Best Friends (AAA111 & angeli)

[angeli]

It had been four months since Tristan had been home. It was good to have the break from school and--if he admitted it only to himself--from his girlfriend Amy. Lately, she had been really clingy, and it was really cramping his style.

Tristan tossed his duffel bag onto the bed and gave his room a cursory glance. It still had all of the posters he had put up when he was in high school, and scantily-clad women competed with the rock band posters for wall space.

He smiled and grabbed his cell phone. "Back home? Wanna hang?" He sent the message to several of his friends who still lived in the area and waited to see who would response.

[AAA111]

Lauren was still at school packing a few things to head home for a week or two. Ready to get away from school and all of that for a few days. She is excited to see her family and a little excited about the chance of seeing Tristan. As she thinks about it she grabs her phone which says she got a text and she opens it to see that Tristan sent her a message. As she reads it she sighs and decides to text him back

"Not home yet so probably not" as I click send.

I continue packing thinking about going home.

[angeli]

Within a few minutes, Tristan had several messages. He clicked through and read a few NO's and two YES's from high school buddies he hadn't seen in months. It didn't bother Tristan that he had gotten negative responses. It was just the way of things. He noted that Lauren was one of them and realized with a start that he hadn't realized she was out of town. Haven't kept up with her much lately, he thought guiltily.

He dialed up his two friends one by one. "What's up, man? You old enough to grab some brew at the bar with me?" Soon enough he had a group of buddies who would hit the bar with him later that night.

[AAA111]

As she finishes packing up a few things she sits down and thinks to herself. I never ever truly thought that a girl would come between me and my best friend..but i guess it has . She calls chase on the phone and they talk for awhile about things and how she misses him now that he is home.

She wasn't able to leave yet because she is the only one of her college friends that has a friday class and a test. She gets off the phone with chase and sits there surfing around alone.

[angeli]

The bar was packed that night with the 20-something crowd, and Tristan had a great time hanging with his buddies. They teased and joked as guys always did, and at one point, Tristan caught himself checking out a cute blonde wearing a tight shirt and short skirt.

But he was a faithful guy, even if he was having second thoughts about his girlfriend, so he kept his hands to himself. But he did knock back quite a few brewskies.

When Friday morning dawned, Tristan was groaning and nursing a pounding headache. But there was a smile on his face as he stretched out on his bed and lazed through the morning.

[AAA111]

Lauren is on her way home thinking about how great it is going to be to finally be home for a few weeks. School has been stressful for her so she is excited to be heading home to do nothing.

She arrives home and starts unpacking her clothes and checks her phone for messages but she doesn't get anything.

She sits down and thinks to herself i wonder if things will ever be the way they used to be with tristan and i. He was also the closest friend she had. She would always cry on his shoulder after the break-up of a boyfriend and earlier that morning chase and her broke up. She wish that Tristan was around to do that with but he wasn't and she missed him alot. She shrugs to herself as she goes back to unpacking and settling into her room.

[angeli]

By 4 o'clock, Tristan felt a bit more like a human. He had downed four Tylenol pills, taken a cold shower, drunk a whole pot of coffee, and slept for a couple of hours. He was dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a Linkin Park T-shirt, trying to decide if he wanted to head to McDonald's or hit the supermarket for some groceries.

He had discovered, with some surprise, that he was a pretty decent cook. Eating ramen noodles every night during his freshman year hadn't appealed to him, and in desperation he had picked up some pans and a large cookbook over the summer. Now he was cooking regularly, which helped his pocketbook and his stomach. Grease and fat just weren't very appetizing.

"Guess it's groceries," Tristan said out loud. His stomach rumbled in agreement. Soon enough he was wandering the aisles of the local market, trying to remember where baking powder was. He planned to cook a large meal for his parents.

[AAA111]

Her mom and dad called her downstairs to tell her they have a list of groceries that need picked up and if she could pick up a few things from the store for them and she tells them sure of course. So she heads back upstairs sand changes into a pair of dark blue jeans and a red tshirt that says "guys are a joke". She heads out to the store.

