Of Moons, Birds, and Monsters

After Kevin finished grilling, Luke, Mason, Scotty, and Angela rejoined the rest of us near the picnic table. No one remembered to bring towels, so the four of them sat at the picnic table shivering and soaking everything with water. 

I was expecting Izzy to keep her word when I didn't jump on his back as soon as he got out of the water, but I guess she could understand how hard it would be to catch a boy's attention when he and his buddy's are playing chubby bunny with hotdogs. Thankful that she didn't press the issue, I quietly sat at the table and tried to avoid glancing at Danny's mustard filled beard.

"Shit, Kev," Mason said through a mouth full of food. "These are some pretty bangin' hotdogs."

"Yeah, and you better eat all nine of the ones you just stuffed in your mouth," he said sternly. "I made all the dogs I brought, so don't waste any more of them."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up," Mason waved, rolling his eyes. "Riz, you're not gonna eat?"

I looked away from Danny's growing mustard collection and tried to give Mason my attention.

"No," I answered, shaking my head. "I'm not that hungry."

"I like that CD you gave us to listen to," Mason wheezed as he tried to swallow what was in his mouth. "Sevenpowder or something?"

"Sevendust?" I corrected with a chuckle.

"Yeah," he nodded. "I was actually kind of surprised. You don't look like you listen to metal."

"I don't. Well, not very often," I shrugged. "I didn't buy any of the CDs in that case."

"Can I look through it and borrow a couple?" he asked, scarfing down another hotdog. "I need some new jams."

"Sure," I nodded. "You can have some of them if you want. There's a lot in there I don't listen to."

He nodded and went back to stuffing his face.

I glanced at my hands and started to crack my knuckles. Between Danny's mustard face, the hotdog Scotty was trying to shove up his nose, and Izzy's not so subtle hints, I was uncomfortable with being there.

"Izzy, do you have any gum?" Luke asked, pushing the empty paper plate away from him.

"Always," she answered. She pulled out a small pack of gum and tossed it at Luke.

"Thanks," he nodded, grabbing a long strip of gum. He stood up and threw it back onto the table and tapped my shoulder.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Come here," he said quietly, nodding away from the table.

I stood up and followed him towards the giant hill. 

The site wasn't as bad as Izzy tried to make it out to be. The grounds were covered in dirt and plushy green grass. The trees stood tall providing comfortable shelter from the sun. The hill Luke took me to had another wooden picnic table, a rusty grill, and a lonely tree.

"Are you okay?" he asked with raised eyebrows. 

I leaned against the tabletop and crossed my arms over my chest. "Yeah, I'm fine," I nodded.

"You sure?" he questioned, putting his hands on my shoulders. "You just seem kind of...I don't know. Down?"

"Luke, I'm fine," I smiled weakly. "I'm just kind of hanging out, you know?"

He narrowed his eyes and squished his mouth to the side. "Positive?"

I directed my gaze towards my feet and shrugged. I couldn't really tell him how I felt because I couldn't explain it. My stomach tied itself into knots and I felt extremely displaced for whatever reason. Not to mention having Izzy and her dark cloud hanging over my head causing some anxiety. 

Luke wrapped his arms around me in a comforting hug. In response, I hugged his neck and dug my face into his bony, wet shoulder.

"I can't believe no one brought towels," I laughed, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "We can remember food and blankets, but not towels."

I let go of his neck and held his arms that were still wrapped around me, and gave a small smile.

"Any better?" he asked.

"I think it's just because there's so many people here," I fibbed. 

"Maybe," he shrugged. "I didn't know Scotty was bringing someone with him. But I guess she takes Keir's place."

I nodded and moved a piece of hair out of my face. "It's not a big deal."

Luke shrugged and inhaled a large amount of breath. "I was wondering if I could ask you something?" he questioned cautiously. 

"Uhm, yeah, I guess," I nervously chuckled. 

"Well, I was just kind of wondering... if you would want to make things, you know, official?" he asked slowly, scratching the back of his neck.

I tried to hide my smile and keep calm. "Make what official?"

"Us?" he shrugged. "I kind of assumed we were together, but I just wanted to make sure that you agreed..."

"To be with you?" I asked with a growing smile.

"Yeah," he replied with a hard swallow. 

I couldn't hold back my giggles. So much pressure seemed to soar off of me that I felt like I could've passed out. 

"Yeah, I'd like to be with you," I answered with a confident nod.

"Whoo"," he sighed in relief. A large smile spread across his face. "I actually didn't know what you were going to say."

"Luke, did you really think I would tell you no?" I chuckled, wrapping my arms back around his neck.

"I dunno, maybe," he grinned. 

I shook my head as my smile continued to grow. "C'mon, I think we should go back."

"What, I don't get anything?" he asked with an expecting smile.

"God, I still have to show you attention?" I teased, jokingly rolling my eyes. I leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Now we can go," he nodded, wearing an extremely goofy grin.

It wasn’t much of a surprise that when we returned to the table Izzy had a large smile on her face and Jack looked extremely disgruntled. 

“Hey,” Danny barked with a stubby index finger pointed at Luke. “Save it for later. I’m trying to eat here.”

“Shut up,” Luke playfully sneered. He sat down on the bench and purposely knocked the ketchup bottle off of the table and into Danny’s lap. 

"So, Uh, baby sitter," Scotty sniffed, wiping the mayonnaise and relish off of his cheek. "Why're you here? Squid, d'you need a diaper change?"

My face grew hot in annoyance. I shot Scotty a sideways glare before rolling my eyes at him.

Luke smashed his hand onto Scotty's face and pushed him backwards off of the bench and onto the ground. 

"What the hell, Squid!?" Scotty shouted, angrily scrambling to his feet.

"Shut your god damn mouth, Lago," Luke scolded.

Scotty stood to his feet and smacked Luke across the back of his head. When Luke jumped up to retaliate, Jack interfered.

"HEY!" he yelled, giving both boys an angry glare. "Both of you sit your ass down!"

Scotty looked from Jack to Luke with his brown eyes narrowed. When he realized Jack's stare intensified, he grew a large smile.

"We were just playin', Jack," Scotty grinned, carelessly shrugging his shoulders. "Right, Squid?" He playfully slapped Luke's bare chest and continued chuckle.

Luke looked absolutely livid. His eyebrows met at the bridge of his nose and his jaw was locked tight. He continued to stare Scotty down as Scotty kept snickering.

"I don't give a damn!" Jack exclaimed, throwing his hand into the air. He looked and sounded more like his dad than I ever thought possible. "Just sit down and shut the hell up until we're done eating." 

The two boys rejoined the table and ignored each other's line if sight. Luke sat with his eyebrows still furrowed and Scotty resumed his ridiculous attempts at charming Angela. I put my hand on Luke's forearm and gave him a reassuring squeeze.