Cloud Walking (Find You in the Dark #1.5)(17)
Author: A. Meredith Walters

“Play nice, Danny,” I warned. Daniel had let out a huff but followed me silently to the table. Our earlier conversation had been forgotten as we tried to get used to the fact that Maggie was now part of a “we.” The differences in her were astounding and I tried not to freak out over it. But there was a possessiveness in the way she and Clay were together. A neediness that was a little hard to stomach. It was very obvious that they loved each other. But their love was a little scary. Because it consumed everything around them until that’s all either of them saw. They lived in their own little Maggie and Clay world and the rest of us didn’t even compute.

Now that they were officially together, everything else took a back seat. Absolutely everything. The weeks passed and it only got worse. I watched as my best friend slowly become someone else. A girl who’s entire world focused on the boy she was with. I never thought I’d see the day Maggie would become that girl. But she was happy. Or at least she claimed to be every time I asked her. But I stopped digging into their relationship, because she became rabid about it. As though I had no right to go there. Hello! I was supposed to be her best friend! Wasn’t that my job?

Daniel never did finish “explaining” things to me. Okay, so maybe I never really gave him a chance to. But I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear whatever he had to tell me. Though I did notice that he and Kylie were decidedly not together. I could only assume that she dropped him…once again. I wanted to feel self-righteously smug about that. But I didn’t. I just felt empty.

So, here we were, three weeks post dance, sitting all together in our strange little group, full of awkward tension. Maggie and Clay were practically in each other’s laps while I worked really hard to pretend Danny wasn’t two feet away from me. Daniel was obviously way passed trying to make small talk, so he ate in surly silence. I was actually surprised he continued to eat with us, considering he had other friends. Ones that he didn’t have this tension with.

But he staunchly stayed at our table. I guess I had to give him props for that.

I was trying to choke down my sandwich while not watching as Clay kissed the side of Maggie’s neck. Even though, I didn’t like the whole obsessive nature of their relationship, even I couldn’t deny how at times they were almost beautiful together. The way he brushed the hair off her shoulder so he could put his lips on the skin just below her ear. How she leaned into him, closing her eyes as he whispered something only she could hear.

I wasn’t going all Peeping Tom, I swear. But it was like watching a love story unfold in front of my eyes. If I forgot about the way Maggie seemed to be losing herself to Clay in a way that bordered on unhealthy, I could appreciate the genuine affection between them…even if I didn’t like the rest of what I witnessed in their relationship.

Daniel made a gagging noise and I looked up at him to make sure he was all right. He was giving Maggie and Clay a look of annoyance. “Ugh! Can you guys get a room already?” he bit out. Maggie pulled away from Clay and I saw the look of guilt flash across her face.

I couldn’t resist being a bit of a bitch. “Oh shut it, Daniel. You’re just jealous. Just because Kylie has cut you loose…again,” I said a little hatefully. Daniel’s eyes met mine and they were anything but warm. They were cold as ice as he curled his lip. I smirked and he looked away. Though my momentary sense of victory was lost as I realized how badly our friendship was suffering.

I had this horrible feeling that we might never recover from this nasty detour we had taken. My feelings had morphed into nothing but bitterness and anger while Daniel seemed to be pulling away a little more each day. I had never felt so far away from my friends. We had been joined at the hip our entire lives and now we were like three separate spokes on the wheel. Forever circling, never touching. Was this the future of our friendship? To drift apart until nothing remained of the bond we used to have?

God, what a depressing thought.

I barely listened as Clay piped up and mentioned going to some cabin. Huh? What was he talking about?

“Well, Ruby’s girlfriend, Lisa has a cabin down by Franklin Lake. Maybe we could go down for the night. Like, say the Saturday after Thanksgiving? I mean, it’s really nice. With satellite TV and a huge Jacuzzi tub. It could be a lot of fun.”

Ugh…a night in a cabin with the touchy-feely couple and Mr. Man of my Dreams/Nightmares. I’m not sure I was up for that. So I tried to get out of it. And then somehow I ended up agreeing. Well, this had the makings of a huge mistake.

Maggie proceeded to ream both Danny and I out over our lack of effort in making nice with Clay. Whatever…I was trying. Unlike some people (ahem, Daniel). I was always nice to people, even the ones I wasn’t so sure about. But I could do smiley happy if I was forced to, I suppose.

And then things just got crazy. Jake Fitzsimmons sat down and started flirting with Maggie like he always did. It was no secret he’d been trying to get with her for years. Though it was partially Maggie’s fault for hooking up with him so many times in the past. Every time she threw him a bone, he amped up his efforts that much more. And Jake wasn’t one to care whether she had a boyfriend or not.

One minute Jake and Maggie were laughing and joking together. The next minute they weren’t. And that was because Clay was freaking out. And causing a major scene. Daniel and I glanced at each other with mirrored looks of shock and outrage on our faces. I tried to intervene but even I backed down a bit at the cold and angry look in Clay’s eyes.

After Clay stormed off, Danny and I tried to reason with Maggie. But all she did was defend him.

“No, everything will be fine. Come on, you guys would be pissed if you saw someone flirting with your boyfriend or girlfriend. He was just surprised is all,” she pleaded with us, trying to make us back off. But how could we? What we had just witnessed wasn’t normal.

Daniel gripped the table and leaned forward, making his words pointed and clear. “ No, I can’t say I’ve ever had that sort of reaction before. I swear, if he ever puts a hand on you…” he began and I could see the vein bulging on the side of his neck. He was really upset and I knew him well enough to know that it was taking a considerable amount of willpower not to go after Clay and beat some sense into him.

Maggie cut him off. “That’s enough, Danny. Clay would never hurt me.”

Daniel and I looked at each other again. For the first time in weeks, we were on exactly the same page. Maggie left as soon as the bell rang, while Danny and I gathered up our trays. “I seriously want to kick that dude’s ass,” Daniel seethed, dumping his trash out.

He and I walked together to our lockers. “Just calm down, Danny. Using his face as your punching bag won’t help anything,” I reasoned. I understood that this had brought out his protective streak and it was going to be hard to rein that back in.