Author's Note: Finally, I was able to post two chapters at once :) probably the one and only time though… Enjoy!

Me time

MARCH 30TH, 2011

Never have I had such a relaxing sleep. My stomach was full of Chinese food, and my heart was filled with content. I got invited to Margaret's party! This is perfect, well…besides her boyfriend being there. But I'm not going to let that ruin it for me. A party is a party.

There's one thing I noticed though. Yesterday at the restaurant, Margaret was showing some awkward behavior. After a while she would just stop eating and played with her food or she would just seem uninterested. It worried me when we left and she didn't even eat half of her food. I'll talk to her later. I lay in my bed, just stretching and taking in the nice view from the window. Sure it was a gray day, but it was more of a mysterious gray, the kind of gray that made you think, reflect on life. Peaceful.

My phone took away that moment though; it vibrated and did a little jingle. It was Shell.

"Hello?" I said drowsily.

"*gurgle*"

"Hello?" I asked again.

"Hi, this…Londa," a voice similar to Shell's, came over the phone. Then there was silence and the call just stopped.

"What the?" I said to myself. I shook it off and laid my head back down. Now back to some peace and quiet. My cell vibrated again: A text from Shell

So much for quiet.

I picked up the phone and read the text.

[Shell]: Hi

[Me]: Hey, was that you on the phone earlier? She said her name was Londa.

[Shell]: I think you heard wrong, my name is Rhonda.

[Me]: Wait, so this isn't Shell?

[Shell]: No, this is her friend Rhonda, I'm just using her phone.

[Me]: Well can you at least put some kind of a signature or something so I won't get confused?

[Shell]: Sure how about this? –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: Yeah that works :)

[Shell]: So watcha doin? –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: I just got up, but I'll probably play some games

[Shell]: Ooh! What game? –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: Dig Champs

[Shell]: Sounds cool ^_^ -Rhonda rox-

This girl…she seemed so…ecstatic. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

[Me]: I'll get back to you in a bit. I'm getting breakfast.

I took my cell phone with me and went downstairs. Rigby was playing Shooter Booter while on his headset; probably talking to Eileen.

I went into the kitchen and got some cereal. What to do. What to do…

Adria

Well I haven't seen her in a while; I think she still works at the department store. It was a small shop that just sold clothes, perfume, makeup, etc.

I finished eating and joined Rigby. It felt good spending some time with my bro. My cell vibrated again.

"Who is that?" Rigby asked.

"Rhonda."

"Oh, Rhonda…" Rigby teased.

"It's not like that, we just met."

"Uh huh."

"Hey Rigby…"

"Yeah?"

"Remember when you were saying how I should be Margaret's 'side-boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"You know like…boyfriend insurance. If the boyfriend she's with now turns out to be a flunk, then you'll be right there to replace him and be better than he ever was. It can work the other way around."

"Interesting…" My cell vibrated again. How did he know this?

[Shell]: So tell me about yourself. –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: Well I'm just a chill guy. A bit of a nerd with certain things, but all in all I'm a regular guy; Just not with a regular life.

[Shell]: I'm chill too. What do you mean by a not so regular life? –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: You don't want to know

[Shell]: K. I understand. U know? –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: Yeah I know ;) Hey do you have a TS3? Maybe you could join me and my bro playing some video games.

[Shell]: No sir :( -Rhonda rox-

[Me]: Sir? Okay I'll run with that. ;) Hey, just curious, how old are you?

She seemed as if she was a teenager.

[Shell]: Guess… -Rhonda rox-

[Me]: I'm guessing 18?

[Shell]: Around that area. 18-20 –Rhonda rox-

[Me]: K then. You know ur pretty cool. I have to go ttyl

[Shell]: You're cool too ;) See ya

I unlocked my eyes from the phone and realized that Rigby was staring at my phone the whole time.

"What the H dude?"

"Sounds like you two are getting acquainted."

"It's not like that. Besides you're flirting with Eileen right now."

"You know what Mordecai…I'm actually not afraid to admit that now. Isn't that right Elly?" Rigby said into headset.

"You bet Rig-Rig!" Eileen yelled happily over the speaker.

"This is getting to mushy my taste," I joked. "Hey Rigby, I'm going out. You want anything?"

"Nah, I got everything I need right here." Rigby said, referencing to Eileen.

"Aw stop it," Eileen blushed.

Corny much?

