After years of spending time with Nova and Rick, I thought I had seen it all.
Boy, was I wrong.
During the next three weeks until spring break, any moment we weren't spending inside studying for our second round of midterm exams, we were down at the creek enjoying the increasing temperatures and longer days.
Rick announced that his parents would be going to Denver to visit his brother Michael at his college for the entirety of spring break and that we could use his house for a week-long bender of day-drinking and watching Alfred Hitchcock movies (which was Nova's idea).
We anticipated it all week, stocking up on food and alcohol from yet another one of Nova's unknown sources.
Imagine my surprise when, at about three in the afternoon of the first day of spring break, I found Rick on my doorstep with a duffle bag and a backpack. He was wearing a baseball cap low over his eyes and looking none-too happy.
"Uh, hey Puck. Can I come in?"
"Um, sure?" I held the door open so he could go by and shut it behind him "Aren't we supposed to be doing this at your place?"
"Uh, yeah, about that..." Rick scratched his head and seemed to be searching for the right words. "My brother cancelled on my parents and, well, they're not going anywhere for the break. So I figured we'd do the movie thing here... is that cool?"
"I guess?" I scratched my head at the sudden change in plans. I wasn't really set up for something like this.
Besides, something about Rick's story didn't really seem to add up in my head, but, Rick's parents could be a little manic sometimes so I didn't push it.
We trucked his stuff down to my room in the basement where we dug a considerable amount of crackers, spray cheese, and Code Red out of his bags. Nova was over within ten minutes of Rick's appearance, toting a backpack with some clothes in it and a cardboard box stuffed with an impressive assortment of alcohol, which we promptly hid in my closet under some towels and laundry. Nova dimmed the lights and popped North by Northwest into my player and we each cracked a PBR (the only beer we could afford in quantities greater than six) and kicked back, blissfully beginning to forget the tough week past and the likely-brutal remainder of the spring semester.
"Hey Puck, when does your dad get home?" Nova took a long sip of her beer and belched impressively. I laughed and Rick smiled, looking distracted. He was sitting between us, one leg folded over the other, still wearing his hat.
"I don't know, probably around six," I said. "I hope someone brought gum, because it's going to smell like an open bar or something down here."
"Hey Rick, you keep a bunch of gum in your truck, right?"
When he didn't answer, Nova reached over and playfully swiped his hat off his head. And then let out something halfway between a shriek and a gasp.
Rick had a massive shiner around his left eye. I have no idea how we didn't notice it earlier. The skin was an ugly shade of purple and green with angry red splotches breaking out like insect bites. His eye was bloodshot under its swollen lids, looking light something out of the goriest of zombie movies.
Nova dropped his hat and clasped her hands to her mouth. I felt for a moment as if I were going to be sick.
"Ohmigod Rick, WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?"
Nova was on him like a mother bear in an instant. She gently tipped his head back into the light and inspected him more closely, sucking in a sharp breath as she did so. I immediately got up, spilling beer all over myself, and went to soak a washcloth in cold water. Rick just sat there silently, gritting his teeth and undoubtedly preparing himself for the barrage of questions he was about to face. Nova laid him back on my bed and gently dabbed at his eye when I returned with the towel. Finally, after five minutes of arguing, Rick finally gave up trying to resist our ceaseless inquiries.
He took a few deep breaths before beginning his tale:
"Well, my parents actually were going out of town for the week to visit Michael. They left at about eight this morning. Since I was planning on having you guys over later, I decided to call up... you know... Sam... at about nine to come over and... hang out."
I browsed through a mental list of Samantha's at our school and could only come up with two: one was goth (definitely not Rick's type) and the other was head of the cheerleading squad or something. She didn't really seem like his type either, but it was far more likely than Goth Sam, so I assumed it was cheerleader Sam.
"Sam came over and we were in the living room... things were definitely getting heavy, clothes were coming off and everything... we were just about to, well, do 'the deed' when guess who bursts in the door?"
"Sam's boyfriend?" I guessed, suddenly remembering that Cheerleader Sam was supposed to be dating the captain of the basketball team.
