Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters

“What do you mean by different?” I asked, still confused. A thousand possibilities were swirling in my brain. None of them were things I was comfortable with.

Luke must have noticed my discomfort, because he suddenly started stuttering like an idiot.

“Uhh, I dunno. Like, uh, well, never mind,” he stuttered, shaking his head. He was confusing himself more than he was me. “Just never mind.”

“Okay,” I chuckled. I really didn’t want to dwell on the subject anymore. He was uncomfortable, I was uncomfortable, and there was no need to keep it going.

“We should probably head out," Luke said, looking at the clock on the back wall. "Jack has to go to work soon, and he'll be pissed if we're late."

We both stood to our feet and filed out of the small corner store. I had the urge to steal Luke's jacket. It was really windy out and sending goose bumps up my arms.

"Since when did Jack start working at Subway?" I asked, trying to restore conversation.

"Last Tuesday. He works the night shift at Target, and Subway after school," Luke answered, taking a sip of his icee.

"I feel so bad for him," I mumbled, hugging myself. The wind was really starting to pick up.

"Why?" Luke questioned, unzipping his jacket.

"He works two jobs, goes to school, and still makes room for a girlfriend," I pointed out. "When does he find the time to sleep?"

"He always has Thursdays off. He goes over to Izzy's house and sleeps over there. Jack can handle it," Luke shrugged. "He's like bionic."

"I think he needs a break. Maybe he wouldn't be such a grizzly," I mumbled.

"He wouldn't take it, though. He likes to be the macho man," he said.

He pulled off his jacket and handed to me. Not knowing what to do with it, I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"You're shivering," he pointed out. "I don't need it."

I shrugged and put on the lime green jacket. It wasn't that much bigger than what I wore. It was nice and warm, and strangely smelled like pancakes and stale tobacco.

"See, I knew you weren't all weird," Luke chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Huh?" I asked, very confused and slightly offended.

"You're just a little shy, that's all. Like me," he shrugged.

"Are you talking to me or to yourself?" I asked with a small smile.

"You know Scotty thought you were a mute until one of the times you and Jack got into it."

"Who would hire a mute baby sitter?" I asked with a slight laugh. Leave it to Scotty. He wasn't one of the bright ones.

"Right?" Luke chuckled. "What I'm trying to say, I don't know to who, but I bet you're pretty awesome. You just got to warm up to people."

I didn't really know what to say. I thought we had established this already. Maybe he was just dropping some hardcore hints I was missing. I just drank the last little sip of my icee abs kept silent.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Luke asked, picking at the plastic on his drink top. "Dad should be off."

"I dunno. Dawn will be at work, and I'll just be at home," I shrugged nervously. "Why?"

"Scotty is throwing a party on Saturday. I was wondering if you wanted to go. Proper introduction to the guys and all," he said, pulling at one of his curls.

"I guess I could go," I mumbled. I really didn't want to. Some of Luke’s friends intimidated me. Being in a house full of random people did not fit in my comfort zone. Especially if there was going to be alcohol.

"You should. It'll be cool," Luke smiled.