Maybe so, but I have a feeling those two will last.

The shop was open. Through the window I could see a couple of customers ringing up her their items. I got out of the cart and made my way to the shop, but I soon started to sweat. Why the hell was I getting so nervous?

Soon a slew of memories about me and Adria, flooded into my head; especially one in particular: It was a couple of months ago in mid-October of last year. There was a movie night in another part of the city. During the time, I was interested in Adria, after getting tired of trying to woe Margaret. Adria and I knew each other since middle school. I invited her to the movie night, but I was afraid of calling it a date: I thought of it as an outing. Everyone else said it was pretty much a date. I was feeling a little under the weather, but I wasn't going to let it ruin the night.

The da- I mean "outing" went well for most of the time but then my chest started to hurt. I didn't know what was wrong but I knew I couldn't be able to drive with pain like that. I started to get congested and woozy. I called Skips and asked if he could pick me up. The outing was stopped short since I had to get home. Adria asked me why I didn't just say I wasn't feeling well. I could tell she was a little upset, but she mostly cared if I was feeling well. We got back to the house and Adria had to see me take my medicine and my inhaler since my breathing was off. It was a lesson for me never to go out in the cold when I'm not feeling well. I apologized to her for the inconvenience but she shrugged it off and said she just wanted me to get better. I didn't know she cared that much. It made me feel warm inside.

After that it was just simple chatting, but nothing more. I tried giving her hints that I was interested in her. I gave her a necklace with her name on it for Christmas and always asked if she wanted to hang out, but it was always an "I don't know" answer. It never got anywhere and I just gave up. Skips said that it would be best for me just to keep looking, and I did. Then I started gaining in an interest in Margaret again. I snapped out of my memories and went into the shop.

Adria was behind the counter with her sketchbook. She always loved to draw anime. I causally walked up to the counter and tapped the bell. She was wearing a turquoise shirt and black jeans.

"Um, excuse me, Adria?"

"How do you know my na-? Mordecai?" She put down her pencil and a smile formed on her face.

"Yep, how's it been?"

"Good, good. Nothing special."

"Aw come on, there's got to be something,"

"Just crap with my family. You know…"

"Yeah…" This was pretty much how most of our conversations were about. Small talk.

"Anyway enough about me: How about you?" She asked.

"Girl troubles." Now that's a way to start a conversation.

"Girl troubles?" She said slightly interested.

"Yeah, there's this girl I like and I don't know how to tell her how I feel."

"You should tell her. Be straightforward and just go for it."

"Well it's not just her I'm interested in. There's also someone else I kind of having feelings for." That 'someone else' was Adria.

"Who's the other girl?"

"An old friend of mine, but I don't know if we're close enough for me to tell her."

"Then chose the girl who's closest: It will be easier on you."

It made sense. Adria and I aren't even in the flirting stage, but Margaret and are. I decided to change the subject.

"So what are drawing?"

"Just one of my favorite anime characters. It's a slow day, so I decided to bring my sketchbook. You ever heard of Inuyasha?"

"Yeah, but I could never find the time to watch it."

"It's pretty good. I've been a fan of it ever since it first came out. I'm drawing one of the characters."

"Cool…"

Awkward silence.

"Well I have to go. Just came to drop by. We'll talk later okay?" I hugged her goodbye and walked to the door.

"Yeah. It was nice seeing you."

"You too."

"The usual?" Margaret asked.

"Yeah…" I sulked.

"Is everything okay?"

"Meh…"

"Well if you need to talk, just let me know."

"Yep."

Margaret went to get the order, while I had my head rested on my arms. I needed to find someone. That special someone. Margaret's always taken and I can't guarantee that Adria and I will get anywhere. I wanted a clean slate; but just where could I find someone right for me?

Maybe Margaret knows some people. She's your friend, she won't let you down.

Maybe I could ask her…

Margaret set my coffee on the table. I hung out for quite some time until it was one hour before closing. I paid the bill and said goodbye to Margaret.

"Oh and by the way, I'll call you tomorrow morning," I said before leaving the shop.

"About what?" she asked.

"A favor."

"Um okay, sure."

"Thanks."

"No problem. See you later Mordecai!" She waved.

I left the coffee shop and went back to the house. I just hope this advice will be worth it.

Sorry if the text exchange between Mordecai and Rhonda was a little confusing. I 'm just writing it the way I experienced it.