Across The Hall

After about five minutes of diffusing and standing underneath the lone street lamp on the edge of the drafty Signore’s parking lot, Christen finally hears the distant chime of the bells on the door to the Italian restaurant. Christen pockets her phone as she looks up to see Tobin approaching with her soccer bag over one shoulder and a takeout bag in her opposite hand. Tobin’s face contains the remnants of intensity, like she’s just exerted a vast amount of energy, but they seem to dissipate as she nears Christen. With each step she takes, her demeanor softens, and when her eyes connect with Christen’s, a smile forms at her lips.

“Alright, you ready to go?” Tobin asks gently as she pauses just before the brunette. Christen’s eyes flutter down to the takeout bag and her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“What’s with the bag?” she asks as her eyes float back to Tobin’s. Tobin’s eyes sparkle as she looks at Christen humoredly.

“What, did you seriously think I walked all this way to not leave with some pizza to-go?” Tobin teases, faking an expression of mild shock. “Do you even know me at all?” Christen shakes her head and wordlessly turns to start walking through the parking lot and to the sidewalk. Tobin follows closely by her side as the bright moon overhead lights their way.

“Is it possible for you to ever be serious?” Christen returns as a hint of a smile forms at her mouth. Tobin carelessly begins to swing the takeout bag in between the two.

“I’m afraid not” Tobin sighs as her eyes scan the night sky for any stars looming overhead, still swinging the white plastic bag like a pendulum. “You see I have this condition that makes it physically impossible for me to be serious for any length of time. There’s no cure.”

“Is that so?” Christen questions while stealing a glance at Tobin from the side of her eye, “How come I never heard of this particular aliment before?” The corners of Tobin’s mouth upturn a little, but her eyes remain trained to the stars above.

“It’s a very rare illness. We don’t have a fancy charity or anything” Tobin shrugs, the plastic takeout bag grazes Christen’s thigh as it continues its repetitive journey forward and backward in the small space separating the two neighbors.

“Wow, that must be very hard for you then” Christen feigns sympathy, playing along with Tobin’s childish, yet endearing little charade. She steals another glance at Tobin, this one longer and less subtle than the last. Now as Christen looks at her, she finds a twinkle in Tobin’s eye. Christen isn’t sure if it’s a reflection of the luminous moon in the sky or a product of Tobin’s own mischief, but she can already tell that it precedes what is bound to be a misfortunate one-liner.

“Yeah, funerals are difficult.”

Christen was right.

“Tobin, that was bad. Even for you” Christen jokingly states as Tobin’s eyes finally find their way back to hers.

“Well sor-ry I can’t be as perfect as you are, Christen. You might not know this, but some people have these things called ‘flaws’ that make life a little harder for them” Tobin sassily kids as she swings the bag again, and again it brushes past Christen’s leg. Christen’s pulse spikes for just a moment. Did she just call me ‘perfect’? Was that a compliment or sarcasm? Or maybe a backhanded-compliment?

“Oh come on” Christen scoffs, “Like you have any flaws other than you’re terrible joke-telling abilities.” Tobin narrows her eyes on Christen.

“Keep talking like that and I might not share my pizza with you” Tobin threats, bumping her shoulder against Christen’s.

“You better, you’ve been hitting me with it for the last several minutes” Christen points out. Not a moment later, the bag makes contact with her leg again. Christen raises an unimpressed eyebrow at the girl at her side and Tobin cracks a devilish smirk.

“I was wondering how long it would be until you actually said something” Tobin informs with a look of utter amusement. Really? Honestly I shouldn’t even be surprised anymore.

“Tobin Heath, why are you so insistent to get under my skin right now?” Christen reprimands with a stern expression, only seeming to urge Tobin on even more. The twinkle reappears in Tobin’s eye.

“I always want to get under your skin” Tobin nonchalantly shrugs, “Or, you know, under you in general” Christen’s eyes instinctively widen in shock as she freezes in place. Her gaze wildly darts over to Tobin who looks like a volcano about to erupt with laughter. Did she just say that?!

“Tobin Heath!” Christen exclaims, her face growing from flush to crimson in an instant.

“Christen Press!” Tobin mockingly shouts back, fighting off a wave of giggles.

“That’s it” Christen declares, swiping the takeout bag from Tobin’s unsuspecting grasp, “I’m confiscating this, you’ve lost your pizza privileges after that comment.”

“What? No way. Christen, give it back” Tobin states as she holds out her hand for Christen to return the bag full of cheesy, bready, tomato-y delicacies to her hand. Christen just looks skeptically from the bag, to Tobin’s hand, to Tobin’s face. She doesn’t move a muscle. After waiting a few moments, Tobin grows impatient and reaches for the bag. Just as she’s about to grab it, Christen jerks it away. Tobin looks from the bag to Christen, as Christen just offers her a playful expression but doesn’t say a word. “Christen, come on, just hand it over” Tobin says as she reaches for the bag again, and again, Christen moves it just out of reach. Tobin raises an eyebrow and sighs as she places her hands on her hips. “Christen” she warns, “Don’t make me take that by force.” Christen just smiles sweetly and points down towards Tobin’s feet.

“You dropped your pocket” She says casually. Tobin reactively looks down but quickly realizes the trap she’s voluntarily fallen into. Not quick enough, however, to prevent her deceitful counterpart from taking off down the sidewalk.

Christen peels down the paved walkway with a childish glow and the bag from Signore’s swinging recklessly at her side. Not too far behind she hears the footsteps of Tobin fervently pursuing her. The foot-race is on.

“Get back here you pizza thief!” Tobin calls after her, legs pumping as she zeros in her fleeing neighbor.

