Ethereal and Ephemeral, as usual, had seemingly endless amount of energy. They were always the last ones to fall asleep at sleepovers and were typically the first ones to rise as well. Gilly and I had done everything we could to tire them out over the weekend, but even after spending the whole day guiding them around the city the twins walked with a spring in their step while my sister and I struggled to keep up. Ethereal and Ephemeral claimed their pep was due to being raised completely in Tinseltown. With everything constantly moving at a rapid pace there, one had to adapt to not be left behind.
"Oh, wow! It looks amazing!" Ethereal gushed as we neared our next destination.
"It's so big for a family owned bookstore too." Ephemeral added.
"Well, it's now a bookstore and cafe proper. Dad technically owns both parts, but Aunt Mimi really runs the first floor." Gilly explained as we reached dad's business.
The three story building was unlike anything the old bookstore used to be. It wasn't even on the same lot anymore. Flooding had been a constant background threat for the building even before those crazy rainy years, and with most of his hard work being lost thanks to the hurricane dad hadn't hesitated on buying up a better location. The lot near the hospital provided room for expansion as well as heavier traffic for better sales.
Gilly and I intended to catch our aunt's attention and work our charms to have a good chance at obtaining some free desserts, but Aunt Mimi apparently had matters to deal with back in the kitchen. We didn't want to interrupt, so we took the staircase up to the second floor. That was where the bookstore part of the building began. The second floor housed the buying counter and the children's section. Putting the two closer together had been an idea inspired by dad's experience running the old layout. This way he could keep an eye on all the little kids running around when their parents grew lazy.
Although it was typically not the children causing the real problems.
"This is ridiculous! You must be new here! I get my books put aside here at the counter every month, and I pay for them ahead of time online!"
A woman at the counter stood there making a fuss. Dad, clearly pissed but keeping on his business face, withstood her wrath while Rain, who worked here part-time, took care of the other customers on the other side of the counter. Our friend caught sight of us, smiled, and subtly rolled his eyes in the woman's direction. It was clearly just another day working retail.
"As I told you, ma'am, we don't have an order under your name set aside here. Even if there was one, I need your account card to confirm it's you or to see what went wrong with the order." dad explained calmly.
"And I told you I've never had to bring my account card before! Everyone knows who I am- they just look me up in the system!"
"There's no way to look up an account without the card number."
"Everyone else has memorized it because they know me! You are going to get in a lot of trouble not giving me my books and telling me I'm wrong when I'm right! I'm the owner's sister, I'll have you know!"
At that, dad's anger vanished almost instantly. That was because he couldn't stop himself from laughing. I felt it was a good time to wander over, and Ethereal and Ephemeral had no qualms about getting close either.
"Gilly, Dia, this is a momentous day," he spoke with sarcastic joy, "I've apparently just met another sister I didn't know I had. You should come say hello to your new aunt."
"Super nice to meet you. I always wanted a sixth aunt." I jumped into the situation without hesitation.
"Are you planning on coming around for Christmas? I can give you a list of everyone to buy presents for, if needed." Gilly added.
The woman tensed up until she might as well have been a statue. She glanced at us, glanced at dad, and glanced at everyone else on the floor looking at her like the troublesome customer she was being.
"Ma'am, in case that didn't make it clear, I am the owner of this business. You are not my sister, you do not make orders here every month, and I have a feeling you don't have a customer account. I don't appreciate you trying to most likely con free books from my store, but I am willing to let it all be. You are more than welcome to open an account with us, I can help you find the books you are looking for, and we have a promotion going on for twenty-five percent off new customer's first purchases of fifty dollars or more."
The woman, however, didn't take the deal. With slumped shoulders of defeat and embarrassment, she scurried over to the stairs and made her way down. Dad shrugged and smiled at us as we took over her spot by the counter.
"Always nice to see someone who doesn't put with with that kind of bullshit, Mr. V." Ephemeral praised.
"That's one of the refreshing things about having utter control. All these people who come in expecting to be pampered like they are at the big box stores don't know what they're in for. They all come to dread the day they ask to speak to the manager."
"Dad, you said that with a bit too much malicious glee in your voice." I pointed out with a laugh.
"Forgive me my indulgences." dad chuckled.
"I think it's well earned," Ethereal encouraged, "Haven't you been running this store for a while now?"
"Counting the time I was running it jointly with Daffodil and Umber, it's been...oh god, twenty years now..."
"Great job, Ethie. You've jumped-started his middle age crisis." Ephemeral jokingly pushed her sister.
"Don't worry, dad. The youthful air about you is still plenty strong." I comforted.
"Perhaps only because Holly's been having me try out those face masks," dad mused sarcastically, "In any case, with that customer and this sobering realization, I think it's time for my break. Ethie, Ephie, want to come see the owner's office? I even have my own private bathroom."
"Ooo, fancy." Ethereal said eagerly.
Dad took us up to the third floor where the rest of the books were. The door in the back corner led to the employee break room, and the door past that brought us into dad's office. Majorly filled with filing cabinets with information and lockers where he stored extra products, and usually our birthday and Christmas presents, it was immaculately clean and organized. I suppose dad liked to front an in-control and disciplined attitude, at least towards keeping everything where it should be, for his employees. If only they knew what he was like at home.
"Most impressive." Ephemeral remarked as she peeked inside the bathroom in the corner.
"Thanks. It's even got an automatic air freshener that goes off when I enter the room."
"Fresh Breeze scent?"
"Cinnamon and Apples."
"My favorite."
"Anyway..." Gilly rolled her eyes.
"Anyway," dad spoke in amusement, "This is the office. Honestly, it's nothing too fancy really, but it's comfortable."
"It feels very airy with the large windows. That's a nice playground you can see down on the other side of the lot too." Ethereal replied.
"I own that as well." dad revealed.
"Really?"
"Yeah. The elementary students used to use this lot to play on all the time when it was just an empty field. They were pretty upset when I built the bookstore, so with the extra space I built a private playground. Anyone can basically use it though as long as they follow the rules written on the signs down there, and I'm very strict on making sure they're followed. There are cameras and such, and the police know to keep an eye out as people are always trying to sneak about after the park closes."
"That's cool of you though that you built a place for the kids to play, Mr. V."
"Tell her the story about those teenagers who climbed on the swings." Gilly encouraged.
And so dad told the amusing tale of some teenagers who snuck onto the lot at night and dared each other to shimmy to the top of the swingset. The last one to go got his pants majorly stuck at the top of one of the chains, and the only way for him to get out of the situation without hurting himself was to flip upside down, strip himself down to his boxers, and then shimmy back down the pole. Dad looked up the footage when he found a pair of pants hanging from the swings the next morning, and he found it so hilarious the only punishment he gave the kid after the police found out where he lived was having the teenager watch the footage of the feat with his parents. Ethereal and Ephemeral got a kick out of that one, which had dad telling more funny stories for the duration of his break. Then his time was up, and my sister and I told him something important.
"So, dad, our next plan of action is to go shopping for our homecoming dresses." I explained.
"Oh no..." dad pouted heavily.
"C'mon, you promised. If we bought out dresses the other years, you would pay for whatever ones we wanted our senior year."
