Nothing Normal

“They aren’t coming,” Blaine said disappointed as he paced in front of the park bench where Justin was sitting, relaxed. Too relaxed for Blaine’s taste.

“Yes they are cool down. It’s five minutes before we told them to be here.” His friend continued to pace in front of him, he leaned back and closed his eyes still tired from having to get up before twelve on a weekend. “Most people don’t come thirty minutes early to meetings with friends. I think you’re kind of supposed to come fashionably late to friend-get-togethers.”

“But what if they don’t come.” Justin perked up the nervous crack had come into his friend’s voice.

“You really like this girl don’t you?”

Blaine looked at his friend saying “duh” with his eyes.

“Got it. Well just relax, she seemed into you, too. She’ll come I’m sure.”

He took a deep breath and sat down next to Justin. “I guess you right.”

“I know I’m right. The sooner you get that the better off you’ll be.”

“Whatever.” The two friends sat together in silence. They had been best friends since they were twelve. They had met playing baseball and had been inseparable ever since. Very few people who knew them knew they weren’t brothers, it didn’t helped that they sort of looked alike. Sometimes they themselves forgot they were just friends, often referring to one another as “my brother”.

“Hey.” Blaine snapped to attention and turned to the two girls standing behind them.

“Oh, hey.”

Kelsey’s sweet face turned to concern, “Sorry to keep ya’ll waiting.”

“Oh, no, don’t be we just got here.”

Justin rolled his eyes at his friend, not turning around, thinking, Yeah, thirty minutes ago.

Blaine quickly got up and pulled Justin up beside him and almost fell. “It’s nice to see you again Justin.”

He didn’t respond to Kelsey, he was too busy with his eyes caught on the girl with her.

“Oh, sorry, this is Vivian, my best friend and roommate.”

Blaine grabbed her hand sweetly and gave it a light kiss. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Blaine quickly elbowed his friend in the ribs, “Oh yes meet you nice very it is,” scrambling the
sentence all up. Justin grimaced. Why do I always do this?

Vivian laughed and Justin could swear it was the most amazing sound ever. “Thanks I guess,” she responded, blushing.

They all stood in awkward silence, until Blaine broke it up. “Shall we?” Blaine stuck out his arm.

“Yeah, sounds great.”

Kelsey slipped her arm through his and glanced back as Justin awkwardly stuck his out for Vivian, who elbowed him, “Loosen up. I don’t bite. Well not on Saturdays at least. Looks like you chose the right day.” Justin managed a nervous laugh.

Kelsey turned back to Blaine with a smile on her face. She rested her head on his shoulder, “So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

“We do what with these?” Kelsey and Vivian asked in unison.

Justin punched Vivian in the arm playfully, “What are you scared?” Vivian and Justin had gotten a lot more comfortable with each other In the last hour they had spent finding a store that sold clothes pins and sold enough of them.

Kelsey held the clothes pins out in front of her. They were standing in the middle of the mall. Blaine had that ever present, captivating smile on his face.

He laughed, “Ok, so again. You have to get rid of all fifty clothes pins you have in your hand by pinning them to people. No one is allowed to see you and the person you pin them to can’t know. One pin per person. And because this is you guys first time we will work as teams. Kelsey with me, Justin with you.” Blaine beckoned to Vivian who was now excited about the mission. “Ok and don’t forget other than getting rid of the pins you have to take twenty pictures,” Kelsey looked at the disposable camera in her hand. “...and I mean fun, interesting pictures. Not just of random things so you win...Justin!”

Justin started laughing, “That was one time!”

Blaine ignored his friend’s protest, “Now as soon as you get rid of all fifty and get your twenty pictures, come back here. First team here with those things, wins. Everybody understand?” Blaine looked at everyone as they nodded in agreement. “Ok... may the best team win.”

Justin and Vivian joined hands, “Oh trust us we will,” Vivian said cocky.

“Oh, we’ll see about that,” Kelsey retaliated.

“Ok me and Kelsey take the mall to the...eh...left. You and Vivian have to the right.”

Each team stared down the other playfully.

“Go!” Blaine yelled. Each team took off hand in hand.

