Whatever (standard:romance, 5583 words)
Author: MischiefMaker	Added: Sep 04 2001	Views/Reads: 4320/2863	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A friendship turns into something more.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

girlfriend." "Ouch." "Major ouch. And I'm gonna look like the biggest 
loser in the world to him 'cause I'm gonna show up to my own sixteenth 
birthday party without date." By this time,I'm completely depressed, 
and I want to kill someone. "Well, thanks, Bee." Bee. He hasn't called 
me that in years. See, my real name is Bethany, but when we first met, 
it was imperitive we had nicknames for each other. I got to be Bee, and 
I named him Slug. I know,I know. Not as cute as Bee, but... Anyway, he 
only calls me Bee when he's trying to cheer me up. "What? All I said 
was I'm not gonna have a date to my own birthday party! I'm a major 
loser," I say, beginning to feel bad again. "Well,I just kinda figured 
that your best friend, a.k.a. me, would be your date to your sweet 
sixteen." "Wow. Really? I didn't think you'd wanna be my date, though. 
Would you really do that for me?" "Sure, babe. In fact, I was expecting 
it." "What about Diane?" "Oh, didn't I tell you? We broke up." "Excuse 
me? What's all this talk about best friends, then? You don't even tell 
me that you and your girlfriend broke up!! What's that about?" "I 
could've sworn I told you, though. Are you sure I didn't?" He seems 
genuinely confused, so I rack my brain for any trace of him telling me 
about him breaking up with that skanky girlfriend of his. I don't come 
up with anything. "No, ya didn't. But I forgive you because you're so 
sweet." As I say this, I smile my sweetest smile. "Gee,thanks, babe. 
Well, it's getting extremely dark, so we'd better get going," he says. 
And he's right. it's so dark, I can't even see my own hand. He can, 
though. As we walk down the path back to the woods, he reaches for my 
hand, and I squeeze it back reassuringly, as if to say, yeah, I'm still 
here. And, in body, I am. In mind ... well, that's a whole other story. 


Chapter Two 

Here I am, sitting in my fifth period computer class. We're working on
databases, and, fortunately, I'm a whiz on computers. So, while 
everybody else is hard at work, I'm sitting at my computer, waiting for 
someone to call my name cause they need help. Sure enough, "Beth! Come 
here. I need your help.I did something wrong and now I can't find my 
database." Sighing, I get up and walk over to my friend Marie, who is 
sitting, panicked, at her computer. "What were you doing, Mar?" "Well, 
I wanted to change the background color, and I think I hit something 
wrong." I quickly hit a few buttons, and, magically, the database 
reappears. "There." "Thanks, Beth." "You're welcome. Hey, why didn't 
you call Mr. Matthews to help you?" "Well, you know more than him." I 
laugh. "True, true. He's an idiot." As I say this, I realize how loud I 
am. Fortunately for me, Mr. Matthews is deep in a conversa-tion with 
Tom. He saved my butt yet again. Marie laughs at this, and says thanks 
again. Looking around to make sure that no one else needs me, I go back 
and sit own at my computer. My friend Aubrey is sitting beside me, and 
she's done too. So, we sit and talk for a little while. After a minute, 
Tom comes over and pulls up a chair between Aubrey and me. "Uh, Aubrey, 
look, it's him," I say kiddingly. Tom just looks at me and sticks out 
his tongue. Tom hasn't come over to talk to me. He's only come to flirt 
with Aubrey, as he always does. I think they should go out (again). But 
both of then swear that they don't like each other. So, I go back to 
staring at my database, looking for mistakes, when all of the sudden, 
someone's behind me massaging my shoul-ders. "Huh?" I turn around and 
Tom is behind me, giving me a back rub. "What are you doing?" I say. 
"Just sit still." I look over at Aubrey with my eyebrows raised. She 
just laughs, and watches him. After a minute, I lean my head back until 
it's resting on his stomach. "Okay, hun, you can quit now." He just 
smiles and walks back over to his computer. Aubrey looks at me with 
this look on her face. "Oh, bite me," I say. She was about to say what 
a cute couple me and Tom would be. Everyone tells us that. We always 
just look at each other and say, "No offense, but I don't think so." 
And neither of us do. Well, for awhile there, I thought so, but I had 
alot of cough medicine that week. Bbbbring!!!!! There's the bell. I 
sigh. Off the Algebra ... 