"I know." dad pouted heavier, and he reluctantly pulled his card from his wallet to give to me.
Snatching it with fervor, I tucked it safely in my own wallet before giving him a peck on the cheek. Dad sighed with teasing regret before giving Gilly and me a hug before giving our friends one too. The four of us left his office only to run into Rain who was heading to the back to take his break.
"Hey." he greeted us enthusiastically.
"Hello." Ephemeral grinned.
"This is one of our friends and classmates, Rain," Gilly did the proper introduction.
"I'm Ethereal."
"I'm Ephemeral."
"Nice to meet you," Rain replied, "I didn't want to take up much of your time. Just say hi and also ask a quick question. One of you, or maybe both of you, were in The Color of Crystal, right? I loved that series."
"That was me," Ethereal revealed, referring the to television show where her character died a tragic yet epic death in the first season's finale that had the internet talking about how beautifully done it was for weeks, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"It was impossible not to. It was rather disappointing they let the story end after three seasons even if it made perfect sense to leave it there with the way all the characters wrapped up their plots."
"I agree in every way."
"Ethie considers the show her magnum opus." Ephemeral said.
"Have you done anything else since?" Rain wondered.
"Nah. One of the main reasons I went for that role was because of the way the character went. That was around the time I realized I actually didn't want to do acting my whole life, so going out with a bang seemed the best option."
"Oh, I see. Do you have a goal for where you want to head, or are you just letting the wind take you wherever?"
"I'm working on being a makeup artist."
"I want to be a movie animal trainer." Ephemeral joined in eagerly.
"That's right, isn't it?" I recalled, "That's a little coincidental. Rain wants to be a vet."
"Really?" Ephemeral tilted her head, "Maybe we should become partners."
"Maybe." Rain smiled.
The two of them began to talk more vigorously, Ephemeral started to grow slightly flirty as always due to her love of teasing boys, and Ethereal had to push her sister onward as Rain was loosing his break time. We were also on something of a schedule given that the dress store we wanted to go to closed earlier today due to some sort of construction work that had to be started later in the afternoon. While there remained plenty of time until the store closed, Gilly and I had no idea how long picking out what we wanted would take, especially when I'm sure Ethereal and Ephemeral would have a million opinions. Off we all wandered down the street. My phone buzzed in my pocket ten minutes later when we were just about there.
"Holy shit."
"What?" Gilly asked curiously.
"Arbor texted me."
"Holy shit." Gilly repeated in amazement.
"That guy from yesterday? Why is it such a big deal that he texted you?" Ethereal questioned.
"It's because the only time we text is when we're determining when to meet to work on our project, and it's always been me who's initiated those discussions. This time though...he's contacting me first."
"He wants to work on your project some more?"
"No. He says he's in the city, and that there's something he's trying to get done. He wants to know if I can meet up with him."
"So that's double bizarre. He's texting you first, and he wants to see you for something besides schoolwork." Gilly noted.
"Is he really anti-social or something?" Ethereal asked.
"Or something. Arbor has a hard time getting along with people."
"Are you going to meet with him?" Ephemeral wondered.
'I mean...I feel horrible not going when he's clearly putting in an effort he hasn't before, but I really want to go dress shopping with you guys. You two are leaving in the morning. We're not going to get another chance to do this."
"I'm sure he'll understand. You have plans." Gilly assuaged, giving my shoulder a pat.
And so I texted Arbor back with the truth. I was out dress shopping and wouldn't be able to meet up with him at the moment. No response came back even when we were halfway done at the store. Gilly decided what she wanted easily, something sorter with multiple layers, yet I constantly flipped back and forth between what I wanted. Longer dresses were a pain. However, there was one that stood out to me greatly. My choices were getting that dress I really wanted despite the inconvenience of tripping over my feet or choosing something I didn't want as much to avoid all hassles. Gilly suggested I go for a shorter one and save the long dress for prom, but Ethereal and Ephemeral were on the other side of the argument. In the end, I took the risk and bought the longer one. The store got our measurements, Gilly was slightly taller like normal, and promised they would be altered well before homecoming's date arrived. Ethereal, Ephemeral, Gilly, and I searched out a place to eat. Our snacks were devoured before the prompting tingling in the back of my mind couldn't be ignored.
"Wish you had said yes?" Ethereal realized after I pulled out my phone for the dozenth time in the past ten minutes to still see no response from Arbor.
"I don't know," I frowned, "He's so hard to read. It wouldn't be out of character for him to not reply as his way of him acknowledging my plans. He could have thought nothing of the rejection. But then...what if it took him a lot of courage to go out on a limb? With everything that happened yesterday, Arbor could have put a lot of faith in asking me something he never had before. Maybe I crushed his hope and confirmed to him that it's not worth it to bother."
"Well, there's nothing you can do about it if the second case is true. There's no reason to feel bad, and you shouldn't in the first place. You've made him no promises or given him any expectations. If Arbor gets upset that you didn't drop everything the second he needed you to, that's on him." Gilly rationalized.
"I know, but..."
"Why don't you try texting him back?" Ephemeral suggested, "I think we're finally tired out. Maybe he'll still have you along. The rest of us can just go back to the house and chill."
"I...guess."
It took me a moment to write something appropriate. My text started out with an apology, and as soon as Gilly saw that she snatched my phone and got rid of it. I didn't think it was wrong to be a little courteous, but my mood didn't lend to me arguing with her. My fingers slowly forced out a simple message of saying I was free now if he continued to want my assistance. Arbor replied back within the minute saying he did before sending a description of where he was. I made my way there while the others wandered home. Arbor stood waiting on the sidewalk of a quieter street.
"Hey. Sorry I couldn't come right away." I spoke, apologizing without thinking and being glad Gilly was no longer around.
"It's fine. It was just a random idea to have you along." Arbor shrugged indifferently.
"I was a little worried you were upset when you didn't respond back to my text." I decided to put it out there.
"Hmm? Oh. Sorry. You said you were doing stuff, so I didn't want to bother you. I'm not one for texting anyway."
"It's okay." I smiled.
Relief hit my chest as I mentally smacked myself. Arbor was being classic Arbor. I had gotten worked up for nothing.
"What did you need me for?"
"I..." Arbor hesitated before sighing in mild frustration and a smidge of embarrassment, and it was nice to see he was showing more emotions in front of me, "I didn't steal your grandfather's snow globe, and I didn't do anything wrong. Still, I feel a bit bad for the trouble. I wanted to get him or you guys a present to make up for it, but I have no idea what to get."
"That's sweet, Arbor," I said, feeling my heart swell at his quiet and sheepish shyness as he finished his sentence, "Of course I'll help. Grandpa's pretty easy to shop for."
Although I said that, I wasn't entirely sure where to start first. There were things I knew grandpa wanted, but very few if any of them had the right feel for the sentiment for which Arbor was going. I parked most of them as backups within my mind if we couldn't find something fitting. My main plan was to do a little basket of the items grandma used to buy grandpa for little surprises here and there. The stores we needed were on the other side of the city, and I wish I could say Arbor and I completed our task without any problems. Unfortunately, a big hitch came when we were halfway there. I was managing some pretty decent conversation out of my companion for once due to us taking the long scenic route by walking when...
