Chapter Four*
2009
Music blasted from the neighbors house. It was coming from the upstairs bedroom, the one closest to mine. It was some pop crud, like Justin Whats-His-Face, or something. I don't really know, but it was getting on my nerves.
I picked up my homework and the book I was supposed to be reading and headed downstairs. I passed the living room, where Andy was making some important calls about the house and his band. I walked through the kitchen and to the back door, sliding it open so I could go out into the backyard.
I took a seat under a big tree of some sort, where I had set up a lounging chair. Sitting, down, I started my homework again. It was the Thursday of my first week of school and I already had a ton of homework. Right now I was finishing up my fictional story about what would've happened in Romeo and Juliet if they hadn't killed themselves. Yeah, you could tell my English teacher was so creative.
School wasn't going too well. The students called me freak and emo and cutter, nothing I wasn't used to. But the teachers, even the ones I didn't have, had the audacity to talk about me the same way. I don't actually know, but I'm pretty sure that's illegal. Everyone in the school acted like they had never seen someone who dressed like me before. Why is today's society so filtered and diluted?
I put my hand to the paper and started writing, using sophisticated and meaningful words that Mrs. Bowser would be happy with. Now, I was constantly trying to prove to my teachers that I was actually giving something to the community and not just sitting there and sucking air. So far, I wasn't doing so hot, even though I was doing far better than the others in my classes.
School had always come easy to me. I was excellent at English, and I enjoyed it, which was a plus. Math also came easily, and I didn't actually mind sitting through it for a while. Science got a little harder, but I wanted to be a mortician or coroner when I graduated college, like my dad, so I had to take it and pay attention. And then you basically lose me when it comes to history. I mean, I get A's and good marks, but I think it's called history for a reason. It was the past, so let's leave it there. Who cares about all this 'What happens in the past predicts the future' crud?
By now, the house next door was rattling with the depth of the bass, and it looked like it was about to topple over. I rolled my eyes and tried to get back to work. My train of thought started to slip from my homework to how California's been treating Andy and me.
While I was being tormented at school, which was nothing new, Andy was having the best luck. He'd already found a guitarist, Chris Hollywood, and was trying to get back to a drummer, Sandra Alva. I'd already met Chris, and he was pretty cool, and he was really good on a guitar. I was just excited to have Andy accept Sandra into the band. He'd never had a female band mate and I was anxious to meet her. I'd seen pictures and she looked to be Salvadorian. She was supposedly a really good drummer.
I threw my pencil down in frustration. "Seriously?" I shouted out, angry. The stupid music was inching it's way into my brain and invading my every thought. The violent rattling of the bedroom's windows wasn't helping any.
A head popped up over the dividing wall between our two houses, close to where I was sitting. I gave out a little shout in surprise, moving back in my chair.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," a voice said, coming from the mouth that was attached to the head. I finally took a good look at the head that had scared me.
It was a guy, probably about my age. He had black, skater-like hair and dark green eyes. The hands that were supporting him on the wall were large, and the left hand had the word 'Skin' written across four knuckles. The guy also had black stud snakebites and I could make out part of a tattoo on his neck. Overall, he was pretty good looking.
"Its cool," I said, standing up to meet him over at the gate. I had to stand on my tiptoes to get eye level with him since the wall was probably six feet tall. "I'm Zandy," I introduced, offering him a hand to shake.
Instead of taking my hand in his, he grabbed the tips of my fingers and brought my hand up to his mouth. "I'm Don, but everybody calls me Skin," he said, kissing the top of my hand. I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand away.
"I'm not gonna fall for any of this Romeo shit," I told him, giving him a small glare. He smiled to reveal perfectly straight pearly white teeth.
"Fine, be that way. But you don't know what you're missing out on," he said in a sing-song voice. I smirked and shook my head slightly.
"Whatever you say..." I trailed off. "Is that your sister or something?" I asked, pointing to the upstairs window.
Skin sighed. "Yep, we get that every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. My dad has her the rest of the week, thank God. The rest of the time it's just Bone and me." I cocked my head to the side in question. "Bone's my twin brother. He's inside right now with his girlfriend." I made and 'oh' face and nodded my head. "So what about you, did you just move here?"
I sighed. "Yeah, all the way from Ohio. I moved here because my friend needed a break with his band, one that he wasn't getting back home."
Skin gave a little hop and pulled himself up on the wall. I could see all the muscles in his forearms working to heave himself up. Soon, he was sitting with one leg over on our side and one on his. He looked over at me.
