Page 18 of Fight

As he was passing the front door on his way upstairs, he noticed that the door was open. He peaked around the frame out the screen door, and saw Lena’s pale back crouched forward as she sat on the front step of the house, staring out into the dark, wooded yard.

“Hey,” he said as he pushed open the screen door and stepped out onto the front porch. “What are you doing out here?”

The porch light was off and the only thing illuminating the space was the glow from the street lights scattered up and down the street and the dull, white moonlight streaming between the trees overhead.

As Lena turned and looked up at him, there was just enough light to make out her features. Her eyes were large under her furrowed brows and her face was fixed in a frown.

She turned around again before answering. “I just needed a minute by myself.”

Jake sighed and sat down next to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he balanced his elbows on his knees and stared at her.

“Nothing,” she said, not looking at him. She opened her mouth to ask him something and then closed it again.

“What?” he prompted. “What do you want to say?”

“Are we friends?” she finally asked. “It’s just, I kind of thought we might be after last week, but you’re being weird and quiet tonight. It might have nothing to do with me, but I’m still learning how to read you.”

He considered the question before finally answering. “Yeah, sure. Of course we’re friends.” He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually get like this. It’s just you and I...” He motioned between them. “We did not rub together that well last summer.”

He snuck a look at her profile as she continued to stare out into the yard.

“No, we didn’t.” Her words surprised him. “I’m sorry about that. I was a jerk.”

“No, I was the jerk,” he insisted.

“Yeah, you were,” she agreed. She finally turned to look over at him, although dismissively. “I just said I was the jerk to be nice.”

He barked out a loud laugh. “Fair enough.”

“Speaking of jerks, I know Daniel was…not great. He said some pretty horrible things, but he’s not really that bad. Sounds like he’s feeling a lot of pressure from this uncle of his. But I literally just met him, so what do I know?”

“Don’t fret, Helena, I’m not judging you based on your shady friends.”

“Gee, thanks.” She rolled her eyes.

He leaned back on his hands and looked over at her. “Look, you’re here. We live next door to each other. Ian's pining away for Annie, so maybe we should get used to being around each other. I think it’s going to keep being a thing.”

“Ianisobsessed with Annie, right? I wondered if I was imagining that.”

“Oh, yeah. He would never admit it though.”

Lena shook her head. “And Annie is so oblivious. She has no idea.”

They both chuckled and sat in silence for a few seconds. “Well, at least I know you’re not secretly pining away for me like that,” she joked as she elbowed him lightly in the side and turned to face him.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he said silkily as he looked over at her face. She glowed in the moonlight like a beacon. “Who said I’m not pining for you, Helena?” He added with a sarcastic wink.

“Ugh, gross.” She playfully reached out and nudged him in the chest laughing. “I don’t care if we’re friends now. No winking.”

He snickered as his smile dropped and rested on his face lazily. While he continued to lean back on his hands, Lena now sat perpendicular to his body in a half criss-cross form with one leg folded and the other on the first step of the porch. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him and then quickly back into the yard.

She looked like a goddess of moonlight spread before him like she was, with her bare legs draped casually, her back straight as she leaned against the porch railing. Her hair drifted around her head in waves and shone with the gentle light that surrounded them. He wanted to reach out and run his hands up and down her legs or finger the strands of her hair, but he knew they weren’tthatgreat of friends.

He was overcome with a feeling like he was under some sort of spell, and it was imperative that he speak and break it as soon as possible. “Sorry again, that I was sulky tonight,” he said, his voice catching in his throat as he broke his own trance.

“It’s okay,” she waved her hand at him nonchalantly. “If anyone understands the need for a good sulk, it’s me.”

“There you go again, being funny.”

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