Sixteen: Followed

It is decided between the two of them that next Friday night, they will go on a date. Philo had told Rocket to leave it to him, so when Thursday night came around, he was panicking. Eero and Rachel were lounged on the couch, eating a meal Rachel had whipped up in an hour. It was a creamy red pasta that Philo had, unfortunately, loved. He loved it so much that he was taking mental notes as she made it so he could attempt it himself later on.

She noticed this and wrote up the recipe for him on a sticky-note.

“Thanks, Rachel.” He told her, folding up the note and stuffing it into his jean pocket. Rachel said nothing in return, just threw her hand limply into the air by her shoulder. Waving it off.

Eero calls from his spot on the couch a moment later, “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

Philo had given in and told Eero about his date with Rocket. When he first got to Eero’s apartment, there had been some animosity between them, since Eero had embarked on a terrible idea to have a child with Rachel. Philo had only wanted to warn him, to help him by asking if it was a good idea. Eero hadn’t taken kindly to his advice.

But they made up quickly. Eero was the one to apologize to Philo, the next morning, and all was normal. Except for the fact that Eero was still adamant on the child, but Philo would change his mind on that if it was the last thing he did.

“I was thinking we go to a movie first and grab some dinner after. He doesn’t want to go anywhere fancy, so I was thinking that cheap Italian place down the street. What do you think?” Philo lays it all out, feeling more nervous the more he thinks about it.

“How romantic.” Rachel scoffs, leaning back onto the couch. Philo rolls his eyes at her, and she cracks a little smile back. He was still unsure about her, since she seemed a little uptight and wanted a traditional family with Eero way too soon into their relationship, but otherwise, she was growing on him.

“I think it’s solid, but it needs something else. Is it just dinner and a movie? That’s like, the most generic date ever. You need something to make it memorable.” Eero says honestly, his voice soft and small so he does not offend Philo’s date planning. Eero knew that Philo had never been one for dates, only short texts and quick hookups in parking lots. So, he was rather “pumped” as he said, when Philo announced the date with Rocket.

Philo hesitates to answer, but he does.

“Well, I also wanted to take him to that mountain lookout. But, I don’t know if it will be too late for that or not.”

Eero gives him a knowing smirk, and Philo deems this plan worthy of Rocket’s time.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽ ☆ ☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ 

In the afternoon the next day with the sun resting just above the low-hanging clouds, Philo finishes up a short painting job and heads for the nearest store with one goal in mind. He wasn’t sure what kind of flowers that Rocket would like, but he decided he would get him a bouquet, because that’s what you did on first dates, right? Or at least, that’s what happened in the movies.

Browsing the flower selection, Philo came upon a blazing bouquet of red roses, yellow daisies, and orange sunflowers, and some baby’s breath sprinkled in-between. Philo clutched the bouquet to his chest, feeling another intense wave of stress roll through him. He had never truly cared about the person he was courting. Not like this. Not like Rocket. So, he had to get this right and make sure everything was perfect for him.

He gets in line at the check-out, feeling his hands start to sweat violently. He was definitely going to mess this up somehow, it was a miracle he had gotten this far already. And, would he even like the flowers, or was that too girly? Not feeling so sure anymore, Philo turns to leave the line, to put the flowers back, because maybe they were too much, to give up on the idea altogether when he spots her.

Sara.

She’s sorting through the sodas in the cooler by the check-out line. She grabs one and stands back up, letting the door close. When she spots Philo, her face draws up in surprise. Gnawing on her bottom lip, she attempts to greet him.

“Philo.”

Philo looks around for a quick exit, but there is a line of people with carts filled to the brim, blocking the way out. He clutches the flower bouquet close to his chest, attempting his best to stare straight past the person he wanted to see the least who was now perched in front of him; an unmovable object. A force he could not avoid.

“Hey, Sara.” He mumbles barely above a whisper and his eyes shooting around so they did not have to meet hers.

“Flowers?” Is all she asks, her voice low and sad.

“Yup.” Philo decides in that moment that he would not turn away from the idea. Not now. Sara needed to know that she was out of his mind completely, that he was already absorbed with someone else. This had actually played out perfectly. “I have a date tonight.”

He adds it hastily, seeing the way it affected Sara. Her sadness deepens, lips drawing down into a big frown and eyebrows drawing up close to one another. Philo notes that her wrinkles have darkened, an obvious sign of distress.

She had been going through it, from the looks of things.

Good.

Philo could not help but to feel happiness because of it. In no way did he wish for her to suffer, but seeing that she did, in fact, need him and notice his absence. It made his chest lighten from the closure of it all.

The two remain silent and awkward until Philo gets to the front of the line. The cashier is a nice young teenager who checks him out quick, since he only has one item. Philo hands over a twenty, gets back his five-forty. He takes one last lingering glance at Sara, only to notice she seems to have grown angrier as the time progressed. She leaves him with one last glare, one last aggressive act before Philo leaves the store.

She always knew how to make a lasting impression, that was forever true.

Philo starts a steady stroll down the sidewalk back to Eero’s. This store was not too far from his place, which was nice. It was a good stop for snacks and late-night drinks. He remembers fondly one night coming there with Eero, both a little too drunker than they thought they’d be. They stumbled to the drink aisle, grabbed a pack of seltzers and wobbled up to the front.

The cashier at the time, an older lady, raised a brow at them with clear suspicions.

“Having fun, boys?” Is what she asked. Philo could not contain his giggle, letting his head drop into a dumb nod. Eero smacked his shoulder, sending a glare right into his soul. That was right! He was supposed to be acting sober.

“Be careful.” She tells them, rolling her eyes when they wobbled straight into the broken automatic door. They let out a loud laugh, stumbling to the one in operation and starting a drunken sprint into the night.

When Philo finally pulls up to Eero’s about a mile of walking later, he feels a strange presence behind him, a warning of some kind. He makes it to the end of the block, right before Eero’s apartment building when he spots a dark car behind him. It goes very slow and turns off and onto another street quickly once he turns his head back, with only a flash of dark paint and a subtle squeak of the front tires. Philo immediately recognizes it as Sara’s car.

Had she been following him?