Chapter 3 

Finally! I thought that class would never end! My sixth period class,
Algebra II, really just drags on and on. Plus, Tom's not in that class, 
so I only have Maggie and Sam to talk to. Well, Anna sits behind me, 
and we talk sometimes, but only when I'm really bored. As I'm walking 
down the hall, thoughts of Tom enter my head. he's such a good friend 
to me. I don't know what I'd do without him. Really, I don't. **** I'm 
so glad to be off of work. All I do there is sit and answer phones all 
day. Today was especially boring because there weren't that many calls. 
As soon as I walk into my room, the phone rings. I hope it's my mom, I 
think to myself. I pick up the phone. "Hello?" "Hello, is this Ms. 
Bethany Robertson?" It's Tom. But I pretend I don't know who he is. 
"Yeah. Who's this?" "This is the Guy Who Needs Cheering Up Society. Can 
you meet me at Italiano's in an hour?" I smile to myself. "Yeah, sure. 
I'll be there. Bye." "Bye, babe." I hang up the phone feeling a little 
better. Now I have at least I have something to do. Well, this should 
be interesting, I think. At that moment I realize that today is my 
sixteenth birthday. My party wasn't until the next day, so I had 
completely forgotten about it. Oh, no. He's planning something. **** It 
took me an hour to get ready, and about ten minutes to arrive at the 
restaurant. As I walk by a mirror, I try my Wow, I'm so surprised! look 
out. Pretty good. The guy at the door smiles at me and asks if I have a 
reservation. "Actually, I'm meeting someone here. His name is Tom 
Freely. Is he here yet?" The man grins even wider and says, "Yes, 
ma'am, he is here. Right this way." The man leads me to the back room 
that nobody ever eats in, unless it's a special occasion. I brought Tom 
here for his fifteenth birthday, and we ate in that room. As we walk 
into the room, I see this gorgeous table for two in the middle of the 
room. I'm glad I wore my best dress for the occasion, because Tom is 
standing beside the table in a tuxedo. As soon as I walk into the room, 
the waiter turns and leaves. I walk, stunned, to the table. Tom rushes 
over and pulls out the chair for me. "Gosh, Tom. This is absolutely 
wonderful." I look around me as I say this. There are lit candles on 
the walls, and the whole scene is like something from Cinderella. 
"Yeah, well,your sixteenth is a big deal, ya know." "Tom, this is the 
most wonderful thing anybody has ever done for me. Thank you." Tom just 
smiles and blushes. "Yeah, well ..." Soon after, we're sitting there 
eating, and both of us are almost done. "Tom, the food was great. Thank 
you again." "Girl, You'd better quit thanking me or I'm gonna get a 
swelled head. By the way, are you up for a little dancing?" "Dancing? 
I've never been dancing in my life." "Well, there's a first for 
everything, now, isn't there?" 

