New Chapter is up!!!! The title of this chapter comes from Troye Sivan's new EP song "Fun". Give it a listen! Enjoy ya'll!!!
Caroline, stupidly, attempted to ride a skateboard today of all weekends: Fourth of July weekend. Let's just say that she's lucky that she didn't die going down the hill she went down. At first, Brad and I literally fell on the floor laughing at her when she landed on the concrete street, but when she couldn't get up we realized that she really hurt herself this time.
Both Caroline and Jayna are prone to injuries, although in the last two years, Jayna was the clear winner of these wars. The last real injury Caroline had was a messed up finger from when a basketball crushed it inward for a week and a half last fall. Jayna breaks something every six months, although her last injury was rather light this year, that being just a basic sprain from running a lot.
Brad and I had to bring Caroline to the ER, which is always so fun during the summer. Hot waiting room, other stupid and possibly intoxicated youths, and the unusually bitchy nurse behind the desk. This is how you live the best summer ever.
Caroline couldn't move her arm to answer the notepad the nurse handed us, so I had to scribble down her answers while Brad stared at some of the doctors. Whether they were male or female, I am not sure at all. After what seemed like 40,000 years, the nurse finally called the three of us into the office.
After explaining the epic story of how Caroline wanted to prove she was coordinated on Brad's old skateboard, and the outcome that came out of her stubbornness to accept defeat, the doctor took some x-rays to check the damage she's done to herself. When the doctor leaves the room, Brad starts snickering to himself.
"I swear to god I hate the both of you!" She says through her teeth, as if she's being monitored by the FBI.
"Oh no, you don't get to talk. I told you a hundred times, 'do not get on his skateboard, you will not survive this'. You said you could do it, and now look what happened: you obviously couldn't do it." I respond, also on the verge of chuckling a bit.
She takes in a big puff of air, and mutters a 'whatever' under her breath. "Lets just hope I didn't break my arm or damage my brain. My head is still half spinning."
"Your brain has been damaged for a very long time, my friend." Brad jokes, and with that he got a kick in the leg.
The doctor comes back in the room a few minutes later, once Caroline can stop herself from murdering Brad with the rest of her body. He puts her x-rays on the screen, and for the most part she's okay. There is a nasty break in her arm and, according to the doctor, she sprained her right leg when she landed on the floor.
She has to wear a cast on her arm for the next seven weeks to heal that up, which is basically almost the rest of the summer. The sprain on her leg will take less time to heal, and the doctor said she should avoid standing on it for a while. Looks like someone is homebound for a while.
While I love Caroline dearly, I have seen her wayyy too often this summer so far. When I get off work at the deli and go home, she's either already there or on her way to see me. This separation will be good for a few days, I will be able to breath.
Jayna went on vacation to Germany to see her grandparents a few days before the Fourth of July, so I won't see her until the end of the month. I've skyped her once since she left, but she's been very busy over there so I don't blame her.
And as for Brad, because he has no life during the summer, I see him almost as much as I do Caroline. Except the max with him is four times a week, which in some cases is still excessive.
I see my own boyfriend less than I see my best friends. He's picked up more shifts since it's summer to make some extra money, and I only get to see him max three times a week, if he delivers to my house (which I've been making my dad do for the last 3 weeks almost twice a week). It's not just him though, since I work now too it's hard to always make time, but when we do make time to see each other I never want to leave.
After we made up in May, we just took it slowly again. He didn't actually ask me out until one day when we were eating at my house in June, and my dad asked me if we were together. At the time, I didn't know what we were, but when I asked Craig later he assumed we were boyfriends for awhile, which didn't exactly click with me but I accepted the answer, and then he properly asked me to be his boyfriend. Not the most romantic way, of course, but it's the thought that counts.
And although I complain about seeing my friends way more than I see my boyfriend, I would much rather see them every day than see another boy that I have to see everyday: Paul.
When I got the job at the deli near my park, they told me that they also hired two other kids, but they didn't tell me who until I got there the following day. Imagine my surprise when I see Paul behind the cash register taking a $20 bill from an elderly man.
I had been properly avoiding him up until that point. He called every now and then and would text me incessantly the first few weeks of summer break, but I just deleted the texts and emptied my call log. I couldn't deal with being around him, especially after how the last time it caused issues with me and Craig. I don't want to have a repeat of the same thing.
At first it was really awkward, especially because I eventually had to explain why I didn't respond to him anymore (I lied and said I got a new phone and I have a new number that I don't remember). I think he bought that excuse, but the excuses after that sounded more and more made up as time goes by. He would ask to hangout and I would have to say I was busy, which wasn't exactly a lie, but I wasn't always with my parents or Caroline.
