june and the blond boy

White Picket Fences

"yeah, what?" he mumbled through a mouthful of food as he dusted the salt off his fingers.

"i got accepted into uc!" i exclaimed with a bright smile on my face. he chuckled, shoving more food into his mouth. he must've realized i wasn't joking when he slowly turned his head to look at me again. he swallowed his food, pointing his finger at me. "you?"

"yeah..." i chuckled awkwardly.

"...accepted into cal?" he blinked at me.

"yes, james!" i slumped my shoulders exasperatedly. what was he not getting?

"okay," he chuckled awkwardly, turning the key into the ignition. "like.. when?"

"in august."

he raised his eyebrows before nodding, keeping his eyes on the parking lot in front of us.

wordlessly, he pulled out of the parking lot. the entire drive back to his house was silent, until i finally spoke up before he could escape to his garage.

"james, are you mad, or something?" i spoke up, setting the bag of leftover food on the counter. he kept his back turned to me as he planted his feet at a stop in the hallway. i waited for him to say something, but instead he just continued walking until he reached the garage door.

i followed him out, scanning my eyes around the unfamiliar area. it was stripped of all the toys it used to have when we were younger. now it was full of metal band posters, records & CDs, and a couple guitars. he sat on one of the old couches and picked up a flying v guitar, plugging it into the amplifier next to it.

i was curious how he got all the money for this stuff, but there were more important things that needed talking about.

"james, talk to me!" i said a little louder, only to get my voice drowned out by his distorted guitar booming through the amp.

i bit the inside of my cheek, tired of his petty behavior. i stomped over to him, yanking the cable out of the amp. he whipped his head toward me, sending me a hard glare.

"you're mad at me." i acknowledged, letting out a breath. "why?" i held the cord in my hand as i spoke.

he carefully eyed the cable in my hand before placing his guitar hard on the floor and swiftly moving to his feet.

"i'm not mad, i just—" he scoffed, wiping a hand down his face as he paced the room. i stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"i mean, what am i gonna do after you leave? you're my— you're the only person i hang out with..." he muttered.

"james... it's only a few hours away, i'll come home for holidays, and—"

"a few hours?" he interrupted, turning to face me. "it's a fucking six hour drive, june! neither of us have the gas money for that, and plus, with all your nerdy college shit, you'll be too busy."

"i'll make time! why are you so against this?! this is a good thing for me!" my voice was louder now.

"i'm not against it! don't turn this on me." he replied.