Quiet Boys.

Friday and Saturday, I chose to not contact Awkward Ivan. I wanted to see if he would talk to me first.
Because, let’s face it, I can’t start everything.
He’s got potential to do everything for himself.
Unfortunately he disappointed me a little, and Sunday, I caved.
How do I stay away from robin blue and sunny yellow eyes?
And a gap through front teeth that a train could travel through?
And chaotic, cluttered hair?
I don’t, that’s the answer.
And Allison was away with a dainty girl named Denise, so I was bored.
And so I called.
He answered on the third ring, maybe contemplating, maybe not.
“Hello?”
“Ivan, why haven’t you been talking to me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, come on. We haven’t spoken in a few days.”
“Honestly, I don’t know how to start a conversation,” he said, and I pictured him looking around nervously. I laughed.
“Just say hi, and leave the rest to me.”
“Hi.”
Oh, oh, oh. I like you a lot a lot.
“There you go, kid. What are you doing?”
“Nothing. Talking, to you.”
“Let’s turn that nothing into something. Come over. It’s still pretty early in the day. We’ve got plenty of time to make something good of today.”
“You, you don’t…want to go out, um. Somewhere?” Ivan’s voice was shaky. I suppressed a giggle.
“Do you not want to come over here because there will be a bed nearby? Because Ivan, that’s just silly. People have sex in cars, and on the floor, and in public bathrooms, and on tables, and everywhere.”
I heard him laugh, but I knew he was flushing madly.
“That’s, that’s not what I was-”
“Stop stuttering, and come over. Get in your truck and come over.”
After more protests, I gave him my address. He was over within twenty minutes.
I skipped down my stairs when I heard the soft knock at the door. Maybe I was a little too excited.
When I opened the door he was fumbling with his hands and ended up shoving his hands in his pockets and just blinking at me.
“Come in.”
He stepped in, kind of slowly, never taking his eyes off of me.
“Hi.”
“No need to look so scared.”
“You said so yourself, you’re scared of me.”
His eyes wandered away from mine, to the floor. His face was blazing again. I bit my lip to stop the smile from creeping up and taking over.
“Yeah, you do. In the strange way.”
“Good, it should be strange. Screw normality,” I told him, tilting my head.
“I’m not normal either, I don’t even think,” Ivan said, his voice shaky and fragile. He was such a fragile person. He was like a baby, a baby that I wanted to hold.
“Obviously you aren’t. I don’t like normal people. They bore me to death.”
I proceeded to walk back up the stairs, and Ivan hesitantly followed.
I sat down on my bed and he sat down on the floor, leaning against my bed, and looked up at me. I couldn’t help but smile stupidly at him. He looked so innocent and awkward I could have died happy right there.
“You don’t get out much, do you?” I asked. He shrugged.
“No, no I don’t I guess.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t get invited places.”
“Then invite yourself!” I exclaimed.
“What do you mean?” He asked, giving me a peculiar look.
“I mean, if you have nothing to do, make it up. Wing it. Do you wing it?”
“No.”
“Well you should! Go outside and look for cloud formations. Climb trees, scrape your knees, chase the sunset, watch the sunrise, do cartwheels, wander around streets you don’t know, count the number of cracks in the sidewalk, get hurt, get rough, get dirty, just feel.”
I looked down at him again, and he was staring at me with wide eyes.
“Just, all the time?” He asked. What a silly question.
“Of course all the time. You haven’t got everyday to do those things. I mean, you can’t possibly sit around and wait for things to happen. Whether you’re with someone else or not, you should.”
“You’re right. But, don’t you…don’t you think it’s even better if you’re with someone?”
“Maybe. But I don’t have the time to wait for someone to share experiences with. I meet people along the way in my adventures. Besides, I’m not looking for anyone to do all these things with. I’m not looking for love. Love is overrated.”
“Love isn’t overrated. Love is the best thing,” Ivan said seriously. I rolled my eyes.
“Have you been in love Ivan? And I know you love your family but I mean another human being besides your family?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Then how do you know it’s the best thing!? Love can die anyway. What you want to find is a soul mate. And that isn’t always taken in a romantic sense. A soul mate is just someone else who catches your drift. Who gets you in every way possible. That’s why I’m not looking. I think you just stumble upon people like that.”
“Parker?” Ivan asked in the quietest of voices.
“Yeah?”
“How do you know all these things. You’re so much wiser than the average sixteen year old don’t you think? You’re…you’re quite incredible.” He blushed, and I got a big smile.
“Ivan, I could just tackle you for saying that. But I won’t. I don’t want to scare you anymore.”
“Maybe…maybe I’m not really as scared of you as I thought. I might… be…getting-getting-” Ivan started, but I could him off. I shushed him with a finger to my lips.
“Ivan, breathe in, breathe out, be calm. Say exactly what you want exactly the way you want to say it. Confidence is a must in this harsh world.”
He took a few deep breathes, looked around, and then looked at me again.
“What I meant to say is, maybe I’m getting used to you. And I like it. A lot. People, and, I mean no one. Acts like you, or says anything like you. And nobody sees me. And since no one is even remotely similar to you, maybe that’s why you saw me.” Ivan said it all very slowly. His face was red and his voice was a little shaky, but it was pretty great.
“You better be getting used to it kid, because I’m going to be around. I’m not letting you go. I’m going to teach you everything I know.”
Ivan gave me a guilty look, guilty for what, I could only imagine. Then he gave me a half smile and I saw the gap in his teeth again and I felt my heart go pitter-patter.
“Looking forward to it.”