TMI (2014 Collector's Dream Winner)

TMI - Chapter 18

Bailey stared at her phone, willing it to buzz or vibrate or do something other than look cute in its glitter skin. She’d given Ryder Meg’s phone number ages ago and neither one of them had contacted her. What were they talking about all this time? She nibbled a fingernail and obsessed. Meg was probably doing her TV lawyer routine — citing all the statistics and facts and reasons why Ryder was a liar and Bailey was a ditz for trusting him. Ryder was probably being his usual adorable self and doing his best to calm Meg down.

Unless… what if Meg was right and Ryder really was a guy in jail for murdering some poor teenager after she met him in person and hid her body in a creepy corn field? What if Meg totally scared Ryder away and she never heard from again? She’d never know what he was really like — or even what he looked like. She didn’t even know where he lived.

She stared at her computer screen and opened the last email he’d sent. It held a link to a new game engine he’d mentioned — one that was geared toward newbies like herself and much easier to use than the one Chase had told her about. She clicked the link and did her best to concentrate on roughing-in the game’s bones instead of on what Ryder and Meg were talking about.

Meg must be furious with her all over again. It was the only explanation Bailey had to explain her silence. With luck, Meg was even now turning to Chase for comfort. This was a lot harder than she’d expected. What if Meg hated her for doing this? Could she live with that? What if even after all this scheming, Meg and Chase still didn’t hook up?

Bailey couldn’t stand it another second. She picked up the phone and texted Ryder.

Bailey: Did you text Meg?

Ryder: Wow, she’s a total B. Don’t know Y UR friends.

Bailey: What happened? What did she say?

Ryder: She demanded I stop lying to U. Said I’m a perv, a liar, and a freak. Even blamed me for the fight U had.

Bailey’s eyes went round. Wow. That was over the top, even for Meg. What happened to the promise she’d made to give Ryder a chance?

Bailey: OMG, I’m sorry. She over reacts.

Ryder: Whatever. I gotta go. U should call her, hang out.

Wait, what? She sent him one more text to say she was sorry but he didn’t reply. She plugged the phone in to charge and stared at it for a long moment. This hadn’t gone exactly as planned. She wanted Meg to worry, not Ryder. Oh, hell, this was all just so messed up. Tomorrow, she’d straighten it all out and just confess.

Meanwhile, she had a new idea for a blog update. 

Somewhere in the BFF Code, there should be rules for when your best friend hates the guy you like. Rules like don’t tell him he’s a pervert and a liar and a freak. Maybe BFFs shouldn’t meet boyfriends at all — like they can never occupy the same space around you at the same time. That could work. Girls should be issued those Aperture Science handheld devices like in the Portal game. That way, whenever a BFF and a BF are within a few years of each other, we can open a portal to send them somewhere else and avoid all this competition and drama.

She considered that for a moment. It really was a competition, wasn’t it? Chase said it to her face, Meg was really upset that Bailey ditched her. But that wasn’t all of it. No, she knew Meg — knew that Meg took a lot of pride in her grades and her intelligence. It was more like she couldn’t stand that Bailey wasn’t listening to her advice. She was a big girl and certainly able to make her own decisions.

When you really tear it down to the wireframe, it’s about respect, right? You like him and you like her and you want them both to like each other so things are easy. They should both get that. BFFs know your luck hasn’t been that great with boys and should try to put in some extra effort. And boyfriends should know that BFFs have been around a lot longer than them. They should be trying to make the best possible impression. They should never make you choose. And you should never choose one or the other.

Would Meg expect her to drop Ryder because she didn’t trust him? Was that why she was so ticked off? Well, she wasn’t going to do that. Meg would either get over it or not.

Her choice.

Bailey published the post.