We weaved through crowds to get to the place. She shyly tapped on my arm. “Hey… Kennith… Can we hold hands? I don’t want to get lost,” Aspen told me shyly.
I went off to the side.
“Hold on a second. By the way, I don’t mind. You can hold my hand anytime you want,” I told her nonchalantly. That is what friends do, right? At that moment, a girl crashed into us. I let out a low curse by accident. Aspen stares at me, wide-eyed. “Oh… Your skirt and blouse…” Her pleated skirt and white blouse were covered in a drink. “We should get you changed… You wanna head home?” I suggested.
“Oh… hey,” the girl called me. I looked at her and she twirled her hair around her finger. “Can I have your number?” she asked.
I deadpanned and looked her straight in the eye.
“I’m gay.”
Aspen tensed. Shock and surprise allowed us to walk away from her. I burst into laughter. Her body visibly relaxed and she let out a small giggle.
“I’m really sorry, but I don’t want to walk around covered in this. My parents aren’t home, so could you wait for me to change?” Aspen asked.
“Sure, that’s fine,” I agreed.
“Let’s go, I’ll lead!” She took my hand and started walking faster, her face turned away from me. Before she turned away, I saw a blush cover her face. “Come on!” We continued to walk for a few minutes. We stopped in front of a large home. “Here we are,” Aspen announced. She led me into her house. “Actually… you can wait in my room… It’ll be fine…” She pulled me into her room. I complied, not really caring either way. “I don’t want to leave you out there, just in case, but don’t look,” Aspen threatened me.
“That’s good,” I replied. “You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Okay… Look away,” she ordered. I jerked my head away as she began unbuttoning her shirt. “I hope this isn’t too annoying for you.”
“It’s no bother, the later we get to the theatre, the scarier the movie will be,” I replied. “It’ll be fun.”
“Didn’t your parents give you a time. Your dad didn’t sit you down and try to tell you anything?” she inquired.
“I don’t have a dad, he left before I was born. Also my mother doesn’t really care about anything that concerns me,” I said, my gaze darkening.
“Kennith… Sorry for bringing it up!” she apologized.
“It’s fine, Aspen. Oh, and you can call me Keith, it’s shorter. I mean we ARE going to be friends right?”
“Uh, yeah… Thanks… Keith.”
“Aspen… Before I forget… My mother got me a phone. I could give you my number now, if you’d like,” I suggested.
“Yeah, that’s cool. You can grab my phone it’s right there, on the bed.”
I reached over and grabbed it, averting my gaze. Unsurprisingly, she had a lot of saved numbers. I punched in my number and saved it as ‘Keith.’ I set down her phone next to me. Then I put her number into my phone and saved it as her name.
“There.”
Aspen was suddenly right next to me. She reached over me and grabbed her phone, causing me to shift awkwardly. She pulled away and smiled at me. I dully noted the fact that she was wearing a dress. Oof… It might get cold later.
“Are you sure you won’t be cold later?” I asked.
“Nope, I’m good.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
We went outside and began walking to the store I’d suggested. After a few minutes, crowds thickened. Aspen slipped her hand into mine. I turned back for a second and she grinned at me, slightly pink. I shook off the uncomfortable feeling that had come over me and continued to direct her towards the store. The crowds dissipated and I pulled her through a narrow street. Aspen seemed to be getting a little scared, but she put her faith in the thought that I wasn’t doing anything shady. A few seconds later, I stopped. This is the place, with its peeling paint and cold aura. A place I spent so much time in to escape from my mother.
“We’re here,” I announced. Aspen looked uncomfortable. We walked in. There were a few people there already. “The flavors are pretty weird, but they’re good. Let me try to remember…” After a moment of thought, I rattled off all the flavors I could remember. “Well… There’s buttermilk, lavender honey, rose geranium, blue mint, grape pineapple, lemongrass, butter pecan, licorice, cherry, lemon custard, raspberry, caramel, blackberry, and apple.” She looked overwhelmed. “You know what, you should sit down, I’ll surprise you,” I said.
“Can I stay with you? I don’t want to sit by myself,” she pleaded quietly, glancing around.
“All right… that’s fine,” I agreed. She gripped my arm nervously. I let out a small laugh. “Relax.”
The line moved slowly until it was our turn. A bored, scowling face glared at me. Recognition sparked in his dark eyes and his voice was suddenly laced with hurt anger, directed towards me.
“Babe, are you cheating on me?!” he shouted.
“W- Marcell! Shhh!” I exclaimed.
“How? If you’re messing around with girls behind my back!” Marcell yelled in my face.
“Shhh!” I shushed him.
“Keith… What is he talking about?” Aspen whispered.
“So you let her call you Keith?” he snarled.
“Marcell!” I hissed.
“Fine,” he pouted. “You’re no fun, Kenny.”
“Dude, she might think you’re not joking!”
“Not so far from the truth, is it? I AM your type, aren’t I?” Marcell joked with a smirk on his face.
“Don’t mess around and take my order, Marcell,” I snapped.
“I already know what you want, blackberry. Now, what about you?” he inquired, moving his gaze to Aspen.
She tensed and got closer to me, remaining silent.
“You’re scaring her, back up, Marcell,” I sighed. “She’s never been somewhere like this before. She’s getting rose and geranium,” I stared.
“Got it,” Marcell mumbled. He turned and got our ice cream. I smiled slightly at his behavior. “Here ya go, and you too,” he stated, handing it to us.
“Where’s everyone else?” I asked.
“Quit. Most of them,” he shrugged.
“Oh, yeah… Marcell, I got a phone. Give me your number?” I asked.
“Well, babe. I thought you’d never ask,” he commented in a singsong voice. “Give it,” he ordered. He put his number in. “Call me,” Marcell said with a wink.
My face flushed and I laughed. After that, I paid for the ice cream and Aspen and I sat down.
“You’re not actually with him… right?” Aspen asked slowly.
“Nah, he’s just a weirdo,” I laughed.
“You must really like him,” she commented blankly. A sad, slightly angry look appeared on her face. Soon enough, she snapped out of it and smiled brightly at me. “This smells really good.” I watched as she tasted it and her face lit up. “Wow, this is really good!”
“I knew you’d like it,” I mumbled, beginning to eat my ice cream. “Marcell is such a theatre kid,” I muttered.
“What do you mean?” Aspen inquired.
“So dramatic. That little thing he did was pretty good, right? Really convincing?” I asked.
“Yeah… I thought he was telling the truth for a second,” Aspen agreed.
“Such a handful. So goofy.” I shook my head. “Still… he can be oddly charming in a way I suppose. He’s pretty charismatic.”
“Cool…”
I finished my cone pretty quickly and watched Aspen eat slowly for a few seconds.
“You wanna get out of here? We can start walking to the theatre since it is pretty far,” I suggested.
She nodded and helped her up. Before leaving, I waved at Marcell. He grinned and waved back. Then he blew me an exaggerated kiss. I let out a laugh and shook my head. Marcell turned back to his customer. Aspen tugged on my arm.
“I don’t know my way around here,” she reminded me.
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