"Excuse me." a male voice halted us.
Arbor and I turned around, and there stood two police officers. Their attention, not too surprisingly, focused mainly on Arbor.
"Yes?" I questioned, uncertain of why they'd stopped us.
"Are you Arbor Thicket of 1926 Honeysuckle Ave?"
"Yes." Arbor replied just as uncertainly.
"We need you to come with us to the police station. There are questions we need to ask you." the blue skinned officer, his badge read Zest, stated.
"For what?"
"There has been a killed cat found, and two witnesses nearby identified a person of your description running from the scene." the pink officer, Bloom, explained.
"What? That's bullshit! I haven't killed any cats!" Arbor barked.
I gripped his arm, and, while he glared at me briefly, he silenced himself as I motioned for him to do.
"Is he being arrested?" I asked stiffly.
The officers hesitated on replying to me. Arbor squared his back.
"Am I being arrested?" he tried instead.
"No."
"Are you being formally detained?" I prompted Arbor next.
"Am I being formally detained?"
"...No." Officer Zest replied, glancing at me.
"My father was going to be a police officer until he lost his sight in his right eye. I read the very thorough notes he took when studying." I replied to everyone, as Arbor appeared curious as well, "Arbor, you are not required to go with them.
Unfortunately, Arbor stood taller and prouder. He clearly was taking the appearance of the police as a challenge, and he was obviously going to be stubborn.
"It's fine. I'll go with them. I have nothing to-"
"If you're going to go, don't saying anything until you get a lawyer. You need to ask for one. Even something you say that you think is harmless can work against you." I instructed after I hurriedly covered his mouth with my hand.
The expressions on Officer Zest and Officer Bloom showed they were both annoyed and impressed with my knowledge. Arbor just nodded at me and willingly walked to where the officers had their cruiser parked. They took off before I knew it, prompting me to quickly dial a number in my phone. Mrs. Thicket picked up, and that wasn't a fun call to make. They arrived right after I got off the bus.
"Thanks for calling us, Dianthus," Mrs. Thicket spoke comfortingly, "Thank you for helping out Arbor too. He told us when he called from the station you made sure he did the right thing interacting with the officers. He's been bothered in the past by the police, but it's never gotten to this point before."
"Of course. I'm glad to do it. I just...I mean, I dunno. If two different people gave the cops his description," I mumbled, "Would he do something like that?"
"He wouldn't," Mr. Thicket affirmed without pause, "Arbor's not like that at all. He just looks like trouble, so people, including the police, single him out when he's merely doing his own thing. I'm sure this is nothing more than him simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the witnesses jumped to indicate the one who looked 'bad' as the culprit."
"T-That's true." I agreed quietly.
Both of Arbor's parents gave me a kind smile.
"Would you like me to give you a ride home? Or is there someplace else you would like to be dropped off?" Mrs. Thicket offered.
"No, that's alright. Dad's bookstore isn't overly far from here. My aunt's shift at the cafe is almost done. I'll go catch a ride with her...and maybe swipe some brownies."
"Sounds like a fine plan." Mr. Thicket chuckled.
The day ended both well and...not so well. Dad, when he heard of Arbor going in for questioning about the cat killings the day after dad thought him guilty of stealing the snow globe, let's just say it didn't improve his opinions of my classmate. It took the finding of evidence to get him to come around that Arbor wasn't a danger to me. Arbor's shopping around for grandpa's present put him at stores that confirmed his presence there at the time of the killing. He wasn't anywhere near the scene of the crime when the witnesses said they saw him. The police couldn't do anything but reason there was another person out there similar to Arbor's appearance. They apologized and sent him home with his parents. So that was good, but dad still grumbled until I finally told him to get over the situation as I couldn't take his complaints. The days after that had a strange atmosphere hovering over them. Ethereal and Ephemeral left, and even with everything returning to normal there was just this stress hanging about that lingered around everyone's back. By the time the following weekend came, I needed an outlet. Mirage and I took a rare walk together to the beach. Mirage really was such a lazy cat who didn't desire to explore all that greatly, but that day she didn't mind following me and then being carried to the shore in my arms.
"I feel like there's something I'm missing," I spoke to my cat as we watched the sunset, "It's as if there's something going on that I should know about that I don't. What happened with grandpa's snow globe is the start of it, and now with Arbor being called out by people when he wasn't where they said he should be? Is someone seriously attacking him from the shadows? Is he actually playing a huge con on me? Are his parents the secret masterminds? I can't help but to trust him for no real reason, but who knows what I should be doing?"
Mirage stared at me, meowed, and licked my nose. I smiled down at her.
"Thanks, buddy. Make sure you stay inside where it's safe, okay?" I cooed as I held her close.
More weeks passed. The first important weekend of beginning semester of the school year arrived. The city was abuzz as students prepared all day for homecoming. Like normal, our friends steadily wandered over so we could group up before goofing off in the morning at our house and around town. Then we took naps. Getting gussied up followed. Then it came time for the pictures. Good lord, the pictures. Our parents insisted on taking hundreds, so we had to do what we had to do to keep them interesting. Gilly and Confetti were the only proper pair in our group. The rest of us were just going as friends, which meant when the adults requested couple shots we paired up and pretended to be lovely in all the combinations of which we could think. Laughter accompanied each new silly pose or new pairing.
However...
No matter how much I smiled, a chilling reluctance stuck to the bottom of my gut. Hanging out with my friends was fine. Dressing up pretty and doing my hair greatly enthralled me on these rare occasions when I went all out. Yet, the later the hour got the more I dreaded the passage of time. The others talked about getting ready to leave, and the school wasn't the place I wanted to go. I gathered my things together the slowest out of any of us. I squeezed in last into the car that would take us to the dance.
I thought I could shake the feeling off. Once we reached the building and got inside the gym with the amazing decoration my worries would surely vanish. This was my last year of high school. This was my last homecoming. My friends and I had a great night planned. The only thing I had to do was step through those doors.
And I couldn't do it. I didn't want to do it. My feet slowed as we approached the entrance, and my forced smile refused to hold.
"Something wrong, Dia?" Timber wondered.
"I, um, I...actually..."
"You actually...?"
My already hesitant words faltered more as everyone turned to me curiously as well. Still, no matter how much my stomach quivered with nerves, I couldn't lie.
"I actually don't want to go inside." I admitted quietly.
"You don't want to go inside?" Auburn repeated, "Like you don't want to go to the dance?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Why though? Are you feeling sick or something? You seem fine." Pyre asked.
"I'm not sick. It's that...well, I feel really bad about Arbor. This asshole made his previous homecoming absolutely awful, so now he doesn't want to come to anymore. The thought of him staying home by himself while everyone else is here having fun bothers me immensely."
"Maybe you can give him a call. See if you can convince him to come." Confetti suggested.
"He won't agree to come," I said, shaking my head, "I know it."
"What do you want to do then? Leave here and go hang out with him? Dia, this is our last homecoming together," Gilly protested, "I think I have a good chance of getting the queen's crown too. I want you to be here."
"I know. I..."
