Melodies

I didn't mind Courtney and Brittany being there, exactly. I'd just kind of hoped it would be just Sydney and me.

Courtney talked through the entire movie, which I sort of resented. I did that when Sydney and I watched movies together. We had conversations about the stupidest things throughout movies, unless the movie was one that was actually serious and worth watching. Final Destination does not meet that criteria.

When we watched Futurama together last, we somehow ended up making out, progressing further than we'd gone before. We could have done so much more than we did if Jamie hadn't come home in the middle of it. I'd sort of hoped that we could repeat that today, but Courtney and Brittany ruined it.

Sydney must have noticed my mood change, because he pulled me onto his lap, letting me curl up against his chest and hold onto him. He wrapped his arms around me protectively. I must have stayed up too late the night before or something, because I fell asleep halfway through the movie.

I woke up in a daze in Sydney's unmade bed, with a light blanket over my lower half. I shoved it off, standing slowly. I heard Sydney and the girls talking downstairs. I left his room to sit at the head of the staircase, listening to them.

Courtney said, "He's seemed pretty stressed, but I mean, he gets like this all the time. It might be because of Jamie, or it might just be things actually building up. He's taking ACT prep classes and still volunteering downtown with the kid orchestra, and his homework situation isn't exactly ideal."

I heard Sydney speak next. "He said Jamie was moody or something earlier. I think that's agitating him a lot more than he shows."

Courtney again. "Yeah, it looks like Jamie's getting pretty bad again. I just hope Willa comes home soon, so she can help with that. I know she's been in and out of the house a lot the last two months."

"Who's Willa?"

Brittany this time, explaining. "She's their mom. She sort of works selling handmade jewelry at all these random places, and she's gone a lot of the time, trying to advertise to new stores and get them to sell her stuff."

"Oh."

Courtney spoke up again. "Anyway, Kell should be over with this stress stuff soon-ish. He goes through it in cycles, and it sounds like it peaked already. But he will do this again, you realize."

"I don't mind it. I just wish he could calm down, for his sake. He looks miserable half the time."

"He seems to have loosened up a little, now that you guys have started going out. Which reminds me, we're all dying to know...how far have you gone with him?"

There was a moment of silence. Sydney broke it by saying, "That's it, get out. You bitches suck."

Courtney and Brittany laughed, and I heard the sound of a door opening. They didn't leave though. Courtney managed to speak as she chuckled at what I assumed was Sydney's irritated expression. "Come on, Sydney, you aren't exactly virginal. And I don't get to see Kell as much now that you've got him, so I don't get to know anything anymore!"

I heard him shut the door, but he still sounded a little annoyed. "All I'll tell you is that we were watching Futurama last week, and maybe stuff happened. MAYBE. And it wasn't really anything major, so don't get all worked up over me 'violating' Kell."

Courtney and Brittany gasped. I could hear them harassing Sydney about it, squealing and shouting. I decided to come downstairs, just to shut them up a little.

Once I entered the kitchen, I hugged Sydney, pressing the side of my face to his bare chest. He settled his arms around my waist as Courtney laughed some more. "Kell, you tell us. What happened when you guys watched Futurama?"

I smiled, remembering how his touch felt. "We just made out a little, that's all. Jamie came home before anything exciting could happen."

"Aw, did he catch you guys doing anything?"

"No, he didn't. He didn't even talk to us, he was so tired."

Sydney pressed his lips into my hair. Brittany checked her phone and hit Courtney. "Hey, man, my mom's going to kill me. We have to go."

Courtney rolled her eyes and readjusted her purse. "Okay. I guess we're going, I'll see you guys at school."

I checked my own phone once they were gone. It was only six.

"You don't regret anything we've done, do you?"

I looked up, surprised to hear Sydney ask me that. He was looking straight ahead, not at me.

"No. I was actually looking forward to doing more of it. You don't regret it, do you?"

He looked at me, finally. "No. We didn't even do that much." His hand slid lower, down to my waist. I was already subconsciously anticipating the feeling of his hand in my pants again. "I just don't want to rush you or anything. I'm such a pig compared to you. I hang out in my underwear, I smoke, I have horrible language, and I'm turned on by like, everything."

I kissed him. "I don't think you're a pig. And if you were some germaphobic dick, I wouldn't date you. You're just... I don't know. You're brown."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm brown?"

"Yes. Brown is comfortable. It's warm, it's sturdy, it's reliable."

He grinned. "Whatever you say, as long as I'm not 'pink for pig' or 'brown for dirt.'"

I laughed. "You're not, I promise."