Page 11 of Some Things Never Change

I missed walking over whenever I was bored or lonely. Most of the time, it was to talk or banter or just hang out, flipping through TV channels or watching movies. But at times, I went over just to sit quietly with them.

I missed that. Maybe Andy was right. Maybe the two of us living together would be like the good old times.

Chapter

Four

If I was to choose one thing about Andy that would make anyone’s heart skip a beat, it would have to be that broad and wide smile of his. I forgot how bright it was and how you couldn’t help but smile back whenever it came your way. Instead of doing just that, I stared back at him dumbly when he spotted me in my car and flashed his iconic grin.

I’d be lying if I claimed I grew up never having a crush on one of the Hughes twins. I did, and it just had to be Andy. I’d never admit it out loud, but it lasted at least three years between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. That crush was disgustingly intense, to be honest. The only real excuse I had was that both Andy and Anthony were two of the few boys in high school that actually were cute. The second excuse would be raging teen hormones.

Instead of puberty making them tall, awkward, lanky boys, it had hit the both of them like a truck instead. They are two years older than me. Although that age gap isn’t much now as adults, it was when we were kids and especially as teens. While other boys my age were barely growing into their bodies, Andy and Anthony were raging with nothing but strong and perfect long legs, charming boyish grins, and testosterone.

They were practically young Greek gods strutting around campus. It was even worse with our families being close friends and them living next door. They always barged into our home half-naked for video gaming sessions with Jonathan every single summer evening until they started college.

Our teenage experiences were severely imbalanced, unfortunately. High school for me, in a nutshell, was me spending half the time trying to get my horrible, hormonal acne under control and the other half crushing on Andy, as if I was under some horrible love spell.

The best thing I did with my feelings for him was how I never told a single soul in my life about them. Not even my cousin, Shoua, who I’m incredibly close to. We’re practically sisters and the closest any pair of cousins can be. But, this would be the one secret I would never tell her. It was one I intended to go to the grave with.

I’m no longer madly in love with Andy as I was as a teen. But, I love him even more deeply as the best friend he would always be to me. We grew up close and were still close now, even as adults. To which, I’m glad I never risked our relationship just because I saw him as a boy once instead of my friend.

Andy quickly made his way over to where I parked in the arrivals terminal at the airport. After putting his backpack in my trunk, he slipped into the passenger’s side. He turned to me with his megawatt beaming smile.

“Morning.” His voice was husky, as if he had just rolled out of bed. “Thanks for picking me up. Airport traffic is always a hassle.”

I smiled back as he buckled up. “No need to thank me. It was the least I could do for your help, my passenger prince.”

Andy laughed as I pulled away from the curb and we were on our way out of the airport. We both agreed it was best to drive down to Santa Mariana at night. The traffic from San Ignacio down to southern California was horrible during the day.

To accommodate the night driving, I shifted my sleep schedule a bit and haven’t slept since three A.M. It was a bit comical to be awake at the devil’s hour, but I put it to good use since I got a chance to triple check I packed everything I wanted. This is also why Andy arrived rather early this morning. I glanced at the time on my dashboard. It was still barely seven-twenty.

“How was the flight?” I asked.

“Just the usual. By the way, thanks again for the grand piano Lego set you got me for Christmas. It was fun to build!”

The one thing that would throw most people off guard about Andy was his love for Legos or any off-brand building blocks sets. It was a hobby the twins had enjoyed since they were kids. While Anthony had long moved onto woodwork, Andy was still obsessed with it.

One of my favorite pastimes with Andy was how he used to sit in front of the TV with a bunch of building blocks sprawled out all over the coffee table and just build things piece by piece. At times, I would watch. But I was often his trusty assistant, building the tiny bits only to give up after some time due to my lack of patience.

“You’re welcome. I wasn’t sure if you had that one yet, so I had to ask Anthony.”

Andy had a huge collection of Lego sets he had acquired over the years. He built them and put them on display on his bookshelves or around his apartment all the time. I had no doubt his house wouldn’t be any different now. He would probably have more projects on display since he was living in a bigger space.

“You know I’d still love whatever set you got me, even if I already had one in my collection. Right?”

“That’s exactly why I keep a tab of all the Lego sets I buy you and what you already have, according to Anthony.”

“You’re funny, Tink. Glad to know you care that much.”

I smiled. “Ready to head over to Ariel, pretty boy?”

Ariel is a cute little brunch spot with the best French toast in San Ignacio, but it isn’t well known. I introduced Andy to Ariel a few years ago when he came to visit me, and he loved it. When I told him I’d buy all his meals since he went out of his way to be here to help me out, he immediately mentioned he wanted to go there.

“Yes, I’ve been salivating all morning, thinking about their raspberry French toast.”

We headed straight there. Despite being there early on a weekday morning, there were actually a handful of people getting breakfast or coffee already. We were quickly seated and ordered plates of eggs Benedict and the raspberry French toast to share. Unfortunately, no coffee for either of us since we were planning to head to bed around noon and snooze our way into the night.

“I’m so glad I get to eat here before I leave. It’s been a while since I’ve last been here,” I said, after our meal.

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