughs, and he occasionally glared in my direction. When he walked over, we took a seat at the food court tables. I took a bite of the ice cream and moaned in delight. I took another spoonful and offered it out to him. He looked hesitant and kept looking around us.

Annoyed, I spoke. "They're not here anymore, Connor. They left."

At my words, he allowed me to feed him the ice cream. We sat there for a little bit until I suggested that we leave. Once we got in the car I turned to him.

"Ok, Connor. You're the one who said we should stop being so childish. So why are you acting so paranoid? You are watching and making sure that no one is watching is. You're so tense. Just relax. I mean, are you embarrassed by me or something?" I asked, not entirely sure what answer to expect.

He turned to me. His face showing pain, as if he couldn't comprehend how I could even suggest such a thing.

"I could never be embarrassed by you! It's just…when we are together, things just happen. And I just find myself doing things I wouldn't normally do. I just think I need to be more careful about how I interact with you."

I stared ahead of me, outside the windshield. I'm not entirely sure what he meant, but I could gather for sure that I made him act a certain way.

"So what does that mean?" I interrogated.

Connor sighed, and started wringing his hands.

"I'm not sure…I—I just—I just know that we are best friends and I don't want to have to worry about how I act when I'm around you." My heart sank a little bit when he said best friends. I mean, we are best friends, but I thought that after everything, he may have seen us as a little more.

"I get it. Don't worry. How about we just go hang at my house?" Connor nodded in agreement.

After playing video games and watching TV for a couple hours, I was walking Connor out when I remember I forgot to tell him my singles news.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you something earlier" I said.

"What?" His hazel eyes stared into mine. I had his full undivided attention, and I felt special. It made me feel like a love-sick puppy.

"Well. Coach told me that I'm gonna be play Line 1 singles for Districts." I explained.

He launched himself towards me and threw his arms around my neck.

"Jude! That's fantastic! I'm so proud of you! That's simply amazing!" He exclaimed.

I stared back at his face, I could tell I was blushing, but I didn't care. We stared into each others eyes for a moment before he removed his arms from my neck.

"Today was fun." I said, biting my lip.

"For sure. Hang tomorrow?" He questioned.

"Of course." I smiled. "Bye, Con."

"Bye, Jude. I'll text you." He smiled at me.

What happened next, I never saw myself doing, yet it happened. I quickly leaned forward and kissed Connor on the cheek, the shut the door. Hopefully he'll still text me.