Nova looked absolutely mortified.
"No... not--"
"Yup," Rick said bitterly. "In walk my parents, who realized they forgot their parking pass for the university and actually chose to drive back forty minutes rather than pay another twenty-five dollars."
"Wait, so I'm confused now," I said, raising my hand slightly. "This story is how you got the black eye, right? What does this have to do with your girlfriend, or whatever?"
Nova looked down sympathetically at Rick. "Should I tell him?"
"No," Rick sighed, looking absolutely miserable. "I should have told him a long time ago, I guess. I deserve this one, I suppose."
"Tell me what?" I was starting to get freaked out.
"Puck," Rick took a deep breath, "Sam is actually, well, my... my boyfriend, I guess. Sam... as in Samuel."
I felt my jaw hit the floor.
"You're kidding, right?" I said, looking back and forth between them. "This is a joke, right?"
"See, this is why I didn't tell him," Rick said to Nova, who looked positively devastated at the whole thing.
"Look, I don't care about that!" I said, trying not to raise my voice and failing. "I just want to know why the fuck you didn't tell me any sooner!"
Rick blinked (well, sort of).
"You mean... you're not mad?"
"No."
"Not disgusted?"
"Of course not."
"Afraid to be seen with me in public?"
"Stop being ridiculous." I said with a sigh, rubbing my forehead. I really couldn't believe my best friends had kept something of that magnitude from me. I looked up to find Nova beaming at me.
"See? I told you he wouldn't care!" She said happily. "You had nothing to worry about!"
"Easy for you to say. Girls go around telling everyone who'll listen about their bra size and what days they're on their period. Guys can't just tell their best friend they're a queer as a three-dollar bill on a whim," Rick said, regaining some of his usual wit.
"I'd hit you, but... damn, this looks bad." She said, gingerly patting his swollen eye with the damp rag while I just watched.
"So you've known the whole time?" I asked Nova, shaking my head.
"She's the only person--besides Sam, I guess--who I've ever told." Rick confirmed.
"You're not my only confidant," Nova said to me with a sly smile. "I wanted to tell you but Rick was--rightfully, we'll say--reluctant. Sorry"
"That's okay," I said, blowing out a long breath. "Don't expect me to get used to this quickly, though. I haven't had as much time to process as you two..."
"I'm still the same person," Rick pointed out a little defensively. "See, this is what--"
"Shut up, Rick. you told him a minute ago, for crying out loud!" Nova rolled her eyes and Rick grinned stupidly.
"Oh, whatever."
"So your dad... did this?" I cleared my throat loudly, cutting in.
"Yeah." Rick shook his head and winced. "We were fumbling around trying to get our clothes in order when he grabbed Sam and shoved him backward over the couch. I threw myself in the way as he took a swing at Sam and, well, you can see what happened."
"Oh shit..." Nova looked heartbroken.
"Yup. Dad said he wasn't going to live with no 'queer for a son' and told me to get the hell out before he killed me or himself. My mom was in hysterics, sobbing all over the place. She called Mike up at some point during the fight and tried to explain the situation to him. Mike suggested that, if Dad and I can't come up with an ultimatum soon, I go live with him next year and finish high school in Denver."
Nova and I looked at each other, horrified.
"You're not actually thinking about leaving, are you?" she asked, dumbstruck. Time seemed to freeze for a moment as Rick gave us a sad, painful smile.
"I'm moving down to Denver at the end of June."
It was like someone crashed a bus straight into our lives, and then set said bus on fire. Nova groaned and leaned down to hug Rick, who yelped in pain. Nova reached over and grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me into the hug, which was awkward at first, but then kind of nice. I couldn't even will myself to believe that my best friend of well over half my life was going to simply disappear because of something so stupid and pointless. We all got ourselves another beer and light-heartedly tried to scheme a way to keep Rick in Dale, but he finally admitted that regardless of the circumstances, he was actually looking forward to starting a new chapter of his life, even though it pained him to leave us.
