“Okay, maybe I am a bit jealous.”
Scientific experiments were his and Dallas’s thing, of course they were -- but it wasn’t Tristan’s fault that their chem teacher had paired him up with Noli instead. Dallas wasn’t even in the same science period as he was; she couldn’t have possibly expected him to work on every lab report alone. He’d mentioned working with Layland and even Kori before without getting this reaction from her, but for some reason, Dallas seemed particularly unenthused that he’d been working with Noli, and he didn’t seem to understand why.
He’d learned in the past, though, that Dallas didn’t like uncomfortable silences -- he didn’t do experiments on his best friend, of course, but that didn’t stop Tristan from observing her and learning the best way to handle difficult situations with her. So he just watched her, never breaking eye contact, even getting a little lost in the brown eyes that he planned on seeing every day for the rest of his life, if things went well... and finally, she blinked first, beginning to speak again in a frantic manner, expounding upon her previous statement.
“Observations have shown that persons our age in romantic relationships tend to detach themselves from those they’ve designated as their ‘best friends’ in the past, and you labeled Noli as hot, the hottest sophomore in fact, which means that you’re physically attracted to her and thus predisposed towards deeper romantic attraction as well! You’ are my best friend and research assistant, Tristan, and I thought we had at least until next year’s prom before I was set to be replaced!” Dallas was all worked up, a state he’d certainly seen her in before but one he didn’t think he’d ever caused, and he might have felt guiltier if he hadn’t been busy trying to read between the lines, wondering if Dallas had wanted to be the hottest instead of Noli.
But that was crazy, right? Dallas didn’t feel that kind of way about him -- she was just worried about losing him, like she’d said plain as day. Still, as Tristan coughed to stop himself from chuckling at how silly she was for worrying, he decided he’d do his best to cover all bases just in case.
“Hot is a stereotype, we’ve studied it, remember? It’s usually associated with people who are more sexually active, or scantily clad, or with certain groups such as cheerleaders -- which Noli is. I mean, not the first two that I know of, but she’s a cheerleader, which is why I thought of her first. It doesn’t mean I think she’s the most attractive over all, it means that she’s hot. I think you’re the most beautiful girl I know, but you don’t wear alien bikinis at carwashes or short cheerleading skirts while you’re doing flips. You’re my best friend, you’re always going to be my best friend, okay, Dallas? Even if I did like her like that, nothing could ever change my mind about you.”
FRIENDS OR MORE? SENTENCE STARTERS