More words wouldn't come out. The lone thing I could do was stand there under my sister's scrutiny while my friends shifted not knowing how to address the situation. I couldn't come to a decision on my own, but Gilly eventually sighed.
"It's fine," she waved her hand as if to usher me off, "I say that sincerely. None of us want to force you to come if it'll make you miserable. You're thinking of someone else, so how can I be selfish? Just be aware you're coming to prom no matter what."
"Promise. Thank you, Gilly."
I snagged a ride home from a classmate's parent after apologizing to the others and giving them goodbye hugs. Then I took the deepest breath of my life before walking through the front door of my house. Unfortunately, I was spotted immediately.
"Dia, why are you home? Did you forget something? You don't look sick." grandpa asked with light concern.
"No, I'm not sick," I repeated, "I didn't forget anything either. I realized once we got to the school that I didn't truly want to go to the dance."
"Coal and Holly have headed out for their own little date night. You're more than welcome to join us. We thought since everyone else was off doing something fun that we would go see a movie and otherwise hit up the town." Blaze suggested.
"Yeah. We're going to see The Final Marauder!" Merlot explained.
"That sounds like fun. I was thinking of going to see if Arbor wanted to do something though."
"Arbor?" Blaze wondered.
"I know he never planned on going to the dance, so I thought we could hang out together."
"Is seeing him the reason why you came back?" grandpa questioned all too knowingly.
"I...a little. Mostly. He's had such a rough time lately. Word got out about him being questioned by the police. He was starting to get along with more people, but now it's gone back to nothing but rumors and snide remarks. I don't want him to be alone tonight when he's alone the majority of the time already."
"Coal wouldn't approve, but Coal's not here," grandpa spoke with a smirk, "I trust your judgment. If you want to hang out with him, you go ahead and do that."
"We'll give you a ride to his house too." Blaze added.
"Thanks," I smiled gratefully and sighed inwardly with relief, "Let me go change quickly into something not quite so fancy."
My nerves quieted until I knocked on the door to the Thicket household. What if Arbor was out with his parents or something while everyone else was at the dance the way Blaze and grandpa were taking Merlot to the movies. Then I would have blown off my friends and failed to do what I set out to accomplish. The relief that I got then from Mr. Thicket opening the door and inviting me was bizarre indeed. Here he, Mrs. Thicket, and Arbor were, but what if Arbor didn't care for my proposition? Grandpa drove him and the others off once I walked in the door. It would be either an awkward walk home alone or drive home with one of his parents if I was rejected.
"What can we do for you, Dianthus?" Mr. Thicket asked, "I thought you would have been at the dance."
"I was going to go, but then I decided I didn't really want to. My uncle invited me to join him, my grandpa, and my brother to the movies, but I thought I'd swing by to see if you wanted to do anything, Arbor." I explained as best I could without going into the details that would certainly make the air awkward.
"Me?" Arbor questioned.
"Yeah. Like if you wanted to watch a movie here or take a walk or something." I did my best to not let my voice quiver with timidness.
"That sounds marvelous," Mrs. Thicket said happily, "Of course he'll go."
"I-" Arbor began, but was swiftly interrupted by his father.
"You should change, Arbor. You're always wearing the same things, and we got you those nice clothes."
"It's fine. You don't have to. I'm dumping this on you suddenly, so-"
"Don't worry about it," Arbor went ahead and interrupted me, "They won't give me peace unless I accept your offer and change. It's no big deal."
He wandered to his room, leaving me to make polite conversation with his parents. The two of them were excitedly eager over the situation. I could understand that well enough. Arbor clearly hadn't had many friends if any back where they used to live, and he wasn't having much luck here either. Here I was constantly reaching out to him though. I'm sure they were glad to see him connecting with someone. Mr. and Mrs. Thicket asked me questions mostly about how I'd been. With the first part of the project being done and presented, Arbor and I had moved onto the second portion that didn't require as much constant contact.
"There you go. You look much better." Mrs. Thicket spoke with glee when Arbor slowly shuffled out from his room in a nicer outfit than any I'd seen him wear yet.
"Sure." Arbor agreed weakly.
"You do." I added on to the compliment.
By the way Arbor vehemently avoided making eye contact, he was obviously embarrassed to some extent.
"So, um, they've got most of the stuff set up for the fall festival at the park. Want to head down in that direction?" I offered.
"Sounds fine." Arbor nodded slowly.
His parents waved us off as if they were sending us to kindergarten for the first time. Both Arbor and I picked up our pace until they and the Thicket house was out of sight. We slowed after that, and conversation didn't happen for a moment more.
"Sorry to impose," I apologized, "We don't have to stay out long if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine. I was kinda of bored. My parents are nice, but they are still my parents. I don't need or want them to be my best friends."
"I get that. Mine are pretty cool most of the time, but I'd much rather be out like this on a Saturday night than chilling with them."
Arbor didn't respond right away. It took the quiet seconds for me to see I spoke something pretty friendly in regards to his company. I hadn't meant anything by it, but Arbor and I had a weird relationship given that we hadn't spoke or confirmed anything about us even being friends. We referred to each other as a classmate or project partner.
"I'm surprised your dad let you come. I thought he didn't want you alone with me." Arbor pressed forward.
"He doesn't know, to be honest. He most definitely thinks I've gone to the dance as he and mom left for their date before I got back from the school."
"You made it all the way to the school then before realizing you didn't want to go?"
"I did, although the feeling had been bugging me from before then. I should have spoke up sooner, but it was difficult seeing everyone else so happy and excited for the evening."
"It's good that you spoke up though. It's the worst...having to suffer through something you don't want to do."
"Right? I suppose doing that is a large part of life though. Like, I want to be a doctor so badly, but sometimes my classes drive me up the wall. I even get fidgety wanting to run away from time to time."
"I suppose. That kind of thing is an inevitable part of life. I was speaking more about things you have a choice in, or you should have a choice in even if some reason is forcing you into it."
"Oh, that kind of situation. That doesn't happen to me too often, but it does suck pretty badly."
To my surprise, things were going well so far. Arbor talked more openly than normal. Hints of his indifferent, detached exterior remained, but for the most part I walked with a giddy pride hoping I'd broken past that barrier. My hope solidified further upon reaching the park. Arbor opened up even more.
"So, we're getting into the thick of the first semester. Have you done any college visits yet? I noticed you haven't missed any days of school. Or have you been visiting places on the weekend?" I asked.
"No, I haven't visited anywhere. I don't want to go to college. Seriously, I just want to be done with my education. I'll take some classes online if I really need to, but my parents have said they won't push me as long as I find a decent job."
"If you don't mind books or if you like cooking, let me know if you want me to recommend you to my dad and aunt and their bookstore and cafe. They're generally open to me suggesting new employees. The pay is not too bad even starting out, and dad's not too shabby handing out raises if the work is loyal and consistent."
"I don't know about working for your dad. He seems to have made it his goal to not like me. I haven't met this aunt of yours, but I've never been particular good in the kitchen. I'm the kind of guy who turns the oven on hotter than normal so I have to wait less for the food to cook."
"I see. Do you have any plans yourself then? What do you want to do in the future?"
