The More Boys I Meet

“Maybe you should come downstairs just for a little while. To eat,” Pat kept trying to coax me out of my room a little while later.

I was fixing up my face, which was covered in claw marks. He winced, looking at a particularly bad one under my left eye. “You should see the other girl,” I said.

He laughed. “I did. She looked pretty bad.”

I shrugged, scrunching up my face to test the liquid band bandages I just applied. “So yeah. I’ll come down and eat when everyone else leaves.”

Pat turned to leave, but stopped, rapping his knuckles on the door frame before speaking. “You know you should talk to Krugs.”

I sighed, still looking over myself in the mirror and didn’t say anything for a moment. “I was really mean to him Pat. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Well he was mean too Ells,” he turned around and I sat on my bed, rubbing my temples.

“I was meaner. I mean, he has every right to kiss whoever he wants even if it’s in our damn supply closet.”

He sat down next to me and I laid my head on his shoulder. “Well Ells. I think this has more to do with Rachel than Krugs. She said some pretty hurtful things, huh?”

“She crossed a line and she knew where that line was. We were friends and she just threw me under the bus without hesitation. Who would do that to a friend?”

“Bad friends,” Pat answered. “But you’ve got some pretty great friends who would never throw you under the bus Ellie bear. One of them is probably sulking in his house listening to Swedish death metal or something.”

I sighed. “When he cools off, we’ll talk.”

He got up and started to walk out. “I’ll call you downstairs when everyone has left, okay?”

I nodded, falling onto my back. “Sounds good Pattycake.”

Two hours later, Pat came to get me and I slouched downstairs and onto the couch. I opened my eyes and yelped. “You said everyone was gone!”

Pat shrugged. “Getting these three to leave is impossible. Well technically four, but you’re having a temper tantrum with the younger.”

I pushed Viktor’s face away from mine. “Go away Viktor.”

Johnny, Crow, and Viktor sat on the stools at the counter, watching me carefully. “Are you going to Hulk out again?” Corey asked.

“I will if you keep pissing me off,” I turned, muttering into a pillow.

“You need to eat something,” Pat told me.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Close to eight, why?” Johnny asked.

I got up, stretching my arms. “I’m going for a run. Whoever my running buddy is, meet me outside in ten.”

I got back downstairs to find no one in the kitchen. I looked around the corner towards the fridge, but no one was really there. “Either they’re all coming to burn off their chubbiness or they all ran for the hills because they like the chubbiness of their cheeks and thighs.”

I walked outside, grabbing my bottle of water and stretched some more, waiting for my partner.

“Hey,” the voice made me freeze momentarily.

I stood back up. “Hi,” I said quietly.

“We should get going,” Marcus nodded at the street, avoiding eye contact. “I’ve got the flashlight for when it gets dark.”

I held up my water bottle. “If you’re thirsty, I’ve got the water.”

We ran the first mile in silence, stopping once we got to a kid’s playground. I bent down to regain breath and started walking around. I tossed Marcus the water and he looked surprised.

“What?” I asked.

“How did you know I was thirsty?”

“Because you always are once we reach the mile point. I didn’t just come here yesterday you know,” I snorted.

He drank and then handed it back to me. “We should talk,” he finally said, looking at the ground.

I turned around. “I’m sorry for what I said to you earlier. I was a jerk and a bitch and really mean. You need to know that I did not mean what I said about the type of girl you go after. That was a low blow and I’ve felt guilty since five minutes after I said it,” I finished and took in a breath.

He raised an eyebrow. “So that five minutes afterwards?”

“Still too mad to register what I said,” I told him honestly.

He laughed and sat on the bench and I followed suit. “Today was just a riot, huh?” he shook his head and looked at my face and winced. “Wow, you two really got into it,” he sighed. “I shouldn’t have kissed her,” he said, looking up at the stars. “Or anything else with her,” he added on slowly. “It was a dumb thing to do and I should have known she was using me to get to you. I kind of did know it too, but like you said. I have a type.”

I looked at him and then the stars. “I only said that to hurt you Marcus. And it did obviously and evil alter me would be proud. However, what I said was not true. Your ex was. . .is a bitch and that’s not a type. Rachel was just trying to get at me for having so many good looking guy friends while she was slumming the bottom of the Chemistry major pool. Look, can we just forget this fight ever happened? I am so damn tired of being mad at you.”

He looked over and smiled. “Last one home has to get all the blankets and food ready for Supernatural!” he shouted, getting up and starting.

I raced after him, laughing. “No fair! You cheated!”

The more boys I met, the more I understood what true friendship was.