The Only Exception

I watch curiously from my branch. The curtains are opened, for once, and inside he’s pacing. With one hand behind his back and the other playing with his lip rings. His eyes are downcast, I can tell, and he seems to be thinking hard about something. It looks as if he’s forcing the wheels within his head to work over time at whatever it is.

And suddenly he stops. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his phone and flips it open. Even from this distance I can see the slight scowl on his face. And now he’s rubbing his temple, eyes shut and mouth set in a firm line as he nods a couple of times.

I can’t hear what he’s saying and I can’t read lips but by the expression he has on I can tell that whatever this conversation is about is a sore subject. Because once his lips stop moving he shuts the phone and holds it in his hand before throwing it to the side.

Now his back is towards me and he’s moving away until he exit’s the living room and is out of sight. I sigh and lean back against the tree, with furrowed brows I wait patiently for him to return but he never does. Instead I see the upstairs light flicker on and he’s there in the window but he shuts the curtains and cuts himself off from the world like he’s been doing this past week.

7 days it’s been since he’s moved here. I’ve seen him leave the house twice but apparently he left town because no one claimed to have seen him at the super market or the diner or anywhere. And each time he left it took eight hours to return.

I haven’t even see him leave for work, which of course makes me wonder if he even has a job. That car of his isn’t something that you can just get. You need money. Is he rich? What is he? What does he do for a living? Does he do anything? Or does he possibly live of mommy’s and daddy’s money?

I don’t know if my questions will ever be answered because I don’t even know his name yet. I don’t know anything about him, which is odd. Normally by now this town would know everything but he’s…different.

He hasn’t spoken to anyone and he keeps to himself. I don’t know if I should be scared of him or not. Maybe he really is a serial killer? Maybe who he was talking to was one of his hit men or something?

No, that’s ridiculous. Besides, why do I want to know about him? It’ll just make me as annoying and pathetic as the others in this town. I need to stop this. I feel like a stalker watching him everyday after school and on the weekends.

I hope he hasn’t noticed. If he had then…I don’t know, I’m fucked?

Jumping out of the tree, I decide to head for Nina’s Diner. When I get there she waves happily to me and I smile, waving slightly back before taking a seat at the counter. Nina walks up to me and asks what I would like, I reply with a shrug and answer, “Surprise me.”

She grins and shouts to Cookie, the chef, who is always happy to “surprise” people with his dishes. He grins and gives me a thumbs up. As I’m sitting there waiting for my food Nina is scurrying around to her customers. The “ding” of the bell doesn’t really catch my attention until something moves into my side view.

I stiffen at the sound of his deep voice. “Roy, right?”

I turn, slowly, to face him. Those dark blue eyes that have been flashing through my mind this past week are now staring at me, waiting for an answer. I nod, dumbly, and reply, “Yeah.”

He smirks. “You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”

I shake my head because in all honesty, my throat is like a barren waist land. Any moisture I try to get simply evaporates and I bite my lip to keep myself from coughing or letting out some embarrassing noise. And the man seems to find my actions amusing because he chuckles and it’s such a beautiful sound that I can’t help but ask myself why did someone like him move here, of all places?

He looks more like one of those people who belong in Hollywood. He looks like someone that deserves fame and fortune and millions of loyal fans. He looks like a model and I don’t see why he’d come to Windchester.

“Hello there, sweetie!” Nina says happily, coming towards him with a smile. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Coke,” he answers, taking the menu from Nina and flipping it open. He twists and turns his lip ring in thought and I just stare because I can’t seem to do anything else. And I’m sure I would have continued to stare if he didn’t speak again. “What do you recommend?”

“Uh…the steak and fries are really good.” Just thinking about them makes my stomach growl. The man beside me grins and I blush in embarrassment. He slips the menu towards Nina and tells her what he wants, which ends up being steak and fries.

Once Nina’s gone, he looks towards me and says, “Thanks for the meal last week. It was good. Do you cook often?”

“I always cook dinner.” My parents really are useless. Ever since I was 10 I had to cook dinner for the three of us because they believed I was old enough to do so. I admit, I was old enough to cook, but it would be nice to have them wait on me every once in a while. But we all know that isn’t going to happen.

“Hmm.” And we fall silent after his hum. I squirm uncomfortably beside him because it’s kind of intimidating to be beside him. I don’t know why I feel that way but it’s really eating away at my chest and I feel like I can’t breathe.

I guess it’s his looks and the fact that I know nothing about him. For once, I know nothing. And since I’m so use to knowing everything it’s making me feel this way. It’s to be expected.

“Here you are, Roy,” Cookie says in his booming voice, sliding a plate of Salisbury steak, green beans, and mashed potatoes before me. I salivate just looking at it. “Ha, ha, I see someone is hungry!”

I moan and dig in, smiling at Cookie in appreciation. He laughs loudly and walks away, wiping his large hands on his apron. And minutes later, the beautiful stranger beside me gets his food and we both eat in silence.

Saying its awkward would be a serious understatement. My eyes can’t seem to keep themselves from roaming over him in question. Where is he from? What’s his name? I’m curious but I don’t want to ask because that’ll make me like everyone else in this town, a stuck-up little prick. So I bite my lip and turn back to my meal, trying to focus on it.I fail.

By the time I finish, he has too and he looks at me with a smile. “It was nice talking to you, Roy. I’ll see you around.”

The man stands to his feet and pulls out his wallet, taking out a few bills and I can’t help but notice the large amount of cash in his wallet, thanking Nina and Cookie, he looks back at me. I bite my lip and smile, somehow managing to speak without stuttering like a dumb ass. “I could cook dinner for you again.”

He smiles. “I’d like that.”

Stepping away from the counter, he exit’s the diner. I watch him step into his cool car and rev the engine. And it isn’t until after he has left that I realize…

I didn’t even get his name!