The next morning, I was woken up by Carson slamming himself down at the edge of my bed. I groaned and dragged my covers over my head, hoping he would get bored and leave me to sleep.

"Oh, hey Carson, It's good to see you this morning. I was so worried about you after the cops raided the party last night. So glad to see you weren't arrested." He said all while mocking my voice.

"Oh shit," I said from under the covers and then poked my head out to look at him, "Hey Carson, I'm so glad you weren't arrested." I said in the sweetest voice I can muster.

The truth was I had completely forgotten he was at the party too. He was there with some senior friends and I hadn't checked on him once. I came home, showered, and went straight to bed. I'll admit it did make me feel guilty.

He looked unconvinced. "I'm sorry, I really am! But no harm done right? You're all in one piece."

"No thanks to you." He said.

"Well if I made you some French toast for breakfast would you forgive me?"

His straight face immediately lit up and he broke into a giant grin, "thanks sis, I knew you would say that."

I scoffed as he got up to leave my room. Little fucker planned for this to happen. He was at the door when he turned around to say something else.

"By the way, did I see you with Tristan yesterday? The kid you were always with in middle school?" He meant when he was in middle school. Tristan and I were still in fifth grade.

"Yeah I guess you did."

"huh, I always wondered what happened to him. So what, are you guys like besties again?" then he switched his deep voice to a teenage girl's, "Are you going to have slumber parties and get manicures and go shopping together?"

"Carson, shut your mouth when you're talking to me." I got up to push him out of the door so I could get ready for the day.

"That doesn't make sense, how would hear me spe-"

"Exactly." I cut him off and shut the door behind him.

————————————

Maylan had asked me and Leah to meet her at her house later that Saturday. She was crying at something that happened with Riley.

Riley and Maylan were a good couple to start out with. But for the past couple of months they've been arguing frequently.

"He had Grace on his lap at the party," she sobbed, "and that made me uncomfortable but when I brought it up he got mad at me and said I didn't trust him."

"Oh hell no." Leah said, "the two of you have been an exclusive couple for a year and a half now. That shouldn't have been news to Grace and Riley shouldn't be entertaining other girls in the first place."

"I know but, they weren't really doing anything," she began to defend him, "they were just talking. Maybe I did over react."

"No you did not Maylan. Guys and girls can have conversations without sitting on each other. Don't make excuses for him." I said to her.

Last year I found Riley in the hall talking to some girl in the grade below us. They were clearly standing too close to each other and Riley was whispering something in her ear that made her blush.

When I told Maylan about what I saw she made an excuse for him then too.

It frustrates me that she does that. Maylan has such a big heart and she's too forgiving for her own good. Riley has clearly been taking advantage of that.

"Baby girl we don't waste our time here with guys who don't know our worth." Leah pitched in and reached out to hug her as she cried again. I leaned over on Maylan's other side for comfort.

She stopped after a moment, wiping her cheeks dry, and sat up straighter.

"Okay distract me," she said, "I wanna hear about you guys instead. Tell me about your love life."

"My love life is non-existent," Leah said and looked up with a mischievous smirk, "but, guess who texted me after the party last night."

"No way," I gasped, "was it Tate?"

"Yep, and I quote, 'you looked really pretty last night. I hope we can talk soon.' "

"Yes yes and yes." I said immediately.

I liked Tate and he was really cute with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. It was bonus points that he looked even better standing next to Leah.

"He was the crazy one that threw the first punch, right?" Maylan asked.

"That's the one." Leah said sounding slightly proud of it, "I thought you knew him already."

"No," she shook her head, "I just knew he was the quarterback for Anderson. Riley told me about him."

She turned to me then, "and what about you? Don't think I missed that little stunt you pulled with Tristan."

"They're secretly dating." Leah answered for me and I gently shoved her over.

"I don't have anything to say about that. Honestly, I'm just as confused as you guys are."

And it was true. I didn't know what was happening between us. Maybe we were friends or maybe he would go back to ignoring me on Monday. I really hoped he didn't though. I liked the weird dynamic we had built.

I looked up to see Maylan and Leah both glaring at me in silence, expecting to hear more on the subject.

"Chic flick?" I suggested and grabbed Maylan's remote from her dresser to switch on Netflix.