You Had Me at "I Hate You"
33
Gavin had called up a bunch of his buddies that had gone to that Christmas party, so many months ago.
Trenton was one of those buddies. I remember that he was making eyes at me on Christmas... But, unfortunately, due to my excessive eggnog consumption, I couldn't remember much else about him. I do know, however, that he was quite the hottie.
Actually... Do you want to know something? After that party... Trenton asked me out for dinner and a movie.
And... I said yes! I figured it was time to be moving on from Aiden. Baby steps... In time, I would be over that lying, cheating, hurtful, son of a-
"Violet?"
"Mmm?" I asked, popping an Asprin to relieve my headache.
"Can I... Uh... Can I talk to you?"
I looked up to see Lincoln in the doorway, looking like he always did these days... Which was a sad mixture of somber desolation and... hopelessness.
Now, as emo as that sounds, it was true. He seemed to lug his body from room to room, as if his heart was too heavy to hold upright. I felt, in a way, that I was responsible for it.
Well, I couldn't be entirely to blame!
Right?
I sighed. I remembered how our last little "talk" had gone. Plus, I was grumpy from the monstrous hangover I was suffering from.
"Do we have to do this now, Linc?" I groaned, sounding ruder that I meant to. "I want to catch a good night's sleep... And I can't handle the stress of-"
"Please?"
It was in that one tiny word that I caught a glimpse of a new Linc. It was... heartbreaking. The boy who had once been so lively... So full of sun, was now heaving through day after day... His eyes looked more tired than the time we stayed up all night together, drinking chocolate milk and playing "Would You Rather".
I almost smiled, remembering the hazy outline of the early morning sun crawling above the horizon...
-_-_-
"Okay..." he said, thinking. "Would you rather... Have to be naked twenty-four-seven... Or have your skin permanently dyed blue?"
I thought for a moment, sipping my milk. "Could I use make-up to cover the blue?"
Linc shook his head. "Nope!"
I tapped my chin, pretending to think. "I would have to go with... Naked twenty-four-seven."
He threw his head back and laughed, punching the air in triumph.
I slapped him upside his shaggy head, and giggled in a way that sounded far too flirtatious.
"Your turn!" he called, and took a drag straight from the milk carton. He tilted his head back, and then squirted an obscene amount of chocolate syrup into his mouth.
"Alright..." I pondered, searching for an appropriately horrifying and embarrassing situation.
Linc shook his head vigorously, mixing the milk and chocolate. His hair flopped against the sides of his face.
"Who would you rather kiss..." I began, grinning evilly. "Hugh Laurie... or Gavin?"
Linc choked on his chocolate milk, and he sputtered as it went down the wrong pipe.
"What?"
"Answer!"
"Dollface!" he cried in disbelief.
"Answer!"
"I can't... I don't... That's not fair!"
I shrugged. "You still have to answer!"
He laughed in disbelief. "Okay... If I had to choose one... Oh, God. Hugh Laurie!"
I screeched in delight.
"Well, Hugh Laurie does play House on T.V.!" Linc exclaimed, trying to justify his choice. "And you didn't expect me to pick Gavin, did you?"
"So what about Hugh has you so..." I lowered my voice, and batted my eyelashes jokingly. "Captivated?"
Linc laughed. "The fancy medical terms, definitely," he teased. "Very sexy."
"Oh really?" I asked, taking a swig of chocolate milk. "Endoplasmic reticulum!"
He clasped his hands to his heart. "Oh, Dollface! Don't stop!"
I laughed and flicked his nose.
He laughed... I laughed... We were laughing together...
-_-_-_-_-
As the memory faded, I wondered why he never called me Dollface anymore.
Then I realized that rings hung under his brilliant, murky-green eyes. They set his face on a purple hue. He looked ill.
He was skinner, too. And not in the "Have-You-Been-Working-Out?" skinny. It was the kind of skinny that you see in terminal patients... The ones who didn't feel the need to eat. The ones who didn't feel the need to live.
