Compare and Contrast

All that could be heard, aside from the snores of the Matt Kean and Matt Nicholls, was the sound of Oliver humming the Jeopardy “think” song. Curtis was staring blankly at the ceiling. I was sitting against the wall in one corner, making teensy braids in my hair, trying to distract myself.

“Hey Oliver,” I started. He was on the opposite side of the room, sitting on the floor and leaned against the wall. He turned his head up, and without missing a beat of the music, sent me a nod as if it ask me what was up.

“Can you -- I don't know -- shut up?”

For a moment he stopped, but then he sent me a smirk and only preceded to hum louder. I rolled my eyes and turned to Craig, who was staring out the large window. The sun was rising, gold, red, and orange splattered across the sky, the view was gorgeous. Almost hypnotizing.

“Well, I'm gonna go look for Lee an' Panic.” Oli announced, standing up and heading for the exit. “I'll be back.”

The remainder of us who were still up said nothing to him, but the moment he disappeared Craig spoke. “So what are we waiting for?”

I shrugged, because honestly I had no idea.

“I'm gonna go then.” He stood and walked across the room toward me. “Want a ride?”

“Not really, no,” I muttered incoherently.

Craig shot me a look. “What?”

“I'm gonna be in so much trouble, it's not even funny. My dad is going to kill me – ”

“I think tha' yeh should wait for the others teh get back, an' wait teh see what they say,” a new voice cut in. Curtis' voice.

Craig took this into consideration for a moment and then nodded in agreement, sliding down beside me.

We waited for Oli, or Panic, or Lee to show up, and give us some sort of news. Tell us to go home, tell us they had a plan. I wasn't sure what sort of plan, but we probably needed one, considering we were being chased after, basically. Apparently, we had something someone wanted. Police. The police could do nothing, the police would think we were just a bunch of crazy kids, who needed to get out heads checked... or our blood.

“This is the plan.” My ears immediately perked up instantly. Panic and Lee and Oli stood before me, I hadn't even noticed them enter the room. “We're going out to eat breakfast,” Panic stated and ran a hand through her damp hair. “You have twenty minutes to take showers and get ready – whatever – and if you're not ready, we're ditching your asses. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. It's on Lee, though.” She sent him a wink and marched out the door.

Oli attempted to wake both the Matt's up, but only Kean complied at the hearing the word “food”.

Craig stood and held a hand out to me. “Are we going?”

I shrugged.

He laced his fingers with mine as we followed Panic and Lee out of the attic and down the hall. “Do you want to go?”

“Well, I'm hungry,” I said. “Why not.”

It felt like it had been the longest night of my life. The last on my mind was food, but I was in such a zombie-like state that I agreed to go, just to postpone going home for a few more hours.

I showered in the same bathroom as before, and then changed into a clean set of clothes that Panic had let me borrow, which fit me just right. I was barely about to do my hair when someone knocked on the door. “It's time to go.” Quickly, I ran a comb through my hair and then pulled it into a ponytail, using the same blue ribbon as before.

Craig stood outside the door, smiling.

“What?”

He tried to conceal a smile. “Nothing.”

“Okay.”

We ended up going to a nice little place a few blocks away. It was a fifties-styled diner, all red and white, with checkered linoleum floors. Since it was so early, the place was empty of anyone but its employees.

“Where the fuck have yeh been?” Oli questioned Tom, who had just arrived.

“Around,” he simply said, but there was something in his eyes, like if he was hiding something.

The tables were too small for us all too fit, so we had to take up two. In one table, Karma, Lee, Tom, and Curtis sat together, and in the other, Matt, Oli, Craig and I, sat together. Everyone ordered pancakes and made conversation, except for Craig, who was frowning and barely touching his food. At one point he stood up and went to mess with a jukebox, even though I argued that it was too early for music. I figured he wanted to be alone or something, or was feeling uncomfortable or something.

Matt Kean was on his second stack of pancakes by that time, Oli was playing with sugar packets, stacking them and creating little shelters, and I just trying to stay awake.

“So are yeh together?” Oli's eyes were so focused on the small, pink packets, that I wasn't sure if he had even said anything.

“What?”

He knocked down a small stock with his fingers before turning to look at me. “Are yeh together?” He nodded his head in Craig's direction.

“No, he's all the way over there.”

He sucked his teeth. “Yeh know, wha' I mean.”

I rolled my eyes. “Does it look like we're together?”

“With the way yeh guys are holding hands an' shit, it just looks like it.”

“Well, we're not,” I stated in a cold tone and stood. “And it's not even you're business if we were,” I added before walking off to Lee's table.

“So when are you planning on going home?” I asked him.

My plan was to tell Craig to go home and continue with his life. I didn't even want to ask him for a ride or anything, so I assumed I could ride with Lee.

“In a bit,” he said. “Why? Do yeh want teh go home?”

“Could I have a ride?” I asked.

“Couldn't you just get one with Craig?” she asked. “Like, he has a car too.”

I shook my head. “I already asked him for too many favors,” I told her, and then turned to Lee, and said. “Please.”

I wiped his mouth with a napkin and playfully rolled his eyes. “Fine.”