"Crap!"

Addie turns towards me, looking around for the source of my yelling. Held awkwardly between my fingers is a small brush, dark green nail polish dripping from its bristles. The thing is about as accurate as an online personality test. Or maybe I just have really small toes. Either way, this whole glam thing is not doing me any favours.

"You know that the paint is supposed to go on your nails, right?"

I smile sheepishly. I had warned Addie from the very beginning that asking me to do anything artistic was a mistake. Last time I tried getting creative it ended in a hit-and-run. For some reason though, Addie insisted that she couldn't watch a movie without multitasking. Considering how little attention she's paid to Donnie Darko I find this especially ironic.

"I blame my lack of inspiration. I mean come on – 'Hit Me Baby One More Pine'? That is an awful colour name. I can't work under these conditions."

Addie laughs and launches into a rant about the nail polish industry. Her words are about as interesting as a tank of sea monkeys. Ever since Addie arrived at my house a couple hours ago, she's been trying to avoid any lull in conversation. I think she's worried I'll bring up our awkward encounter yesterday if given the chance. Truth is, I'd rather keep that buried too. Whatever Addie has going on in her life is her business – she'll tell me when she's ready. Lord knows I could use one less secret. It's not like taking out a bunch of cash is unheard of anyways. Maybe she's buying a plane ticket for her trip in the summer, or owes her parents a bunch of money. There's tons of explanations that don't involve locker 218.

My cellphone starts ringing and Addie's forced to stop her sentence short, looking at me curiously.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey. It's me."

His voice, which is usually soft and clear, comes out tired. I instantly regret picking up the phone without checking the caller ID first, dreading another conversation with Felix. Usually I'd just hang up and be done with it, but Felix can be a little sensitive – hurting his feelings may come back to bite me.

I tell Addie that it's some estranged relative and excuse myself from the room, sitting down on the hallway carpet outside. The last thing I need is her listening in on my phone call, especially if Felix starts back up with the accusations.

"Please tell me you're not calling about the investigation. I'm really not in the mood for another argument."

I can hear him sigh quietly on the other end. "I'm calling to apologize, I swear. I shouldn't have pushed so hard about Addie. Obviously that's going to make you upset."

He sounds sincere, and it's enough to thaw my cold heart the slightest bit. The fact that he's willing to say sorry shows how good Felix's intentions were. In his mind, Addie being the high school criminal makes sense. I guess I can't hold that against him.

"Water under the bridge." I say. "I'm not the forgiveness type, but we can settle on agreeing to disagree. Until we catch this guy and you find out that I was right this whole time, of course."

Felix continues, still not seemingly satisfied. "Here's the thing though. I'd feel a lot better about being an asshole if I actually saw you in person. Maybe on a... hangout of sorts. Unless the idea of me having an anxiety attack for the entire weekend is no big deal to you. I promise there'll be grovelling."

Goosebumps rise on my skin, as though a slight breeze has made its way into the house. Pulling down my sleeves, I try to ignore the new sensation. Maybe hell is freezing over.

"Do you realize that this is the lamest guilt tactic I've ever heard? 'Hey, sorry I bitched out your friend, wanna go bowling?'"

He chuckles, the laugh crackling through my cellphones speakers like a campfire. "In my defense, I was also planning to pay. That's gotta make some kind of difference. And I am a really big fan of bowling. Wouldn't it be cool to do something together that didn't involve possible expulsion?"

I remain silent, hesitant to reject him. Felix sounds genuinely excited about this. Saying no to him felt like shitting in a kid's cornflakes.

"Don't think of it as a big deal." He continues. "Think of it as two buddies, having fun, throwing around giant heavy balls."

"Yeah, I'm going to need you to reword that."

"I'm hanging up now." Felix states. "Text me tomorrow if you're interested."

"All right, I promise I'll text you. And who knows – maybe it'll be a yes."

Sticking to his word, Felix ends the call and leaves me sitting in the hallway alone. Well, actually alone. I wait a few moments before returning to my bedroom in hopes that my cheeks will stop blushing.

"So, how's the random uncle doing?" Addie asks, turning her head away from the TV as I walk in. "Or was it an aunt? Who were you talking to again? You were out there a while."

"Uh, aunt. She had bad dementia so I kept having to remind her who I was. Super depressing."

I'm not sure why I lie to her. All I know is that the image of Addie freaking out over my not-date with Felix gives me upper lip sweat. I already feel bad enough spending so much time with a guy who isn't my boyfriend, so the last thing I need is Addie's judgement – or worse, her approval. Keeping Felix and Addie separate is the best course of action. Plain and simple.

