Starboy

Chapter 21: Darkest Secret

After finishing class, Benji and I go grab a coffee from our favourite little coffee stand. I order a latte and he orders a decaf.

"Is it just me or is Becca Dante getting scarier each class?" I joke. "I mean she seriously frightens me."

"Not me," he disagrees. "She's just a teacher."

"Do you remember when she called you out for drinking in class?" I ask, hoping it's not too much of a sensitive topic.

"Sort of. I was pretty out of it."

We head back to the apartment and I am feeling good about life right now. Benji and I have been really good lately. There has been zero drama between us and even though he's 'dating' Natalie for his parents, it hasn't come between us.

"We should study." I insist.

"No," he complains as he pushes my books away from me. "Let's not study."

I laugh. "I have a midterm coming up soon, Benji. And so do you." I remind him.

He walks over to the couch and I smile at him at the table. "Come here," he tells me.

"To do what?" I chuckle.

He doesn't mean...

"To hang out with me."

Oh, okay.

"I don't know," I smile. "I really should study. If I don't study, I'll fail my test. And if I fail my test, then I won't graduate. And if I don't graduate, I won't get a job. And if I don't get a good job I'll become homeless. And if I become homeless-"

"Brandy."

"Then I'll die..." I mutter.

"You have your whole life to study and work. Now come here and hang out with me." He smirks.

As always, he convinces me. Maybe it's his damned smile or maybe it's his persuasive voice and his perfect choice of words—I don't know. But somehow he always convinces me.

I sit beside him on the couch and he wraps his around around me. "Talk to me," he says.

"About?"

"Anything. Tell me something I don't know about you."

"I'm pretty sure you know everything about me," I remind him.

He shakes his head. "That's impossible. I can't possibly know everything about you."

"Yes, you do." No, he doesn't. But I don't know what to tell him. What am I supposed to say? My deepest darkest secret? I don't have any of those.

"Come on." He smiles at me. "Tell me something."

"Can you be a little more specific? What should I tell you? What do you want to know?" I ask.

"I don't know." He shrugs. "What's your favourite movie?"

I chuckle. "You know my favourite movie. "The Godfather." I remind him, assuming by his facial expression that he doesn't remember.

"Really?" He narrows his eyes at me. "I feel like it's something else."

"I made you watch it with me a few years ago. It's my favourite movie in the whole wide world." I laugh at his lack of memory.

"I don't remember that," he laughs along.

My laugh slowly disappears when I remember why he doesn't remember. The day we watched it he was recovering from a long night of drinking. We watched it around four o'clock in the morning after he spent all night at a party.