I had to look away. I couldn't stand to see my friend... Yes, I'll admit... My best friend, looking so much like... A beaten puppy.
But, even when I turned my head, I could still hear his voice.
"Vi..." he begged. "Please?"
Oh, God! His voice was worse than his face!
-_-_-
It was like the time when I'd asked him to watch The Notebook with me. Actually, forced was the appropriate word. There was a lot of pleading, threatening, and blackmail flying back and forth before he finally plopped down on the couch, resigned in defeat.
He started sniffling about thirty minutes into the movie. By the end, he was sobbing.
"That was.. b-beautiful!" he cried, furiously wiping his eyes.
I honked into a tissue, and passed him the box. "I told you!" I sniffed.
He gladly took a handful of Puffs Plus, and said in a husky voice, "Th-Their love survived! Even when she couldn't remember that she loved him... The l-l-love was still there!"
I tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob. "And the ending!"
"Oh my God!" Linc cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "The ending was brilliant!"
I wiped a crocodile tear off of the tip of his chin with my thumb. "Aren't you glad I made you watch it?"
He suddenly looked at me, quite seriously, and said, "Violet DiMarco... We are definitely naming our children Noah and Ally."
I snorted in laughter. "Okay... On the slim chance we have kids, they're already named."
We recovered a bit, blowing our noses, and wiping our puffy eyes.
Linc cleared his throat, becoming a "manly-man" again.
"And... Uh... Dollface?" he said in a deep voice, trying to flex his muscled slightly.
"Yeah?"
"If you ever tell anyone I saw that movie..."
I laughed and pecked him on the cheek before going to bed.
-_-_-
"Violet?"
I blinked in surprise.
"I asked you a question," Linc said, shuffling his feet. "Can we talk?"
I sighed and got up from the couch, ambling over into our room.
And as he shut the door behind us, I couldn't help but imagine that he'd shut out those memories... The old Linc. Upon closing that door... He was sealing his fate...
I mean, I already knew what he wanted to talk about. And I already knew my answer.
Would he ever be happy again?
Trenton was one of those buddies. I remember that he was making eyes at me on Christmas... But, unfortunately, due to my excessive eggnog consumption, I couldn't remember much else about him. I do know, however, that he was quite the hottie.
Actually... Do you want to know something? After that party... Trenton asked me out for dinner and a movie.
And... I said yes! I figured it was time to be moving on from Aiden. Baby steps... In time, I would be over that lying, cheating, hurtful, son of a-
"Violet?"
"Mmm?" I asked, popping an Asprin to relieve my headache.
"Can I... Uh... Can I talk to you?"
I looked up to see Lincoln in the doorway, looking like he always did these days... Which was a sad mixture of somber desolation and... hopelessness.
Now, as emo as that sounds, it was true. He seemed to lug his body from room to room, as if his heart was too heavy to hold upright. I felt, in a way, that I was responsible for it.
Well, I couldn't be entirely to blame!
Right?
I sighed. I remembered how our last little "talk" had gone. Plus, I was grumpy from the monstrous hangover I was suffering from.
"Do we have to do this now, Linc?" I groaned, sounding ruder that I meant to. "I want to catch a good night's sleep... And I can't handle the stress of-"
"Please?"
It was in that one tiny word that I caught a glimpse of a new Linc. It was... heartbreaking. The boy who had once been so lively... So full of sun, was now heaving through day after day... His eyes looked more tired than the time we stayed up all night together, drinking chocolate milk and playing "Would You Rather".
I almost smiled, remembering the hazy outline of the early morning sun crawling above the horizon...
-_-_-
"Okay..." he said, thinking. "Would you rather... Have to be naked twenty-four-seven... Or have your skin permanently dyed blue?"
I thought for a moment, sipping my milk. "Could I use make-up to cover the blue?"
Linc shook his head. "Nope!"
I tapped my chin, pretending to think. "I would have to go with... Naked twenty-four-seven."
He threw his head back and laughed, punching the air in triumph.
