More Like a Movie

“Stop,” Vic said sternly with his big brown eyes being the only things on me. I bit my lip, trying to contain the smile as he continued to scowl at me. He was sitting right beside me, he had the ability to reach over and grab my hands, preventing me from doing anything else, but he didn’t. Instead he just gave me a glare, using his words to tell me to stop.

Remaining silent, I shrugged probably making him think that I’d actually listen to him and stop poking him, but I had other ideas. He deserved to be tormented. Tony and I sat here at this stupid diner for well over an hour waiting for him to arrive. Whoever said patience was a virtue obviously never knew Victor Fuentes.

When he finally got here, we got straight to work on our individual assignments for various classes. I learned the other day that they had sort of a study routine. They hated working alone, so even though the classes never crossed with each other, they always got together. It seemed to work out for them and since I was Tony’s roommate, he invited me along, the gesture only annoying Vic.

Sometimes I couldn't tell if I liked him or hated him and I believe he had the same problem with me. We're getting along much better now but anytime he catches himself smiling around me it's like a switch goes off and he turns into a dick. It gets irritating after a while because I feel like we're taking steps towards a friendship but then he forgets he's supposed to hate me so then he does something childish like eat the rest of my food or show up late to a lunch that he helped plan.

“Kellin, fucking quit it,” he snapped, throwing his pencil down on the table in front of us. His hands balled into fists, some of the paper crinkling up in the process. The sudden urge to reach over and smooth it out quickly festered in the forefront of my mind and I drowned out everything Vic was saying, swatting his hands away so I could flatten out his homework.

He gave me a curious look, but eventually dismissed it with a roll of his eyes. “You’re so fucking weird,” he commented and turned back to his worksheet on the narrative structure of cinema, taking the time every couple of minutes to hit my nagging hand away.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I liked being here with them. Originally my Saturday was supposed to spent cooped up in the library, working on different projects I had going on. We were only a few days into the semester and somehow the work was already starting to pile up. However, now that I’m here with these guys, I find some comfort in working alongside them. It’s nice to not feel alone.

Plus, the fact that I was getting on Vic’s last nerve added a special touch to the moment. Even Tony couldn’t help but laugh. Over the past couple of days he’s made a few comments about us, Vic and me, our friendship, as he likes to call it. Apparently Vic is a bit of a brat, refusing to socialize with anyone who is new and outside of their group. Tony seems to believe he’s made an exception for me even though I swear Vic still finds me to be the most bothersome person he’s ever encountered. I guess the fact that we interact is what makes me different and I’m not complaining. This is what I want, to get to know Vic.

“If I didn’t know any better,” Tony started with a mischievous grin on his face. “I’d say you two were-“ he was quickly cut off by a piece of lettuce being flung in his face, leaving me curious as to what he was going to say.

“That’s enough talking,” Vic cut in throwing what seemed to be a warning glance in Tony’s direction. It was killing me not knowing what they were silently arguing about but I really didn’t want to be annoying and bring it up.

It’s just that naturally I’m a very curious person. It’s a character trait that my parents both loved and hated about me. Loved because I was always asking questions and I wanted to know more; simple explanations just weren’t enough for me. That’s what they hated, though. To me, there was a reason, an answer, behind everything and I wanted to know what.

“Looks like we’ve lost him again,” I heard Tony say and my mind immediately switched back to the conversation happening before me.

“What’s that?”

“You have a tendency to…space off, don’t you?” Vic questioned, pushing his work to the side for the time being. Thinking about it, I guess I did zone out more often than a normal person should. It’s hard for me to explain and I don’t really understand why it happens, but it does.

“I guess,” I sighed and went back to picking at my sandwich.

Vic nudged me and I dropped a tomato I had just picked off, crinkling my nose in disgust as it fell back onto the paper, contaminating the rest of my food. “Don’t play with your food,” he commented.