"Why didn't his parents come with him then? You have a family back in Ohio, don't you?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yeah, I do, but he's eighteen and allowed to be out here. And since I moved away, he's now my legal guardian, which sucks, since he acts younger than I do sometimes. But he's very philosophical."
Skin shrugged. "Well, at least you moved in with your best friend and not some stranger who could be like a creepy stalker, raper person." I'll admit, that one got a smile out of me.
"True, very true," I said, just as the screen door to Skin's house opened.
"Who the hell are you talking to?" a voice that sounded creepily like Skin's called out.
Skin rolled his eyes and mouthed to me, 'my brother'. "The neighbor," he answered in a duh tone.
"We have neighbors?" the guy who I was assuming was Bone asked.
"Zandy?" I heard a familiar voice ask. I hopped up a little to see over the wall and into the yard and saw Lottie standing by the wall with Bone, who looked just like Skin, next to her.
"Hey Lottie," I greeted with a smile.
"Oh, it is you," she said with a smile. "I thought it was Andy for a second, but then I realized Skin would be flipping out if it was." Dang, Andy was more popular than I thought. Skin cast Lottie a 'WTF' glance.
"Yep," I said, popping the 'p', "just me." I looked down and realized I hadn't introduced myself to Bone. I stuck my hand over the wall.
"I'm Zandy, your new neighbor," I said. He grabbed my hand and shook it, unlike Skin had done.
"Bone, and you don't look old enough to own a house," he commented.
I raised an eyebrow. "Neither do you."
He quirked the side of his mouth up into a smirk. "Touché."
I chuckled a little. "I don't own the house, my friend does. He's the only reason I moved here."
"Where'd you move from?" Bone asked as the back door to my house slid open. I didn't bother to look, since the only other person in the house was Andy.
"Cincinnati, Ohio, kinda near Covington," I answered, just before I was tackled from behind in a big bear hug.
"Zandy!" Andy shouted, lifting me off my feet and twirling me around a little. I held on tightly to his arms which were wrapped around my waist.
"Andy," I yelled also, "why are we yelling?" He set me back on my feet and turned me to face him, where I saw his huge smile and the bright twinkle in his electric blue eyes.
"I've officially got a band!" he shouted again. I instantly smiled and threw my arms around his neck, hugging the crud out of him.
"Oh my gosh, Andy! You got ahold of Sandra?" I asked, my voice a bit louder than usual. Andy suddenly wrapped his arms just below my butt and hoisted me up, so my head was a few inches above his. He spun me around like earlier and I laughed and giggled like a little girl. I had completely forgotten the conversation that I was having with the three people that were witnessing all this from a few moments earlier.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Andy shouted excitedly, answering my question from earlier. He chuckled with me as we continued to spin in a tight circle. I kept up my girlish laughing and embarrassing giggles as I held onto Andy and enjoyed the good news. I wasn't at all afraid that Andy would drop me, I felt oddly safe and loved in his arms, like nothing bad could ever touch and harm me.
Finally, Andy put me down, probably from getting dizzy, but slid his arms up to keep them firmly around my waist. He smiled down at me, that special smile that only I ever got, but it seemed so much more powerful and meaningful in that one moment.
"Oh my gosh," I heard Lottie somewhat yell. "I didn't know you two were dating. I thought Andy was still seeing Scout Compton."
Andy and I both whipped our heads to the momentarily forgotten neighbors.
"We're not," I said calmly, as I wrapped one of my own arms around Andy's waist. "We've just been friends for too long to be shy and unloving around each other."
Andy nodded in confirmation. "Yep, I'm still going out with Scout. I love her, and I love Zandy too, just in different ways." I smiled up at him in thanks.
"Aw," I cooed, reaching up and pinching his cheek. "I love you too, Andy-bear," I said in a baby voice. Andy frowned down at me as Skin, Bone, and Lottie burst out laughing. Andy smacked my hand away and pulled his head out of my reach. I stuck my tongue out at him and he reached out and grabbed it between his first finger and his thumb. I mumbled at him incoherently and quite high pitched, trying to get my tongue back in my mouth. This sent everybody into another bout of laughter.
"You might wanna keep your tongue where it belongs. Next time, I'll bite it," he threatened, releasing my tongue. I slipped it back into my mouth, closing my mouth firmly. He rolled his eyes at me and I took the opportunity to stick my tongue out again. Quick as a whip, he swooped his head down and caught my tongue between his top and bottom teeth gently. He looked me in the eyes, smiled, and winked at me. Subconsciously, I realized I didn't really mind being in this position with him, but I had to act like it.