I slapped him upside his shaggy head, and giggled in a way that sounded far too flirtatious.
"Your turn!" he called, and took a drag straight from the milk carton. He tilted his head back, and then squirted an obscene amount of chocolate syrup into his mouth.
"Alright..." I pondered, searching for an appropriately horrifying and embarrassing situation.
Linc shook his head vigorously, mixing the milk and chocolate. His hair flopped against the sides of his face.
"Who would you rather kiss..." I began, grinning evilly. "Hugh Laurie... or Gavin?"
Linc choked on his chocolate milk, and he sputtered as it went down the wrong pipe.
"What?"
"Answer!"
"Dollface!" he cried in disbelief.
"Answer!"
"I can't... I don't... That's not fair!"
I shrugged. "You still have to answer!"
He laughed in disbelief. "Okay... If I had to choose one... Oh, God. Hugh Laurie!"
I screeched in delight.
"Well, Hugh Laurie does play House on T.V.!" Linc exclaimed, trying to justify his choice. "And you didn't expect me to pick Gavin, did you?"
"So what about Hugh has you so..." I lowered my voice, and batted my eyelashes jokingly. "Captivated?"
Linc laughed. "The fancy medical terms, definitely," he teased. "Very sexy."
"Oh really?" I asked, taking a swig of chocolate milk. "Endoplasmic reticulum!"
He clasped his hands to his heart. "Oh, Dollface! Don't stop!"
I laughed and flicked his nose.
He laughed... I laughed... We were laughing together...
-_-_-_-_-
As the memory faded, I wondered why he never called me Dollface anymore.
Then I realized that rings hung under his brilliant, murky-green eyes. They set his face on a purple hue. He looked ill.
He was skinner, too. And not in the "Have-You-Been-Working-Out?" skinny. It was the kind of skinny that you see in terminal patients... The ones who didn't feel the need to eat. The ones who didn't feel the need to live.
I had to look away. I couldn't stand to see my friend... Yes, I'll admit... My best friend, looking so much like... A beaten puppy.
But, even when I turned my head, I could still hear his voice.
"Vi..." he begged. "Please?"
Oh, God! His voice was worse than his face!
-_-_-
It was like the time when I'd asked him to watch The Notebook with me. Actually, forced was the appropriate word. There was a lot of pleading, threatening, and blackmail flying back and forth before he finally plopped down on the couch, resigned in defeat.
He started sniffling about thirty minutes into the movie. By the end, he was sobbing.
"That was.. b-beautiful!" he cried, furiously wiping his eyes.
I honked into a tissue, and passed him the box. "I told you!" I sniffed.
He gladly took a handful of Puffs Plus, and said in a husky voice, "Th-Their love survived! Even when she couldn't remember that she loved him... The l-l-love was still there!"
I tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob. "And the ending!"
"Oh my God!" Linc cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "The ending was brilliant!"
I wiped a crocodile tear off of the tip of his chin with my thumb. "Aren't you glad I made you watch it?"
He suddenly looked at me, quite seriously, and said, "Violet DiMarco... We are definitely naming our children Noah and Ally."
I snorted in laughter. "Okay... On the slim chance we have kids, they're already named."
We recovered a bit, blowing our noses, and wiping our puffy eyes.
Linc cleared his throat, becoming a "manly-man" again.
"And... Uh... Dollface?" he said in a deep voice, trying to flex his muscled slightly.
"Yeah?"
"If you ever tell anyone I saw that movie..."
I laughed and pecked him on the cheek before going to bed.
-_-_-
"Violet?"
I blinked in surprise.
"I asked you a question," Linc said, shuffling his feet. "Can we talk?"
I sighed and got up from the couch, ambling over into our room.
And as he shut the door behind us, I couldn't help but imagine that he'd shut out those memories... The old Linc. Upon closing that door... He was sealing his fate...
I mean, I already knew what he wanted to talk about. And I already knew my answer.
Would he ever be happy again?