“In your dreams, Heath!” Christen yells back, in combination with sporadic giggles. Christen is fast, but she knows she has little chance of escaping someone who practices wind sprints on a daily basis. Still, she’s decided to milk every second of this moment of having the upper hand. For some reason, it always seems to be a challenge to gain the upper hand whenever she’s around one Tobin Heath.

“Well then I must be dreaming” Tobin declares as she’s now hot on Christen’s heels, “Because I think I’ve just caught you.” Then a pair of strong arms wrap around Christen’s waist and sweep Christen’s feet off of the ground. Christen laughs as Tobin brings them to a stop and spins them around a few times with Christen’s feet and the Signore’s bag fluttering from the motion.

“Tobin!” Christen squeals through her bout of giggles, “Tobin, put me down!”

 After a few more shared laughs, Tobin finally brings the two to a halt and returns Christen to the ground. “I gotcha” Tobin states in between panting breaths, “No getting away from me this time.” Christen turns in Tobin’s arms and looks into Tobin’s eyes while also trying to steady her breathing.

“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere” she admits through rhythmic inhales and exhales. Tobin smiles in reply but doesn’t say anything else. Instead, she just looks deeper into Christen’s eyes, almost as if she sees something that Christen herself cannot understand. They each continue to breathe heavily, each breath only a slightly gradual improvement from the last. Christen can’t figure out why, but for some reason, she’s having a harder time catching her breath than she normally would after a sprint. And even though Tobin doesn’t say it, Christen is pretty sure she is experiencing the same sensation. The silence remains and their eyes maintain connection. And that’s when Christen feels it. It’s that same magnetic pull to Tobin that she felt in her fingertips earlier in the evening. Only this time is different. This time, she feels the magnetism in her lips.

As if by reading her mind, Tobin’s eyes meander to Christen’s lips. They slowly trace the outline of each lip, carefully taking in every detail from this vantage point with a proximity this close that they had never had access to before. Then Tobin’s eyes flutter back to Christen’s, and again, they look as though the see something laced within Christen’s pupils. Something emerging from the dark abyss and surfacing for only Tobin to witness. The magnetic sensation grows stronger, and it seems to be affecting Tobin now too. The polarity is palpable and ever so slightly, Tobin’s lips draw nearer to Christen’s. Is she…leaning in? Am I… Are we about to –

Headlights illuminate both Christen and Tobin’s figures and a car horn blares a few feet away. Both girls jump in reaction and break apart. Christen squints from the harsh beams of light and looks at the area around her. They’re in the middle of the street.

“Hey, get out of the way!” the annoyed driver of the vehicle stopped precariously close to the two orders. Both Christen and Tobin wave apologetically and shuffle back over to the sidewalk.

“I honestly had no idea that I caught you in the middle of the crosswalk” Tobin discloses as she rubs the back of her neck.

“Yeah, me neither” Christen sheepishly admits, still trying to regain her feel for the situation, but her thoughts begin to seize her. What was about to happen? What would’ve happened had that car not pulled up? Was I going to let it happen? Was Tobin? What does this mean?

“That was actually super embarrassing” Tobin comments, beginning to walk again and inspiring Christen to follow by her side. So does that mean she didn’t want it to happen? “I kinda wish that car didn’t just show up.” So does that mean… she did?

“Yeah” is all Christen can get herself to say. They walk for a few minutes without saying much more. But then Tobin turns towards Christen with a serious expression.

“Hey Christen” she begins, Christen’s heart rate elevates. What is she gonna say? “So about earlier” Yeah? “After I caught you from escaping with my pizza” Oh no. “I was just thinking” Oh boy. “Well” Here it comes. “I think I’ve earned it back.” Wait, what?

“You… just want your pizza back?” Christen asks in shock after previously concluding that the conversation was about to lead down a very different path, “That’s what you wanted to talk about?”

“Yeah” Tobin shrugs, “I’m just really hungry now and I think I won that pizza back fair and square.” Christen sighs a breath of relief after dodging what could’ve been a very awkward chat.

“Fine” Christen concedes, surrendering the bag to Tobin’s hands, “You can have your pizza now.” The look of absolute contentment on Tobin’s face when she opens the bag and pulls out a slice of sloppy, battered pizza is more than worth losing their little competition to Christen. She almost feels like a winner too.

“Thanks, Chris” Tobin graciously acknowledges, “I’ve been dying over here.” Chris? Is that a pet name? Since when has that been a thing? I’ve never heard Tobin call me that before.

“You’re welcome, Tobs.” Tobs? Did I just call her ‘Tobs’? What is happening?

After taking a bite of pizza, Tobin just glances over to Christen and flashes her a closed-mouth smile.

As the two continue to walk while Christen talks, and Tobin eats, a beat up old Toyota slows down on the street and matches Christen and Tobin’s pace. The passenger side window rolls down and a young, college-age guy with a baseball cap with some Greek letters stitched on it sticks his head out the window.

“Hey” the guy calls out, “Can I get a piece of that?” Tobin looks down to the pizza in her hand and back to the guy in the car.

“Sorry dude, this cost me like fifteen bucks” Tobin replies. The guy just shakes his head dismissively and looks beyond Tobin.

“No, I’m asking if I can have a piece of that” he clarifies as he gestures to Christen. Christen’s face immediately grows red and Tobin lets out a chuckle.

“Get in line, pal” Tobin jokes without even a moment’s hesitation. The guy lets out a hearty laugh and the car drives off down the street. Christen continues to walk along just as she was before, only now she harbors a wave of flustered embarrassment and flattery just below the surface of her skin. Coincidentally, the same place that Tobin gets under.