Star Child

Three - Never Have I Ever

"Damn, Leo, you're a player!" Nate prodded as we sat loafing in our dorm room. I told him about the girl I had invited to our game night, partially hoping he'd tell me the event was only for friends. But I knew Nate; he was just too good of a guy, always welcoming others and being friendly to strangers. He and I were most different in that regard. I never fraternized with outsiders, sticking as close to Nate and Liz as I could. It was partially due to how we were raised: he, on one hand, had a big family (four brothers and three sisters) which always hosted guests at their house, while I grew up without any siblings - unless you count the foster family who stuck to themselves in isolated pockets of the house. "Of course she's free to come to our thing," he continued, "as long as I can be the godfather to your kids."

"Jeez, man, I barely know her," I contested with a disgusted grimace on my face. "She's kind of a creep anyway. I only said she could come because she kept pestering me. I think she's been stalking me too."

"Aw, that's sweet," he joked. "Everyone needs a good stalker in their life. What's her name?"

"Ara."

"Huh. Hadn't heard that one before. Is it foreign?" he asked before looking down at his watch and exclaiming, "Oh, it's almost seven! We should head down."

It was the moment I feared. My heart felt like it was about to explode, and I had to slow my breathing to avoid blacking out when I stood up to follow Nate out the door. He asked if I was alright - I tried hiding my anxiety but I guess I looked pretty pale - but I told him it was nothing.

As we rounded the corner we saw the two of them - Liz and Ara - talking to one another. I almost threw up. What could they be talking about? Maybe it was nothing; maybe Ara didn't know Liz was my friend and she was just chatting to a seeming stranger as she waited for us.

"Oh my gosh, Leo, she's so cute!" Liz shouted excitedly. "You have to tell us how you met her, please!" She clasped Ara's hands tenderly, acting as if she were sisters with the girl. That was how she was, just as welcoming as Nate, perhaps even more so. She could make friends with a bullfrog if she wanted to, that girl was so cheery. Even on my worst days she would find a way to lift my spirits; even when I treated her like dirt she was always understanding, yet not out of pity for my sorry state. No, she too came from a broken home. Her parents divorced when she was a teenager, and she was left to jump between houses every week. At one point she just said 'screw it' and moved in with Nate's family (I offered to let her stay at my place, but the foster home wouldn't allow it because she still had parents). It was easy to imagine what happened after that.

I swear, if anyone was the epitome of a perfect couple, it was Liz and Nate. Never a single argument, not even a dirty look. They loved each other like nothing I've seen, save the faint memory of my mother. It was bound to happen, I thought to myself when they told me they started dating. They're just so right for one another. I never thought much about girls anyway, I was too busy writing science fiction novels or reading comic books. Not that I was a nerd, I was too stupid for that title, but I always wrapped myself in the illusion of fiction.

"We're just friends," I began, not knowing where I was going with this lie. To tell the truth meant admitting a secret I had held since childhood, that I had first met Ara in the woods behind Liz's house, and there wasn't a single positive outcome with that discussion. "Actually, we met awhile back at the foster home," I said, hoping the idea of me talking to another girl would be more convincing than the bizarre truth. "We just got along and slowly started becoming friends, and funny enough we both ended up going to the same college as well."

"You're a foster kid?" Ara asked openly, without sign of discretion. I gave her the coldest look possible, and she shook her head in confusion. "Ah, yes, I am also a foster kid," she said as if reciting a script. I covered my mouth in disbelief. How was I going to get through the night?