"There's no real goal I have. Haven't had a career in mind for a while now. Despite what I just said, I'll accept any work if the pay is fine and I don't have a manager or whatever getting on my case all the time."
"What did you want to be in the past?" I wondered.
"Huh?"
"You said you haven't had a career in mind for a while. That means you had one at some point. What was it?"
"I..."
While Arbor showed signs of being embarrassed before, this time it was on a whole new level. I had to stop myself from gaping as he withdrew, utterly sheepish at trying to give me an answer. He wouldn't meet my eye again, and he hid behind his hand.
"I want to be a...a dancer..."
"A dancer? Like a ballet dancer? Or like street dancing? Backup dancing?"
"Something like a backup dancer," Arbor mumbled, "I like all kinds, and I took a bunch of different classes in the past. The idea was to be one in musicals or movies or stuff like that. It sounded like fun."
"But you don't want to do it anymore?"
"It's not that. I just don't think it'd work out anymore, for various reasons including the tattoos. Most people can't stand the idea of wearing black casually, and I've gone and permanently patched myself with it."
Arbor clammed up. I didn't think it good to push him anymore- at least not with words. Instead, I took his hand to guide him to the other side of the lot where the music played more loudly. It hardly registered to me that he didn't recoil or shake me off like he'd done in the past.
"Where are we going?" he questioned.
"Right here. You said you don't know if being a dancer will work out for you anymore, and who knows if that's true or not. What I think is perfectly clear though is that you still enjoy it. Everyone else is dancing at homecoming, so why don't we go ahead and dance here? You can show me some fancy moves."
"It's been years since-"
"Don't worry. I won't know the difference. Simply act confident, and I'll be none the wiser." I encouraged.
"That..."
Arbor struggled to move, so I got that going instead. Taking both his hands, I swayed us to the upbeat tempo. Arbor glanced around nervously, but no one paid attention to us. I kept going, swaying us harder and even spinning him around. The spinning didn't work so well, but it had an even better effect than I was going for. Arbor laughed. He felt enough glee that he couldn't keep it contained, and that burst forth as that pleasant sound and the smile spreading his lips.
"Fine. Whatever. We'll dance." he spoke, pulling me closer and taking control of our movement.
He smiled still.
"Don't worry, dad. The youthful air about you is still plenty strong." I comforted.
"Perhaps only because Holly's been having me try out those face masks," dad mused sarcastically, "In any case, with that customer and this sobering realization, I think it's time for my break. Ethie, Ephie, want to come see the owner's office? I even have my own private bathroom."
"Ooo, fancy." Ethereal said eagerly.
Dad took us up to the third floor where the rest of the books were. The door in the back corner led to the employee break room, and the door past that brought us into dad's office. Majorly filled with filing cabinets with information and lockers where he stored extra products, and usually our birthday and Christmas presents, it was immaculately clean and organized. I suppose dad liked to front an in-control and disciplined attitude, at least towards keeping everything where it should be, for his employees. If only they knew what he was like at home.
"Most impressive." Ephemeral remarked as she peeked inside the bathroom in the corner.
"Thanks. It's even got an automatic air freshener that goes off when I enter the room."
"Fresh Breeze scent?"
"Cinnamon and Apples."
"My favorite."
"Anyway..." Gilly rolled her eyes.
"Anyway," dad spoke in amusement, "This is the office. Honestly, it's nothing too fancy really, but it's comfortable."
"It feels very airy with the large windows. That's a nice playground you can see down on the other side of the lot too." Ethereal replied.
"I own that as well." dad revealed.
"Really?"
"Yeah. The elementary students used to use this lot to play on all the time when it was just an empty field. They were pretty upset when I built the bookstore, so with the extra space I built a private playground. Anyone can basically use it though as long as they follow the rules written on the signs down there, and I'm very strict on making sure they're followed. There are cameras and such, and the police know to keep an eye out as people are always trying to sneak about after the park closes."
"That's cool of you though that you built a place for the kids to play, Mr. V."
"Tell her the story about those teenagers who climbed on the swings." Gilly encouraged.
And so dad told the amusing tale of some teenagers who snuck onto the lot at night and dared each other to shimmy to the top of the swingset. The last one to go got his pants majorly stuck at the top of one of the chains, and the only way for him to get out of the situation without hurting himself was to flip upside down, strip himself down to his boxers, and then shimmy back down the pole. Dad looked up the footage when he found a pair of pants hanging from the swings the next morning, and he found it so hilarious the only punishment he gave the kid after the police found out where he lived was having the teenager watch the footage of the feat with his parents. Ethereal and Ephemeral got a kick out of that one, which had dad telling more funny stories for the duration of his break. Then his time was up, and my sister and I told him something important.
"So, dad, our next plan of action is to go shopping for our homecoming dresses." I explained.
"Oh no..." dad pouted heavily.
"C'mon, you promised. If we bought out dresses the other years, you would pay for whatever ones we wanted our senior year."
"I know." dad pouted heavier, and he reluctantly pulled his card from his wallet to give to me.
Snatching it with fervor, I tucked it safely in my own wallet before giving him a peck on the cheek. Dad sighed with teasing regret before giving Gilly and me a hug before giving our friends one too. The four of us left his office only to run into Rain who was heading to the back to take his break.
"Hey." he greeted us enthusiastically.
"Hello." Ephemeral grinned.
"This is one of our friends and classmates, Rain," Gilly did the proper introduction.
"I'm Ethereal."
"I'm Ephemeral."
"Nice to meet you," Rain replied, "I didn't want to take up much of your time. Just say hi and also ask a quick question. One of you, or maybe both of you, were in The Color of Crystal, right? I loved that series."
"That was me," Ethereal revealed, referring the to television show where her character died a tragic yet epic death in the first season's finale that had the internet talking about how beautifully done it was for weeks, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"It was impossible not to. It was rather disappointing they let the story end after three seasons even if it made perfect sense to leave it there with the way all the characters wrapped up their plots."
"I agree in every way."
"Ethie considers the show her magnum opus." Ephemeral said.
"Have you done anything else since?" Rain wondered.
"Nah. One of the main reasons I went for that role was because of the way the character went. That was around the time I realized I actually didn't want to do acting my whole life, so going out with a bang seemed the best option."
"Oh, I see. Do you have a goal for where you want to head, or are you just letting the wind take you wherever?"
"I'm working on being a makeup artist."
"I want to be a movie animal trainer." Ephemeral joined in eagerly.
"That's right, isn't it?" I recalled, "That's a little coincidental. Rain wants to be a vet."
"Really?" Ephemeral tilted her head, "Maybe we should become partners."
"Maybe." Rain smiled.
The two of them began to talk more vigorously, Ephemeral started to grow slightly flirty as always due to her love of teasing boys, and Ethereal had to push her sister onward as Rain was loosing his break time. We were also on something of a schedule given that the dress store we wanted to go to closed earlier today due to some sort of construction work that had to be started later in the afternoon. While there remained plenty of time until the store closed, Gilly and I had no idea how long picking out what we wanted would take, especially when I'm sure Ethereal and Ephemeral would have a million opinions. Off we all wandered down the street. My phone buzzed in my pocket ten minutes later when we were just about there.
"Holy shit."
