AN: Happy Valentine's Day everyone!
It's a one-shot to accompany either Forgive Don't Forget stories.
Zeke's POV: March 2015
I look sideways and shift around seeing as I get pretty damned uncomfortable when my best friend checks out of a conversation. And this is the third time in the last 20 minutes he has accomplished this. He is convinced Marcus has something to do with his new job offer at some fancy firm. Personally, I think his paranoia is setting in. But, he is a rather perceptive man—well, he thinks a lot and if that's the same thing as perceptivity (I'm not sure if that's a word), then that's Four.
I even tried to entice him with the possible availability of available women folk at this new job. However, apparently sleeping with co-workers—no matter how hot they are—will not be in his future. I call bullshit, but whatever.
"All right my friend, onto lighter subjects." We need a serious change of pace in this conversation seeing as it has turned down a possible dangerous path.
"I'm in," he groans leaning his face on his hand as he lifts his drink to the server and nods his head to the left at me. Immediate service with this guy… I love it.
I know something that always makes him smile—his real smile, the one that doesn't come out often.
"Two words—beef jerky."
"Are you trying to make me hurl? Jesus, you know how I feel about other people's puke! How is this a lighter subject?"
I laugh knowing how much he can't even stand the sight of other peoples' stomach contents—although, he has cleaned up enough after me…and Uri.
"Just sayin', talking about summer camp…always a lighter subject!"
"I guess," he shrugs as if he's bored.
"You guess? That's how you met me, fucker!"
"Yay."
"Seriously, man?"
He smiles and glances at me. "You know I'm just a dick to be a dick. Now move on."
"Alright, alright… Well, I have to, at least finish what I started—Remember that bus ride?"
"Worst things…ever."
"Fuckin' Uriah," I laugh loudly, 'cause I've got a great laugh. "Dumb ass eats a gallon of beef jerky on a dare—"
"Your…dare. Ya fool."
"Still…" I take a quick drink before the lovely server takes it. "He made his choice! I didn't shove it down his throat."
"Zeke, may I point out to you—he thought you were king of the fuckin' world. He would have done anything you told him to do!"
"Pretty sure now he thinks you're king of the world." He gives me an apologetic look, which is totally unnecessary. "Naw! Don't worry, way less pressure on me!"
Four is the one who got Uri to go to college after dropping out after the first semester. Uriah had a tough time when Dad died—he wouldn't talk to anyone, got in fights, sleeping around, even started to get into some gateway drugs. Until Four got him in the ring, no gloves, and let, yes, he definitely let, Uriah beat him…bad, real, bad. I still remember the fight like it was yesterday.
….
"Did that make you feel like a man?" Four gets in Uriah's face after Max peeled Uriah off him.
Uriah shoved Four right in the chest, well, Four let him shove him in the chest, and walked away, until Four came up behind him and kicked him hard in the back of the knee throwing him to the ground and pinning him.
"Look at my face! Do you…feel…better?"
"No! Now get the fuck off me! Get off me!" I could see Uriah trying to hold it together, but the shame and anger was starting to take over.
"What you just did to me…" I watch Four smack the ground right next to Uriah's head. "We get to watch you do to yourself…every…fucking…day! Now get your shit together and be a man! Be like…your…Dad!"
…..
I see Four staring, probably thinking about the same shit as me. Another subject change!
"Hey! Remember that girl…" I trail off and gauge his reaction, the quick grin he tries to hide and fails.
"Nah…"
"Yes! Yep! Yes! You bet your ass you do! The Twinkie girl! It's written all over your too-handsome-for-your-own-good face."
Four stares at me blankly as that comment actually registers.
"Okay, that was weird… But it's true."
"Can we go back to the subject at hand?" He's smirking again! The real one!
"You wanna talk about Twinkie girl?"
"I will talk about anything at this point."
"Reaaaaaaally? Okay, so…Twinkie girl—"
"Enough."
"What the-? Not five seconds ago you were ready to talk about 'anything.'"
"I changed my fuckin' mind!" He looks away and then back again. "Look, I would rather not discuss the awkward years of my youth…"
"Why!?"
When he doesn't respond, my more than insensitive comment presents itself like a fuckin' IMAX movie. Deflect…
"'Cause you were a bean pole and your ears stuck out about a mile?"
