Teardrops & Stars

In the restaurant, Shane and Andrew waved us over to the table. Look at him, looking kinda like me. Except for his exceptional height, like Nate’s, and his pretty eyes that looked like a lighter brown than my own, he looks like me.
“Hey guys!” Nate’s hand squeezed tightly against my hand again as if to say: be nice. And this time I might do it.
“Hey, how was your day?” Andrew asked. Nate totally spoke for me, mostly. It was the beauty part, I didn’t have to talk to him, and I could smile and nod. During this time, we ordered our food. I watched Shane read the menu to Andrew who was having trouble with the cursive because of his dyslexia. It was really cute and sweet. Afterwards, Nate left to go to the bathroom, leaving me with the couple.
“So, how are you and Nate?” Andrew said smiling at me. It was one of these times that it hurt to be mean to him, I just have to drop it right now.
“Great, just fabulous.”
That sounded awkward. But it was a start. “How did you meet? You and Shane.” Truthfully I was curious. I saw more of me (as much as I hate to admit it, even in my head) in Andrew every time we meet. And Shane kinda reminds me of Nate too, attitude wise, so eager sometimes, and charming.
“Oh, that story.” Andrew laughed. “It was so embarrassing. You tell it, Shane.”
“Why do I have to tell it?” Shane laughed and seemed to slip his hands around Andrew’s waist. “I like to hear it again, from your side anyway.” Is Nate taking a dump or something?
“Hey, I’m back... What the food’s not here yet?” Nate said sitting back into his seat.
“Nate!” I hate how he says my boyfriends name with enthusiasm. Or am I just overreacting again? “Perfect timing, I was about to tell Derek about how Shane and I met.”
“Huh, I wonder how I never asked that.” Nate wondered out loud and Andrew started with the speech.
“Well, my family and I went to a restaurant for dinner, since it was my birthday that night.” When he said family, I couldn’t help but flinch a little bit. “Everything was going great until they sent me the wrong order. I got really pissed when no one noticed me signaling them. It’s my freakin’ birthday! I thought.” Andrew laughed a little bit. “So I got up and decided to go right to the kitchen with my mixed up meal since there was noticeably a huge amount of people that night. But before I could get in a complaint the doors suddenly opened and I got doused in spaghetti sauce and it stained my favorite shirt. You can very well know how angry I was at that. But then again, I brought this on myself since the shirt was white. Then the twins saw this, they jumped off their seats and came running towards me, asking me: what wong? What wong? Unfortunately for me, they were carrying their little cokes and then slipped on the spaghetti, throwing the cokes at me.” I tried my best not to laugh at his story, I’d bet he looked so stupid that night. But I was being nice, I guess, I didn’t make a smart remark during the whole time he was talking.
“My body felt so sticky afterwards, and I resisted saying a bad word since the twins were there. One of the waiters knelt down beside me and started to apologize.”
“That’s me.” Shane interrupted, smiling wide. “I was so embarrassed by that.”
“You’re the one to be embarrassed, I was the one covered in sauce and coke, with the whole restaurant probably staring at me and my ruined white shirt.”
“I got the stains out, didn’t I?”
“Anyway, Shane started apologizing and I wiped my eyes free of sauce and stared into his handsome face, totally forgetting to get mad.”
“But of course he did.” Shane added again.
“Yup, it took me a good few minutes to settle down, then he offered to clean my shirt, and that he would lend his extra shirt so I could change. I agreed of course. He was really annoying, at first. Major turn off, he kept on apologizing, whining about probably getting fired, and he was helping me too much. ‘Do you need help washing your hair?’ ‘let me get that for you’ ‘no, I’ll do that, I’m the one who caused the accident’ it didn’t phase me as being sweet. I snapped at some point, making him shut up, then I felt bad. I said: ‘I’m sorry.’ When he was still quiet, I asked: ‘okay, why don’t I give you something, so we could be even, I’ve screamed at you too much tonight.’” It fascinated me as to how well he remembered how they met, but it’s pretty much like that. I remembered the first time I saw Nate. Down the halls while I was running back to my locker to get my wallet. He had the nicest backside I’ve ever seen in my life. Tyler also scared me a little bit that day. Nate didn’t really have a face to me before I went to the cafeteria, it really freaked me out when I started to think he was cute. The whole thing about Seth and my last boyfriend really shook me out of place; it wasn’t a nice place to be in really.