"What?" Gilly asked curiously.
"Arbor texted me."
"Holy shit." Gilly repeated in amazement.
"That guy from yesterday? Why is it such a big deal that he texted you?" Ethereal questioned.
"It's because the only time we text is when we're determining when to meet to work on our project, and it's always been me who's initiated those discussions. This time though...he's contacting me first."
"He wants to work on your project some more?"
"No. He says he's in the city, and that there's something he's trying to get done. He wants to know if I can meet up with him."
"So that's double bizarre. He's texting you first, and he wants to see you for something besides schoolwork." Gilly noted.
"Is he really anti-social or something?" Ethereal asked.
"Or something. Arbor has a hard time getting along with people."
"Are you going to meet with him?" Ephemeral wondered.
'I mean...I feel horrible not going when he's clearly putting in an effort he hasn't before, but I really want to go dress shopping with you guys. You two are leaving in the morning. We're not going to get another chance to do this."
"I'm sure he'll understand. You have plans." Gilly assuaged, giving my shoulder a pat.
And so I texted Arbor back with the truth. I was out dress shopping and wouldn't be able to meet up with him at the moment. No response came back even when we were halfway done at the store. Gilly decided what she wanted easily, something sorter with multiple layers, yet I constantly flipped back and forth between what I wanted. Longer dresses were a pain. However, there was one that stood out to me greatly. My choices were getting that dress I really wanted despite the inconvenience of tripping over my feet or choosing something I didn't want as much to avoid all hassles. Gilly suggested I go for a shorter one and save the long dress for prom, but Ethereal and Ephemeral were on the other side of the argument. In the end, I took the risk and bought the longer one. The store got our measurements, Gilly was slightly taller like normal, and promised they would be altered well before homecoming's date arrived. Ethereal, Ephemeral, Gilly, and I searched out a place to eat. Our snacks were devoured before the prompting tingling in the back of my mind couldn't be ignored.
"Wish you had said yes?" Ethereal realized after I pulled out my phone for the dozenth time in the past ten minutes to still see no response from Arbor.
"I don't know," I frowned, "He's so hard to read. It wouldn't be out of character for him to not reply as his way of him acknowledging my plans. He could have thought nothing of the rejection. But then...what if it took him a lot of courage to go out on a limb? With everything that happened yesterday, Arbor could have put a lot of faith in asking me something he never had before. Maybe I crushed his hope and confirmed to him that it's not worth it to bother."
"Well, there's nothing you can do about it if the second case is true. There's no reason to feel bad, and you shouldn't in the first place. You've made him no promises or given him any expectations. If Arbor gets upset that you didn't drop everything the second he needed you to, that's on him." Gilly rationalized.
"I know, but..."
"Why don't you try texting him back?" Ephemeral suggested, "I think we're finally tired out. Maybe he'll still have you along. The rest of us can just go back to the house and chill."
"I...guess."
It took me a moment to write something appropriate. My text started out with an apology, and as soon as Gilly saw that she snatched my phone and got rid of it. I didn't think it was wrong to be a little courteous, but my mood didn't lend to me arguing with her. My fingers slowly forced out a simple message of saying I was free now if he continued to want my assistance. Arbor replied back within the minute saying he did before sending a description of where he was. I made my way there while the others wandered home. Arbor stood waiting on the sidewalk of a quieter street.
"Hey. Sorry I couldn't come right away." I spoke, apologizing without thinking and being glad Gilly was no longer around.
"It's fine. It was just a random idea to have you along." Arbor shrugged indifferently.
"I was a little worried you were upset when you didn't respond back to my text." I decided to put it out there.
"Hmm? Oh. Sorry. You said you were doing stuff, so I didn't want to bother you. I'm not one for texting anyway."
"It's okay." I smiled.
Relief hit my chest as I mentally smacked myself. Arbor was being classic Arbor. I had gotten worked up for nothing.
"What did you need me for?"
"I..." Arbor hesitated before sighing in mild frustration and a smidge of embarrassment, and it was nice to see he was showing more emotions in front of me, "I didn't steal your grandfather's snow globe, and I didn't do anything wrong. Still, I feel a bit bad for the trouble. I wanted to get him or you guys a present to make up for it, but I have no idea what to get."
"That's sweet, Arbor," I said, feeling my heart swell at his quiet and sheepish shyness as he finished his sentence, "Of course I'll help. Grandpa's pretty easy to shop for."
Although I said that, I wasn't entirely sure where to start first. There were things I knew grandpa wanted, but very few if any of them had the right feel for the sentiment for which Arbor was going. I parked most of them as backups within my mind if we couldn't find something fitting. My main plan was to do a little basket of the items grandma used to buy grandpa for little surprises here and there. The stores we needed were on the other side of the city, and I wish I could say Arbor and I completed our task without any problems. Unfortunately, a big hitch came when we were halfway there. I was managing some pretty decent conversation out of my companion for once due to us taking the long scenic route by walking when...
"Excuse me." a male voice halted us.
Arbor and I turned around, and there stood two police officers. Their attention, not too surprisingly, focused mainly on Arbor.
"Yes?" I questioned, uncertain of why they'd stopped us.
"Are you Arbor Thicket of 1926 Honeysuckle Ave?"
"Yes." Arbor replied just as uncertainly.
"We need you to come with us to the police station. There are questions we need to ask you." the blue skinned officer, his badge read Zest, stated.
"For what?"
"There has been a killed cat found, and two witnesses nearby identified a person of your description running from the scene." the pink officer, Bloom, explained.
"What? That's bullshit! I haven't killed any cats!" Arbor barked.
I gripped his arm, and, while he glared at me briefly, he silenced himself as I motioned for him to do.
"Is he being arrested?" I asked stiffly.
The officers hesitated on replying to me. Arbor squared his back.
"Am I being arrested?" he tried instead.
"No."
"Are you being formally detained?" I prompted Arbor next.
"Am I being formally detained?"
"...No." Officer Zest replied, glancing at me.
"My father was going to be a police officer until he lost his sight in his right eye. I read the very thorough notes he took when studying." I replied to everyone, as Arbor appeared curious as well, "Arbor, you are not required to go with them.
Unfortunately, Arbor stood taller and prouder. He clearly was taking the appearance of the police as a challenge, and he was obviously going to be stubborn.
"It's fine. I'll go with them. I have nothing to-"
"If you're going to go, don't saying anything until you get a lawyer. You need to ask for one. Even something you say that you think is harmless can work against you." I instructed after I hurriedly covered his mouth with my hand.
The expressions on Officer Zest and Officer Bloom showed they were both annoyed and impressed with my knowledge. Arbor just nodded at me and willingly walked to where the officers had their cruiser parked. They took off before I knew it, prompting me to quickly dial a number in my phone. Mrs. Thicket picked up, and that wasn't a fun call to make. They arrived right after I got off the bus.
"Thanks for calling us, Dianthus," Mrs. Thicket spoke comfortingly, "Thank you for helping out Arbor too. He told us when he called from the station you made sure he did the right thing interacting with the officers. He's been bothered in the past by the police, but it's never gotten to this point before."
"Of course. I'm glad to do it. I just...I mean, I dunno. If two different people gave the cops his description," I mumbled, "Would he do something like that?"