I squealed and tried to back away form him. He chuckled and released my tongue.
"Ewww!" I screamed, spitting my saliva out of my mouth. "Ugh! Andy, that's disgusting!" I scraped my tongue off with my fingers and danced around a little, like I had sand in my pants. I spit once more for good measure and glared up at Andy.
Andy caught my chin in his large, soft hand, and placed a big, slippery kiss on my cheek. "Don't act like you didn't like it," he whispered in my ear. His breath sent chills down my spine and I shivered, which he seemed to notice, since he smiled against my cheek, where he had settled his lips again.
After our little tease fest, the five of us went our separate ways. Andy went back inside, Bone went back into their house to escort Lottie home, I stayed outside to finish my homework, and Skin went inside to tell his sister to turn her music down.
I set right back to work on my assignment, paying close attention to affectionate details. I described a lot of sensations that I got around Andy when he teased me like he just had. The chills, the shudders, the joy, the safety, the comfort I felt when I was around him. All of those emotions I played into my story, trying to make my characters come to life. By the time I was done, I think I had explained my whole relationship with Andy, just minus all the romance, since we didn't love each other the way Juliet and Romeo did.
After I finished, I lounged back and read my book, Maximum Ride, by James Patterson, for a good two hours, before it was time to go inside and make dinner for the two of us. I made enchiladas, brown rice, and refried beans, which Andy scarfed down like a homeless person after two months of living off nothing but scraps he found in the trash. He was a pig.
When we were finished, we both went into the living room and listened to music while we talked about nonsense. At some point during the night, we started to get into an argument over whether or not I could sing and play guitar at the same time. Honestly, I've never sung in front of anyone before, especially Andy. His voice was like an angels'; so smooth and melodic that you'd fall in love with the person the voice belonged to, not to mention the song that was being sung. I never wanted to be critiqued by him if my singing was horrible.
Eventually, we made a bet on it and I ran upstairs to grab the guitar Andy had given me when he bought a new one. I rushed back downstairs, already having a song in mind. It was kind of symbolic between us, I guess you could say. It just had a lot of memories that came with it, ones that I loved and would never take back.
I sat down on the edge of the couch and started to strum the beginning of 'Sex on Fire' by Kings of Leon.
Lay where you're laying, don't make a sound
I know they're watching, they're watching
All the commotion, the kiddie like play
Has people talking, talking
You, your sex is on fire
The dark of the alley, the breaking of day
The head while I'm driving, I'm driving
Soft lips are open, knuckles are pale
Feels like you're dying, you're dying
You, your sex is on fire
Consumed with what's to transpire
Hot as a fever, rattling bones
I could just taste it, taste it
If it's not forever, if it's just tonight
Oh, it's still the greatest, the greatest, the greatest
You, your sex is on fire
And you, your sex is on fire
Consumed with what's to transpire
And you, your sex is on fire
Consumed with what's to transpire
The first thing Andy did after I finished was take a twenty dollar bill out of his back pocket and hand it to me. I smirked and pocketed it gratefully, even though my cheeks were flaming from embarrassment. I had just sung in front of anyone for the first time in my whole life. I was nervous as hell.
"You have a beautiful voice, Zandy," Andy said quietly. I turned my head away and blushed some more, trying to hide it from him.
"Thanks," I mumbled, still embarrassed.
{***************************************BVB*************************************}
The next day, when I walked in the house after school, I was faced with basically a disaster area. The kitchen was a freaking mess since I hadn't cleaned up after dinner last night. The counters were splattered with enchilada sauce, cheese, and dried beans. The stove had burnt on rice stuck to it that I would have a heck of a time trying to get off. The sink was filled with the dishes from last night, and new bowls from this morning and whatever silverware and dishes Andy used for lunch.
Andy had dirty clothes laying by the foot of the stairs, not even in a basket or bag or anything and there were random magazines littering the coffee table and desk in the corner of the living room that had the computer on it. The banister had jackets and other random articles of clothing draped over it, all of which were Andy's.
The answering machine on the coffee table was blinking red, saying there was a recent missed call, which was probably important since our parents called our cell phones. If I was lucky, it was a store getting back to me about my job application. Andy and I were getting part time jobs to help pay for food and vital things since our parents were helping out with the house payments and utilities.
