Forever Friends

Chapter 2

Sara let out a screech so loud that all the undercover work she had done on the way in was completely erased by the surprise behind her. Her unplanned purchases went flying right along with the unplanned pregnancy indicator. Kaleb Kaideen was the absolute, last person she needed to run into right now, with a pregnancy test in hand. It was a bad situation all together. She had a father, a brother, and Kaleb who would all rip people to pieces if they even looked at her crooked, let alone leaving him with the impression that she was buying a pregnancy test for herself.

There would be blood on the walls in the boy's locker room of Jonathan Henry High School even before she could blink.

Kaleb was tall, lean, and muscular, with dark brown hair and this crooked grin that was so sexy and shy all at the same time that girls just fell all over him. Sara fell out of that loop, since she'd known him as long as she could remember and he was more of a brother than a guy that she was supposed to be trying to get to make out with her. That didn't stop him from being the first guy that held her hand, gave her a first kiss, or the first guy that had gotten a hand up her shirt—for about three point two seconds.

He was one of her best friends, she had Annie and Kaleb in her close circle of people and now she was standing here with Annie's pregnancy test and her giant bottle of mustard on the floor in front of him.

"How did you know it was me?" She hissed, her voice just a whisper. Surely he couldn't have seen through her clever disguise. Maybe she should have grabbed one of those cheap looking wigs off the shelf too.

Kaleb just stared at her. How did he know it was her? How the hell did he miss her was probably a more appropriate question. Never mind the fact that they had been friends for years, he had noticed her legs when she walked by, followed her calves up her amazing body. He always noticed girls in uniforms, but he didn't even know it was Sara until he had granted himself a long look of her ass. They were all amazing in those outfits, but she was the best—she always looked the best. She was always the one he couldn't take his eyes off of. He should have said that, gotten a blush out of her, turning it into something they could be flirty about. Instead he just leaned down to help pick up some of her stuff. Sara let out another squeak and dropped to her knees, raking her arms across the floor like a VIP at a craps table after a good night. She rose back to her feet with Kaleb who held out the box.

"Thermometer!"

"Huh?" Kaleb blinked at her as she snatched the box out of his hand.

"I could... Possibly be developing a slight fever, so I am buying a thermometer to check my temperature before the game." It was in this moment that Sara was so thankful that it took her friend a few moments to catch on. He wasn't stupid, but sometimes the obvious things seemed to escape his mind. In this moment, this horribly awkward situation, Sara was eternally grateful for it. It would be at least an hour before the light bulb went off over his head and he realized that she wasn't really buying a thermometer.

"Oh." Kaleb's lack of questioning indicated to Sara that she was right on track with her expectations of his understanding. "Are you coming to the party?" His brow perked as he tapped on the top of the adult diapers, "Don't bring your party favors."

"The party? Oh. Yeah. Sure. Wouldn't miss it. I gotta go." She turned around and started to walk back down the aisle.

"Sar."

Sara resisted the urge to groan out a very snappy and agitated 'What?' Instead she just c****d her head at him, still taking small and slow steps towards the exit—towards salvation.

"You ok?"

Oh, yeah, Kal, I'm great, buying a pregnancy test for my best friend whom I had sworn was going to come out of the closet in about three weeks, but no, here I am, doing that and lying to your face. I'm PEACHY!

"Yeah. I'm fine, buddy. I'll see you tonight okay?"

She disappeared around the corner of the aisle, leaving Kaleb standing there and blinking at the metaphorical cloud of dust she'd left her in her wake.

"Don't bring your party favors? What the hell, Kaideen?" He muttered to himself and he heard the bell go off as the door to the drugstore closed. He rolled his eyes to the ceiling and went over to grab his two bags of ice he had come in here for in the first place.

Any socially awkward situation with your female best friend that you suddenly decided had the best looking ass in the school was washed down much easier with the help of some Jack Daniels. Randy's brother was so easily bought. Kaleb had given him a couple of hundred bucks and Asher Foxx had come back with a rear end of an SUV filled with contraband liquor. Being a teenager was made much easier with the help of mind altering beverages.

It was always easier to forget the things you said, as well as the things you didn't, when you have a little help.

"Two bags of ice." Kaleb stepped up to the counter and plopped down the ratty two dollars he had dug out of his back jeans pocket.

"Right outside, sir."

"Thanks," Kaleb noticed the white bag on the counter and pointed to it. "That's not mine."

"Oh, it must be the girl who just left. She was in a hurry."

Kaleb's brows perked up and he was starting to have the realization that something was not right. "I know her. I'll run it out to her."

"Okay, thanks."

Kaleb grabbed the plastic sack up and gave the clerk behind the counter a little nod before heading out of the drug store. He spotted Annie's dirty silver Civic across the lot and headed for it.

"Nice shades." Annie commented.

With a roll of her eyes, Sara groaned, "Bite me, can we just go?"

"What in the hell did you get?" Annie asked, grabbing the top of the bag. "You bought adult diapers and a giant bottle of mustard?" She lofted a brow at Sara, "And you don't want people to talk."

"At least I didn't get any condoms," Sara planted the bag in between her legs and started to rifle through it, "Something you should have thought of. Oh hell," Sara hissed. "Where is it?"

"What? What? Where is what?" Annie pushed the shifter back into park and turned to face Sara as she dug through the bag. "You didn't get it?" Annie's voice had raised an octave now.

"I'm sure it's in here, I paid for it. Unlike these sunglasses. You made me a criminal!"

There was a knock on the glass of the car that had both heads looking sharply out of the passenger side window.

"Oh. No." Sara hissed cranking the window down and giving Kaleb one of the most charming smiles she could conjure up at this point. "Hey."

"Hey." He said, looking around her, "Hey Annie."

"Hey Kaleb," Annie dropped her hand over the top of the console and pinched Sara really hard in the side. She squeaked and started to stammer over something to say when Kaleb held out the plastic bag.

"You left your…"

"Thermometer!" Sara grabbed the bag, shoved it into the compartment on the door. "You're the best Kaleb, thanks."

"Thermometer?" Annie asked. Sara whipped her head around at her. Great, she was in between two slow people.

"Yes Annie. I haven't been feeling well. Remember?"

"Oh!" Annie guessed, "Oh, yes. Yes, thanks Kaleb. Sara's very… um, sick. Swine flu. Right Sar?"

"Yes." She coughed again and hated the really concerned look that bounced into Kaleb's brown eyes. He reached out and put a hand on her wrist.

"You sure you're okay? I can call off the party; bring some movies and soup over."

"Aw, Kaleb…" Sara would actually have really liked that a bunch. High school felt like it drove a huge wedge between her and the boy that used to climb into her window at night, until her mom and dad caught them and sent him scooting back home.

"She'll be fine." Annie stepped in. "Thanks Kaleb. I'll take good care of her don't worry."

The car lurched when Annie threw it into drive and took off with such force that Kaleb swore his foot had been run over.