What's important is that I'm not doing anything wrong. Felix and I are friends - that's it. Bowling is about the least sexy activity in the world. Stooping down to Zak's level and becoming some kind of serial cheater is not on my agenda, so there's absolutely no reason to feel guilty. Anyone with half a brain would say the exact same thing.

The question is: does Zak have half a brain?

* * * * *

If you had told me a year ago that I'd be hanging out with Felix Peiks at a downtown bowling alley on a Saturday night, I never would have believed you. And yet, against all odds, here we are. Britney Spears is blasting over the speakers, a plate of greasy nachos sits on my lap and Felix has just succeeded in getting his third strike in a row. The weirdest part? I'm loving every minute of it.

Naturally this type of outing is a big step up from my usual Saturday nights. I'm more of a lie-in-bed-and-avoid-my-family type. Socializing? Who needs it.

"You know Felix," I say, watching as he sits back down next to me. "For someone who has such a ludicrous amount of money you really don't flaunt it much. Like, sure, you have fancy hair and live in a giant mansion, but you're never obnoxious. I mean here we are in a freaking bowling alley. A greasy, rundown, middle of nowhere bowling alley, and somehow you fit right in."

"I think you're forgetting about the almost two-hundred thousand dollar Maserati I have parked in the lot outside." He boasts.

"You mean the car you're borrowing from your mom? Oh yeah, real cool there bud."

He points a challenging finger at me. "Now hold on a second there missy. You should have seen the sweet ride I used to have. Compared to that thing, my mom's car may as well be a used Corolla."

The smile quickly fades from my face. I wonder if Felix can sense the guilt slowly overflowing inside of me, or the uncomfortable look in my eyes. Crashing into his car was one thing, but I committed a full-on hit and run. How do you forgive something like that?

"Hey Felix?"

He looks at me with big, searching eyes. "Yeah?"

"I need to tell you something. About your car. It's... it's kind of a lo-"

"You're the one who crashed into."

His interruption stops me in my tracks. My heart begins hammering, and I try to sputter out a response. "How... how did you?"

"I saw you that night. Through my bedroom window... after the sound woke me up. I was so mad at first. I remember putting some pants on so I could come outside to yell at you. Scream. But then I looked out the window and I saw your face and... I recognized you. And you were just standing there, beside my car, with a phone in your hand. And you were talking to someone so casually. It was so... weird. And then you left. You left and I went back to bed like nothing even happened. The next morning when my dad was leaving for work, he noticed the car. I panicked and told him I had crashed it the night before while out for a joy ride, and for some reason he believed me. Said if I wanted it repaired I'd have to save up the money myself."

He stops talking, and the air between us suddenly feels heavy. I'm speechless. The guy had what was probably a million-dollar car and I totalled it. Totalled it. He should be ripping me limb from limb right now. Instead Felix continues sitting on the red vinyl seat, calmly waiting for me to say something. No yelling. No fiery eyes. Only waiting.

"Felix... why did you lie for me?"

"Honestly," He replies, half laughing, "I'm not completely sure. I think back to your face that night and you looked... lost. Like, however bad my night had gotten, yours was ten times worse."

"I can't believe you did that for me. Dude I- I feel like shit."

"It's just a car Ali. I dunno. I spent my whole life surrounded by stuff. Piles and piles of stuff. I'm tired of it. You're a person, and you made a mistake, and I forgive you."

Leaning towards him, I grab both of Felix's hands into my own. "I am so fucking lucky to have you as a friend. Seriously. I don't deserve you."

"Are you kidding me? Ali you saved me. That night of Dylan's party when you stood up for me in front of Kevin? I was convinced that no one gave a shit about me. Before that game of truth or dare people were bullying me all the time. In the halls, in class, in the cafeteria. I hated coming to school. Then I started hanging out with you."

His words bounce around my ears, more meaningful than any other compliment I've been given. In that moment I'm sure that letting Felix into my life was one of the best decisions I could have made. We were opposites in every way imaginable, and yet it felt as though we'd been friends for decades.

"I guess we're pretty good for each other, huh? You with your gentle kindness, me with my take-no-shit attitude. Like a lame superhero duo."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. I think your no-shit attitude is a great superpower. Very useful. Tell me, how does one become so intimidating?"

Thinking for a moment, I give him an honest answer. "When you grow up in my house, not taking other people's shit is a necessary skill. My brother Alex practically speaks in shit."