Not only was the house a disaster area, but Chris Hollywood and Sandra Alvarenga were sitting with Andy in the living room, seemingly undisturbed by the mess. They actually seemed to be right at home and were laughing and discussing things with Andy comfortably.
I sighed and dropped my book bag on the floor and put my house keys on the high legged table by the front door. Slamming the front door closed, I walked over to the stairs and gathered all of Andy's clothes.
"Andrew, I am not your maid. You've got two hands, two feet, and a functioning brain. Pick up your own fucking shit!" I yelled, aggravated. I threw his clothes at the top of the stairs and went into the living room to pick up a little.
"She's always prissy when she gets home from school, and has the urge to clean until everything is spotless," Andy mumbled to Chris and Sandra, who shared a concerned look.
"You'd be prissy too if you still had to deal with the shit I do. And then I come home to the fucking battlefield of World War 3! And it doesn't have to be spotless, 'cause that would be so uncomfortable, I would lose my mind," I countered defensively. I stood from where I was leaning over the coffee table and smiled kindly at our two guests.
"Hey, I'm Zandy, aka, Andy's mother. I promise, I'm not usually strung this high, I'm just--" I trailed off then groaned. "Never mind. Andy," I said turning to my friend, "I'm gonna listen to the message on there," I pointed to the answering machine, "and then go to Home Depot for paint. What color do you want?"
"Dark blue, almost black. The darkest you can find," he answered with a smile, one that made me not mad at him anymore. I nodded and smiled and went into the kitchen to listen to the message.
"Hi, I'm Candace, the manager from Hot Topic in the Burbank Town Center calling for a Miss Alexandria Night. I'm just calling to say that we've read over your application and think you're perfect for the position. I just need to setup an interview for sometime this weekend and the job will be yours. So, please call back as soon as possible and we'll get everything scheduled so you can start as soon as possible. Thank you!" Then the message cut off.
A huge smile split across my face. Yes! I was being considered for the position! I can't believe they recognized me. I had zero past experience, but I was probably most fit for the job.
I ran upstairs, dialing the store number each step. When I got to the top, the phone was already ringing and I had the speaker to my ear.
"Hello, Hot Topic at Burbank Town Center, how may I help you," a sweet voice answered.
"Hi," I said, opening the door to my room, "I'm calling for Candace about a job application I sent in. I'm Alexandria Night." I cringed with disgust as I gave her my full name.
"Oh! This is she," the voice said, who was apparently Candace. "Thank you for returning my call so quickly."
"No problem," I answered with a smile. "You said you wanted to setup an interview?"
"Yes, I did. Sometime this weekend if that's doable for you," she said.
"Yeah, Saturday or Sunday is fine at whatever time is best for you. I'm not exactly busy," I told her.
She laughed slightly. "Okay, how is Saturday at ten a.m.?"
"That'll be perfect. I'll see you then," I answered happily.
"Thank you Alexandria, I'm anxious to meet you," Candace said sincerely.
I rubbed the back of my head. "Uh, you can call me Zandy. Alexandria is what my mom calls me when I'm in trouble," I mumbled.
Candace laughed again. "Alright Zandy, we'll see you this weekend."
"Thank you," I told her and then we both hung up.
I sighed with relief and smiled in happiness. I could potentially have a job tomorrow.
Grabbing my Nightmare Before Christmas bag, which had all my money and an extra set of Andy's car keys in it, I headed back out of my room and down the stairs.
"Yo, I'm leaving, be back in a few," I called to Andy as I headed out the front door.
"'Kay," he yelled to me in the middle of his conversation with Sandra and Chris.
Arriving at the nearest Home Depot, I found the colors I needed for our bedrooms quickly and hurried over to the paint counter. There was a employee there, in his paint splattered apron, flirting with an attractive blond woman who seemed to be flirting right back. The lady's son, who seemed to be about my age, was pretending to gag. I couldn't really see what he looked like, since a hood was over his head, but I was right there with him. Old people love was gross, unless it was like, your parents or grandparents, then it was just cute. But these people were probably in their mid-forties and flirting freely in public. It was a disturbing sight.
Deciding to save the guy and me from any further permanent sight or brain damage, I put the first fingers of both my hands between my lips and whistled loudly. This caught both of the old people's attention and I got mixed reactions. The lady grimaced at me in disgust, eyeing my wardrobe and my hair color selection. The guy glared at me and scoffed.
