Just Another Lovesick Boy
oo4
It may or may not have been mathematically correct, but it was probably safe to say that I had been in high school for an approximate total of nine hundred days. It might have been less, considering how many times I had been absent, but, really, who was counting? The point was that I had walked to and from school every single one of those days I had attended. I walked through it in sun, rain, wind, and snow. I was like the fucking mail man. I endured through all kinds of weather. I could have had my own reality television show. Endurance: School Walk. Snow, wind, and rain, I could deal with. But even though I was born and raised in this area where all kinds of weather thrived, the heat was often unbearable, especially in the summer and early fall. Though I always had Eddy to suffer with me at my side, the walks home were pure torture.
I had been walking home from school with Eddy, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of my face as my hair stayed plastered to my head. I glared against the sunlight as I trudged forward. I smoothed my hair back, hissing as I felt the heat of my hair burn my hand.
“Man, I hate it here. Wasn’t it just fucking cold this morning?” I growled.
“You’re just mad that your hair is burning,” Eddy laughed.
“Yours is, too, dumbass,” I stated as I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows.
“What?” he exclaimed as he pulled his hood from his jacket up over his head.
“You’re such an idiot,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“Only yours,” he grinned as he put an arm around my shoulders.
“I’m glad you know your place,” I said with a smirk, slowly sliding my hand across the back of Eddy’s waist.
Eddy stared at me with wide eyes for a moment before laughing loudly. “Ew, Adrian!” he laughed as he playfully pushed me away.
We walked side by side until we reached our houses. Eddy and I only had two options when it came to destiny: be best friends or worst enemies. My mother and Eddy’s mom became best friends in middle school and never separated after that. They were so close that they miraculously even had their first child on the same day. After both decided to raise a family, Jack and Eddy’s dad, Thomas, had no choice but to buy houses right next to each other. Both of our moms lived happily for years next to each other until tragedy struck both of them. I was six when Mom and Jack split up. I was thirteen when Eddy’s mom died in a car accident. Both hit me and Eddy pretty hard, not to mention our parents.
But our houses reflected happier times. On the block that we lived on, the houses were the same four models repeated over and over. The only things that separated the houses were the lawn decorations and gardens. Our houses were different, however, because our mothers had them painted different from the usual beige. While Eddy’s house was a light purple, mine was a soft blue, something that Eddy envied me for. My mom kept a small garden of daffodils along our porch, a small tribute to Eddy’s mom, who adored the yellow flowers. Eddy’s mom used to keep a small garden of yellow and red roses in front of their porch, a habit that Eddy’s younger sister tried to keep up. We walked up Eddy’s driveway together, the smell of roses in the air, before walking in through the front door.
Eddy was laughing and pushing me into the living room when a squeal was heard from the kitchen. I grinned widely when I noticed a small flash of yellow turn the corner. I dropped my folder to a table before kneeling down with open arms to welcome Eddy’s little sister. I hugged her close to me as I swayed her in my arms, causing her long blond hair to blow in the wind. I pulled back and smiled into her bright hazel eyes. Her pale face stretched into a large grin as she stared up at me.
“Hi, Adrian,” she greeted.
“Hey, Freedom. What’s shakin’, bacon?” I asked as I put her down.
“Just making Daddy some food. Want some?” she asked excitedly.
“No, I’m cool, baby girl. I have to get going soon anyway.”
“But you just got here!” she pouted.
“I have a home and a mom to get to, little one,” I laughed.
“Boo. You suck,” she said as she put her hands on her waist.
“I’m sorry but I love my mom very much.”
“Don’t you love me, too, Adrian?”
“I love you like you were my own sister, Free, you know that.”
“I know,” she grinned as she began swaying back and forth with her hands behind her, “but a girl always like hearing it. Just so you know.”
“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind, little one, thanks for the advice.”
“Lord knows you need it,” she laughed before skipping back to the kitchen.
“Dude, she totally burned you,” Eddy laughed as I glared in her direction.
“Shut up,” I smiled before following him up into his room.
“I swear that girl is in love with you, man. She never fucking shuts up about you. I’m waiting for the day that I can sneak into her diary and find page after page with writing that says ‘Mrs. Adrian Dawson’ on them.”
“You’re just jealous that she likes me more than you.”
“She’s my sister, I have a right to be jealous,” he pouted before carefully putting his teddy bear on his shelf.
“That’s sad.”
“Oh, well. At least I got you to talk to Nara Lee.”
“Don’t give yourself so much credit; I would have talked to her without your help.”
Eddy turned towards me with a blank look on his face before simply raising one eyebrow. I felt my defensive stance relax as my shoulder slumped and my face fell. I knew it was pointless to try to fool myself. I never would have talked to her with Eddy. I was nothing without him. He made me into what I was and I owed him everything. I sighed as I dropped dramatically onto his bed.
“I hate it when you’re right,” I grimaced.
He gave me a large grin as he sat next to me before I heard a loud clash of thunder come from the kitchen below us as a guilty call of an apology was followed by it. I glanced at Eddy from the corner of my eye and gave him a small smirk. He rolled his eyes after hearing his sister’s voice as he lied down next to me. We laid there in silence before Free’s sweet voice traveled up the stairs and she started singing her favorite song. Free had a habit of singing while she cooked or baked in the kitchen. It was a habit that she seemed to unknowingly inherit from her mother, who did the exact same thing while she worked in the garden.
“Should I tell her to shut up?” he asked me.
