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But this was not a date. This was them salvaging the ruins of their friendship.
The bowling alley was busy when they walked in. This place didn’t hold fond memories for either of them. They had fought at this exact bowling alley before. Neither Violet or Charlie had even shared a lane, and yet they somehow found a way to tease each other about their scores, which quickly devolved into a fight.
“Come on," Charlie said, grabbing her elbow. “There’s one lane left in the corner, and I want to get it before anyone else does.”
She nodded, trying to calm the mix of feelings rising within her. She was torn between being terrified that they would yell at each other again or being embarrassed by the way she had been thinking of Charlie in the car.
It wasn’t a date, and she knew it wasn’t. After everything, there was no way they could ever be more than friends, but she had spent six years denying how good he looked. Now that she didn’t hate him, all those feelings were rushing back, pushing themselves to the forefront of her mind. She didn’t know how to stop it.
“Two for the lane in the corner," Charlie told the disinterested teen at the counter.
“Cool. Do you need shoes?”
“Yep.”
“Paying together?”
“No," Violet said forcefully before Charlie could. He looked alarmed for all of one second, before it melted away and he nodded.
Violet let out a breath of relief. She didn’t want this to feel like a date or anything close to it. That was the last thing she needed.
After they paid, they sat down to put their bowling shoes on. Charlie seemed relaxed, as if this wasn’t a huge thing for both to do.
“If I remember correctly,” Charlie said as he tied his shoes. “You’re pretty good at this.”
“So are you," she replied, tossing him a smile.
It was their biggest issue. They were both matched when it came to skill, and they both wanted to be the best.
“Well, what do you say - loser buys pizza?”
“Is that a good idea?” Violet asked. “Are you sure we won’t devolve into us yelling at each other?”
Charlie paused to consider it.
“I think friendly competition is fine," he said eventually. “But maybe we’ll keep personal insults out of it.”
“And if we do insult each other personally, the one who did it has to buy their shitty, overpriced beer, and then chug it.”
“That’s evil," Charlie said, laughing. “But it’s a deal.”
He held out his hand to shake, and Violet didn’t hesitate to shake it. For them, shaking hands signified something. They had shaken on being fake friends, Violet staying longer with Charlie, and now this.
“You’re on," she said.
Violet went first, hurling the ball down the lane with practiced ease. It was an easy strike.
“Ha!” She said, turning to him.
“Well fuck," he said. “I see you haven’t lost any of your skill.”
“I wouldn’t have brought you here if I was bad.”
“Okay, my turn, Moore," Charlie said, walking around her to grab his bowling ball.
“Oh, have we devolved back into last names now?”
“Only during competition.”
