The Lunacy Fringe

The next day, my dad called me out of my room to tell me Jake was there.

"Uh—your date is here," he said nervously when I reached the bottom of the stairs, even though I could see Jake standing by the door.

"Right," I replied. Then I turned to Jake. "Hey."

"Hey, are you ready?" he asked.

"Yeah, let me just um…." I went to find my bag and gave my dad an awkward hug.

"I put pepper spray in your bag," he whispered.

"Oh, alright. Um—thanks?" I wasn't really sure what to say. So I just pulled away and let Jake lead me out of the house to where a sleek red car was waiting on the curb. It looked like the kind of car that would make my dad drool. "Nice car," I remarked as I climbed in. Jake sent me a smile.

"Thanks. It was a gift from my parents."

"Wow. Nice gift." He laughed and pulled away from the curb. We passed right by Felix's house on the way to the main road. His bedroom light was on. I sighed heavily and tried not to notice. But Jake must have already gathered that Felix lived there. I wasn't sure how he knew, but he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So, can I ask you a question?" he started.

"Um—sure."

"Didn't you used to go out with that guy?"

"Who?"

"That Felix guy. I didn't realize you were neighbors."

"Oh—no—not really. I mean—he took me to prom last year, and we kissed a few times. But that's about it." I wasn't lying. He'd never actually asked me out. And if I left out how he'd made me feel or all the times I'd let him slide his hand down the front of my jeans, it was pretty much the truth.

"Isn't he kind of a—well, a slut?" I winced.

"I don't know. He never tried to get very far with me."

"Probably because of your brother."

"Yeah, I guess so. So how did you know he lived there anyway?" He shrugged.

"One of my teammates used to live in your house. I used to go hang out with him sometimes, and I'd see Felix out in the yard. To be honest, he kind of worried me." I really wished he'd stop talking about Felix.

"Why?" I asked anyway.

"Seemed like you really liked him. I thought maybe that was why you turned me down. But after a few days, I could tell you didn't really like him."

"Yeah." I turned back to the window. "I just didn't really know you well back then. I knew him a little better since he's my brother's friend and everything." I took a deep breath and decided to change the subject. "So, where are we going?"

"There's this really crappy theme park by the beach. I thought it might be fun to check out."

"Okay."

It was already starting to get dark when we pulled into the parking lot. We ended up having to walk a way before we reached the park. It wasn't super fancy or nice like Disneyland. It looked like a typical carnival-themed park with fun houses and game booths. My dad told me he used to go there as a kid with his parents, but it had gone to shit over the years.

It didn't matter anyway. Jake insisted on paying for everything even though I begged him to at least let me cover my own funnel cake. He took me on some rides, and we played some carnival games. I was having fun, but I didn't see it growing into anything beyond that. Whenever I thought about him possibly kissing me goodnight, my stomach felt sick and anxious.

Since my dad wanted me home by ten, we decided to leave early. He bought me cotton candy to eat on the way back to his car and then put his hand on the small of my back as we walked through the crowd.

"So, how long have you been playing football?" I asked, picking at my cotton candy and trying to ease the discomfort out of my spine.

"My whole life. My dad used to play for the Chargers. That's why we moved here."

"That's really cool."

"Yeah, he didn't play long, though. Had a bad injury."

"That's too bad."

"It's my dream to follow in his footsteps. What do your parents do?" We finally reached the parking lot, and he moved his hand from my back.

"My dad's a musician. He manages my brother's band, but he works for a construction company in Carlsbad. My mom is a pharmacist," I explained.

"That's cool."

"What does your mom do?"

"She stays home."

"I see." We were quiet for the remainder of the walk. Neither of us said anything at all until we were back on the road again.

"So can I take you out again?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed. He smiled.

"I was hoping you'd say that." I returned the smile, but it faded fast. I had fun, but I wasn't sure if it was because I was at a carnival theme park or because of him.

We didn't talk much. Conversations felt boring and routine. Like we might as well have been discussing the weather or the stock exchange. I felt like I'd barely learned anything about him as a person. I still didn't know what kind of things he liked or didn't like or what his favorite bands were, or if he even liked music at all. I just couldn't bring myself to turn him down. This might have been just the awkward start when we danced around the small stuff before catching on to something interesting enough to keep trying.

When we got to my house, he walked me to the front door. I was still nervous about him wanting to kiss me, so I said goodbye and hurried in before he got the chance. My dad was still up, waiting on the couch for me.

"Did you have fun?" he asked as I dropped my bag and the teddy bear Jake won for me on the table.

"Yeah, it was fun."

"You went to the crap park?"

"The very one."

"I took your mom there once. That's where teenagers used to go to…." He tapered off, and his eyes narrowed. "He didn't put his hands on you, did he?"

"No, he didn't even hold my hand."

"Good." He went back to the TV.

"Did anyone call while I was gone?"

"Just Billie. About two dozen times." I laughed and turned toward the stairs.

"I better call her back then."

"Please do."

I took the teddy bear and rushed up the stairs to my room so I could call her back. She must have been expecting me because she answered on the first ring and immediately began drilling me with questions.

"So? How was it?" she asked, not even bothering to say hello.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I read it in the cards. Don't tell my mom I do devil magic." I laughed and kicked my shoes off.

"It was fine."

"Where'd he take you?"

"That crappy theme park by the beach."

"Oh, I love that place."

"Yeah, it was fun."

"Do you think you'll go out with him again?"

"He said something about taking me out next weekend."

"Are you excited about it?"

"I don't know. It was fun. That's kind of the point, right?"

"Just promise me you aren't doing this to make Felix jealous."

"I wouldn't do that. But it would be a nice bonus."

"I'm like nine-thousand percent sure he's jealous."

"Good."

"That's what I said."

"You did?"

"Of course. I told him it was his own stupid fault."

"Well, thanks for sticking up for me."

"Yeah—sorry for what I said that time."

"It's okay. We're best friends, remember?" I could hear her smile through the phone.

"Yeah. Be-Fris."