"Can I help you?" he asked in an irritated tone of voice. I don't think he was disturbed by what I looked like, more by the fact that I had interrupted his yuk-fest.
I crossed my arms in front of me and raised an eyebrow. If this guy wanted to play hardball, I would show him hardball.
"Not with that attitude you can't," I answered in my 'who the f*ck do you think you're talking to' voice. "But I wanna get out of this horrid vicinity ASAP, so yes you can." The guy rolled his eyes.
I stalked to where he was standing at the counter and shoved the paint samples in his face. "I'm gonna need a gallon of the darkest black you've got and the darkest blue you've got. And then I'm gonna need two cans of black spray paint. It's for my bathroom, chill," I added, seeing the worried look on his face about my need for the spray paint.
He took the paint colors out of my hands and stalked over to where the colors and things were. I smiled politely and went over to the color selection again, searching for a good color for the living room and kitchen. I was thinking maybe a brown or olive green. It would look cool with the sun coming in from the windows in the front of the house when it started to set.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and spun around to see the guy that was pretending to throw up. His hood was down now, and I had to say, he was quite the looker.
He had artificially black, chin length, perfectly straight hair. His bangs came over his left eye, which left me to see his right eye was the color of yellow leaves on trees at the beginning of fall. He had a perfect nose and full, pale pink lips. His face was long and slender with sharp, handsome features. He was tall, probably the same height as Andy, I would guess, and slim. He had black studded snakebites and a small silver hoop through his right eyebrow.
Mystery guy was wearing a black Atreyu t-shirt and a grey and black Alkaline Trio hoodie. He had on black skinny jeans with a black and white checkered belt hanging onto his hips out of the belt loops on his pants. On his feet, he wore all black hightop Chuck Taylor's that were faded and dirty. Nice to see someone else in this city with the same tastes.
His eyes roamed over me, taking in my appearance also.
I was wearing a white Lords of a New Church mens t-shirt that I had cut across the top so it hung of my shoulders. Underneath, I wore a black wife beater that showed the tattoo on my right shoulder. I had on black super skinny jeans with Andy's handcuff belt through the loops and with holes in the knees, through which my black and white striped thigh high socks were visible. I also had on black, knee high, leather biker boots with silver buckles at the top and scuffs on the toes.
My hair was down to the end of my ribcage and I had recently re-dyed it black and had put in flaming red and icy blue streaks. My bangs still covered my right eye, but I had chopped part of them off with a razor last night because they were getting too long.
"Thanks," the guy said to me, holding out his hand. "I'm Karsten."
I took his hand and shook it politely. "I'm Zandy, nice to meet you. And it was no problem. PDA between old people should be illegal."
Karsten chuckled and nodded. "Yes it should. I like your belt," he complimented. I looked down and looped my finger through one of the cuffs.
"Thanks, it's my roommate's. I stole it from their room without their knowing," I said, a smile flitting across my face.
"Well, she has a great taste in clothes," he said, his voice kind of low.
I looked up at him through my mascara covered eyelashes. "He. He has a great sense. My roommate's a guy," I corrected.
Karsten's eyebrows rose and disappeared under his hair. "Oh?" he said, making it sound more like a question. I nodded and smirked, seeing the disappointment on his face. Was I just imagining it, or was he attracted to me?
"Yes, but Andy's just a friend. More like a brother, really. We've known each other for a long time." Karsten's seemed to relax and his eyebrows resumed their regular position.
We continued our conversation as I waited for my paint to be ready. I told him I just moved here with Andy and where I went to school. He told me he went to a private school a few miles away and has lived here most of his life. I told him about being able to play the piano and guitar and wanting to learn how to play violin. In return, he told me about his obsession with soccer and the drums.
The whole time we smiled and laughed and enjoyed one another's company. Meanwhile, his mom and the guy behind the counter talked it up and seemed to be making some sort of date.
Karsten told me, willingly, that his parents had gotten a divorce when he was twelve. Ever since, he said, his mom's had several boyfriends, each one worse than the previous. He just hopes that she finds someone soon.
He also told me his mom didn't approve of his fashion and music choice. What parent really would, besides Andy's, who offered all the support and love that they had.
Too soon it seemed, the paint guy was calling me over and handing my the gallon buckets and the spray cans. I checked to make sure the color was right and thanked him politely at the end. He was shocked by my kind behavior, but attempted to give a smile in return. Maybe he wasn't such a jerk after all.