"I mean, it's going to have to happen eventually," he said, draining his second PBR and crushing the can. "We have a little over a year left of high school; then, what?"
"What do you mean?" Nova brought her flask out from her jacket and passed it to me, figuring I needed a little extra help dealing with the two bombs dropped on me that day.
"Well, I mean, what are we going to do after high school? We can't all hang out here and do nothing for the rest of our lives. I mean, Nova, you've gotta be getting good grades for a reason. And Puck, you've got the whole writing thing going for you. You're really good at it, you know. I have no idea where I'm headed... maybe this'll be good for me!"
"So you'll be totally okay with just going off to some new place and starting a whole new life?" Nova said slowly, mulling the concept over in her brain.
"Sure, I mean, even you've said that's what life's about, right? Seizing the moment, living for the day? I don't really have a whole lot going for me here anymore anyway. It might just be best to move on."
"What about us?" I asked, suddenly feeling awfully depressed. "We're supposed to survive a whole year without you?"
"Without your truck?" Nova asked with a wink, taking another draw off the flask before passing it back to Rick, who took a big gulp. "How are we going to get in trouble without reliable transportation?"
"Oh, come on. You two have each other, you don't need me! No matter what happens between you guys, I know you'll be friends to the end," he said confidently. I couldn't help but crack a smile at that. Rick wasn't usually this encouraging or sensitive. It was something I could definitely get used to.
Except for the fact that he was going to be moving away in three months.
"You know, guys, we should do something incredible before Rick moves," Nova said after a minute or so of drinking in silence.
"What, like tossing a shopping cart full or random pieces of metal at ninety miles per hour isn't 'incredible' enough for you?" I said facetiously. Rick laughed hard enough to spill whiskey all over himself and Nova gave me the bird, to which I raised my eyebrows and winked. She snorted and gave me a "you wish!" kind of look.
"I'm serious, guys. We need to do something, I don't know, life changing before Rick tears a giant hole in the center of our group," she continued, laying back on my bed and spreading out every which way.
"Thanks for respecting my life choices," Rick said sarcastically. "And just what kind of 'incredible' and 'life changing' are you looking for?"
"I don't know," she sighed, fishing a near-empty bottle of Jack Daniel's out of the box in my closet to refill her flask. I had given up guessing when Nova was actually drunk a long time ago; she was like a bottomless barrel when alcohol was involved.
"You're driving me crazy, just spit it out!" I groaned, sitting up. My head went on a stomach-lurching spin and I flopped back down as I discovered that, once again, hanging out with Nova had found me wonderfully, blissfully intoxicated.
"Driving. Driving! That's it!" Nova sat up, excitement light up in her incredible cobalt orbs. "Let's go on a freaking road trip, guys!"
Just as I was about to object, Rick cut across me. "You know, that actually sounds like it could be a lot of fun."
"You can't be serious," I said, looking at them incredulously. "We're three seventeen year-olds nothing but a beat-up old pickup--no offense--for transportation. Who--besides Rick's parents, I guess--in their right mind is going to give us permission for that kind of thing?"
"Oh, relax, Puck." Nova reached down and began running her fingers through my hair. Surprisingly, it actually made me relax almost instantly. "We'll get to those details later. Hey Rick, where do you wanna go?"
"I don't care, as long as it's a long-ass way from here," Rick said, crushing the can of his third finished beer and tossing it effortlessly into the wastebasket by my door.
"How about California?" Nova suggested offhandedly. "I've wanted to see the bay area, and I love wet weather."
"I could go for Cali," Rick mused. "What would we do when we get there?"
"Stare out at the ocean and contemplate the things that make us human," Nova joked with a serious voice. We all laughed, happy to share an impossible dream in the face of some gloomy news.
I imagined the three of us watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean and imagined that somehow, some way, I was going to make that happen for the three of us before our friendship fell victim the hungers of time and memory.
"Dammit, I'm gonna miss you, Rick," I said suddenly, the weight of the reality of his absence hitting me square in the chest.
"I'm gonna miss you guys too."