“I wasn’t playing with it. I was trying to make it edible.” I snapped and went back to my task. This diner was like their go-to spot or something. They had their usual booth – this one in the back corner where we were pretty much deserted away from everybody else. And along with that, they had their usual foods and drinks. Vic was the one to order for everyone, meaning he just forced me into whatever he was eating, claiming that I would really like it.

He was wrong.

“You’re such a child, I swear to god.” He huffed. Wrapping up the rest of his sandwich, he made a motion in the air that signaled a waitress to come over. The smile on her face only grew when she approached the table, one glance at Vic and a light pink was dusting her cheeks. I wanted so badly to roll my eyes at the sight, but I controlled myself. It was incredible the kind of affect he had on people.

“What can I get for you, Vic?” She spoke softly, barely able to understand a word that was passing through those overly glossed lips. Taking her in now, I figured she was probably one of Vic’s hookups and for whatever reason that thought annoyed me.

He flashed her a charming smile, which only made her look away for a brief second to compose herself. I could have sworn I saw her bring the notepad up to slightly fan herself. “We’ll just need the check, Patti, thank you.” He said politely but I could hear the annoyance in his voice.

“For you, it’s on the house.” She grinned, slipping him a receipt that had everything already paid for.

I muttered a few choice words under my breath, earning a smack on the arm from Vic who then thanked her and pulled out his wallet, leaving a few dollar bills down as a tip. He then roughly pushed me out of the booth, forcing me out of the way as he took his leftovers and started for the door.

“Tonight, don’t forget. Bring Kellin,” Vic said pointing to Tony. The two of them exchanged knowing glances and once again I felt that desire to know every little detail about whatever it was they were leaving me out of. My eyes watched Vic leave the establishment, his food tucked securely in his hands. I expected him to stop at the corner where the dorms were but he just kept going until he was practically out of sight, stopping at the corner of a street I’ve never been down. He waited for maybe a second before he disappeared down the alley, completely leaving my view.

Shrugging I turned to Tony and finally asked the million dollar question.

“What’s tonight?”



It was around ten at night and we, we being Vic, Tony, Alan, and myself, were just standing in an abandoned parking lot by the school with the borrowed camera equipment set up and ready for only god knows what. Hands in my pockets, I stood off to the side and observed as the three other boys argued about timing and where the best natural lighting would be.

I was a little worried about what tonight would bring because after lunch Tony only filled me in a little bit, but he mentioned alcohol and well, my admission from before was that I have never been drunk, not once. Sure, the thought has crossed my mind a couple of times. It’s only natural, but I guess I’ve always been too afraid. I don’t like being out of control and the last thing I want is to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone; Vic especially.

For now though we were just hanging out. Apparently Vic had a plan for us to work on our video assignments. I think he really didn’t want to work alone with Alan, which didn’t make any sense to me. He seemed like a pretty decent guy.

“Kellin,” Vic sang, snapping his fingers in front of my face. I hadn’t realized he had walked over to me. I really need to stop my daydreams. Sooner or later they’re going to get me in trouble.

“What?” I asked still trying to familiarize myself with the setting.

He reached behind him, slowly pulling his hand back into view, a bottle secured in his grasp. “Want one?”

I swallowed hard and tried to keep my cool. They didn’t know I was practically a virgin to this and I wanted to keep it that way. Tony and Alan wouldn’t say anything, but I had the feeling Vic would give me shit and that was something I wanted to avoid. Stupid as it may be, I kind of wanted to impress him and make him think that I was cool enough to be friends with.

So with that thought in mind, I threw on a smile and nodded, taking the cold beverage from him copying his movements as he placed the end of the beer bottle between his teeth, snapping the cap clean off.

My eyes lingered on his lips for a second too long and I caught him smirking, handing me the already opened bottle because it was obviously clear I couldn’t figure it out myself. He must have noticed my apprehension because he stopped walking and just looked at me.

“Damn Kell, you act like you’ve never gotten drunk before.” He commented as a complete joke. He was about to find out just how true that was though.