Felix seems to consider this. "Really? Your brother is one of the few people at school that I never minded. We were lab partners in a chemistry class last year and the guy was pretty cool. Kind of an idiot when it came to science, sure, but he was always nice to me."

The instant he says it, my face turns hot and prickly. I don't know why the remark bothers me. Something about the idea of Felix and Alex acting all buddy-buddy, laughing at inside jokes and making up secret handshakes. It almost makes me feel.... Jealous maybe? No. Betrayed. Like Felix is breaking the fundamental loyalty of our friendship by enjoying my brother's company.

Hoping to feign nonchalance, I tie up my thick hair distractedly. "Whatever. You don't have to live with him. If we weren't twins and obligated to have familial love for each other I'd probably hate the guy."

"God, I always forget that he's your twin." He looks at me, studying my face closely. "I guess you do kind of look alike. Your eyes..." For a moment it's like everything stops and I swear he leans closer. "The, um, colour..." He stammers, snapping back into reality. "the colour of your eyes." 

"I'll try not to take too much offence. Alex is uglier than an ape, but sure, his eyes are alright." I laugh to myself softly then. "My mom did push the twin thing pretty hard when we were younger though. I mean come on, look what she named us."

"Ali and Alex?" Felix asks confused.

"Alexandra and Alexander." I correct.

In all his predictability, Felix has to stop himself from falling out of the chair. "You have got to be joking me. This whole time your name has been Alexandra? That has got to be the funniest thing I've heard all week and I will quite literally never let you live it down."

Minutes go by and Felix continues cackling at my expense. This is the exact reason why I try not to tell people my full name. I'm basically cursed. Cursed to always be linked to my brother, constantly compared and contrasted to him. We're like a package deal, except I don't remember agreeing to be packaged.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Next time we hangout we're gonna talk about your embarrassing secrets, not mine. And then we'll see who's making fun of who."

Felix's eyes light up at the suggestion. "Next time, eh? I can hardly wait."

* * * * *

Felix and I stumble out onto the street with cheap plushies filling our hands, stopping at the edge of the busy city sidewalk. The nighttime air is cool against my sweat slicken face and old streetlamps illuminate our mirrored smiles.

We walk towards the nearby parking lot, getting ready to leave, when a sleek black car pulls over beside us. Some kind of convertible by the looks of it, completely out of place considering the run-down location.

"That's weird," Felix states, "I'm pretty sure that's my dad's car."

He gets closer to the stopped vehicle and waits while the driver rolls down his window.

"Felix," a man says, "you need to come home with me."

I recognize the voice immediately. It's the same deep tone that spoke to me on Wednesday at Interim Accounting.

Mr. Peiks. Felix's father. I wonder what he's doing here so late.

"Dad, I drove here myself in mom's truck. I have a ride home."

At this, Mr. Peiks opens the car door and steps onto the busy street, holding his hand towards Felix. "Forget about that, someone will come to collect your mother's SUV later. I need you to come with me now."

The man pauses for a moment, suddenly becoming aware of my presence, and turns his head to look at me.

The instant our eyes meet I realize the mistake I've made. Even without the blonde wig and heavy makeup, there's an instant flash of recognition across Mr. Peik's face. His mouth opens slightly, but no words come out.

"This is Ali, my friend." Felix interjects. "The one I was telling you about, dad?"

The stare holds for another second before Mr. Peiks returns his gaze to Felix. I swallow fiercely, certain he's going to expose me. Felix will find out that I've been working undercover at his dad's company, and that's sure to raise some questions – questions I don't want to answer.

Instead, Mr. Peiks grabs Felix's arm and pulls him away. "For the last time son, we need to go. Say goodbye to your friend and get in the car."

Felix waves to me, shrugging his shoulders in confusion, and follows his dad without another word.

I'm left standing on the sidewalk like an idiot, no way to get home, cold and wet and worried. I don't understand why Felix's dad didn't just rip me apart right there. I have no idea if the only reason he stayed quiet was so that he could throw me under the bus later. The thought scares me so much I almost panic. Felix forgave me about the car thing. He forgives me for being an ass on a daily basis. But could he forgive this? Me digging through his family's business behind his back, waiting to find some kind of skeleton...

Will there come a point where I'll have to choose between my father and my friend? 

Taking out my phone, I call a cab to pick me up. The twenty bucks it'll cost me is well worth avoiding a call to my mother. She'd probably ground me all over again for disturbing her peaceful evening.

Besides, there's nothing more I want right now than to be alone.