I lied down onto his pillows with my arms relaxing behind my head. I thought about Freedom’s love for cooking and how annoyed she got when anybody tried to help her or interrupted her in any way. It was her singing, along with her cooking, that got her calm and allowed her to perfect whatever it was that she doing. I glanced at the shut door that muffled the sound of her high pitched voice. Freedom was only seven years old but it was already obvious what she was talented at and what made her happy. I was not about to think that I had the right to keep her from being happy.
“No, man. Just let Freedom sing.”
I had been walking home from school with Eddy, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of my face as my hair stayed plastered to my head. I glared against the sunlight as I trudged forward. I smoothed my hair back, hissing as I felt the heat of my hair burn my hand.
“Man, I hate it here. Wasn’t it just fucking cold this morning?” I growled.
“You’re just mad that your hair is burning,” Eddy laughed.
“Yours is, too, dumbass,” I stated as I rolled my sleeves up to my elbows.
“What?” he exclaimed as he pulled his hood from his jacket up over his head.
“You’re such an idiot,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“Only yours,” he grinned as he put an arm around my shoulders.
“I’m glad you know your place,” I said with a smirk, slowly sliding my hand across the back of Eddy’s waist.
Eddy stared at me with wide eyes for a moment before laughing loudly. “Ew, Adrian!” he laughed as he playfully pushed me away.
We walked side by side until we reached our houses. Eddy and I only had two options when it came to destiny: be best friends or worst enemies. My mother and Eddy’s mom became best friends in middle school and never separated after that. They were so close that they miraculously even had their first child on the same day. After both decided to raise a family, Jack and Eddy’s dad, Thomas, had no choice but to buy houses right next to each other. Both of our moms lived happily for years next to each other until tragedy struck both of them. I was six when Mom and Jack split up. I was thirteen when Eddy’s mom died in a car accident. Both hit me and Eddy pretty hard, not to mention our parents.
But our houses reflected happier times. On the block that we lived on, the houses were the same four models repeated over and over. The only things that separated the houses were the lawn decorations and gardens. Our houses were different, however, because our mothers had them painted different from the usual beige. While Eddy’s house was a light purple, mine was a soft blue, something that Eddy envied me for. My mom kept a small garden of daffodils along our porch, a small tribute to Eddy’s mom, who adored the yellow flowers. Eddy’s mom used to keep a small garden of yellow and red roses in front of their porch, a habit that Eddy’s younger sister tried to keep up. We walked up Eddy’s driveway together, the smell of roses in the air, before walking in through the front door.
Eddy was laughing and pushing me into the living room when a squeal was heard from the kitchen. I grinned widely when I noticed a small flash of yellow turn the corner. I dropped my folder to a table before kneeling down with open arms to welcome Eddy’s little sister. I hugged her close to me as I swayed her in my arms, causing her long blond hair to blow in the wind. I pulled back and smiled into her bright hazel eyes. Her pale face stretched into a large grin as she stared up at me.
“Hi, Adrian,” she greeted.
“Hey, Freedom. What’s shakin’, bacon?” I asked as I put her down.
“Just making Daddy some food. Want some?” she asked excitedly.
“No, I’m cool, baby girl. I have to get going soon anyway.”
“But you just got here!” she pouted.
“I have a home and a mom to get to, little one,” I laughed.
“Boo. You suck,” she said as she put her hands on her waist.
“I’m sorry but I love my mom very much.”
“Don’t you love me, too, Adrian?”
“I love you like you were my own sister, Free, you know that.”
“I know,” she grinned as she began swaying back and forth with her hands behind her, “but a girl always like hearing it. Just so you know.”
“I’ll make sure to keep that in mind, little one, thanks for the advice.”
“Lord knows you need it,” she laughed before skipping back to the kitchen.
“Dude, she totally burned you,” Eddy laughed as I glared in her direction.
“Shut up,” I smiled before following him up into his room.
“I swear that girl is in love with you, man. She never fucking shuts up about you. I’m waiting for the day that I can sneak into her diary and find page after page with writing that says ‘Mrs. Adrian Dawson’ on them.”
“You’re just jealous that she likes me more than you.”
“She’s my sister, I have a right to be jealous,” he pouted before carefully putting his teddy bear on his shelf.
“That’s sad.”
“Oh, well. At least I got you to talk to Nara Lee.”
“Don’t give yourself so much credit; I would have talked to her without your help.”
Eddy turned towards me with a blank look on his face before simply raising one eyebrow. I felt my defensive stance relax as my shoulder slumped and my face fell. I knew it was pointless to try to fool myself. I never would have talked to her with Eddy. I was nothing without him. He made me into what I was and I owed him everything. I sighed as I dropped dramatically onto his bed.
“I hate it when you’re right,” I grimaced.
He gave me a large grin as he sat next to me before I heard a loud clash of thunder come from the kitchen below us as a guilty call of an apology was followed by it. I glanced at Eddy from the corner of my eye and gave him a small smirk. He rolled his eyes after hearing his sister’s voice as he lied down next to me. We laid there in silence before Free’s sweet voice traveled up the stairs and she started singing her favorite song. Free had a habit of singing while she cooked or baked in the kitchen. It was a habit that she seemed to unknowingly inherit from her mother, who did the exact same thing while she worked in the garden.
“Should I tell her to shut up?” he asked me.
I lied down onto his pillows with my arms relaxing behind my head. I thought about Freedom’s love for cooking and how annoyed she got when anybody tried to help her or interrupted her in any way. It was her singing, along with her cooking, that got her calm and allowed her to perfect whatever it was that she doing. I glanced at the shut door that muffled the sound of her high pitched voice. Freedom was only seven years old but it was already obvious what she was talented at and what made her happy. I was not about to think that I had the right to keep her from being happy.
“No, man. Just let Freedom sing.”
♠ ♠ ♠