“That’s because I haven’t,” I mumbled, gaze immediately falling to my hands as a sort of shame took over me. I’m 20 years old, how is it possible for me to miss out on so many things? Why didn’t I participate more? Why couldn’t I have opened up like a normal teenager when I had the chance?

“Holy shit,” Vic said in disbelief. “Well we’re changing that tonight. Drink up, kiddo. You’ve got a long night ahead of you.” He then turned back to the other two, leaving me alone with just my bottle. Contemplating on whether or not I should just get on with it or leave, I decided on the first and with a shrug, I began drinking not thinking about anything else that may happen.

After that first beer, Vic became my personal server, bringing me bottle after bottle until I had downed about six already. I knew I needed stop soon, if not now. I didn’t weigh much and the only other thing in my stomach was that disgusting sandwich from earlier. I had already done my fair share of talking tonight, hopefully no embarrassing secrets slipped out during my time of intoxication because I don’t think I’d be able to live that down.

Against my better judgment, I was quick to finish my last drink, tossing the bottle to the ground behind me as I walked away. In my mind I was thinking it would look really cool, like a scene from a movie but in reality I most likely looked like a fucking loser. It didn’t matter because seconds later I was seated on the hard asphalt, legs crossed and head resting on Tony’s shoulder. I felt warm all over and I knew it had to be the alcohol. My body temperature was typically very cold.

It wasn’t until I felt Tony’s body jostle about that I realized that they were laughing and all of their eyes were on me. Suddenly I felt my cheeks go warm, embarrassment soon filling me. “Are you guys laughing at me?” I pouted, poking my bottom lip out and earning even more laughs.

“You’re so cute, Kellin,” Alan commented, slapping Vic on the leg and nearly falling onto his side as he erupted into a fit of laughter. I didn’t know if that was a compliment or a statement meant to make fun of me, but I shrugged it off and thanked him anyway.

It was nice to feel this careless, like nothing else mattered except that I was sitting here with my friends, having fun instead of staying in by myself. They still hadn’t answered my question though. Were they laughing at me?

“Guys”, I whined, slapping the hard ground with my hand and yelping when the burn radiated up my arm. Fuck, I was going to regret all of this tomorrow. With their attention on me I sighed dramatically and stood up, arms crossing over my chest and letting my hip pop out. “Are you laughing at me?” I asked again.

This time no one spoke, but Vic bit his lip and I subconsciously licked my own, because I’d be a liar if I said he wasn’t the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. He then proceeded to nod, laughing as my whole body language changed and I plopped back down on the ground, taking my spot next to Tony.

The next words that came out of my mouth were a mistake, but I couldn’t turn back after I let them slip. “Is it because I’m gay?”

Silence quickly fell over us as three of them exchanged glances, once again leaving me in the dark. This was getting old. Sooner or later I’d have to bring that up.

“Kels,” Vic said to me, his hand now firmly placed on my shoulder. Like me, he was also warm and I ended up relaxing at his touch. I looked over at him, eyelids heavy because now I felt like sleep was taking over me. What time was it?

“Mhm, yeah,” I mumbled, body swaying a bit in his hold.

“You’ll be happy to know that this is a liberal arts school. 89 percent of the population is gay,” he chirped, giggling at his own sentence. I felt my insides light up and I asked probably my millionth stupid question of the night because well, I was suddenly very interested in this statistic.

“Are you?”

He stopped laughing at that. In fact they all did and I thought I may have crossed a line until Vic cracked, smiling wider than I think I’ve ever seen him smile around me. He poked my nose, the other guys laughing along with him until something changed in him. “Kellin, you need to learn to mind your own damn business. You don’t need to know every detail of my life.” He ruffled my hair and stood up, leaving the group to attend to the discarded camera.

There he goes again, totally turning on me when he finds himself getting even a little friendly. I thought I was getting through to him. I thought him being drunk would allow him to open up to me. But no, I was still that new annoyance in his life and I wasn’t sure how to change that. I was practically desperate to get Vic to like me, just because I wanted that friendship with him and I don’t even know why.

The only plus side about tonight was that I finally got drunk.