Speechless(168)

                “You know how to make tuna melts.”

                “I made one, once. And only because you showed me.”

                “Well, then I can teach you more. You can ride my skateboard.                     I’ll listen to your music. I usually stick to political blogs, but I’ll read                     your celebrity gossip ones, if you want. But, Chelsea, all that stuff…it’s just                         stuff. It doesn’t matter.”

                “Of course it matters!” I sit up                     and rub my eyes. “Mutual interests! It’s what ties people together! You’re going                     to get bored of me, because I’m so shallow and                     stupid, you don’t even know.”

                “I really don’t think that’s a concern.” He’s still smiling,                     and it drives me a little crazy how completely unworried he is. Does he not hear                     what I’m saying? “So you like reading about celebrities. So you like clothes and                     stuff. So what?” he says. “And don’t give me this crap about how shallow and                     stupid you are—we both know you wouldn’t be hanging out with Asha and all of us                     if that was true. You’d still be friends with Kristen and that crowd.” He                     pauses, and the smile fades. “Is that what you want? To be friends with them                     again?”

                “That’s not an option.”

                “What if it was?”

                “No.” I don’t even have to think about it. “God, no.”

                “Why not?”

                Because I don’t even miss Kristen anymore. Okay, I miss the                     idea of Kristen, a little, but not the cold, hard reality of what it means to                     Kristen’s best friend. Because what I thought was important to me then doesn’t                     feel so important anymore. Because I don’t have anything in common with them,                     either, and all of that stuff didn’t really mean                     anything in the end, anyway, did it?

                Maybe Sam’s right. Maybe when it comes down to it, what we’re                     interested in doesn’t mean so much—it’s who you are that ties people                     together.

                “You asked me before, why I wasn’t mad at you,” he says. “It’s                     because you turned Warren and Joey in. You did that. Now I just want to                     know…why? What made you do it?”