Your Favorite Enemy

“What do you want?” Alex sneered once I opened the curtain.

“I’m just confused. I mean, what the hell just happened?” I asked.

“We argued and the guys made a joke. How are you confused?” He wondered.

He hadn’t felt anything? Why had it only been me? I sighed and scratched the back of my neck nervously, trying to think of a subject change. “I know you hate me, Alex, but I think we should try to get along.”

“I told you this morning, Max,” he said, and I grimaced slightly at the nickname. “I don’t hate you.”

I looked at him, confused. “Then why the fuck do you keeping treating me like shit?”

It was his turn to sigh. “Look, I wasn’t so crazy about the idea of you joining us at first. I mean, you’re not one of our girlfriends, so what was the point? But, anyway, then I saw the way Jack reacted around you and I thought he had a crush on you, which would backfire since Matt, of all people, is your uncle.”

“Why would it backfire?” I questioned.

“It makes you off limits,” he replied.

I shook my head, not too thrilled with his logic. “Matt may be my uncle, but he doesn’t have full control over me. I’m almost 20 years old, and I can take care of myself, including manage a boyfriend if I obtained one.”

Alex sat up and looked at me, bewildered. “You’re 19? Holy shit! You look like you’re 12!”

I laughed. “Thanks.”

“So, you’re going to ask Jack out then?” he asked, avoiding my gaze.

“No. Jack is awesome, but I think he is a little too goofy for me. He could be like an older brother for me,” I replied. “I don’t think he has a crush on me anyway. He’s just being friendly.”

“Well, good to know,” he stated.

I shuffled a little awkwardly. “So, can we stop fighting and be friends?”

He paused in thought. “Sure.”

“Can you stop calling me Max?” I asked hopefully.

He grinned. “No chance in hell.”

I sighed again, but accepted it anyway, happy to have finally gotten a smile out of him. I invited him to rejoin the group out in the living room, and he said he’s join us soon, so I headed back out. Rian and Zack had disappeared, leaving Jack with an empty bowl all alone on the couch.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, gesturing down the hallway.

I nodded and sat on the couch next to him. “Yeah. There was just a bit of confusion between us, but I think we got it all worked out.”

“Good. I don’t want to see you two arguing all of the time. It would get old fast,” he replied.

“We’ve decided to be friends, so hopefully that will stop,” I mentioned.

Jack paused and looked at me carefully. “Before, when you two were out here...I noticed something weird.”

I felt the blush rise in my cheeks once again. “What do you mean? What did you see?”

“I could be wrong of course,” he said, holding up his hands defensively. “But it looked like you wanted to kiss him.”

How could he tell? Did I really make it that obvious? Did Alex see it too? I hesitated, trying to deciding if I should tell him. “Did it look like he wanted to kiss me?”

“I couldn’t tell. His back was turned,” Jack stated.

I sighed. “This stays between us, okay?”

He looked confused. “Okay?”

“I did want to kiss him. I don’t even know why,” I replied.

He smiled in response. “Aw, how cute. You have a crush.”

“I don’t know if I do, Jack. I’ve only been here 2 and a half days, so it seems kind of impossible, but maybe I do. I just feel so silly,” I commented.

“Why? Everyone gets crushes,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, in first grade. Don’t you think we’re too old call them crushes?” I mentioned.

“Alex still has cooties, so I don’t think so,” he laughed.

I laughed too. “Maybe you’re right. So, do you have any advice for me and my whatcha-ma-call-it with Alex?”

He paused, looking thoughtfully at the ceiling. “Just see how being friends with him goes. Maybe he’ll have a whatcha-ma-call-it on you too.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Jack.”

He gave me a brotherly kiss on the forehead. “Anytime, Maxine.”

Alex then entered the room and plopped down on the couch next to me. “Did you tell Jack the war is over?”

“Yeah,” Jack replied. “And thank God. Otherwise I’d have to sit between you children.”

“Then I’d call you Mama Jack,” I joked.

Alex laughed. “Jack would be the one parent in the world where the kids would have to be responsible.”

“Fuck you,” Jack said. “I’d be a great parent.”

“Not with that mouth,” Alex replied.

“I don’t know which is worse, you two fighting or ganging up on me,” he mentioned.

I couldn’t help but think that the fighting would be worse. I could only hope our newfound friendship would last.

Notes