She is wandering down all of the aisles looking for all of the items that are on the list. She is in her own little world. Thinking about so many things at once she passes a few of the items and so she has to backtrack a few different times. She thinks hmm mom and dad are working tonight so i need to pick up a few things to cook for dinner. As she continues down the aisles finding a few things to make for dinner that night.

[angeli]

Tristan passed by a cute girl studying a list in her slender hand. She had dark brown hair and looked vaguely familiar, and Tristan had already rolled his cart past her before he did a classic double-take and said in a voice that was full of surprise, "Lauren?!"

It had been over a year since Tristan had seen Lauren in person, their conversations usually over the phone or chat. His blue eyes ran over her body quickly, noticing how well she filled out her shirt and jeans. "You're looking great!" he said, reaching over for a quick hug.

[AAA111]

Lauren looks back to the sound of the voice that she immediately recognizes as Tristans. She turns around and gives him a hug

"Hey Tristan. Thanks you look good too. Hows Amy?" She asks..not really caring but trying to be a good friend. She misses him and the close relationship that they used to have.

[angeli]

"Oh, you know.... Amy's Amy." Tristan gave a brief shrug.

"How's school going? I feel like we haven't talked in forever." It made him feel a bit guilty that Amy had dominated his time so much.

[AAA111]

"School is fine..Yeah it has been what a few months. Guess that is what a girl can do to a relationship" She says as she shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly. Not wanting to hurt his feelings but still wanting him to know how she feels.

[angeli]

Tristan winced. "Aww, Lauren, don't be like that."

He could tell she was upset, even if she didn't say so.

"Look, why don't I make it up to you?" He took a peek into her cart and saw the groceries. "How about I cook you an apology dinner? Sometime this week? Or you can come over tonight for dinner at my parents' place. I'm cooking for them."

[AAA111]

"Tristan what do you expect me to say really? I mean you started dating this girl 6 months ago and we haven't talked in 6 months. It is life i guess. We just aren't as close as we used to be and it sucks but what ya going do you know?" I say to you

"It is fine. I don't want your sympathy. It just hurts our friendship faded because you were my best friend for so long. If you want though I guess we could get dinner or lunch this week out somewhere or whatever. Unless you have plans with the boys or Amy"

She knows she isn't as important to him as she used to be. She is a little bit jealous but she knows there is nothing that she can really do to change it.

[angeli]

In the face of Lauren's anger, Tristan backs away. "Okay, okay." He lifted his hands in a placating gesture. He had never been the confrontational type, and he couldn't handle dealing with the situation now. "Look, how about I call you? I'm not busy at all, we can go out for lunch later this week, Amy's not even in town with me, I gotta go, I need to start cooking soon..."

He continued to talk as he turned to get his cart. "I'll call you!" he repeated as he pushed away, forgoing all the other items he needed in his haste to get away.

Later, when he had time to think about the incident, he realized that Lauren had placed all of the blame squarely on his shoulders, and it kinda pissed him off. Didn't it take two to talk? How come she didn't call him in the past six months?

[AAA111]

She looks at him and she nods "Yeah that will work. I'm around all week so give me a call. And I'm sorry for blowing up on you like that. It is my fault too I could have called you. But you know me. I don't like to go somewhere where I'm not wanted and I felt like that was how Amy felt. But oh well. See ya later bud" I say as I walk away and continue my grocery shopping.

She finishes her grocery shopping and when she gets home she thinks about how mean she was to him and she thinks about how excited she is to be seeing and hanging out with her best friend again. They hadn't done it in so long and she missed it.

[angeli]

Tristan didn't hear Lauren's parting words in his hurry to get away. Even though they had been best friends, they weren't close anymore, and he didn't feel comfortable standing around listening to explain herself.



The idea that their relationship was screwed up due to something that he did made Tristan feel a mixture of guilt and anger. It wasn't all his fault, and he had a right to be angry as much as Lauren did.



But Tristan could never hold his anger too long. He was the type who forgave and forgot, so when he called Lauren the next day, it was mostly with a sense of reunion to be talking to the one girl he could always tell everything to.