I feel like I should just tell him that I have a boyfriend to get him off my back. It would literally help him move on and maybe he'll try less to talk to me. But then that makes me look like a douchebag. I don't hate Paul, but I'm not gonna pretend like I don't know he still might like me. It sounds really egotistical to think that, but Jayna says I'm oblivious all the time, so I need to become more in tune to my surroundings.
When I go to work tomorrow, I'll bring it up or something. But for now I just need to focus on getting Caroline from the hospital room to her moms car without dropping her. Even when we try to help her, she still finds a way to complain on the way.
"Stop walking so fast! I can barely keep up!" She screeches, which gets the attention of the entire waiting room as we walk toward the door.
"God, even trying to help you comes with complications! Can you not be so whiny for once, this is your fault in the first place!" Brad whisper-yells back at her, trying to keep the eyes on us at minimum level.
"Mike was the one who dared me to go on the stupid board in the first place, why isn't he getting yelled at?!" She starts screaming again, but by this point we're outside so only the birds can hear her aside from us.
"He was kidding, we all know you and Jayna are the world's clumsiest people to ever walk the planet. But we should have counted on you to get on it, since you don't like being wrong about anything."
She stops trying to pursue the argument; it takes too much energy to try to explain that you were right when you know you're wrong. We help her get into the car and let her go back home with her mom.
Maybe her mom will give her some morphine to keep her quiet the rest of the night. Caroline is not good with long pain, which is weird because most girls can handle it. Boys are supposed to be good with immediate pain.
Brad decides to go home, seeing as though he's had enough entertainment for the day, and I call Craig to see if he can pick me up from the hospital. Am I really that lazy to walk? Yes. He doesn't pick up anyways, so I have no choice but to walk back. I honestly should have just asked Caroline's mom for a ride, but what's done is done. It'll be a fifteen minute walk anyways, and I can stop for food on the way.
I stop by my source of income to get a sandwich, and of course Paul is working the shift today. I can just go in the back and make it myself for free, perks of working at a deli. Paul tries to say hi, but I sort of walk right by him without saying anything. I'll blame it on hunger if he pursues it more.
I should just bring it up to him now, that way it can be less awkward and he can move on. I make my sandwich to-go, just in case things really do get awkward after I say this. I wait until the last person leaves, just so we have private time.
He turns around, and I just blurt it out. "I have a boyfriend."
He just shrugs and says, "I know."
Wait, he knows?? I mean, it's no secret Craig and I are an item, but how the hell did Paul know when we don't even speak anymore? Was I just reading into this all too much?
"Oh" was all I was able to say after that. And now the awkward moments come up. I begin to collect my sandwich and start to walk out, but he calls out my name.
"Is that why you kept avoiding me? Because you still think I like you?" He asks curiously.
"Well don't you?" I ask back.
"No, no. I mean yeah, but not in that way anymore. I've got a boy of my own actually." Hearing that he didn't like me back anymore was a blessing, he was finally over me! But at the exact same time, I felt a tang of jealousy because he has a boyfriend himself. I don't understand why I feel that way, but it's definitely there.
"Really? Do I know him?" Not to mention theres not so many gay people in this town, or at least any openly gay guys aside from me. Maybe it's Cameron Derlsin from the lacrosse team. Or Jack Werie from science or maybe even-
"I can't say, he's not out yet. You might know him though." Hmmm, I'm really curious as to who this mystery guy is. Whoever he is is probably getting some every night. Maybe one day he'll tell me who he is. I feel a buzzing in my pocket a few seconds later.
I get a text from Craig: "Sorry, was taking a nap. Wanna get dinner?"
I just reply with I'm eating but he can come over to my house if he wants. A few customers also walk in at that point, so I tell Paul I'll see him tomorrow, and we wave goodbye.
Walking toward my house I feel a range of emotions. Happiness, because I'm gonna see Craig soon. Relief, because Paul doesn't like me anymore. Amusement, because Caroline tried to kill herself. Longing, because Jayna isn't here to hang out. But the most outstanding of them all might be jealousy.
How could I possibly be jealous, me and Paul never even went out. It doesn't rationally make any sense at all. Although maybe I'm one of those boys who secretly thinks 'if i can't have him no one can', which is cliche and completely idiotic. After all the mess we had, he deserves to date someone who actually will date him back, who the hell am I to feel any sort of jealousy, especially when I have a great boyfriend already?
I'm pretty much done with my sandwich by the time I meet Craig at my house. I have mayonnaise and mustard all on my top lip, and Craig comes over to wipe it off, then makes out with me for a good three minutes before we go inside and make out some more. He can be such a little charmer.
I think Latch by Disclosure is gonna be our song, because it's the only song I can think of when he's on top of me on my bed, kissing me the way he does.
You've got my heart up when the rest of me is down...Take me to nirvana..
Things are starting to simmer down in the summer, but who is Pauls mystery man??? Comment and Vote !