Ned Gets Stood Up

Chapter Eleven

THE GREGOR

This story is essentially about Ned, who gets stood up and whisks me away from two very nice girls, Addie and Nisha. But this story also has so much more to do with what to do with me. Now that they have me, what will become of me? That's only up to Ned.

The funny thing is, Ned hoped I could tell him what to do next. No one's ever asked me where I wanted to go ever before. I started like any lawn gnome on a lawn, soaking up the sun, until a little boy who wanted to annoy his brother scooped me up and changed me forever.

Somehow, I ended up here on my way to a house party.

It's here that I learned decisions are scary. They can stop time from moving, stop you from aging, and yet, the planet will continue to spin. You can just be standing there while others started running as fast as they can. Where does that leave us?

Scary.

Glad I'm a lawn gnome.

#

NED

Everyone parked their cars tight along the neighborhood street and in Chad's driveway. Indie had to park by the neighborhood pool and Ned, with his friends, walked uphill to get to the house. The night air was cool, nipping at Ned's cheeks and he shoved his hands into his pockets. He knocked against something hard. Something he forgot he even hid there.

His chest tightened at Sam. It was a gift he'd been waiting to give Sam all Hanukah, but he knew that wasn't how it worked and Sam would've never agreed to a Christmas present... maybe Ned could wait for Sam's birthday in July, but Ned really wanted him to have it.

"You good?" Sam asked after Ned had probably been staring at him like a crazy person for way too long.

"Um, I'm good," Ned lied past his blush.

Music blared from Chad's house, making the house shiver and shake. Christmas Lights might have decked out the house, but the only "Christmas" thing about this party were the guys and girls walking around like sexy Santas and Mrs. Claus's with a few ugly sweaters sprinkled about. Some dude was even grabbing Frosty the Snowman and bobbing it up and down like he was getting a snow job.

"Was this everything you wanted a house party to be?" Sam asked, knowingly.

"Um, kind of..." Ned just said because he didn't know how to feel. This was the thing he'd been missing in high school, that one experience that always eluded him, but it felt yuckier than expected, like he was fish that just walked into a lion party.

"Sorry about this," Ned told Sam as they squeezed past the car to avoid the people having too much fun in the yard. "I know you hate this kind of thing."

Sam shrugged, but he glared at the house like it just asked for his lunch money. "Sometimes you have to live your life like 'these things happen and might as well happen to me' and move on, like when you get shit on by a bird. Oh, remember when you had braces in middle school and you ate a huge wad of caramel candy and then you glued your mouth. It feels a lot like that."

Ned attempted not to laugh because of how serious he sounded. Their fearless, Indie took the first step towards the house, escorting Lena by her arm. No knock. Didn't ring the door bell. Indie just walked right through the front door and unleashed the noise being contained by the house.

"That reminds me," Ned said, staying close to Sam while keeping his arms firmly around The Gregor. This little gnome wasn't getting away from him until Ned was good and ready. "How did your date go?"