**** Unfortunately, yes, there is a first time for everything. And let's
just say that my first stab at dancing was not successful. I'm home 
now, so I'll tell you everything that happened. We got to the dance 
club, and it was packed. I didn't see anyone fom school, and, boy, am I 
glad I didn't. I didn't want to dance because I don't know how. But, 
Tom insisted that we dance. So, he drug me out there, and I made an 
absolute fool of myself. I didn't know what to do, so I just kinda 
twitched in time to the music. Then, because everyone saw how good of a 
dancer Tom is, they all moved aside and let him do his thing. Of 
course, that meant everyone was watching me try to do my thing, 
whatever that was. So, anyway, Tom is looking good, dancing like an 
pro. I, on the other hand, am just standing there, twitching to the 
music. Then, brilliant me, I slip on an imaginary banana peel and 
totally wipe out in front of everybody. No one was really paying 
attention to me, so hardly anybody saw, but the few who did thought it 
was absolutely hilarious. After that little episode, Tom decides we've 
had enough of dancing and he takes me home. We're standing there on my 
front porch, saying good-night. Here is what was said (not exactly, but 
you know). "Well, Tom, thanks for tonight. That was real sweet of you." 
"Is your ankle okay?" I laugh. "Yeah. I think I'll live." Tom smiles. 
"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school." "Yeah." As Tom walks 
away, I realize how lucky I am to have him as a friend. Right before he 
gets to his car, he turns around and says, "Happy Birthday, Bee." 
"Thanks, Slug." He laughs the whole way to his car. I'm just glad I 
didn't embarass him terribly with that fall. I wave to him until his 
car rounds the curve off of my street. Now how come I didn't realize 
what a great guy my best friend is? He did look awfully cute tonight. 
But it's not like I'm in love him or anything. Nah ... 

Chapter 4 

Today is my birthday party. I spent all last night on the phone with
Tom. After we got off, I went to bed. Around 2 a.m., I heard a tapping 
sound on the french doors in my room. So, I got up and went on the 
balcony. Under my balcony stood Tom, holding a single white rose in his 
teeth. He climbed up the ladder he had put up to my room, and, without 
a word, handed me the rose. Then he turned and left. It was soooo 
sweet. Unfortunately, I think I may be falling for this guy... **** 
This party is turning out to be a great success. I entered the room on 
the arm of my best friend, Tom, of course. Everyone mar- veled at how 
cute we looked together. Since I am totally in love with him now, I 
loved every bit of it. But I can't let him know that. No, I can't let 
him know how I'm sitting at my own birthday party, deep in thought 
about how much I love my best friend. Uh-uh. "Babe?" "Huh? What?" I 
turn to look at Tom. "You just looked like you were off in outer space 
or something." "Nope." Just being around him reduces me to one and two 
word sentences, and I think he notices how wierd I'm being. "Oh, by the 
way, I bought you this." He hands me a small gold box. I open it, and 
find a silver locket inside. "Turn it over," Tom says. I turn the 
locket over and see an inscription. "To my best friend on her 16th. All 
my Love Forever, Tom". "Wow. Thanks, Tom, that's so sweet." "Here, let 
me put it on you." I turn and he clamps the necklace around my neck. At 
that moment, I know I'll never take it off. "So, do you like it?" Tom 
asks. "Yes, I...I...love it," I respond. "Good." Then he leads me onto 
the dance floor and we spent the rest of the night dancing. Well, we 
danced to every slow song. All the fast ones, we sat out. Suprised? 

Chapter 5 

Things have changed so much in the past few weeks. I'm still hopelessly
in love with Tom, but he's been busy chasing this slut all around 
school, like he's her long lost love or something. Really ticks me off, 
too. I get so mad at him sometimes, but he's been so busy with Alex 
(the slut), he hasn't noticed a thing. Today, though, he noticed. "Hey, 
stranger." "Oh, hi, Tom." I'm speed-walking down the hall, hoping that 
he'll break his leg or something, and can't catch up with me. "Ya know, 
if I didn't know any better, I'd say you've been avoiding me all day. 
All week, for that matter." "Nope." I'm trying my hardest not to look 
at him, because if I do, I know I'll melt. I walk faster. He grabs my 
arm gently. "Could ya stop for a second?" "No, I'm late for work 
already." "When was the last time you let that stop you? You're always 
late." "Yeah, but the boss has already got it in for me." I'm trying my 
hardest to stay mad at him, but he seems really hurt that I've been 
avoiding him. I don't know if he looks hurt, though. I'm examining my 
shoes, the walls, the lockers, anything to keep my gaze away from his 
face. "Why aren't you looking at me? Do you have an egg on my face or 
something?" "No. I've just gotta go. Bye." At this, I turn and flee 
down the hall. I half expect him to follow me, but I turn around and 
he's gone. 

