“Thanks, Luci!” I slapped his arm as I chuckled.
“That’s not what I mean!” He swiped at my arm but I rolled out of the way.
“What do you mean, then?”
“I mean, she has a boyfriend. And I haven’t told you this before, but she’s followed us home a couple of times. She did today, too.”
“What?”
He got up from leaning on my side and held my gaze. “I didn’t think anything of it until now, but she’s followed us home more than once. You telling me today must’ve reminded me that it was happening. She seemed innocent enough, which is why I didn’t tell you.” He casually sipped from his glass bottle before once again settling into the crook of my arm to watch the tv.
I considered him for a moment. Rebecca Albright confusing Lucio with her intentions was something I never thought would happen in this century. I assured him that everything would be fine. I deadlift in my free time and Lucio did tae kwon do when he was eight or something. It’s fine. We’re fine. Plus, she’s Rebecca Albright. She’s probably just going to the coffee shop a few doors down from us. It was the only chic place on this side of town anyway. They had hot chocolate that could make even soulless me feel something close to happiness.
Lucio flipped through the channels until he settled down on one for the night. The tv put him to sleep, much like it did me. I liked the background noise. Silence was too heavy if I was in the company of someone I cared about. I didn’t care about strangers, but Lucio was my entire world.
The next morning, I woke up to the smell of coffee and a shrill scream. The coffee was welcoming, but when I bolted off the couch to see what was wrong, Lucio standing on the dining room table and a dead rat the size of Texas on our doorstep was...interesting.
“I was just getting the mail. And I see this...abomination…” Lucio laughed to hide his genuine fear.
“I got you, beautiful,” I said with small chuckles. He allowed me to lead him back to the couch and tuck him under a blanket with a mug of coffee. He twiddled away at his phone while I disposed of the rat. While I wasn’t afraid of rats or mice or bats, Lucio was. And with the rat infestation in our apartment building, he made it abundantly clear that any pests were the bane of his existence. He’d sooner commit arson than stay in the same room as a rat.
It was Saturday, so we decided to visit the town. First visit was the bookstore- then the record store. Lucio panicked when I put down some vinyl that he said was going to be worth a lot one day and then the tensions kept rising. It was noon anyway, and both of us get cranky when it’s hot outside. My favorite season was autumn. Halloween, sweaters, the witching hour has more meaning and weighs heavier on the brain. Lucio’s was always winter because he could wear his craziest platform boots without suffering a heat stroke.
Bags in tow, it was a few hours after noon when we made our final stop at the coffee shop near the apartment. I sat at our table on my phone. Social media was infuriating me, as usual, when I looked up to see a flash of blonde and pink. The sickening smell of chemical flora wafted over me like a toxic blanket. My first thought is, unfortunately, Rebecca, however further inspection told me it was just her friend group. I recognized a few from their ranks, but I’ve never talked to any of them. Once or twice I may have shared a class with them, but I was more concerned with passing than making friends. Lucio was all I needed.
They didn’t seem to mind the fact that I looked like the epitome of ‘get the fuck away from me’, however, as one good looking girl, after a hurried discussion with the others, dared to approach me but chickened out and walked away. I observed all of this from my peripherals behind my sunglasses.
My attempts to flag down Lucio were in vain, as he was too busy flirting with the hot barista to look at me or his phone. I took a sip of my iced tea and pretended to just notice the same girl hesitantly stalking towards me.
“Are you Asran?” She questioned nervously.
I nodded my head.
“I’m Rebecca’s friend, Arya.”
I nodded again. While my conversation with Rebecca had been short, I didn’t doubt that she told her friends of me after we parted ways. Not that I was the type to be the topic of gossip. Well, I wouldn’t know that, actually.
I held her gaze behind my glasses and smirked. “Nice to meet you,” I drawled, looking over the frames. She blushed at my blue eyes, and looked back at the group of friends. I waved their direction as they giggled behind their sugary drinks. Arya turned her back on her friends once again to look down at me. She took a peculiar interest in my chest, as my shirt was unbuttoned just enough to hint at the tattoo on my sternum. The necklace Lucio gave me for Christmas coincidentally hung at an angle that showed how pronounced my clavicle was.
I crossed my legs and gestured at her with my shoe. “Can I help you?”
She fidgeted. “No, it’s just, Rebecca said that she thought you were cute and suggested I talk to you.” She tucked her dark hair behind her ear like I hadn’t already noticed the assortment of jewelry dotting her ear like a golden constellation. She had good taste.
“Ah, I see,” I smirked. “Would you like to sit down?” I pulled a chair out for her and she took it gratefully.
At this time, Lucio sauntered over with a shit-eating grin, not at all taken aback by our new guest.
“Hello, beautiful,” he smiled at Arya. “I’m Lucio, Asran’s plus-one.” He leaned down to kiss her hand as he showed off the newly acquired number to me. She looks at me a little crestfallen at the implication that Lucio and I might be more than just friends. I mean, we are, but she doesn’t know that and I have a feeling that Lucio will talk his way into her eyes. I lift my sunglasses to wink at her. She blushes.
“Lucio, this is Arya, Rebecca’s friend,” I introduce him to her as I snatch away the number and shove it in my pocket. We keep all the numbers we get in a jar for funsies. She nods her head at him.
“Nice to meet you both.”
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