Blaine dragged Kelsey behind him, “ We’re going to Victoria Secret, it’s all girls in there and not meaning this in any particular way,” he said as he turned to face Kelsey without slowing, “they don’t seem to mind when I bump into them. Sometimes the girls in there get in my way so I have to brush them and it makes it easy to get rid of-- well depending on the crowd-- around twenty pins.”

“That sounds good to me. You’re the expert.”

Blaine was right they got rid of twenty-seven pins in Victoria’s Secret to be exact. It was a busy crowd and as Blaine had pointed out before girls did just get in his way to make him squeeze past. They got rid of three in F.Y.E., nine just walking around the fountain in the middle of the mall, and eleven in the food court.

They took their pictures all along the way. Most of their pictures they took with random people.
Kelsey’s most memorable one was a picture of Blaine, Kelsey, and this older lady jumping in the fountain. The mall security guards were against it at first but eventually allowed it after Blaine talked to them. He had a way of talking that could convince anyone of anything.

Kelsey and Blaine won with time to spare.

It took Vivian and Justin ten minutes longer to come back. They walked up defeated, “I realized the second you said go we had gotten the worse side. I forgot Victoria Secret was on that side. How many did you kill off there?”

Blaine laughed, “Twenty-seven. I was relatively easy. They had a huge crowd.”

Justin looked completely crushed, Kelsey could tell that both of the boys were very competitive.

“Oh my gosh, I don’t know about you Kels, but that is the most fun I’ve had in awhile,” Vivian said sending a thoughtful looks over to Justin. “That’s the spirit. Now let’s go get these developed,” Blaine said holding up the disposable camera. He lead the way with Justin by his side, Kelsey could hear him telling Justin quietly to suck it up and to quit putting a damper on the mood. After teasing, Justin’s spirits finally rose.

“They are both so cute,” Vivian whispered to Kelsey as they watched them giving over the cameras to the cashier, “and such gentlemen. You didn’t tell me how cute Justin was. We would have the cutest kids.” Kelsey shot her a look. Vivian shrugged and continued, “just saying.”

Kelsey watched as Blaine talked excitedly with the male cashier. The cashier kept laughing at everything he was saying. A little girl was behind the counter, she heard the cashier confirm it was his sister. Blaine reached across the counter and took the guy’s name tag off his shirt. With a quick slide of his hand Blaine made the name tag disappear and much to the delight of the little girl appear on the back of HER shirt.

Blaine glanced over to Kelsey and flashed a smile. He really was sweet and very attractive. Both
Blaine and Justin made their way back.

“How’d you do that?” Kelsey asked, still puzzled by his trick.

He flashed another million-dollar smile, “A magician never reveals his secret...but just between me and you...” Blaine leaned in and whispered, “Magic.”

Kelsey hit him in the arm, “Oh, stop it you’re such a tease.”

Blaine straightened up, “Ok while the pictures are getting developed let’s go get some ice cream. He said it would take about thirty minutes and me and Justin have been planning on ice cream all day.”

As they made their way to ice cream, Kelsey and Blaine lagged behind. “So... tell me about Vivian. I might as well learn about her since they are going pretty hard at the flirting up there.”

It was true ahead of them the two looked as if they were already dating, talking animatedly back and forth.

“Well...where can I begin? We met in seventh grade but didn’t become friends until the 8th grade.
She found out I was going to a Jonas Brothers concert and totally started fangirling with me and as they say the rest is history. Going through high school we practically lived together. We just changed up who’s house we stayed at mine or hers, well until she moved to Oklahoma in 11th grade. We kept in touch well actually we more than kept in touch we talked everyday. Nothing is gonna separate us.” Blaine nodded. “How about you and Justin?”

“He’s practically my brother, we’ve been at each other’s side since we were twelve after we met playing baseball. He gets on my nerves, gives me a hard time, but I love him and wouldn’t trade him for anything.”

Kelsey looked up into his hazel eyes that were glowing green right now, “that’s really sweet.”

“Yeah well I try.”

After getting her order he left her as he went to get it. “I love them,” Vivian slid in the seat next to Kelsey.

Kelsey rolled her eyes, “So you’ve said.”

