Sighing, I turned away from Corrine. "Yeah, I know. I just... don't feel up to it."
"So I heard." Folding her arms, Corrine looked meaningfully at me. "Let me guess. It's because of Amy, isn't it?"
"Wha - no! I mean - c'mon, she's probably already found someone else by now."
"Ian, that's a horribly weak excuse, even for you." An extended finger lifted my chin up to meet Corrine's annoyed frown. "And you're wrong about that, by the way. She's had requests, sure, but last we checked, she hadn't made a decision."
"I still don't see what that has to do with - "
"Don't you get it, Ian?!" snapped Corrine. "She's not making a decision yet because she's waiting for you to make your move! She wants to know what you think. Don't you see? This is Amy we're talking about here!"
"That's exactly why I don't feel up to it!" I retorted. "She knows as well as I do this is going to be a one-time thing! In a few months, we'll all be going our separate ways and this will be nothing more than a faded memory!"
The words spilled out before I could stop myself, as if they had been lying in wait for such an opportunity. My fists balled and tears began to streak down my face.
And then Elizabeth walked over and slapped me in the face with shocking intensity.
"Is that why you've been avoiding us?" she asked quietly, meeting my tear-stained eyes with hers. "Did you think things would be less painful this way? Because you're wrong, Ian. You're running away because you don't want to feel hurt, when it's the exact opposite."
"You're being selfish and you know it, Ian," Corrine agreed sternly. "We've known Amy longer than you have, and you can trust us when we say this. Amy wants you to approach her and tell her how you feel."
"But... but why?"
"Because that's how she is, Ian. She's been having her eye on you, watching you step out of your shell into the confident stud we've all come to love," smirked Corrine. "Knowing that she played a part in that transformation only added to the appeal for her. Whether she admits it or not, she's got a thing for you, Ian. She's waiting for you to man up and convince her.
"I - "
"Ian, you won't know if you don't try." Corrine grasped my palm, hard. "And not trying is going to ruin the friendship between you two, not save it."
"But..." I choked. "What happens after that?"
"Ian... that's something you can only answer after you come clean with each other," Elizabeth said quietly. "Or you're going to keep dancing around the question, find it too awkward to ever resolve anything, then spend your life regretting it when the person you like finds someone else. I know it's Amy we're talking about here, but do you honestly want that to happen? Trust me, I know what it's like to watch the love of your life fall for someone else." She smiled meaningfully at me. The realization was both exquisite and painful at the same time.
"Elizabeth..."
"Go ahead and tell her. Be true to yourselves," she smiled through freshly flowing tears. "...don't make the same mistake I made."
It was as if the dam broke for both of us. Elizabeth and I hugged each other, crying into each other's shoulders with Corrine's arms wrapped around us.
"All right, that's enough feeling sorry!" laughed Corrine, ruffling our hair with a playful noogie each. "Now, Ian. Don't you have something to say for yourself?"
I closed my eyes. The vision I had two days ago seemed clearer than ever.
"I'm in love with Amy."
Squealing in excitement, the girls pulled me in for another hug.
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