Ari scrunches his nose. “Do we have to? I’m kind of tired of getting my cards read.”
“That’s because you always get the death card.”
“Which proves just how inaccurate tarot reading is.”
She waves a finger and tsks him. “Don’t insult the cards.”
He tries to maintain his frown, but eventually heaves a sigh and surrenders. “Fine, I’ll go, but only if Greyson comes, too.” He looks at me pleadingly, as if he’s crossing his fingers I’ll reject the offer so he won’t have to go himself.
“Sorry,” I tell him. “But I really would like to get out of my apartment. I’m starting to go stir crazy.”
Jenna claps her hands, jumping up and down and sticking her tongue out at Ari, who sighs again before chuckling.
“Fine, I’ll go,” he concedes. “But only if we can go home and get some work done before we go out.”
Jenna agrees and we say our good-byes, the two of them waving as they head off toward the parking lot, leaving me to make the five-mile walk home by myself. I don’t mind being alone, though. It gives me some time to clear my head.
My thoughts drift back over the day’s events, feeling pretty content with the way it played out. Well, outside of Seth freaking out on me. I can’t stop stressing about what I could have possibly done wrong.
***
Before I go out with Ari and Jenna, I decide to pick up takeout because I’m tired of pizza. I call in my order before beginning the short walk to the restaurant, zipping up my jacket and pulling my hood over my head when the chilly evening air hits me. Staring up at the full moon, I think about what an awesome picture it would be and curse myself for not bringing my camera.
I’m almost to the restaurant when my phone rings. Fishing it out from my pocket, I smile when I see Jenna’s name flash across the screen.
“What’s up?” I answer, putting the phone up to my ear.
“Nothing,” she says cheerfully. “We were just getting ready to head to your place, but then I realized I don’t have your address.”
“I’m actually walking right now to pick up some takeout.”
“From which restaurant? We’ll just meet you there.”
“I think it’s called the Moonlight Diner.” I glance up at the street sign as I approach the corner. “It’s on Cherry and Peach.”
“That sounds like the name of a slushy,” she remarks. “Oh! We should totally stop at the Snow Cone Palace on our way downtown.”
I hear Ari holler something about being tired of snow cones and Jenna yells, “You can never get tired of snow cones.” There’s a pause and then she says, “Wait at the restaurant for us. We’ll be there in ten.”
“Okay. See you in a few.” I hang up and pick up the pace, noting how much better I feel than I did just a few moments ago.
I don’t know why I was so worried about making friends. I’m doing okay, at least with Ari and Jenna.
As I turn into the parking lot of the Moonlight Diner, though, I’m reminded that not all my friendly endeavors were a success.
Standing near the entrance doors below the neon signs and twinkling lights is Seth. He’s near the ashtrays, smoking a cigarette and talking to a guy with short brown hair that I think is in my Biology class.
Seth is talking animatedly, his hands flailing through the air as he speaks. “I know. It’s so crazy, right…” He trails off when he spots me.
Even though it’s pretty dark, I can see him stiffen. He seems so uneasy about the prospect of talking to me that I consider letting him off the hook, but I’m fucking hungry and I’m not about to walk away from my dinner.
I cross the parking lot, stuffing my hands into my back pockets as I reach the two of them. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Oh, hey,” Seth replies tensely. He glances at the guy then scratches his head and takes a drag of his cigarette. “What are you doing here?”
I point at the diner sign. “Getting takeout.”
“Oh, right.” He laughs nervously. “I almost forgot we were at a restaurant.”
I don’t know him very well, but his behavior seems strange and twitchy. Again, I wonder if I misread his signals earlier today when I thought he might be into me. But we held hands for so damn long and I know I saw him checking me out a time or two. Maybe he’s nervous because he’s still trying to find himself? Or perhaps he’s on a date with this guy? I don’t think the latter is the case, though. I’m not really picking up on a date vibe between them.
When a girl wearing a tight red dress comes strolling out of the restaurant, the guy Seth’s with practically breaks his neck to check her out, cementing the fact that it’s definitely not a date. So what’s Seth’s deal, then? Why go from friendly to standoffish in a snap of a finger?
When Seth notices me glancing back and forth between him and the guy, he lets out another nervous laugh. “Oh, yeah, introductions right?” He motions at the guy. “Luke, this is Greyson. Greyson, Luke.”
I give Luke a small wave. “Yeah, I think we have bio together.”
He nods, still somewhat distracted by the girl in the red dress. “It’s nice to meet you, man.”
An awkward silence settles between us, and I decide it’s time to get my food before Jenna and Ari get here. I start for the door at the same time Seth steps for it and we slam into each other. I grab onto his arms as I start to stumble back and our gazes lock. His gaze drops to my lips and his fingers dig into my arms. A heartbeat goes by before he shuffles away from me, but it’s enough time for me to see the want in his eyes beneath the overwhelming fear.
I realize Seth’s afraid to be seen with me. While I was lucky to be born into an accepting family and never had too much of a problem openly being myself, I understand everyone isn’t that lucky. Sadly, I’m guessing Seth is one of the unlucky ones.
I wish I could do something to help him. Hug him or something, tell him it’s okay, that whatever happened to him is going to be fine. But unlike my mother, I don’t believe I can see the future.
As I walk into the restaurant, I decide I’m going to make an effort to get to know him. If for nothing else than to be his friend.
Chapter 4
Seth
I hate how flustered and confused I feel after watching Greyson walk away from me. Part of me wants to apologize for my ridiculous behavior, but part of me is relieved. Luke doesn’t seem like a judgmental person, but I can’t seem to help my reaction. The same thing happened when we were holding hands in class earlier today and a football player took a seat in front of me, sending me straight into a flashback.