Adventures in Funeral Crashing (Complete Novel)

Chapter 15: Double Dating

"Wow," I responded with sarcasm.

He could be so arrogant! Well, maybe Troy would take me to Homecoming, once I cleared him of all murder suspicion and admitted to him that I was still in high school. I mean, it's not like nineteen and sixteen (almost 17!) weren't close in age and all.

"I'm wearing this dress. It's perfect," I demanded and to prove my point, walked out of my house, shutting the door behind me, and walked to his car.

If he had been about to open it for me, like a real gentleman would, I didn't wait. I got into the passenger side and sat down, feeling huffy. Who knew Ethan was a prude in disguise? I didn't care if he didn't like my dress. I knew that Troy would.

Ethan got into the driver's seat and looked at me one more time and said softly, "You know, you do look pretty."

And, then he started the car and blared the music, so I spent the rest of the drive trying to figure out if he meant that as just an apology or if he really thought I actually looked pretty. Guys were so confusing.

The Burger was packed when we arrived, even though it was a Wednesday night. People loved this place. Maybe it was the weird burger combinations you could make – hamburger with pineapple and goat cheese, anyone? If you wanted, you could have that. I was a little more traditional – hamburger with swiss cheese and avocado. Mmmm, avocado. Sometimes, I even added mushrooms.

Ethan and I were early, so we got a booth and sat down, waiting for Ariel and Troy to arrive. There was still a sort of weird tension between Ethan and me, so I spent the time staring at my menu like I wasn't sure what I was going to order. I did get absorbed by looking at the different milkshakes, though, so I didn't see Troy walk in the door until he was almost at our table.

"Hey, Kait," Troy said, sliding into the booth next to me. He looked at me, appraisingly. "You look awesome!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling back at Troy, but not before I saw Ethan scowl. "Oh, and this is Ethan."

Ethan's scowl had disappeared and he had on a smile instead as Troy turned to look at him, "Hey, man."

They shook hands. Ethan was a good actor. You'd never know that he was really thinking that Troy might be a serial murderer.  Poor Ariel. Now that I thought of it, she really didn't know what she was walking into. I almost felt sorry for her.

"Ethan!" I heard her squeal a moment later, as she walked toward our table.

Troy was studying the menu, but looked up to study Ariel as she walked up. He was totally checking her out, even though he was on a date with me. Strike one against him, but even I had to admit that Ariel looked amazing. I was a wilted flower compared to her tonight, and I had thought I looked pretty good. Ariel had curled her hair, but she had the I-always-look-this-good-effortlessly thing going on. I wish I could look good effortlessly. I had spent over two hours getting ready for this date.

I didn't see Ethan's immediate reaction to Ariel, but he seemed preoccupied as she slid into the booth next to him, and I mean right next to him, since he only said, "Oh, hey, Ariel."

We did the introductions all over again and then it was an awkward silence as we looked at the menus. At this point, I felt like I had the thing memorized. I had decided on trying their peanut butter banana milkshake, in addition to the burger. I wanted to see how it would compare to Wired's. It couldn't be as good, but hey, I wanted to experiment. Let Ariel order a Diet Coke and a salad with nothing on it. I was a real girl.

The waiter came by and we all ordered, Ariel shooting a smirk at me when she heard my totally unhealthy order. Whatever. Ethan and Troy ordered burgers and shakes too, so Ariel was the weirdo with her salad, dressing on the side.

"So, Steampunk art is what exactly?" Ethan was asking Troy, while Ariel was busy trying to seem interested.

"I was trying to explain it to Kait. Its background is really science fiction and fantasy. It's got a Victorian feel to it, but with modern objects. Has anyone here seen Hayao Miyazaki's movie, Castle in the Sky or the anime Steamboy?" Troy asked.

"I've seen both," I said, trying to remember more than just the stories from those movies. Working in a video store had its perks sometimes.

"Me too," Ethan added.

Ariel just nodded.

Ethan continued, playing up his interest to keep Troy talking, "So, you actually make things look like they do in those movies? That's pretty cool. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi."

Ariel was unusually silent. She obviously knew nothing about anime or science fiction. Actually, it looked like Ethan had more in common with Troy than either me or Ariel. Too bad there was no way that they were actually going to be friends.

The burgers and shakes came (with a salad and diet Coke for Ariel) and Ethan and Troy had monopolized the conversation moving on from Steampunk art to talking about Cyberpunk novels like Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson. They both wished that someone would make it into a movie.

Although it was great that Ethan was getting a chance to get to know Troy and see how he couldn't possibly be a psychopathic killer (unless he was really, really good at hiding it, being that he didn't give off a creepy vibe at all), I hadn't had any sort of chance to try and talk to Troy about the dead girls. Not that I knew how I was going to bring the subject up or anything. I mean, I couldn't just interrupt Troy and Ethan's conversation and go, "Excuse me, but Troy, what do you know about four girls overdosing on heroin?" That would just be a party killer.

I think Ariel and I were getting equally bored. It wasn't like we were going to talk to each other, so we were stuck listening to the science fiction chat that the guys were having. Ariel had spent a little of this time trying to get a little closer to Ethan than I liked. She put her hand on his arm and a moment later, he casually brushed it off, while making a point to Troy. She put her hand on his leg, at least I hoped it was his leg, but he moved over. The girl was trying. I'll give her that. Thank goodness, Ethan wasn't having any of it. I mean, I know I was on the date with Troy and all, but I didn't want or need to see Ariel hanging all over Ethan. What Ethan did on his own time was fine, but I didn't want to know.

I needed a break from the cyber/sci-fi talk, so I interrupted a discussion of the movie Bladerunner, "Hey, Troy, can I get out?"

Troy looked at me like he was just remembering I was there - so much for the lasting effects of my dress. I heard the conversation resume as I walked to the restroom.

A few minutes later, I was washing my hands and debating how to get Troy to myself. I needed him alone if I was going to interrogate him. I knew Ethan wasn't going to go for it, but I had an idea. There was a small arcade at the back of The Burger, just past the restrooms. Normally, I ignored it. I went there for the food and I hadn't played video games since grade school. I will admit to having been pretty great at them back then. Right now, though, I just needed a few minutes alone with Troy and the arcade might be a great distraction, away from everyone.

And, then Ariel walked into the restroom and broke off my planning, "Are you as bored as I am? Those guys should be on a date together."

Ariel headed straight for the sink next to me and started re-applying her make-up. First powder was applied, then eyeshadow, and eyeliner. I guess it wasn't as effortless as she made it look.

I was going to regret what I was going to say next later, but it had to be done, "Hey, Ariel, how would you like to help me get a few moments alone with Troy?"

It took Ariel a second to figure out that also meant that she would get a few moments alone with Ethan. She turned to me with the most real smile I had seen on her face since we had been friends. I almost felt a pang of sadness at not being friends anymore. Almost.

"What do you have in mind?" She asked, halfway done with applying cherry lip-gloss.

I caught myself hoping that Ethan wouldn't be tasting that lip-gloss when Ariel had him to herself. I pushed that thought away. I was doing this in the name of the investigation. It was for Liz and all of the dead girls. I was trying to let the world know what really happened to them. That was more important than any jealous feelings I was having. Still, could I help it if I wished that I could be the one distracting Ethan by making out with him with cherry lip-gloss?