Genesis

Robin went to the front window and pulled up the Roman blinds. Cheyenne's yellow mid seventies Oldsmobile sat in the driveway. She waved and hopped out of her car, tugging her jacket hood down to block her face from the onslaught of snow and wind. Clutching a brown paper bag to her chest with one hand, she ran up the porch.

Robin had only been friends with Cheyenne and Kayla since two years ago. Lately, Cheyenne had been spending more time at the gym and Kayla was in a serious relationship with her boyfriend.

It was weird, the genesis of friends. Kayla and Cheyenne had been best friends since the summer of their freshman year in high school. Robin didn't join them until several years later when they moved to Birch Falls and Cheyenne took the job at her tattoo studio.

Cheyenne brushed her hood aside and ran her hand down her blonde locks.

"What's in the bag?"

"Chicken wings," Cheyenne said. She held up the paper sack. "will you make them while i change?"

Robin nodded her head and took the sack from Cheyenne's hands before she trudged upstairs. She pulled the box of frozen chicken wings from the bag when she heard the phone ring again.

Two phone calls in one night?

If you asked her an hour ago which was more likely, being struck by lightning or receiving two phone calls on a Friday night, she would have picked the lightning.

"Hello?"

"Robin, do you need any company?" It was Jeff.

"Uh...Cheyenne's already here and she brought chicken wings." She enjoyed Jeff's company and they have been hanging out more and more now that her friends were so busy, but tonight it was just her and Cheyenne and she planned on keeping it that way.

"Oh, God, that sounds so perfect. We'll be there in five." Jeff said, "Bye," and hung up.

Robin placed the phone on the island, realizing afterward that Jeff had said, "We." Was he bringing Eric or something? Eric and Jeff sometimes hang out at the girls' house, but not on Friday nights. They usually had gigs at the Galaxy.

"Jeff's on his way," Robin said as Cheyenne entered the kitchen. "Looks like we'll need more chicken wings."

Five minutes later, as promised, Jeff showed up, but not with Eric.

Jeff shuffled into the kitchen in lounge pants and a Poison t-shirt. His messy ponytail bobbed behind him. His eyes were glassy, lids heavy with exhaustion.

"Something wrong?" Robin asked.

Jeff grabbed a chicken wing from the plate and took a seat in the breakfast nook with Cheyenne. "Nawh. I just haven't done laundry in weeks." He said to Robin, then tore the meat from the bone.

Robin sat down, too. "You aren't playing tonight?"

Jeff shook his head and dropped the bone onto the plate in front of Cheyenne. "Not really, I mean, we were supposed to. But Tom called it off for some reason."

Cheyenne shrugged, cleaning the meat off the bone. "Well, maybe Tom has something important to take care of or something."

Jeff frowned. "What?"

She got another wing. "Eric told me yesterday that he figured the gig would be canceled. He didn't tell me why."

"That's weird." Jeff said, licking the honey barbecue sauce from his fingers.

Robin looked around the table. Jeff's eyes were settled on her as if he was waiting for her to say something. She took a chicken wing from the plate and sucked on the meat, avoiding eye contact with  Jeff.