"Hey, Lauren, how are you?"

[AAA111]

As she sees his name on the caller id she smiles to herself as she answers.

"Hey Tristan. Doing good. How have you been stranger?"

I always loved the sound of his voice. His voice was always so reassuring. It was something that she absolutely adored and missed about him. She was glad to finally be talking to him again. She was hoping that maybe just maybe there friendship would change back to what it used to be.

[angeli]

Tristan relxed a bit when he heard Lauren's greeting. It didn't sound like she was still angry with him, which pleased him a great deal. They had been best friends for a long time, and it pained him to think that a few months without talking could damage that relationship.

He leaned back in his bed, arm propped beneath his head in the pose he always assumed when he talked on the phone. "I'm doing great," Tristan said. "Got a chance to hang with friends, cooked my parents a great dinner last nght... Now I'm talking to you. I couldn't be better."

Tristan shifted into a more comfortable position. "How are you doing?"

[AAA111]

Lauren lays on her stomache on her bed as she turns off her tv to give Tristan her absolute attention. She was glad to finally be talking to her best friend after a long time of not talking.

"Aww..aren't you sweet. I'm glad to be talking to you too. I feel like it has been ages since we have talked." She says as she smiles to herself as they talk.

"I've been doing good. Just got home yesterday so just trying to relax for awhile. How are you?"

[angeli]

"Yeah, it's been a while since we've talked." Tristan smiled as he listened to Lauren's soft voice in his ear. He had missed this connection.

"School's going well for me. Grades should be posting in the next few days. I'm kinda scared how I did in my Chemistry class. The final was a killer." Tristan had always wanted to be a pharmacist, but now he was rethinking his major. There was too much math and science!

"How's school for you? What's your major?" They had tossed ideas around the last time they talked, but that had been so long ago.

[AAA111]

She smiled as she listened to his voice that was always so sweet and reassuring no matter what they were talking about

"Oh geez. You'll get a 4.0. You've always been the genius out of our group of friends. You always say I think I failed and then you get the grades back and find out that you got an A. Geez just trying to outdo us all" Lauren says laughing having missed this type of connection she always had with Tristan.

"School is good..This semester was the semester from hell. I decided to go into Education. Be a teacher. I don't know see how it goes" Lauren always kind of wanted to be a teacher ever since she was little but she had a hard and tough semester so she was definitely considering changing but she wasn't exactly sure what she wanted to do yet.

[angeli]

Tristan shrugged, a bit embarrassed by Lauren's praise. She had more confidence than he had in himself. The semester had been rough for him, trying to balance his studies with his high-maintenance girlfriend. He wasn't so sure he was going to keep his 4.0 GPA.

He laughed at Lauren's description of her semester. "The first few are always the hardest, Lauren. And look at it this way: You don't have to take that many classes in math or science as an Education major."

Tristan knew of her interests, so her major didn't surprise him at all. "I think you'd be a great teacher. Fun and informative."

[AAA111]

I smile and nod in agreement. Tristan has always found the positive in any kind of situation. That is why they get along so well and are so close

"Yeah thank god I only need like 1 of each or something. I'm horrible at them both. I had to take one of each this semester. I was so used to have you there to help me and you weren't there to help me out so that was a change but I guess we will just have to see what happens when the grades come out" She says smiling always loving everything about him. Secretly having a crush on him but never admitting it since she was afraid of messing up their friendship.

"Aww thanks. I hope so. It's something I love doing so hopefully it all works out. Thanks Tristan" She says smiling as they continue to talk.

[angeli]

"Well, hey, if you've taken your math and science this semester that means you're done with those two, right?" Tristan thought that sounded great for Lauren, although he was a bit worried that she took both difficult classes in one semester. It was too late now, so Tristan tried to make the best of it. Hopefully Lauren passed both classes so she wouldn't have to retake them.

"We should make a pact, Lauren," Tristan said, half-jokingly. "We have to talk to each other at least once a week, no matter what. That's what best friends are for, right?" He thought it had been a difficult year for both of them, and losing their constant contact made it worse.

"What do you say?"