Starry Eyes

It was nine o'clock at night and my parents still hadn't come home. Too bad. I was looking forward in seeing my sister trying to explain herself to them about her new boyfriend. What was his name again? Um...yeah, Strify?
I laughed quietly to myself. Strify. That was by far the weirdest name I'd ever heard.
What was his mom thinking when she named him that? Does she not like her own son?
I shook my head and continued flipping through the channels. Jeez. One hundred channels and nothing good was on? Friday wasn't turning out to be a good day for me anymore.
After three more minutes of going through all the crappy channels, miraculously, something good was starting. One of my favorite cartoons. I snuggled myself between the cushions and rested both my legs on the coffee table.
"Um, hi there."
My eyebrows furrowed at the sound of an unfamiliar voice coming from behind me. I turned my body on the couch, only to find that Strify guy standing there with a small, yet sort of timid, smile on his face.
My forehead scrunched in confusion. Was he lost?
"Hi?"
His smile turned into a smirk. "Where do you keep the goods?"
I made a face. What the hell is he talking about? What exactly was his definition of goods? Drugs, perhaps? Oh great. My sister managed to grab a junkie.
"The g-goods?"
Strify laughed at my apparent humorous reaction. "Candy."
"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling relieved and a bit stupid. But then again, how would I know he'd be talking about candy?
"Usually we keep the edibles in the kitchen," I answered ironically.
This made him chuckle. "Right."
I waited for him to leave, but he just continued standing there, with his hands in his pockets.
Hmm.
I narrowed my eyes. "You lose something?"
He shook his head in response and turned around, aiming for the kitchen. I stared after him, with a perplexed look on my face.
What the hell?
A few minutes later, I decided to turn the TV off. Dragonball just wasn't doing it for me. I was still bored out of my mind. I finally stood up from the couch with a sigh and headed for the kitchen, suddenly realising how thirsty I was.
As I got there, I slowed in my tracks, seeing that Strify guy sitting on the kitchen counter, reading the back of a cereal box.
I didn't say anything as I headed towards the fridge and grabbed some orange juice.
Strify didn't say anything either. It was like he didn't even notice me coming in.
While I poured the juice in my old plastic Barbie cup, I couldn't help but wonder if that boy was planning on spending the night. He didn't seem in any rush to get back home or to wherever the hell he came from.
My parents wouldn't approve of that at all. A boy sleeping over? Dad would go ballistic for sure. Suddenly, that thought made me grin my evil grin again. Oh, one could only hope for such.
I spun around and drank my juice silently while my eyes laid upon that Strify character. How could I have not noticed before? This kid was bizarre. I mean, he looked bizarre. His outfit was a tad gothic, what with all the black and the studded belt and the pointy black boots. If he had some fangs then he'd really be giving in to the the whole vampiristic effect.
His name really matched his look. Strange.
And his hair. Wow. It was blonde on the top and black at the bottom, and it reached just above his shoulders. Insane characteristics for a guy who was dating Erika. He looked way beyond her type. I thought she was more into the jock, macho man type. Hmm.
While I held my cup in my hands, I couldn't help but stare intently. This boy's face was gorgeous. I mean, really gorgeous. He sort of resembled a girl, to be honest. Regardless. He was still incredibly attractive.
I shrugged off a sudden tingly feeling inside.
Unexpectedly, Strify looked up from the cereal box and I felt myself nearly losing balance. I quickly regained my posture and set my cup in the sink.
Seriously, making a fool of yourself in front of your sister's boyfriend?
"You okay?" Strify asked with a quiet laugh.
I turned to face him. I gave him an awkward smile. "I-I'm fine."
He looked at me suspiciously, but shrugged it off.
Okay, now turn around and exit the kitchen. You've been staring at him for too long.
I was just about to do what my mind was telling me, but Strify's voice echoed the air again.
"Have you read this? It's hilarious." He held up the cereal box in his hand.
I paused. "O-Oh, the cartoon? Yeah, I did. I always laugh at that," I answered, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.
He smiled. "I like reading random stuff."
"So do I."
He nodded, looking back down at the box. For a minute, I thought our, what I could only assume 'conversation', was over. But it wasn't.
"You like manga?" He asked out of the blue. Again.
Was he actually trying to make small talk? With me? Where the hell was Erika, anyways?
I cleared my throat. "Um, yeah, actually. Got a few stashed in my room."
His blue-gray eyes lit up, as if not expecting the words that came out of my mouth. "No way."
"Yeah," I answered with a shrug. "I'm very into the whole Japanese manga arts thing. That's kinda what inspires me to draw."
"You draw?" He inquired, seeming fairly intrigued, as he pushed the cereal box aside.
"Sometimes. I suck, though," I answered honestly with a laugh, as I waved my hand.
He too laughed. "I'm sure you don't."
"No, trust me. I do. All the eyes come out huge and disproportional."
"Maybe you can show them to me sometime?"
My eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Y-You want to see my drawings?"
He shrugged, suddenly nodding. "Yeah. I'm into the whole Japanese arts, too."
I beamed. "That's awesome. Glad to know I'm not the only geek."
