Chapter 3 - Coffee yet again

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As I sat on the couch and wondered, I grabbed my computer. I watched some old videos of Blink 182. Their concerts, home life, funny moments, fan edits, stuff like that. That had a wide vocabulary of bad words and toilet jokes. It was strange though, Tom was incredibly polite over coffee.

I shut the computer and switched to my phone. I flipped it open and called James.

"Hey girlfriend, how was coffee with Tooomm?" He exaggerated on his name.

"It was good. We got to talk a little. He wants to have coffee again tomorrow."

"You're lying. There's no way Tom Delonge wants to hang out with you again. My quiet little Liz."

"I'm just so cool he can't stay away." My stupid joke made myself cringe.

"Anyway I just thought I'd call and let you know what's up. Wanna hang out?"

"I'll be over in 10."

"Sounds good." I hung up. And sure enough, James was over here in a short amount of time. He brought a movie and some popcorn. He knew just what I had in mind.

I loved that about James. He was so open and understanding. He knew me better than I knew myself. He's the only person I've ever opened up to, being that his past was just about as rough as mine. We clicked right away and he's been around ever since, and honestly, he's the only friend I've ever needed. The only friend I've ever truly wanted in my life.

The day went on as we continued to watch more movies until we fell asleep on the couch. The perfect way to spend a Saturday night. I fell asleep in James arms. I woke up to James shaking me lightly, telling me it was okay and that he was there. I had been crying. Another dream.

"Liz it's okay, I've got you. Come here."
He embraced me in a hug. I couldn't remember why I was crying, but I remember the feeling of something bad.

After a couple moments of silence, I layer back down.

"I'll be alright. Thank you though for.. that." I whispered.

"Don't worry," he cooed. "I'm here."

The night went on as I lied on the couch awake. Too afraid to sleep. James was snoring softly next to me. I felt bad for him. He's liked me since the day we met in that foster home, and he's been there for me through everything. I just, could never see myself with him in that way. There's just too much history. Too much knowing.

I took a small nap until the time finally came for me to see Tom again. I left James on the couch as I readied myself once again. I made my way to the coffee shop, and pulled into the same parking spot as yesterday. 8:55. Perfect. I went inside to find Tom sitting at the same table with two coffees. I greeted him and sat down across from him.

"I'm early." I smiled.

"Now wasn't that hard?" He said dramatically.

While eye-balling his book, I looked to him and said:

"What are you reading?

"Just a book about aliens and conspiracies and stuff. I've always been intrigued by it."

"I've never really took the time to look into that."

"Well you should. It's so cool to learn about. There's all these possibilities about other life forms and ufo sightings and strange coincidences."

Tom continued with his rant on aliens while I examined him. His lip ring. His green brown eyes. His shaggy hair. His colored nails. He was.. cute. The butterflies returned another time. Oh no. It was true. I liked him. This was bad. I couldn't. He seemed like the jump and dump guy. The one night stand guy. The guy who sleeps with everyone. Not the guy who you would want to be into. But god damn. He was fine. The tattoos. The piercings. The clothing. It was the perfect punk look. And his hands... more specifically his fingers. Those could create miracles.

I found myself day dreaming until Toms voice brought me to reality.

"Liz, Liz!"

"Yeah." I mumbled.

"You've been staring at me for like the last minute without saying anything."

"Sorry. I stayed up late last night with my friend James."

"Who's that?" He asked without hesitation.

"I met him a while back when I was a bit younger. We kinda grew up together. He's like a brother."

Tom relaxed a little.

"Oh that's cool." He opened his mouth as if to say something more but just kept quiet. A few moments and quiet passed before he began speaking once more.

"So, whats your story?"

"It's kind of a short one. I grew up here in California and I've been on my own for a while now. I enjoy art and a good movie. I'm not all exciting." I knew I was lying. But like I said before, no one really cares so why share. And, even if I did, why would I share? So people can feel pity for me? I'm not some sad puppy looking for some supportive charity to keep me going. I wasn't like that. What's in the past is in the past. It happened, and we can't change that.

"Aw come on that can't be all. You're cutting me short."

"Nope. That's all there is to it."

"So you're telling me you grew up drawing and being a goody-two-shoes, and here you are living a boring, standard life in the city?"

I rolled my eyes while smiling slightly. Tom had a stupid sense of humor.

"Sure."

"Bullshit. You're lying. You've got a crazy story and you won't fill me in."

"Seriously, it's not worth the time. And it's a shit story. But I'd like to get to know you. Apart from the famous stuff."

"No, don't change the focus to me. Even though I deserve all of it." What a douche.

"Look, I'm not gonna sit here and pry. But it'll come out some day."

I realized after a while that both our coffees were gone and we had been there till 11. But on the other hand, I learned a lot about Tom. He loved dogs, and baseball. He was into conspiracies, aliens, and skateboarding. He didn't skateboard anymore though.

As we exited the building, Tom walked me to my car again. We said our goodbyes and waved one another off. As the weeks went by, we continued to meet for coffee, growing closer. He casually started slipping in more sex jokes and making quirky remarks. He knew everything there was to know except my past. And I knew everything there was to him.

One day after coffee, he approached me and said:

"Me and the guys are having a little get together if you wanted to come. You could meet the rest of the band and some other people. It's at my place around 7 tonight."

I debated whether or not I should go. I didn't like big crowds. It gave me anxiety. But it was Tom. And we now had a good friendship growing, so I figured why not. It's just a gathering.

"Yeah sure I'll come." I agreed.

"Can I see your phone?"

I handed it over to him. He punched in his number and handed it back.

"I'll text you my address."

"See you then."

"Yeah, see you there."

Instead of going directly home, I went to the mall looking for something to wear. I didn't know what to wear, or if it was a dressy party. I figured it was nothing and decided on some tight white skinny jeans, ripped of course, a black shirt with shoulder holes, and combat boots. I got home and put the clothes on. I examined myself in the mirror redoing my hair multiple times. I wore the same make up look, and just settled with my hair thrown to the side. My phone buzzed with a text from Tom- his address. I checked myself one more time before finally heading out the door.

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