"He wouldn't," Mr. Thicket affirmed without pause, "Arbor's not like that at all. He just looks like trouble, so people, including the police, single him out when he's merely doing his own thing. I'm sure this is nothing more than him simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the witnesses jumped to indicate the one who looked 'bad' as the culprit."
"T-That's true." I agreed quietly.
Both of Arbor's parents gave me a kind smile.
"Would you like me to give you a ride home? Or is there someplace else you would like to be dropped off?" Mrs. Thicket offered.
"No, that's alright. Dad's bookstore isn't overly far from here. My aunt's shift at the cafe is almost done. I'll go catch a ride with her...and maybe swipe some brownies."
"Sounds like a fine plan." Mr. Thicket chuckled.
The day ended both well and...not so well. Dad, when he heard of Arbor going in for questioning about the cat killings the day after dad thought him guilty of stealing the snow globe, let's just say it didn't improve his opinions of my classmate. It took the finding of evidence to get him to come around that Arbor wasn't a danger to me. Arbor's shopping around for grandpa's present put him at stores that confirmed his presence there at the time of the killing. He wasn't anywhere near the scene of the crime when the witnesses said they saw him. The police couldn't do anything but reason there was another person out there similar to Arbor's appearance. They apologized and sent him home with his parents. So that was good, but dad still grumbled until I finally told him to get over the situation as I couldn't take his complaints. The days after that had a strange atmosphere hovering over them. Ethereal and Ephemeral left, and even with everything returning to normal there was just this stress hanging about that lingered around everyone's back. By the time the following weekend came, I needed an outlet. Mirage and I took a rare walk together to the beach. Mirage really was such a lazy cat who didn't desire to explore all that greatly, but that day she didn't mind following me and then being carried to the shore in my arms.
"I feel like there's something I'm missing," I spoke to my cat as we watched the sunset, "It's as if there's something going on that I should know about that I don't. What happened with grandpa's snow globe is the start of it, and now with Arbor being called out by people when he wasn't where they said he should be? Is someone seriously attacking him from the shadows? Is he actually playing a huge con on me? Are his parents the secret masterminds? I can't help but to trust him for no real reason, but who knows what I should be doing?"
Mirage stared at me, meowed, and licked my nose. I smiled down at her.
"Thanks, buddy. Make sure you stay inside where it's safe, okay?" I cooed as I held her close.
More weeks passed. The first important weekend of beginning semester of the school year arrived. The city was abuzz as students prepared all day for homecoming. Like normal, our friends steadily wandered over so we could group up before goofing off in the morning at our house and around town. Then we took naps. Getting gussied up followed. Then it came time for the pictures. Good lord, the pictures. Our parents insisted on taking hundreds, so we had to do what we had to do to keep them interesting. Gilly and Confetti were the only proper pair in our group. The rest of us were just going as friends, which meant when the adults requested couple shots we paired up and pretended to be lovely in all the combinations of which we could think. Laughter accompanied each new silly pose or new pairing.
However...
No matter how much I smiled, a chilling reluctance stuck to the bottom of my gut. Hanging out with my friends was fine. Dressing up pretty and doing my hair greatly enthralled me on these rare occasions when I went all out. Yet, the later the hour got the more I dreaded the passage of time. The others talked about getting ready to leave, and the school wasn't the place I wanted to go. I gathered my things together the slowest out of any of us. I squeezed in last into the car that would take us to the dance.
I thought I could shake the feeling off. Once we reached the building and got inside the gym with the amazing decoration my worries would surely vanish. This was my last year of high school. This was my last homecoming. My friends and I had a great night planned. The only thing I had to do was step through those doors.
And I couldn't do it. I didn't want to do it. My feet slowed as we approached the entrance, and my forced smile refused to hold.
"Something wrong, Dia?" Timber wondered.
"I, um, I...actually..."
"You actually...?"
My already hesitant words faltered more as everyone turned to me curiously as well. Still, no matter how much my stomach quivered with nerves, I couldn't lie.
"I actually don't want to go inside." I admitted quietly.
"You don't want to go inside?" Auburn repeated, "Like you don't want to go to the dance?"
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Why though? Are you feeling sick or something? You seem fine." Pyre asked.
"I'm not sick. It's that...well, I feel really bad about Arbor. This asshole made his previous homecoming absolutely awful, so now he doesn't want to come to anymore. The thought of him staying home by himself while everyone else is here having fun bothers me immensely."
"Maybe you can give him a call. See if you can convince him to come." Confetti suggested.
"He won't agree to come," I said, shaking my head, "I know it."
"What do you want to do then? Leave here and go hang out with him? Dia, this is our last homecoming together," Gilly protested, "I think I have a good chance of getting the queen's crown too. I want you to be here."
"I know. I..."
More words wouldn't come out. The lone thing I could do was stand there under my sister's scrutiny while my friends shifted not knowing how to address the situation. I couldn't come to a decision on my own, but Gilly eventually sighed.
"It's fine," she waved her hand as if to usher me off, "I say that sincerely. None of us want to force you to come if it'll make you miserable. You're thinking of someone else, so how can I be selfish? Just be aware you're coming to prom no matter what."
"Promise. Thank you, Gilly."
I snagged a ride home from a classmate's parent after apologizing to the others and giving them goodbye hugs. Then I took the deepest breath of my life before walking through the front door of my house. Unfortunately, I was spotted immediately.
"Dia, why are you home? Did you forget something? You don't look sick." grandpa asked with light concern.
"No, I'm not sick," I repeated, "I didn't forget anything either. I realized once we got to the school that I didn't truly want to go to the dance."
"Coal and Holly have headed out for their own little date night. You're more than welcome to join us. We thought since everyone else was off doing something fun that we would go see a movie and otherwise hit up the town." Blaze suggested.
"Yeah. We're going to see The Final Marauder!" Merlot explained.
"That sounds like fun. I was thinking of going to see if Arbor wanted to do something though."
"Arbor?" Blaze wondered.
"I know he never planned on going to the dance, so I thought we could hang out together."
"Is seeing him the reason why you came back?" grandpa questioned all too knowingly.
"I...a little. Mostly. He's had such a rough time lately. Word got out about him being questioned by the police. He was starting to get along with more people, but now it's gone back to nothing but rumors and snide remarks. I don't want him to be alone tonight when he's alone the majority of the time already."
"Coal wouldn't approve, but Coal's not here," grandpa spoke with a smirk, "I trust your judgment. If you want to hang out with him, you go ahead and do that."
"We'll give you a ride to his house too." Blaze added.
"Thanks," I smiled gratefully and sighed inwardly with relief, "Let me go change quickly into something not quite so fancy."
My nerves quieted until I knocked on the door to the Thicket household. What if Arbor was out with his parents or something while everyone else was at the dance the way Blaze and grandpa were taking Merlot to the movies. Then I would have blown off my friends and failed to do what I set out to accomplish. The relief that I got then from Mr. Thicket opening the door and inviting me was bizarre indeed. Here he, Mrs. Thicket, and Arbor were, but what if Arbor didn't care for my proposition? Grandpa drove him and the others off once I walked in the door. It would be either an awkward walk home alone or drive home with one of his parents if I was rejected.
