Nicole had found Amy a tank top and leggings to borrow until her clothing had dried. The two were sitting on the couch eating the ramen Amy had made for Nicole, it was spicy and not in a way that was appetizing to Amy. Still she ate it so none of it went to waste. Nicole reached over Amy's lap to grab the remote and turn on the television. "Do you want to watch something?" Amy shrugged, agreeing. "How does horror sound?" Amy was not a fan of horror movies but she was the guest so she reluctantly agreed.
"When you say horror do you mean like a slasher or supernatural?" Amy didn't particularly like either, but supernatural horror was more out there and harder for her to believe in.
"I was thinking slasher, nothing too bad maybe like a Scream-esque movie. Ya'know more cheese than scary." Nicole had noticed the way Amy tensed up when she brought up horror, and decided to spare her friend from nightmares. Amy let out a breath of relief, she hated to admit it but she was kind of a wuss. Nicole found a scream-esque movie and put it in, handing a blanket over to Amy who was still eating her ramen. Nicole leaned forward to look at Amy's face, which was splotchy and damp. Is she sweating, I didn't think the ramen was that spicy. Nicole asked Amy if she wanted something else to eat, she politely declined and continued working on the ramen. "Are you sure, I didn't want to say anything but I'm still kind of hungry. Amy's face lit up as she was relieved of eating the horribly spicy food. "Do you want a normal chicken ramen then?" Amy nodded, wiping the sweat from her face.
"Yes, thank you." She cozied into the blanket Nicole handed her as Nicole walked to the kitchen. This left Amy alone with the scary movie that Nicole had put on. It wasn't that bad, until the jump scares started. Sure they were cheezy and not gory but they still startled her. By the time Nicole came back with Amy's regular ramen she found her friend tucked away into the blanket.
"Oh, I'm sorry, is this movie too scary for you? We can watch something else." Amy shook her head, pulling herself out of her blanket cocoon.
"It's not that bad, just jump scares." Nicole laughed and sat on the couch. She handed Amy her ramen and tugged the blanket away from Amy to lay it over her legs.
"Yeah, sure. Feel free to snuggle if you get scared. And try not to jump, you might spill the ramen. I wouldn't want you to get burned." The two paid more attention to the movie and Amy took Nicole up on her offer of snuggling.
When the movie ended Amy took the bowls left from their ramen to the kitchen and did the dishes. When she got back to the couch she saw Nicole staring at her phone, she snuck up behind her to see what she was staring so intently at. When she was behind Nicole she peeked over her shoulder trying not to breathe, she saw text messages on the screen. Eva, the top of her screen read.
"Thought you would block her after yesterday." Amy said, startling Nicole. "I mean, I thought she was being weird but maybe it was just me." She sat back down on the couch and looked over at Nicole who was staring down at her lap. "I was kidding, I'm sure you guys have your own way of communicating." Nicole shook her head and looked over at Amy.
"You're right, it was weird. I think it must have stressed me out a lot. Maybe that's why I'm sick." Nicole moved closer to Amy. "I don't know why she did that, we're not even that close."
"Maybe she likes you." Amy offered, leaning her head onto Nicole's shoulder.
"God! Why is that everyone's answer, don't you think I'd have known that. We were friends for a long time before eighth grade. If I could just figure what happened then maybe I could figure out why she's suddenly being so chummy."
"Well if you need any help with her you know I'll do whatever I can, within reason." Nicole laughed.
"What exactly do you think I'd ask you to do, you're not my personal hitman." Nicole thought for a moment. "Do you want to sleep over tonight? I know it's a school night but it's been so long since we've hung out away from school."
"What is this about a sleepover?" Chris' voice came from the entrance hall. "As long as it's alright with your mom I think it's fine, both of your moms." He said, poking his head into the living room. "Amy, it's been a while since you've been over. And Nicole I heard you were sick. Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, Chris I'm fine mom asked Amy to come over and take care of me since she had a late day at work. So if our moms give us the okay Amy can stay over?"
"Sure, I don't see why not, but Amy hasn't agreed yet so lets wait for her answer before we start planning." Nicole looked over at Amy with a huge grin on her face.
"Sure, I'd love to stay. Let me just call my mom, I'm sure she'll be fine with it. We can both just bike to school tomorrow. Or do you normally walk?"
"We can bike tomorrow since you brought yours to take care of me. Now call your mom so you can stay over!" Nicole handed Amy her phone so she could call her mom.
"I'll go make the call in another room." Amy walked towards the hallway leading to Nicole's bedroom. She could hear Amy making the call, the conversation was brief and then Amy came back to the living room. "She says it's fine, I just have to be home tomorrow. Are you sure you can go to school tomorrow? You still look kinda sick."
"I guess we'll see." She smiled and then ran towards her bedroom. "Come on, I have to clean and make my bed, we may as well talk while I do that, right?" Amy nodded and followed, thinking only of the night that they would have together.