**** 

"So, what's up, Beth?" says my best (female) friend and co-worker, Sam,
as I walk in the office. She's the one who sits near me in Algebra II. 
I smile at her, and say, "Not much." "Where have you been?" "Sorry. I 
left school a little late, and then my car stalled. Go figure." I 
didn't mention my car stalled while I was crying my eyes out up at the 
pond on the top of the mountain, far away from Tom's and My spot. She 
smiles at me mischevously. "Well, the boss isn't here today, so, you're 
in luck. But, you have had quite a few calls." She grins even wider as 
she says this. "From who?" "This one guy called about ten times." My 
heart drops to my stomach. "D-did, umm, did he say who he was?" I 
stutter. "Yes, actually. It was Tom." "Crap." "What?" "I can't get away 
from him!" "And why would you want to get away from him, exactly?" "He 
won't leave me alone." Sam stares at me incredulously. "He's, like, the 
finest guy on this planet. And he's all over you, and you're running 
from him? I'm lost." "Well, I'm not running from him, exactly. I just 
..." I try to think of a good excuse, but can't. "...I just don't want 
to talk to him, that's all," I finish up lamely. Sam raises her 
eyebrows and shrugs. "Okay, so, if he calls again?" "He won't." I  
begin to silently pray. "Okay ... " I smile and walk into my office and 
close the door. I lean back against it and sigh. This was getting all 
too complicated. I mean, I can't run from him forever. As soon as I sit 
down at my desk, the phone rings. I just stare at it. Line four. I have 
to answer it. My hand shakes as I pick up the phone. "Hello, Chatham 
Advertising," my voice trembles as I speak. "Bee?" I sigh, a little too 
loudly, I think. "Hi, Tom." "What is wrong with you?" He sounds very 
angry. "What?" "After you left school, I couldn't find you." "So?" "I 
thought you were in a bad mood or something, so I waited around for you 
after you ran away from me. Then, I saw your car was gone, so I called 
you at work. You weren't there. I called over and over again. Then I 
checked on the mountain. You weren't there, either. Do you know how 
worried I was?" "No, I don't. And I really don't care." I'm thinking of 
all kinds of awful things I could say so he'd be mad at me and leave me 
alone. "Oh no?" "That's right." He's quiet for a moment. "Bee, what is 
up with you? Deny it all you want, but you know you've been avoiding me 
all week." "Oh, you noticed?" "What's that supposed to mean?" "I mean, 
you were so busy with Alex, I figured you wouldn't notice if I was 
missing." "Is that what this is all about? Alex?" "Maybe. So what if it 
is?" "Why do you care about me and Alex?" Immediately, my body tenses 
and I'm majorly alert. I listen carefully to every word he says. "You 
and Alex?" "Yeah. Me and Alex." "Oh, so now there's a you and Alex?" 
"Maybe there is. What would you care?" "Maybe I would care alot." 
"Would you? Ya know, best friends are supposed to tell each other 
everything, Bee." I open my mouth to say yes, it would bother me alot. 
Because I love you, you're all I think about. But my brain catches my 
mouth before it says anything. I remember that I can't function around 
him, and I have to do something so he'll leave me alone. "Best 
friends?" I add an icy note to my already chilly tone. "Yeah, you know. 
Me and you, we're best friends." "Where would you get a stupid idea 
like that?" I hear his breath catch in his throat. "Huh?" "We may have 
been best friends awhile ago. But not now. Wait, you didn't think I was 
your best friend still ... did you?" The silence is absolutely frosty. 
Suddenly, I can't stand being on the phone with him anymore. If I don't 
hang up soon, I just might break down and confess my undying love for 
him. "Look, I'm sorry if I mislead you, but I can't stand you. From 
here on out, let's just stay away from each other, okay?" There's a 
muffled sound on the other end of the phone that sounds somewhat like a 
gasp. Just before I burst into tears, I hang up on him. Then I just sit 
in my office and cry for hours. 