“Blaine, what do you think of Vivian?” Blaine smiled. Justin was always so concerned about what
Blaine thought that sometimes Justin forgot to even ask himself what he thought.

“I like her. She’s sweet.”

Justin scoffed, “Are you kidding man? She’s hot, funny, and...” he paused, “I don’t know she’s different.” Justin paused again, “...they both are. I mean they don’t act like any of the other girls that seem interested in us. Most girls that like us are shallow and self-absorbed more into us for the eye candy to show off to their friends than they are actually into us. Most of the interesting girls that I would even remotely care about are either too intimidated to approach us or they think were shallow, douche bags. But Vivian and Kelsey...” He dropped off. “They are like two of the coolest girls I’ve ever met.” Justin glanced at his friend. “...and don’t even pretend you don’t understand what I’m saying. That stupid, dorky grin on your face says it all.”

Both of the boys returned holding their respective girl’s order. A few minutes in Kelsey realized that Blaine had gotten ice cream on his cheek, right where his dimple was. “Here Blaine,” she said handing him a napkin, “you got ice cream on your face.” Instead of taking the napkin, he stuck his tongue out and began to lick around his mouth. “Where do I need to lick?”

Kelsey blushed and laughed, “Up, up, over to the left, no your other left, rightttt... there!”
Blaine got it off and nodded, “Thanks.”

“Well we better go get our pictures. I’m quite excited to see our pictures. Ours are going to be pretty awesome,” Justin announced.

A few minutes later they were standing at the counter spreading the pictures out. Blaine was over whispering to the girl about how to do a magic trick. While Kelsey, Justin, and Vivian hovered over the pictures. After a few highly applauded yet miserably failed attempts at making the trick she had just learned, look the legit, Blaine came over to look at the pictures.

“These look great,” Kelsey said as Blaine came to her side. “Which ones do you want, Blaine?”

“Um...” he paused and then snatched up several , which Kelsey noted that were all of just her. “I want these and these two are the best so I think we should get these double printed so we both have one.” He handed the two pictures to the worker who hurried off to get another copy printed of each.

Later that night, the two guys lingered saying very long goodbyes but neither of the girls noticed they were too wrapped in the moment to care even if they had.

“Today was great. It was so much fun.”

“Yeah, I’m glad most people don’t enjoy the weird spaztic things me and Justin do on a day to day basis.”

Kelsey laughed and pushed the hair out of her face. “Thanks for everything. It was amazing,” Kelsey said politely.

“Yeah,” Blaine responded.

The two girls stood facing the two boys, quietly, until Vivian spoke. “We have to do this again sometime.”

Justin smiled down at his feet, not wanting to sound too desperate he chose to suggest not tomorrow but the next day. “Monday?”

It was Kelsey who answered, “Too far away.”

Justin smiled happily, “Tomorrow morning?”

Vivian laughed. “Too soon, we don’t like ya’ll that much,” even though that sounded perfect to her.

Blaine took the incentive, “Tomorrow night it is then.” He leaned forward and gave Kelsey a hug and
pulling away, a kiss on the cheek. Justin followed suit.

As both of the boys watched them climb the front steps of their apartment building, it was Justin who first looked away, turning after Vivian disappeared in the doorway. Right before Kelsey left Blaine’s sight she turned and blew him a kiss. Blaine jumped up and pretended to catch it high up in the air and stick it in his pocket. He was rewarded right before she disappeared with her angelic laughter and then she was gone.

Blaine turned to Justin who was smiling at him. “I’m afraid to say it but I believe Blaine Laurence and Justin Boyd have met their matches and had their hearts stolen,”Justin said thoughtfully. Blaine threw his arm around his friend and smiled heartily. He looked up at the apartment building, thoughtfully. He followed it up until his eyes met the night sky, sparkling, just like her dark eyes. The stars seemed to stare right back at him as if they knew exactly what he was thinking and agreed with him completely. He laughed and squeezed his friend’s shoulders as Justin continued, “...but there is a good part.” His friend looked to him. Blaine smiled and Justin finished, “...they never were OUR hearts...they always belonged to them.”

Blaine laughed and began to lead his friend toward their own apartment, “Now, it’s up to us to steal theirs.”