Just Friends

13

୪𝚃𝚎𝚜𝚜୪

I smile softly as I watch Jasper's hands land around Tara's waist.

He holds her close to his chest and laughs into her ear. Tara's laughing too as she tries pushing him away to finish grabbing herself some pie.

Kelly steps up right beside me. I almost jump when I notice her. "Having fun?" She asks me, a hand raising to rest on my back.

I nod. "Yeah, this is nice." My voice is probably too quiet, but she hears me anyway.

It's Kelly and Mitch's anniversary, and they've decided to celebrate the day with my parents, me, Jasper, and Tara.

Kelly seemed surprised when Jasper arrived with Tara, so I can't tell if she was actually invited. Still, she's here and I don't think that's changing anytime soon.

Kelly looks towards Jasper and Tara. "Mitch and I always thought it would end with you and Jasper." She bluntly informs.

She's never been one for small talk. Kelly likes to get right to the point in her conversations, which is why it's so hard to talk to her sometimes.

I click my tongue with a smile. "Sorry." I playfully hum.

She doesn't laugh.

I straighten. "Tara's a really nice girl." I point out. "I think they're great for each other."

"Because she's nice?" Kelly raises brow. "You're nice."

I laugh. "Sorry, Kelly. I don't think it's going to happen."

"I don't understand why." Kelly shakes her head softly and looks back to Tara and Jasper. She makes a face at them before turning to head back inside.

I sigh and look back to Jasper and Tara.

I'm alone today. I figured it'd be rude to bring a friend to a close celebration like this, so I didn't even bother to see who'd be free. So, now I get to watch everyone else socialize with their own people. Mom has Dad, Kelly has Mitch, and Tara has Jasper.

Who do I have?

I take a deep breath as I turn towards the table Mom, Dad, Kelly, and Mitch are all at. With a semi false smile, I walk over and slide into the seat right beside my mom.

The iron chair under me makes a gross sound as I drag it across the concrete to sit closer to her. I grimace at her when she quickly looks over at me. She shakes her head with a smile.

I may not have someone to be with right now, but I do have my mom. She's the greatest. And she doesn't mind me creeping around her for a bit. So long as I don't interrupt her conversation rudely, she leaves me be.

I drop my temple onto her shoulder with a quiet sigh while a conversation that I'm not a part of continues on. When the group begins to laugh, I do a bit of an awkward smile just so it's not obvious I have no idea what we're laughing about.

Even though this isn't awful, I still feel like leaving the little love party a little early. Also maybe sending Levi a text.

I make a face at the thought.

It's not that I don't want to text Levi, it's just that I usually think about texting other friends. Like Luna. Or maybe Cass. But lately, all I've been thinking about is Levi. Levi in the place of my other friends.

I have been hanging out with him a lot more as of late. And the more I look back on it, I realize I never thought about inviting Luna to this party. I actually probably could've brought Luna.

I thought of Levi though. And I knew I couldn't bring Levi here. He knows Jasper's parents, but still.

Levi's become a close friend in such a short amount of time. It's a little weird to me, honestly.