“So he says to me, walking a little closer than I expected, ‘can I have your number, then?’ I blushed too hard it was embarrassing, making me blush more.”
“Cutest blush ever.” Shane commented again.
“I glared at him a little bit and said: ‘you’re so lucky I am showing mercy for you’ then I gave him my number.” Shane whispered something to Andrew making his face turn red and he punched his boyfriend. “Shut up! There are people here.” Before the air went awkward, our food came.
“That’s pretty much how we met.” Shane said turning his plate of steak a little bit. “So after this do you guys want to go to my place, I’ve got horror movies.”
“Sure why not?” I shrugged and ate one of my mozzarella sticks. “Damn, these are so good.”
“Really, could I maybe try one?” Andrew asked tentatively. I was about to say: get your own sticks, bitch. But, with a sigh, I pushed the plate towards him.
(****)
After dinner, we drove to Shane’s house and we got comfortable in his room, it was big enough to fit us. Andrew and I have been talking a little more than natural. It was nice to talk to him, I guess. “So, have you and Nate... Do the deed yet?” He whispered. For some reason, I wanted to tell him.
“Yup.” So I did.
“Lucky, Shane and I hadn’t really planned on it yet. We’ve made out but, nothing too...intense.”
“Well you gotta make it special and as far away from alcohol as possible.” I chuckled, recalling that foggy night Nate and I had sex. Andrew’s eyes bulged.
“You two were drunk when you did it?” He asked, appalled a little bit.
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, we were drunk, and we did it in front of a live studio audience!”
“Be serious, Derek.” He crossed his arms around his chest. Making him look mighty fine. Now that’s an inappropriate thought.
“Okay fine, I was drunk, Nate wasn’t, but give me a break, I was über depressed that night.” I said defensively.
“Now that’s a story I’d like to hear.” He smirked. “Hey do you think if our boyfriends found us making out, they’d take us right here and now? Girls do it to theirs.”
“Okay, no orgies for me.” I said in an up beat manner.
“And we’re back, bringing The Ring with us.” Shane announced.
“Along with popcorn.” Nate followed, taking his seat beside me in Shane’s big enough bed.
“Yay! Let’s start the horror!” Andrew clapped and Shane put in the CD into the player. I grabbed tight on Nate, scared already, movies like this freak me out, but they’re exciting to watch. We didn’t really last long with the movie, when it came time that Samara was really attacking now, Shane jumped and turned it off.
“Okay enough scaring for tonight.” He said. We parted ways soon after that. Nate drove me home to Alex’s house. Just the mere sight of the building just made me think about Mom and Dad. If they really cared why didn’t they call the police, post pictures, go on TV, or something? Did they rely on the fact that they think I’d come crawling back to them?
“Hey what’s wrong?” Nate asked. “You look depressed.” Then he grabbed my hands.
“It’s just Mom and Dad. I wonder if they even care that I might be dead right now.” A pang of pain shot through my body, thinking about my parents’ lack of general concern. It was wrong for me to cry over people who don’t really give a rat’s ass about me, but I did anyway. I’m tired of crying over someone who doesn’t care about me, but here I am, with Nate’s arms soothing me. “I just wish they cared, you know?”
“Maybe they do...” I stared at him, cocking my eyebrow. “Okay fine, but I know deep down inside they do, they’re your parents, they’ve gotta have some concern for you in them.” I forced a smile, not that Nate would really notice, but I just wanted to be alone tonight. It’s funny how one memory could just bring one happy day into a crumble. “Now, time to go to sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow.” We kissed, and I felt the usual flip of my stomach. Afterwards I got out, “I love you, Nate.”
“Love you too, Derek.” He called smiling his metallic smile. And I trudged up stairs and into my room, waking up an exhausted Alex in the process.
“Huh, is it morning yet?” He murmured.
“Not yet.” I replied in a monotone and closed the door of my room; hoping sleep would calm me down.