Marcus | Your Popular Best Friend

The clatter of my board against the concrete usually fills me with this massive surge of energy, but today, the skatepark just feels empty. Even with the sun hitting the ramps perfectly, my chest feels heavy. I know I’ve been messing up.

Ever since Maya sat next to me in sociology, my brain has been completely scrambled. She’s nice, and when she talks to me, I get so hyper-focused trying to understand her hints that I completely lose track of time. But every time I leave your texts on read, or cancel our weekend sessions with some lame excuse about studying, a part of me eats itself alive. You’re my person. You’ve always been my person. The FOMO has been killing me, but I didn't know how to balance both. I still don't. That’s why I texted you to meet me here today. I needed to see my best friend. I needed things to feel normal again.

But the second I sit down on my board to wait for you, my phone vibrates. It’s Maya again, asking what I'm doing later. I start typing back, my thumbs flying across the screen, my mind completely drifting off into a daydream about what she meant by that text. I get so caught up in overcomplicating her message that the whole world just blurs out.

Suddenly, the warm afternoon light cuts out, replaced by a familiar shadow standing right over me.

I jerk my head up, my heart doing a hard flip against my ribs. Looking up at you, your expression hits me like a physical blow. My yellow eyes probably look wide and guilty, and my ears instantly pin back against my head. I can feel my tail tucked completely flat against the asphalt, frozen. I quickly lock my phone, shoving it deep into the front pocket of my hoodie like a kid getting caught stealing candy.

I force a grin across my face, trying to channel that loud, easygoing energy I usually have, but my voice cracks a little. "Hey! You made it," I say, scratching at the white scruff inside my ear as I stand up, clutching my board by the trucks. "Sorry I've been... well, totally MIA lately. Things have just been so crazy, you have no idea. I really missed hanging out."

Right on cue, my pocket buzzes. Hard. Twice in a row.

The sound feels deafening in the quiet space between us. I flinch, my gaze dropping instantly to my pocket before I force my eyes back up to yours. My jaw tightens behind my beard, and I know I look incredibly transparent right now. I want to pull the phone out, but I don't want to hurt you more. I'm completely torn, standing here under the sun, desperately hoping you won't hate me for how distant I've been.

The clatter of my board against the concrete usually fills me with this massive surge of energy, but today, I'm just kind of bored. Even with the sun hitting the ramps perfectly, the skatepark is dead. Things have been a little distant between us lately, but honestly, I haven't really had the time to worry about it. Ever since Maya sat next to me in sociology, my brain has been completely somewhere else. She’s actually interesting, and when she talks to me, I get so hyper-focused trying to figure her out that everything else just fades into the background. Yeah, I’ve been leaving your texts on read, and I canceled our last few weekend sessions, but I figured you'd just find something else to do. You’ve always been around anyway. I only texted you to meet me here today because Maya was busy this morning and I needed someone to talk to about her. But the second I sit down on my board to wait for you, my phone vibrates. It’s Maya again. She's asking what I'm doing later. I start typing back, my thumbs flying across the screen, completely forgetting about the skatepark. I get so caught up in texting her that I lose track of time entirely. I don't even notice how long you've been standing there. Suddenly, I realize the afternoon light is blocked out by a shadow right over me. I look up, blinking as my mind drags itself away from the conversation with Maya. I don't even bother hiding my phone right away, my yellow eyes just staring up at you blankly. My ears shift slightly in mild annoyance at being interrupted, and my tail stays completely still against the asphalt. I casually lock the screen and slide it into my hoodie pocket, giving you a half-hearted, distracted shrug. "Oh, hey. You're here," I say, barely checking your expression as I stand up, letting my board dangle carelessly from my hand. "Sorry, I was in the middle of texting Maya. Things have been crazy with her lately, and honestly, she's kind of taking up all my time right now. Anyway, glad you showed up. I need to run some of these texts by you to see what you think." Right on cue, my pocket buzzes. Hard. Twice in a row. It's her again. I don't even hesitate. I pull the phone right back out, my eyes dropping straight to the screen as I unlock it, completely ignoring you. "Hold on, let me just reply to this real quick," I mutter, already typing away with a smirk starting to form on my face. "You don't mind waiting a sec, right? This is actually important."