Chapter 6 

I lay in my bed, covering my head with a pillow so no one can hear me
sobbing. I've been home from work for about an hour, which meant I'd 
been crying in earnest for about four and a half hours now. I stayed in 
my office the whole time, crying. I waited for Sam to leave so she 
couldn't see my red, puffy eyes, and then I snuck out.  I looked awful, 
and I knew it. I took the pillow gingerly off my face. My cries had now 
turned into quiet sniffles, so I figured it was safe. I had told my mom 
that I wasn't feeling well when I came home, so I figured I could 
weasle my way out of going to school the next day. 

**** 

I walked into school two days later, feeling a great deal better. I
hadn't spoken to or seen Tom in a whole day, and I felt like this great 
weight had been lifted from my shoulders. But I knew that today was 
going to be awful. I'd see him in the halls, and we'd ignore each 
other, and that would be it. All because I couldn't cope with being 
around him, I'd lost my best friend, my confidant. Well, at least I had 
Maggie, and Sam, and Michelle, and Aubrey. They didn't know about my 
secret love interest, not even Sam, but they could keep me occupied. 

**** It's already sixth period, and I've only seen Tom six times. I
counted. The first time, I about had to go to the bathroom and throw 
up, but  I kept my cool. He was walking down the hall with his arm 
around Alex's shoulders. I was walking with Sam, talking and laugh-ing, 
almost having forgotten Tom. But there he comes, laughing quietly at 
some private joke with her. As soon as he sees me, he turns white for a 
second, then regains his composure. He says something to Alex, then the 
two of then begin laughing loudly. It's very obvious he was either 
talking about me, or he was trying to show me that he didn't need me to 
have fun. As I tried to recapture my composure, I notice Sam looking at 
me funny. "I can't believe you didn't tell me." "Huh?" "You like him, 
and you didn't tell me." I get what she's saying now, but I try to play 
stupid. "him who?" "Don't act dumb with me. Tom." "Oh. Him." "Yeah, 
him. And when were you planning on telling me this?"	"I don't know. I'm 
sorry, Sam." "It's okay." She turns to look at me and sees the tears in 
my eyes. She puts her arm around my shoulders. "Good thing school's 
over and it's Friday. Do you have to work?" "No. We're closed today." 
"Good. Cause you're coming over to my house for a  two person 
sleepover." "Okay." We walk out to my car and drive to my house to tell 
my mom I'm staying at her house, and to pick up my clothes. "Hey, 
mama." "Hey babe." At this, I almost burst into tears. "Umm, I'm 
staying at Sam's tonight, okay?" "Okay. See ya tomorrow." I kiss her on 
the cheek and run upstairs to get my clothes. On my bed is a single 
white rose and a note. I stop breathing. I hear Sam running up the 
stairs behind me. I slowly walk over to my bed and pick up the flower. 
Then I lay it back down and pick up the note. "Whatever I've done, I'm 
sorry. I can't live my life without you, please forgive me. Meet me on 
the mountain tonight at 9 pm. I'll be waiting for you. All my Love, 
Tom." I turn around to find Sam at the door, staring at me. "What?" I 
smile happily and fall backwards onto the bed. "Here." Sam takes the 
card and reads it. She reads it again. Then she looks at me and we both 
scream. "But what about the sleepover?" "Girl, you're not getting out 
of that. You're gonna help me get ready, and then I'm going to the 
mountain, and coming back, and giving you play by play." She smiles, 
happy that I'm not going to exclude her from this momentous occassion 
in my life. "Ohmigod! I've only got," I check my watch, "six hours! 
I'll never make it!" We both make a dash for my closet and start to 
pull everything out. This is going to be a hectic six hours. 

