Nobody's Listening

F I V E

The ride to the movies was loud in the front of the black jeep, but quiet and tense in the back. James and Lucas sat on either side of me, leaving me in the middle and squished. But in the front, Cyd and the mystery boy, Brent Mesh, who simply went by Mesh, talked a lot. Surprisingly, they had a lot in common to talk about, even though they were almost polar opposites. Cyd had her Greek heritage and her witty jokes and her gossip; as far as I could tell, Mesh was a stoner skater boy who didn't care about anyone but himself. He said everything with a slightly mean edge, but he was eager to talk and share his opinions. I figured they had a good debate future together, if nothing else.

James touched my leg accidentally and I jumped, bumping into Lucas on my left. "Sorry," I muttered.

Lucas smiled at me shyly. "It's fine." He looked at me for a few more seconds and then looked away. "You look beautiful tonight."

So much for trying not to look like I was trying. I laughed. "Thanks," I muttered. I glanced over at James and saw that he was staring at me, smiling. I smiled back, crossing my eyes.

Cyd and Mesh had a lull in the conversation, and a silence spread out over the jeep. A silence which, of course, James had to break.

"Hey guys, wanna hear a lame joke?" Without waiting for an answer, he rushed on. "What do you call a fish with no eyes?"

We all pondered that for a few moments, and Cyd was the first to answer. "Well, there's several fish that are blind…"

"Cyd," I groaned, not wanting to spend any time listening to her go on one of her fantastic rants about biology and whatnot. "Just tell us the punch line, James."

He smiled. "You call it a 'fsh.'"

I let out a snort, which started everyone laughing and joining in on telling lame jokes.

"What did one cow say to another after it tasted its own milk? 'This is udder-ly delicious!'" Cyd stuttered out, she was laughing so hard.

"What did one hawk say to another in a moment of silence? 'Hawk-ward!'" I screeched through my laughter, gaining another long laugh from everyone.

"Guys, guys, stop," Mesh said from the steering wheel, wiping at the tears in his eyes. "I'm gonna crash."

We all giggled to a slow stop. "Why are we such dorks?" I asked.

"Hey!" James cried, hand over his heart. "I am not a dork!"

Mesh scoffed from the front. "All you Northside kids are fucked in the head." This incited another round of laughter and protests. In the middle of laughing harder than I had in a while, I looked over at Lucas. He looked like he was forcing his smile and laugh. I clammed up a little with my own laughter.

Soon, we had pulled up to a roller rink, which I had not expected.

James looked at me, confusion on his face too. "I thought you said we were going to a movie and dinner?"

Mesh laughed as he got out. "I felt like mixing it up." He waited until we all got out, me getting out on James' and Cyd's side, and locked the jeep. He walked over to Cyd and took her hand, smiling. She grinned back and they walked into the rink together, leaving Lucas, James, and I outside, staring after them.

"Well, I guess we'd better get this show on the road, huh?" James said, starting towards the doors. I started after him when Lucas grabbed my arm.

"Can I talk to you? Alone?" He looked distressed.

"Uh… sure. Hey, James!" I called out. James turned. "Me and Lucas are going to go over to that coffee shop for a while. We'll be back soon." James waved and ran inside to find Mesh and Cyd.

I turned. "So, Lucas… what do you want?"

His face turned pink, which made him look adorable, frankly. "I know this isn't going to work out, because it looks like you've already got your eye on that emo kid." I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up a large hand. "It's fine, really. I know you never liked me much since I dated Cyd back in third grade or whatever—"

"Fifth," I interrupted.

"—but I've changed. A lot. And I really wish you would give me a chance." He took a deep breath. "Because I really like you." He turned pinker.

I felt a warm blush settling across my cheeks. He was right. I should at least think about giving him a chance. It was the least I could do. Plus, I could never turn anyone down. It was a bit of a curse, sometimes. I sighed and fiddled with my bangs. "I'll give you a chance, Lucas." He looked into my eyes, his cerulean eyes glowing with hope.

"Call me Luke," he muttered, his eyes crinkling and his face paling out again. Luke ran his hands through his blonde hair, mussing it up some more, and held out his arm, crooked for mine. "Shall we?"

I stared at his arm for a moment, then linked my arm with his. "Rink or that coffee house?" I yawned a little. "I could use some caffeine," I explained.

"Coffee house is fine with me." He beamed at me, basking me with warmth. I felt good about my decision. For now.