One

{Third Person}

(This was to be the the first chapter in my "novel". I've decided to drop that idea entirely.)

Kayla was used to being home alone. Her roommates, Cheyenne and Robin, were always working at their studio. Their tattoo studio has been overbooked with appointments lately and they agreed that another location would be more convenient. Everyday this week they've been scouting available locations in Birch Falls.

They girls lived in the same house, but Kayla hardly saw her friends. She'd gotten used to entertaining herself when they were working or on dates with their boyfriends. Cheyenne and Eric were practically a couple. It hasn't been made official quite yet, but Kayla felt like it would happen soon.

Kayla had never been the type of person to need social interaction in order to have fun. She was often quite happy being alone in the house. When she was alone, she could do whatever she wanted, when she wanted.

If she wanted to watch Pretty In Pink for the fifteenth time while eating popcorn covered in cheese, then she could. But now she could hardly wait for some company as she set out lit candles and a stack of Fred's favorite movies. While she was doing this, her mind filtered through several excuses to bring up Tom in the conversation.

Fred was Kayla's only friend that understood how she felt about Tom. It's not that she didn't trust the girls, it's just that she felt like her relationship problems were minor and childish compared to theirs.

The doorbell rang and Kayla grinned. She opened the front door and the night air slipped in, chilling her skin. Goosebumps popped on her forearms.

"Hey, Freddie!" She said, seeing Fred on the porch. Fred was in a black hooded jacket and a loose-fitting pair of faded jeans. His hands were tucked inside the front pockets of his jacket, two plastic bags hanging from his wrists.

"Hiya, girly." Fred walked in, and Kayla shut the door. They headed to the kitchen. Fred set his bags down on the kitchen island, shoving aside a bowl of apples. "What are the plans for tonight?"

"I set out some movies you like. I figured we could watch one or two. You like The Goonies, right?"

Fred smiled as he pulled a two-litter bottle of pepsi from one of the plastic bags. "Of course!"

"Good, so do I." Kayla nodded her head as she reached for the other bag. Fred grabbed the bag and pulled out a box of chocolate M&M's.

"You like M&M's, right?" He asked.

"Of course!" She said, grabbing the box from his hands and tearing open the corner.

"Promise me you won't get mad..." Fred began. "But i told you that i'd watch a movie with you tonight, right? And then i kinda told the guys that they could come over my place tonight and we'd hang out... So i made a compromise and told them to come here! That's cool, right?"

Kayla swallowed. Hard.

"What? Fred, what the hell were you thinking!" She looked down at her appearance. She was still in her blue shorts and a wrinkled blank tank top with the Aerosmith logo printed across her chest. Her hair was in it's natural waves and curled around her shoulders.

She couldn't let Fred's friends see her like this!

But before Kayla could hurry to her bedroom to change clothes, the doorbell rang.

"Are you going to get that?" Fred said, tilting his head towards the door as he grabbed four glasses from the cabinet above his head.

Kayla could have buried Fred's face in mud for doing this to her! He totally deserved it...

The jingle echoed through the house again.

Kayla let out a sigh before she opened the door.

Tom stood on the porch, a box of pizza in his hands.

"Anyone order a pepperoni pizza?" He said with a smile.

Kayla couldn't help but smile back as he entered the foyer.

"Where's Eric?" Fred asked, setting the bottle of Pepsi and the box of M&Ms on the coffee table.

"He couldn't come... He said something about a sprained ankle." Tom layed the box of pizza on the table beside the soda.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure he did."

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "I bet he's fighting with Cheyenne again. That's why he didn't want to come here."

"But Cheyenne isn't even here! She's with Robin. You know, looking for a new studio..." Kayla supplemented.

Tom shrugged his shoulders once more as he took a slice of pizza from the box; the heavenly aroma of melted cheese and herbs surrounding the room.

Kayla took the seat farthest from Tom. The last movie they watched together was spent with his arm around her waist and his head on her shoulder. Kayla enjoyed cuddling with Tom, but she wasn't in the mood for that tonight.

"So what are we watching?" Tom asked before taking a bite of pizza. Kayla watched his big lips smack against each other as he chewed and wiped the oil from his fingers on his cotton shirt.

"The Goonies. It's Fred's favorite movie." Kayla avoided eye contact with Tom as she answered his question. She was cautious about the amount of eye contact she gave to Tom. She thought that too much would make it obvious that she was interested in him.

"The Goonies? Fred, grow up! Let's watch something else. What do you say, Kay?"

She met Tom's icy blue eyes and felt her cheeks flush.

"It doesn't matter to me. Whatever you want." She heard herself say.

Tom switched off the lights and the flickering glow of the candles cast shadows around the room.

"We'll just watch The Goonies. It's no big deal." He said, pushing the tape into the VCR.

The movie began and Tom sat beside Kayla. She turned her gave to her knees, swaying them side-to-side. She could feel Tom's eyes on her. He slid his hand onto her knee and squeezed the bones together. Kayla smiled, controlling laughter as he squeezed again, tickling her knee.

"Tom," she whispered, pushing his hand off her knee.

"Hmm?"

A tingling sensation shot up Kayla's back when she felt Tom's warm, delicate hand slide up her thigh.

She lost the ability to speak.

"So," Fred began as he poured soda into a glass cup, totally unaware of where Tom's hands were. "How was your date, Kayla?"

Kayla shot a glare over to Fred, as if trying to say don't mention anything about that around Tom, dumb ass!

But Fred didn't get the hint.

"What was his name, again? Kyle or something?" He continued.

"Kyle?" Tom said as he lifted his hand from her thigh.

"It wasn't a date." she said.

"Then what was it?" Tom's sudden eye contact was intense.

"It was nothing!" Kayla and Tom were not together but she felt as if they were. They were more like flirting buddies than anything else. They were more than friends, but not quite in a relationship with each other. Either way, she still felt like she had to explain herself to him for his approval.