Chapter 7 

"I don't know about this one. I look awful," I say. "Girl, you look
great. You're wearing this one." I look at myself doubtfully in the 
full length mirror in front of me. I'm wearing my short white skort, my 
baby blue, short-sleeved, stretchy shirt, and my white, strappy 
sandals. I know it's going to be quite an experience trying to get up 
the mountain in this get-up, but it looks better than my usual Adidas 
tennis shoes, jeans, and sweater. "Okay. What time is it?" "8:30." 
"What?!" "Yeah. We should leave soon." "Are you sure I look alright?" 
"Yes." "Okay. Then let's go." 

**** 

"Hello?" I don't hear anything but my call echoing off the high walls of
the mountain above me. It's dark already, and I can barely see my hand 
in front of me. I look at my watch, which glows in the dark. Well, 
Sam's watch, but she said I could wear it cause it looked good with my 
outfit. It's 8:45. I'm late. Maybe he left. I sigh. Suddenly, in front 
of me, I hear a noise. Someone talking. And then a match flares up, and 
is quickly blown out by the wind. I hear a male voice utter a string of 
dirty words. I smile to myself. Tom. I walk slowly up behind him, my 
intention to scare him. When I get close enough to where he's right in 
front of me, I reach out and squeeze his lean middle. 
"Aaaaaauuuuuuuggggghhhh!!!" I burst out laughing. I have never heard a 
guy scream like that before. Tom whirls around to face me, and flicks 
on a flashlight, which he shines in my face. "Y-you scared me," he 
stutters. I can't seem to stop laughing. In the light of the 
flashlight, his face is bright red. He's obviously blushing and very 
embarassed. When my giggles finally subside, and he's not looking quite 
so embarassed, he begins to talk. "Umm, thanks for coming." "Yeah, 
well. No big deal." "Actually, it is. I've been meaning to tell you 
something." "Like what?" "Like the fact that me and Alex aren't a me 
and Alex." "Why'd you say you were?" "Well ... " "Well, what?" "Well," 
his face is slowly turning pink, "well, I was just trying to.... well, 
trying to make you jealous." "Why?" "Bcuzilikou," he mumbles. "Huh?" 
"Because I like you. okay?" "Really?" "Really." "Oh." "Yeah, big oh." 
"Well, do you wanna know a little secret?" He looks at me, his hazel 
eyes shining with what seemed to be hope. "I like you, too." "You do?" 
"Yeah. I...I do." An embarassed silence hangs in the air between us. 
"So, what now?" I say. He smiles broadly. "What? What?!" I'm getting 
somewhat hysterical. "This." As he says it, he reaches over, wraps his 
arms around my waist and pulls me close to him. We look into each 
other's eyes for about ten seconds, and he leans over and kisses me. 
You know what people say about those special kisses, right? Fireworks, 
explosions, that kind of stuff. Well, I'm here to tell you it's all 
true. The second our lips touched, the whole world evaporated. It was 
only me and Tom. I saw fireworks, heard explosions, the world moved, 
the whole nine yards. His strong hands massaged my back as my fingers 
ran through his hair while we kissed. When we finally stepped back, we 
were both out of breath. "Shall we go?" he whispers. "Where?" "My 
house. Is that okay?" "Okay." 

And we lived happily ever after. We finished high school together, got
married, and had two beautiful children, a boy and a girl. The other 
day, I walked into the kitchen, and my sixteen year old daughter, Lisa, 
was sitting at the table with her best friend, Robbie. I got a glass of 
tea and walked out. But before I closed the door all the way, I heard 
him telling her something about his grandmother meeting this woman who 
had a baby with two heads. My daughter just laughs and says whatever. I 
smile to myself, remembering. "Whatever." Where have I heard that 
before? 


Tweet