"Yeah, and you were such a fuckin' prize? Three words fuck face—braces…royal blue braces."
"They were awesome."
"They were hideous. You looked like you sucked Papa Smurf's dick."
"What the hell, man? You couldn't have said went down on Smurfette? Had to be Papa Smurf?"
"I call 'em like I see 'em."
"Speaking of callin' 'em… What exactly did you call her—"
"Shut-up."
"What did you call her?"
"Shut the fuck up."
"Come on! I do not recall!" I completely…recall.
"If I say it, will you shut the fuck up?"
"Yes." No.
"Uriah…left the bus like the asshole he is, grabbed the Twinkies from the rack and I grabbed them from him and…put them back-."
"Wait, what? He said he stole them!" I am actually surprised at this because Uri did indeed brag about his thievery.
"Nope. She gave him the Twinkies."
"I don't remember that."
"Because Uriah wanted everyone to think he was a badass Twinkie stealer! The…girl…uh…actually handed them right over. Pretty sure she thought he was a charity case, not an upper-middle-class citizen."
"Yeah, they don't see many people of the darker skinned variety."
"Most likely, not."
"Why don't I remember any of this this?"
"Too busy making fun of my face apparently."
"The drool was unbecoming. I don't ever remember you taking a second look at a girl until that moment."
"Yeah…" He's rubbing the back of his reddening neck while I lean back in my chair and take in this glorious moment.
"I just remember calling you a cradle robber because she looked young."
"No, she didn't! And…fuck, I barely remember what she looked like." He shrugs. "Just…really blue eyes, like crazy sky blue eyes… Oh, and blondish hair…and—"
"How did you manage to knock that display over? Your ears? Lemme guess, you turned your head—"
"Fuck off."
For a minute we both laugh at that image—maybe for different reasons, but still.
"Seriously, man. I just remember walking in to get you, and then laughing my ass off, like the good friend I was. Then your face lite on fire, you ran—"
"I didn't run."
"Oh no, you Usain Bolted it out of there and scowled the rest of the bus ride to camp."
"Do you want me to finish?" he offers, pretending to be annoyed. But I know better—He likes this part of the story. Well, part of this part.
"Yes, yes… Continue, continue…"
"I don't know, her and her friend were watching us. I could tell her friend was…nervous so I grabbed the Twinkies from the idiot and put them back. But then she was suddenly in our face, ripped the Twinkies off the shelf and tossed then to Uri, who proceeded to run out! Fuckin' douche left me behind to clean up his mess—"
"Sounds like him."
"Yeah… Anyway, she shoved two more Twinkies at me. It was so…weird. She just...left her hands on my chest. Smashed the shit out of the Twinkies…" He stops and has a Four moment before he composes himself. "Anyway, scared the hell out of me…uh, yeah…to be honest. Then her friend called her something as the fucking display tumbled down. I apologized, or whatever my version of an apology was."
"Probably mumbled some bullshit in your 14-year-old squeak." He takes a large drink and nods his head to close out our tab. "Oh, no, no, no! Do not stop there!"
"You've heard this!"
"IT NEVER GETS OLD!"
"Damn! Okay, I didn't know what else to say because we were both just...standing there in a Twinkie landslide! So I just asked her… Fuck…"
"Say it! Make my day! Please!"
"I asked her if her friend just called her, 'Butt tricks.' Now drop it!"
"Ha! Ha! Haaaaaa! Ohhhhhh man! How? I still don't get it!" I fuckin' LOVE this story!
"I swore that's what her friend called her! Fuck, she didn't even answer me…" He shakes his head, so fuckin' embarrassed. "Unless, 'uh…,' is considered an answer, and I'm fairly certain…it isn't."
"Well, apart from the fact you have never been smooth with the ladies—to your credit, she may have actually answered you had I not made a scene laughing my ass off. Oh, my friend, the sheer color of your ears and the steam pourin' out of them may have been a deterrent. And the running…" I stop and watch as he drains his drink handing it absentmindedly to the server as she replaces it. "I wonder what her name really was…"
He just shrugs as if he's never thought about her again. But the way he kept looking behind us out the window as the bus pulled away—the same damned look on his face right now…
Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Sat down to write the next chapter this morning, but changed courses and this came out instead!
Hope you enjoyed it!