THE MOMENT
"OWWHATTHEHELL!??" Turner wobbled while trying to keep his balance as Jim let go of his wings. They felt feathery soft while he gripped them, and he was intent on ruining his best friend's night; but, the wings stayed firmly attached, almost like part of Turner's body. They moved almost realistically, causing everyone to give him space. And by now, the scene had attracted everyone's attention. "What's the deal?" Turner asked. Everyone turned to Jim and awaited his answer.
It was a standard Halloween party at an unknown person's house. Neither Turner nor Jim knew who it belonged to, they were just there for a good time like everyone else. College-age superheroes, witches, and catgirls all watched Jim intently. He also wore a costume with wings. He professed some sort of raven creature that he made up as soon as he heard Turner was going as an angel. Jim's black wings were shoddily cut cardboard scribbled over with black marker, a far cry from Turner's brilliant white wings that were now folded on his back.
"What's the deal with your costume?!" Jim shot back. "How do you always make such god damn amazing costumes!?"
"What?" Turner asked with a softer, confused voice. "Dude, if you want some pointers, I'd love to talk about it with you. You're my best friend. You've just never asked."
The rest of the party decided nothing interesting was happening afterall and went back to having a good time. But, Jim wasn't having it. Turner always got the most attention at parties and he was sick of it. He knew if he didn't have the best costume on, all that extra attention would fall to him.
"Take it off, let me see how you rigged it to yourself," Jim said.
"Can it wait until after the party?"
"NO," Jim shook his head.
"What do you mean, 'no'?" Turner chuckled, he thought his friend was kidding.
"I mean it can't wait," Jim said. He felt braver now that they weren't the center of attention anymore, and well-stocked bar didn't hurt his courage either. "I'm SICK of you getting the most attention every time we come to one of these."
"The most attention? Compared to whom? You?" Turner had come to a decision. It wasn't an easy one, he'd liked Jim at some point enough to become best friends. But, his behavior had gotten more problematic lately, and this was just another symptom. "I've talked to three girls, how many have you tried to talk to? None, because I watched you standing alone, drinking miserable all night. I'm not going to take my costume off here, and I think we need to redefine our relationship," he said.
"So, what, you don't want to be my best friend anymore?" Jim asked and Turner nodded.
"I think that would be the best direction right now," he said. "It's not very 'best-friendly' to be so jealous. Like, really bro. What exactly are you sick of? Me having a nicer costume? Dude, you threw yours together this morning! I've been working on mine since Halloween last year. And instead of being happy that I've got a healthy hobby, you're... what trying to wreck it? You wanted to publicly ruin all the hard work I put into this?" Turner shook his head and walked to another corner of the party. But, not without leaving Jim some helpful advice. "That's not how friends work."