He laughed. "You're not. Trust me."
I looked down, now playing with my ring. What was I doing? Talking to one of the many guys my sister brings home? And enjoying it?
Except this guy is actually interesting. And he enjoys the same stuff I do.
Strify chuckled, cutting me off from my thoughts. I stared at him strangely.
"What?"
He shook his head. "Your sister said your dysfunctional."
I snorted. "Don't believe everything you hear. Especially coming from Erika's mouth." Then I paused. "Although...."
Strify raised an eyebrow. "Although what?"
"I don't totally disagree with you on the whole dysfunctional thing. I mean, I'm far from being normal. It sort of drives people away for some reason."
Strify leaned back against the chair. He stared at me in wonder with a smirk. "You don't look normal."
I narrowed my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Gee, thanks."
He laughed. "I meant it as a compliment."
I slowly uncrossed my arms, letting them hang loosely by my sides. "Oh. Then, thanks. No sarcasm included."
"I'm weird too, you know," He said, taking his index finger and making circular motions on the counter table. I stared.
"You don't say," I responded wryly.
He smirked. "I like being bizarre."
"Really?"
"Yeah. What's so great about being normal, anyways? Us freaks know how to have fun without being the slightest of normal."
I shifted my weight to my right leg. "Us?"
"Me and my friends. If you think I'm weird, you should see the rest of them."
For some reason, this made me smile big. "You're kidding. There are more of you?"
He grinned, flashing his bright shiny teeth at me. "Indeed."
A sudden cough made me jump back and I quickly turned, being face to face with Erika.
"What are you doing?" She asked me with a look of suspicion.
I gave her the same look. "Nothing."
She lifted an eyebrow as if not believing me and then turned to Strify.
"Strify, what the hell were you doing down here? I've been waiting for you upstairs for like a half an hour."
Strify shot her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I was hungry."
"Aww. That's okay."
"And I was talking to your sister," He added, motioning towards me.
Erika's eyes flew to my face. "Why?"
I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything.
Strify laughed quietly and stood up from his chair. "I think I'm gonna go. It's late. Your parents are gonna be home soon, aren't they?" He said, walking over to Erika and planting a small kiss on her cheek.
I scrunched my nose.
Erika pouted. "Aw. Don't leave."
"I have to. Me and the guys have band practice tomorrow and I have to be fully rested or else my voice comes out all shitty."
My eyes widened. "You're in a band?"
Stirfy's eyes met mine, and a grin appeared on his gorgeous face. "Yeah."
I just smiled. He's in a band. What are the odds?
Erika rolled her eyes at me and grabbed Strify by his collar, laying a violent kiss on his lips which made my insides twirl like mad.
Strify pulled away gently. "See you, babe. Bye, you," He told me before turning on his heel and walking towards the front door.
Once the sound of the door closing met my ears, I leaned nonchalantly in the doorway of the kitchen. Meanwhile, Erika just stared at me.
I sighed out. "Erika, what the hell is the matter with you? Do I have something on my face?"
She rolled her eyes. "You talked to Strify."
"So?"
"So? What did you talk about with him?" She snapped, taking me aback.
What the hell? She actually made it sound like she was jealous or something. And I knew there was no way in hell that Erika Lindström would be jealous of her younger, dysfunctional sister.
I frowned. "Why do you wanna know?"
"Because he's my boyfriend."
"I don't care what he is," I spat, walking past her.
Erika followed, sighing impatiently. "Tell me, Norah."
I shot her a look of disbelief. "We didn't talk much. He just asked me if I like manga and I said yes."
She crossed her arms, and pursed her lips. "Is that all?"
"No. Then after that, we got freaky on the kitchen counter."
Her jaw dropped. "Stop messing around."
I shrugged. "We talked about nothing else."
"Well, good. It was really hard to get this guy to go out with me and I certainly don't want you to mess things up."
"What are you talking about? How would I mess this up? He's your boyfriend."
She shrugged. "You're kind of a screw-up. No offense."
"Oh, sure. None taken," I answered sarcastically. "What are you even doing with this guy, Erika? He's not even remotely close to being your type."
She smirked. "Nope. And that's what intrigues me. He's very reserved most of the time." She laughed slyly. "I couldn't even make him do anything upstairs. All we did was fool around a bit, but nothing serious actually happened."
I paused. "Um. I think's that a little too much info, Erika. Spare me the details of your sex life."
"What sex life?" She joked. "But anyways, don't bore this guy with your conversations about Dragonball Z and all that other geeky crap, alright? He's a grown man. Sophisticated. And too old to be listening to the childish things you have to say."
I crossed my arms. "Bite me."
She rolled her eyes. "See. That right there. That's what makes you childish."
"Would it help if I throw in a really really bad word?"
She scoffed. "Whatev. I'm done talking to you." She then flipped her long blonde hair back and spun around on her heel, walking away.
I flipped her the great ol' obscene finger gesture, and went to sit down on the kitchen counter. I started drumming my fingers against the marble countertop, wondering why Erika was so pissed that I spoke to her boyfriend. I wasn't even the one who started the conversation. Though, I was glad Strify did.
I would've never had the guts.