I stopped next to Karsten and smiled. "It was nice meeting and getting to know you. I'll see you around some time?" I asked.
"Definitely," he said, grinning. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a black Expo marker. He took off the cap and wrote something I couldn't see on my arm. He replaced the cap and stowed it back in his pocket. "Call me, text me, whatever."
I smiled, realizing he had scribbled his phone number on my arm. "Will do," I said, and started walking to the cash registers.
Today was a good day.
{*************************************BVB***************************************}
The next day, I got up at seven-thirty to make sure I was ready for my interview that morning. I took a nice long shower and towel dried my hair quickly before heading back into my room to get dressed.
I threw on what I would normally wear. Today was a black Batman t-shirt, dark wash skinny jeans, a black, steel studded belt, a plain black hoodie, black Vans with neon blue laces, and all the jewelry I usually had on. My black obsidian ring Andy had gotten me for Christmas, all my plastic black and white bracelets, my thick rubber Paramore and breast cancer awareness bracelets, the thin, black leather choker, and the brown rosary that hung lower around my neck. Yes, I stole these items from Andy's room, but I couldn't help it.
I crept back into the bathroom, careful not to wake Andy. I blow dried and straightened my hair and then did my makeup. As I was leaning close to the mirror to apply my mascara, Andy walked into the bathroom, shirtless, rubbing his eyes, yawning, and, only possible on my dear friend Mr. Biersack, beautiful, messy, bed head.
"Mornin' sunshine," I told him. He offered me a small grin and came over to wrap his arms around my waist, his warm chest pressing into my back.
"Morning," he mumbled into my hair, his voice thick and hoarser than usual with sleep. He pressed his lips to the top of my head and kept them there, content with just standing there until I needed to leave.
I rolled my eyes and continued to apply my makeup.
"Where are you going so early?" he asked me, his voice muffled by my hair.
"I have the interview at Hot Topic, remember?" I reminded him, putting my stuff away, back into my makeup bag.
He made a sound of remembrance and nodded slightly. I turned around in his arms and looped my arms around his neck. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply, taking in his delicious scent of musk and something sweet that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
We stood there like that for at least ten minutes until I finally stepped back a little. "C'mon, I'll make you some breakfast," I said.
Andy nodded, his eyes closed slightly and his face blank.
We walked down the stairs, Andy holding onto my waist the whole time. I made us eggs over easy and buttered toast. Andy ate quickly and by the time he was done, he was awake and ready to go.
I got my things together and got ready to leave.
"I'm taking the car," I told Andy, who was sitting on the couch, watching music videos on Havoc. "Don't expect to go anywhere before eleven-thirty. Please clean the dishes from breakfast before I get back and then we'll have an A&Z day. Maybe we can catch a movie."
Andy flashed me his special smile and nodded. I smiled and said goodbye, making my way to the Cadillac.
At the interview, Candace asked me about why I wanted to work at Hot Topic and my strengths and weaknesses. I was honest about everything, answering all her questions.
"I've basically grown up in this store, and now I'm finally old enough to work, so why not here?"
"I'm really good at math and I have like, OCD, so I have to make sure everything is in order. I guess I'm good with people, but if they're idiots, I can't really stop myself. I make rude comments and usually tell people off. But I try to be polite to everyone."
In the end, I got the job and passed the interview with flying colors. Candace asked me to come in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school from 3:30 to 8:30. I complied and said I'd be there.
For the rest of the day, Andy and I basically celebrated and spent the day being crazy weirdos. We went to the movies, had lunch, played tag in the backyard, played hide and seek in the dark in the basement, made a mess of the kitchen while making dinner and rocked out to music for the rest of the night. I took a few moments to text Karsten and we ended up arranging to have lunch the next day.
Before bed, Andy gathered me in a hug, and brushed his lips against mine softly. It was so light and quick that I was pretty sure I had imagined it. Then, he pressed his lips to my forehead and whispered, "Good night."
Overall, a good day, but I was confused. I loved Andy more than anything, but in what way? I had always thought of him as a great friend, a brother even, but now my feelings were telling I felt more for him. But Andy had Scout, and I didn't want to get between them. He seemed to love Scout with all his heart, but lately, he had been acting less brotherly and more loverly with me.
Then there was Karsten, the cute mystery boy from Home Depot. He seemed like a good guy and he had a lot of potential. I definitely liked him, but I barely knew him.
Oh yeah, I was definitely confused.