Chapter 2: Part 1: The Friend Zone
It had been a few days since I had hung out with Bubble Gum, and Red hadn't called since. I hoped that she told him that she didn't have a good time, and that he wouldn't be calling again. And I promised myself that if he did, I wouldn't pick up.
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I broke that promise. I answered as a reflex, and as soon as I picked up I thought to myself Oh, Berry, what have I done? before answering.
"Hello?" I asked, as if caller ID didn't exist, and I had no idea who it was. How stupid could I make myself sound?
"Hey, Greth, it's Red!" He said, "Bubble Gum had a great time the other day, and I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again today?"
He's giving you a way out! I thought, Take it! "I didn't have a very good time last time, and I'm not interested in doing it again." I said, and sighed in relief. That wasn't so hard.
I was about to hang up when I heard his answer, "Oh, well what if the three of us hung out together? You, me, and Bubble Gum."
I bit my lip. I wanted to think very carefully about my answer, but instead I blurted out "Okay!"
"Great. Do you like playing sports?" He asked.
I had already trapped myself into it, so I said "I'm not very good at sports, but sure."
"Great! Meet us at the football feild behind the school!"
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I rode in silence to meet them, angry at myself for falling for Red. I knew it was no use fighting it, though, it was too late.
The taxi driver gave me a weird look, and I shot one right back, then he left me alone.
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I met Red and Bubble Gum at the football feild, and I changed into my athletic clothes in a nearby port-o-potty. I tried to keep focued on his face, but he wasn't really helping me.
"So, this isn't really a sport, per se, just a game of keep-away." Red explained.
I nodded. Bubble Gum looked extremely uniterested.
"We try to throw the ball through the goal posts, and steal it from each other. You versus me, Greth. Bubble Gum is the ref."
He looked at Bubble Gum, she half smiled back.
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We spent the first part of the day playing, and Bubble Gum stood on the sides lines. She didn't make a single call. I forgot she was even there, and I think Red did, too. We ended up refereeing ourselves.
"Foul!" Red called, after I accidentally elbowed him in the ribs.
"Sorry," I laughed, "It's not like you haven't been playing rough. I should make more calls on you!"
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By the end of the afternoon we had abandonded the football, and were just chasing each other back and forth across the feild.
Red tackled me a few times, but was very careful not to hurt me. Once he even tackled me right in front of Bubble Gum. She was less than happy about it, but we ignored her. There was no sense in letting her ruin our fun.
I didn't tackle Red at all, once I tried but I was unsuccessful. I came at him full force and he didn't budge, I think I hurt myself more than I hurt him.
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After a while we even stopped running around, and we just stood and talked. Bubble Gum sat on the bleachers and texted somebody, while Red and I laughed our heads off. She stopped attempting to burn a hole through my skull with her gaze, or maybe I just relaxed enough that I didn't feel it anymore.
Once the sun started to set Bubble Gum declared that it was time to go home. I invited both of them over.
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I offered them some dinner, but Bubble Gum declined.
"Actually, Red and I had plans for tonight," She grabbed his hand, "Didn't we, sweetie?"
For a moment I saw a look of confusion on his face, and then he realized, "Uh... yeah, we did. Sorry, Greth, we need to get going."
"Oh, That's alright..." I told him, and Bubbled Gum pulled him out the door.
"See you later!" He called back, "I'm glad you decided to come afterall, Greth, I hope you had a good time!"
"I did," I told him, as I closed the door "I'm glad I came to my senses."
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I went to sleep happy that night, even though I was pretty sure that Red and I were stuck in the friend zone. It was an unpleasant place to be, but just being around Red made me happy, so I was okay with where I was. It was a start.
