You Suck at Love

"So what did you get him?" Gwen grinned and poked my shoulder. I frowned and waved her hand away.
"Nothing."
"Then why are you holding a present in your hands?"
"None of your business, that's why."

She only smirked and kept following behind me as we left the car. Jonah convinced his mom to let him go to the movies for his birthday, but he couldn't talk her out of inviting us over afterward, so after the movie, we get to go to his place for dinner.

We arrived at the theater and quickly spotted Jonah at the arcade playing Pac-man. We went up to him and yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin before turning around and smiling at us.
"Hey guys. I didn't think you'd show up?"
"Why would you think that?"
"You two honestly don't have anything better to do than see a movie with me?"
Gwen and I looked at each other, then back at him. "Nope!" We said simultaneously.
He laughed and shook his head. "You guys are weird."
"You get used to it." Gwen said.

We headed to the concession stand, but I don't think either of us actually planned on buying anything. I know that doesn't make sense, but sometimes you just want to look at food without actually buying it... it made more sense when I didn't try to explain it, huh?
Jonah looked at us, but we shook our heads, telling him we didn't want anything. He shrugged and got popcorn for us to share anyway.

We went and found our seats near the front so no one would bother us since no one likes sitting near the front. We were seeing the new 3D murder flick. It didn't scare me at all - blood and gore are my bread and butter. I was labeled a goth and an emo for a reason. Gwen got so freaked out that she retreated to the restroom and hasn't come back since. I went to check on her, and she said she wasn't coming out until the movie was over. She shooed me away and I went back to the movie. Jonah wasn't really reacting to the movie at first, but when the killer decapitated a girl suddenly, he jumped up in his seat. I looked over at him. He smiled nervously and looked back at the screen. The movie was getting gorier and I could tell Jonah was getting more and more scared, so I held his hand tightly. He was startled, but when he realized it was my hand, he slightly smiled at me and squeezed it back. He got through the rest of the movie okay, until the end when we thought the credits were about to roll, but the undead killer popped up on the screen growling and clawing at the camera. Jonah screamed and literally jumped into my lap. He bit his lip and climbed off of me.

"S-Sorry, Jude." he said quietly.
"It's uh okay I guess. You got scared."
"I don't watch a lot of scary movies."
"I watch them a lot. It's my favorite movie genre."
"How can you stand to watch stuff like that so much?" He said in disbelief.
"I have a twisted mind I guess." I said with a creepy grin.
He looked a little nervous but laughed anyway. "Shut up, Jude."

We left the theater and went to find Gwen in the restroom. When she came out, she was still shaking, so we walked to a nearby restaurant to get our minds off the movie. We ordered burgers and sat down at a table.

"Jude, please tell me I'm not going to see that killer guy in your sketchbooks." Gwen poked me. She looked at Jonah. "Jude likes to draw disturbing images sometimes."
"I don't like to draw them, they just come to me."
"I don't see why. Your brain isn't that dark, but I've seen you draw scenes that gave me nightmares." She shivered.
"It's not up to me what I draw, it's up to my mind and the pencil."
She rolled her eyes and took a bite of her burger. "Well, you need to tell your mind to get some help."

We laughed. I could tell that I was itching to sketch something right now, but I left my sketchbook at home, so I wouldn't get to annoy Gwen today.

After we left the restaurant, Gwen nudged me. I didn't know what she wanted until she pointed to my pocket, where my present for Jonah was. I don't know why she was making such a big deal about it. Just to bother her, I didn't give it to him yet. We got on the bus to go back home. Gwen talked to Jonah for most of the ride. I just looked out the window and thought about things. I wasn't a talkative person, and sometimes that makes me seem like I'm ignoring people, which I'm not. I was listening to everything that they said, I just didn't have anything to add.

We got off the bus. Jonah lived closest to the bus stop, so we walked him to his house.

"Ugh, I just know my mom has a surprise party waiting for me behind that door." Jonah said once we reached his front porch.
"What's so bad about that?" Gwen asked.
"My mom's an event planner. She goes over the top on Columbus Day. This is gonna be brutal."
"I thought she agreed to let you plan your own party." I said.
"She accepted the fact that I wanted to plan my own party, but when I asked her if that was okay, she didn't say anything. I know she wasn't okay with my plans."
"Well, it won't be so bad, right?"
"Don't make me go in there." He begged.
I rolled my eyes. "If we go in with you, will that-"
"That might make it worse!"
"Jonah, you can't hide from your mother. I'm sure she knows you're outside by now."

He sighed and slowly opened the door. Immediately a shout of "Surprise!" greeted him when he opened the door. I couldn't even see how many people were inside because a fall of confetti and balloons poured in front of the doorway. Jonah looked over at us and groaned before being pulled inside by a woman that I assume was his mom. I watched with amusement as people hugged and cheered at Jonah in the living room. Gwen giggled and asked "Should we help him?"

"I don't think we'll be of much help."
"True. Do you just want to party then?"
"Why not?"

We went inside and said hi to everyone.

"Mom, did you listen to a single thing I said about my party? You know, how I didn't want one?!"
"You said you didn't want to have a big party with all your friends, but I didn't invite any of your friends. These are our family and neighbors."
Gwen and I laughed until we caught Jonah glaring at us.
"No. Party. How hard was that to understand?" He fussed.
"Oh, relax Jonah. Who ever got upset because their family threw them a birthday party?" I put an arm around him.
"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." He pouted.

I shook my head. His mom took him through the living room to say hi to everyone, leaving us behind. Gwen said she was going to go back to our home, so I told her I'd see her in a minute. When she asked why, and I said I wanted to say bye to Jonah, she raised her eyebrows at me, but I just waved her off.

Gwen is under the assumption that I like Jonah romantically, but I've told her and just about everyone else that I don't have those feelings for people. It just doesn't happen. I like Jonah enough as a friend, and I'd rather not get any overly friendly feelings involved because I don't want our friendship to turn into my old friendship with Owen.

I found Jonah trapped in a corner with an elderly man that might have been his grandfather. Jonah looked miserable. I asked if I could borrow Jonah for a second and pulled him away before I could hear the man's protest.

"Thank! You!" Jonah whispered in my ear.
"Sorry I didn't believe you about the whole party, but I'm sure if you run upstairs now, nobody will even notice you're not here."
"Nice try, but I'm doomed until they all leave. At least I got to spend some time away from the ridiculous party and hang out with you and Gwen. Where is Gwen?"
"She went home. I'm heading home too."

Jonah knew that Gwen and I were currently living together in her place since her parents are hardly ever home, but for some reason, it bothered him that we did.

Jonah frowned. "Oh. Do you have to leave so soon?"
"Well, I don't want to stay here at this party." I joked.
He glared at me. "I hate you."
"Maybe... this, "I pulled out his present from my pocket. "... will make you hate me a little less." I smiled and handed it to him.
He looked at me and down at the box before unwrapping it. "Smencils?"
"They're scented pencils, made from recycled newspaper. Maybe you can try your hand at drawing. If not, then you can just smell your pencils all day. Cinnamon's my favorite."
He smiled at me, then hugged me. "Thank you Jude."
"It's no big deal." I said, hugging him back. Suddenly I felt a jolt of electricity... something I don't think I was supposed to feel just by hugging him. I felt excited and relaxed at the same time, but mostly I felt worried. I pulled away, but he didn't notice anything.
"I have to go." I smiled and ran out the door.

I don't know what happened back there, but I have a feeling this is the beginning of something I did not want to happen.