"What can we do for you, Dianthus?" Mr. Thicket asked, "I thought you would have been at the dance."
"I was going to go, but then I decided I didn't really want to. My uncle invited me to join him, my grandpa, and my brother to the movies, but I thought I'd swing by to see if you wanted to do anything, Arbor." I explained as best I could without going into the details that would certainly make the air awkward.
"Me?" Arbor questioned.
"Yeah. Like if you wanted to watch a movie here or take a walk or something." I did my best to not let my voice quiver with timidness.
"That sounds marvelous," Mrs. Thicket said happily, "Of course he'll go."
"I-" Arbor began, but was swiftly interrupted by his father.
"You should change, Arbor. You're always wearing the same things, and we got you those nice clothes."
"It's fine. You don't have to. I'm dumping this on you suddenly, so-"
"Don't worry about it," Arbor went ahead and interrupted me, "They won't give me peace unless I accept your offer and change. It's no big deal."
He wandered to his room, leaving me to make polite conversation with his parents. The two of them were excitedly eager over the situation. I could understand that well enough. Arbor clearly hadn't had many friends if any back where they used to live, and he wasn't having much luck here either. Here I was constantly reaching out to him though. I'm sure they were glad to see him connecting with someone. Mr. and Mrs. Thicket asked me questions mostly about how I'd been. With the first part of the project being done and presented, Arbor and I had moved onto the second portion that didn't require as much constant contact.
"There you go. You look much better." Mrs. Thicket spoke with glee when Arbor slowly shuffled out from his room in a nicer outfit than any I'd seen him wear yet.
"Sure." Arbor agreed weakly.
"You do." I added on to the compliment.
By the way Arbor vehemently avoided making eye contact, he was obviously embarrassed to some extent.
"So, um, they've got most of the stuff set up for the fall festival at the park. Want to head down in that direction?" I offered.
"Sounds fine." Arbor nodded slowly.
His parents waved us off as if they were sending us to kindergarten for the first time. Both Arbor and I picked up our pace until they and the Thicket house was out of sight. We slowed after that, and conversation didn't happen for a moment more.
"Sorry to impose," I apologized, "We don't have to stay out long if you don't want to."
"No, it's fine. I was kinda of bored. My parents are nice, but they are still my parents. I don't need or want them to be my best friends."
"I get that. Mine are pretty cool most of the time, but I'd much rather be out like this on a Saturday night than chilling with them."
Arbor didn't respond right away. It took the quiet seconds for me to see I spoke something pretty friendly in regards to his company. I hadn't meant anything by it, but Arbor and I had a weird relationship given that we hadn't spoke or confirmed anything about us even being friends. We referred to each other as a classmate or project partner.
"I'm surprised your dad let you come. I thought he didn't want you alone with me." Arbor pressed forward.
"He doesn't know, to be honest. He most definitely thinks I've gone to the dance as he and mom left for their date before I got back from the school."
"You made it all the way to the school then before realizing you didn't want to go?"
"I did, although the feeling had been bugging me from before then. I should have spoke up sooner, but it was difficult seeing everyone else so happy and excited for the evening."
"It's good that you spoke up though. It's the worst...having to suffer through something you don't want to do."
"Right? I suppose doing that is a large part of life though. Like, I want to be a doctor so badly, but sometimes my classes drive me up the wall. I even get fidgety wanting to run away from time to time."
"I suppose. That kind of thing is an inevitable part of life. I was speaking more about things you have a choice in, or you should have a choice in even if some reason is forcing you into it."
"Oh, that kind of situation. That doesn't happen to me too often, but it does suck pretty badly."
To my surprise, things were going well so far. Arbor talked more openly than normal. Hints of his indifferent, detached exterior remained, but for the most part I walked with a giddy pride hoping I'd broken past that barrier. My hope solidified further upon reaching the park. Arbor opened up even more.
"So, we're getting into the thick of the first semester. Have you done any college visits yet? I noticed you haven't missed any days of school. Or have you been visiting places on the weekend?" I asked.
"No, I haven't visited anywhere. I don't want to go to college. Seriously, I just want to be done with my education. I'll take some classes online if I really need to, but my parents have said they won't push me as long as I find a decent job."
"If you don't mind books or if you like cooking, let me know if you want me to recommend you to my dad and aunt and their bookstore and cafe. They're generally open to me suggesting new employees. The pay is not too bad even starting out, and dad's not too shabby handing out raises if the work is loyal and consistent."
"I don't know about working for your dad. He seems to have made it his goal to not like me. I haven't met this aunt of yours, but I've never been particular good in the kitchen. I'm the kind of guy who turns the oven on hotter than normal so I have to wait less for the food to cook."
"I see. Do you have any plans yourself then? What do you want to do in the future?"
"There's no real goal I have. Haven't had a career in mind for a while now. Despite what I just said, I'll accept any work if the pay is fine and I don't have a manager or whatever getting on my case all the time."
"What did you want to be in the past?" I wondered.
"Huh?"
"You said you haven't had a career in mind for a while. That means you had one at some point. What was it?"
"I..."
While Arbor showed signs of being embarrassed before, this time it was on a whole new level. I had to stop myself from gaping as he withdrew, utterly sheepish at trying to give me an answer. He wouldn't meet my eye again, and he hid behind his hand.
"I want to be a...a dancer..."
"A dancer? Like a ballet dancer? Or like street dancing? Backup dancing?"
"Something like a backup dancer," Arbor mumbled, "I like all kinds, and I took a bunch of different classes in the past. The idea was to be one in musicals or movies or stuff like that. It sounded like fun."
"But you don't want to do it anymore?"
"It's not that. I just don't think it'd work out anymore, for various reasons including the tattoos. Most people can't stand the idea of wearing black casually, and I've gone and permanently patched myself with it."
Arbor clammed up. I didn't think it good to push him anymore- at least not with words. Instead, I took his hand to guide him to the other side of the lot where the music played more loudly. It hardly registered to me that he didn't recoil or shake me off like he'd done in the past.
"Where are we going?" he questioned.
"Right here. You said you don't know if being a dancer will work out for you anymore, and who knows if that's true or not. What I think is perfectly clear though is that you still enjoy it. Everyone else is dancing at homecoming, so why don't we go ahead and dance here? You can show me some fancy moves."
"It's been years since-"
"Don't worry. I won't know the difference. Simply act confident, and I'll be none the wiser." I encouraged.
"That..."
Arbor struggled to move, so I got that going instead. Taking both his hands, I swayed us to the upbeat tempo. Arbor glanced around nervously, but no one paid attention to us. I kept going, swaying us harder and even spinning him around. The spinning didn't work so well, but it had an even better effect than I was going for. Arbor laughed. He felt enough glee that he couldn't keep it contained, and that burst forth as that pleasant sound and the smile spreading his lips.
"Fine. Whatever. We'll dance." he spoke, pulling me closer and taking control of our movement.
He smiled still.
Aww this is sooo cute!! I love Arbor I'm so glad he's coming out of his shell!
ReplyDeleteCan't ship it hard enough!!!
ReplyDelete