Early Mourning

”I. . . Larson I want to tell you! I do, but. . . ” Dane sobbed, hugging himself and curling into a ball.

“But the words just won't come out?” I said for him and he nodded his head. I gave him a small smile and rubbed his shoulder.

“Dane, it's okay. Don't tell me until you're ready” I soothed and he nodded his head. Things went silent for a couple of minutes while he just calmed down.

“Want to get some ice cream?” I asked, tilting my head at him. Dane giggled and wiped at his eyes.

“I'm not a kid” He said, a small smile gracing his lips.

“Maybe not, but you sure are as cute as one. The words darted out before I had the chance to filter them. It didn't matter though, because it resulted in another giggle from the boy beside me.



“I don't know, I just find it really annoying” He said, eating a spoonful of chocolate ice cream.

'But, the chips are chocolate” I argued, taking my own spoonful of Cookies-n-Cream ice cream.

“Yeah, that take forever to dissolve and have a bitter, weird taste. It's just gross” Dane made a cute little face, his nose scrunching up while he pursed his lips. I laughed at him and slapped his cup of ice cream to the edge of the table. Dane gasped and quickly grabbed the cup before it fell over. I stuck my tongue out at him and he rolled his eyes.

We stayed quiet for a couple of minutes after that, just eating. It wasn't uncomfortable for me, I actually enjoyed it but Dane kept fidgeting in his seat and tapping his foot.

“What's up?” I asked, putting my arms straight up above my head, grabbing my hands and pulling them to the ceiling, my back arched as I stretched and then got back in my previous position. Dane's eyes just watched my movements for a second. I raised my eyebrows at him and grabbed my spoon, reaching out to get some of his melting treat. Dane slapped my hand.

“Nothing, why?” He wondered, eating the last bit of his ice cream. I just shrugged my shoulders.

“You seemed anxious a couple of seconds ago” I pointed out.

“I don't like silence” He said nonchalantly.

“How come?”

“So what about you, any family, you haven't exactly mentioned your background much to me” He said, changing the subject. I just let it slide though.

“Oh um, I don't know. My family are on the other side of the country, in Florida. They're all a bunch of sports freaks and meat heads. I mean, it's not like I hate them or anything but I was more of a laid back kid growing up and I wanted to do my own thing so I moved here” I explained. Dane nodded his head.

“Aren't you alone out here though?” He asked, frowning.

“At first it was but, now I have Enrique, Katie, and you. Maybe James. Not much of the social butterfly I know but I kinda like just lazying around at home” I joked. He smiled and nodded in response.

“What about you?” I asked but Dane just grew still. His face went pale and he grew tense.

“What about me?” He asked.

“Any family?”

“I was an only child” He said emotionless. Dane stared at the table top, seeming far away.

“Did you grow up here?”

“No, I moved out here for college.”

“Oh, by yourself?” I asked, surprised. Was college really the reason why he looked so exhausted and beat up all the time? The more I thought about it, the more sense it began to make. I could easily picture Dane hovering over various textbooks and freaking out over finals.

“Yeah” He said quietly.

“You know, it isn't right to over work yourself with school work” I scolded him. Dane laughed dryly.

“I dropped out ages ago.”

We stayed silent after that. I leaned back in my chair and looked out the window.

“I like it here” I murmured, “The weather is nice, mostly cloudy with some peaks of sunshine.” The boy in front of me just nodded his head and chewed on his bottom lip.

What's wrong with him?