Fiddleford paced around his room fearing the worst. With Ford's reaction, or rather lack there of, Fids feared that he had ruined everything. He was sweating uncontrollably, trying to think of an excuse for kissing him. He felt sick to his stomach. Fids was hoping deep down inside that this didn't hurt their friendship or make Ford stop talking to him. He decided that he should just get ready for the party and act like nothing happened. He changed into a shirt that he wouldn't pit through and gathered the courage to face his crush.
Ford heard the familiar knocking at his door. He rushed to the door excitedly, unable to get rid of the lethargic grin stretched across his face.
"Greetings." Said Ford, trying to hide the fact that he overjoyed.
"Hey." Fids replied, trying to hide the fact that he was overly nervous, "Are you ready to go?"
"Sure am."
The two walked side by side down the hallway without exchanging a single word. Ford kept glancing over at Fids, admiring his party attire and the way it hugged his body. Ford also found himself staring at times, unable to get the image of the tender kiss out of his head. They were just about off campus when Ford spoke up.
"So, how are we getting there?"
"My old junker," Said Fids, "She's parked back here."
He led the way to his old, rust patched car parked along the street.
"The door can be a little tricky." Fids jiggled the passenger side door just right to get it to open. He waited for Ford to get in and then shut it. He hopped into the driver's side and, after a few tries, started the engine. They drove down the bumpy pavement towards the suburbs. The sun was setting, creating the feeling of a new adventure. The night was only just beginning. Ford rolled down his window and inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell of a barbeque hidden somewhere in the patchwork of homes they passed. The radio was playing faintly in the background as the lyrics to Let It Be drifted throughout the vehicle, completing the sense of serenity. The whole car bounced on every bump and made an awful squealing noise whenever they came to a stop, but that didn't disturb the calm atmosphere.
Fids bit his lip, debating whether or not to bring up the kiss. There was so much at stake, and he had been mentally beating himself up over it. He took his eyes off the road for a moment to look at his passenger. The low hanging sun tinted Fords fluffy hair several different shades of gold. His eyes were half-closed as he let the wind blow his hair in all different directions. Fiddleford couldn't get over how captivating he was. Fids had had these thoughts deep down inside of him for a while, but he never dared to say anything.
Ford broke the silence, as well as Fids' train of thought, "Lovely day out."
"Mmhmm," Fids nodded, locking his eyes back onto the road.
There was a pause while Ford tried to think of something to say, "How many people do you think will be there?"
"Not too many. No more than 30."
Ford huffed, "That's a lot of people to me."
Fids shrugged, "Don't worry about it; you won't even notice." He flicked on his blinker and turned into a driveway. He parked alongside several other cars in the grass and killed the engine. The two boys got out of the car, shut their doors, and stood for a moment in silence. The sound of a pulsing bass line could be heard through the walls of the old two-story home, along with hoots and hollers from the teens inside.
"So…" Ford started, twiddling his thumbs, "Are we… are we going to talk about what happened earl-"
"Fiddleford!" Shouted a voice seemingly out of nowhere. A tall boy with long, bleach blond hair came striding down the steps of the front porch and across the lawn towards the old junker, "How are ya, man?" He asked, patting Fids hard on the back with his disproportionate hands.
"Not bad man, not bad." Fids answered, obviously winded from the greeting.
"Right on! How is that personal computer thing coming along?"
Fiddleford shrugged, "Pretty good. I've just got to work on making sure the battery doesn't overheat. I kind of blew up my first prototype..."
The tall boy laughed hysterically, "Far out man!"
The two shared a moment while Ford watched, not sure if he should comment, just stand there, or go inside. He knew two things for sure. He did not like this guy and the guy smelled like an ashtray. Ford squinted at the other two as the shared a moment laughing. Who the hell is this guy? I've never seen Fids talking to him before. I mean… Fids doesn't really have any other friends… does he? Ford thought. They're talking like they're friends though… and laughing like it too.
"Oh! I almost forgot! Jeremy, this is Ford. Ford, this is my pal Jeremy."
"It's nice to meet you." Jeremy smiled.
"Likewise." Ford deadpanned, unable to get rid of his scowl. Why did Fids introduce Jeremy as his "pal" while I'm just plain old Ford? He thought.
Jeremy started to walk away, "Well it was nice seeing you both, I'm going to head back inside. Catch ya on the flip side!"
Ford waited until the lanky boy was inside, then walked around to join Fids on his side of the car, "Who was that guy?"
"Like I said, he's Jeremy."
Ford rolled his eyes, "Ok, I got that part. I mean, like, how do you know him? Where did you meet? How long have you known him?"
"Whoa man, chill," Fids looked bewildered, "What's your problem? You sound like you're jealous or something."
Ford crossed his arms and scoffed, "Jealous? Why would I be jealous? That's such an immature and primitive emotion."
Fiddleford just rolled his eyes, "C'mon, at this rate, we're going to miss the party."
The two walked up to the pulsing house. Fids, excited, Ford, not so much. He wasn't exactly the party type. Give Ford a nice, intellectual conversation and he was satisfied. As for loud, shouting, sweaty teenagers, well, there was a reason he didn't do boxing anymore. As soon as Fids opened the door, music poured out of the broken levy. They walked down a narrow hallway and entered into a large living room. There were roughly a dozen college students dancing, and a handful of them lounging around talking. The only light in the room was a lamp with a green light bulb screwed in and a lava lamp flowing on a nearby table, surrounded by plastic cups. Over half of the partygoers were inebriated, and the other half was obviously responsible for the smoky haze that filled the room. Fids lead the way through the living room into the adjacent kitchen. In the kitchen, Ford recognized David, whom was mixing drinks. There were two other guys trying the drinks and giggling like schoolgirls.
"Hey Fids!" David greeted with a wave, "You guys want something to drink?"
"Of course!" He answered.
David immediately went to work trying to create a tasty concoction. He handed a cup to both fords and then returned to his station.
Fiddleford turned to Ford, gave quick cheers and took a sip. His eyes widened and the jerked back from his cup, "Whoa! That's pretty strong." He continued to sip.
Ford just looked at his cup. He wasn't really interested in drinking, "I think I'll pass."
"First, you don't smoke, and now, you don't drink? I didn't realize my best friend was a nun." Fids joked.
Ford playfully hit him in the arm, "Shut your yap! One of us has to be sober enough to drive home."
Fids shrugged, "Guess that's not me!" He dug in his pocket and pulled out his keys, handing them to Stanford, "Here you go, Mr. Responsibility."
Ford rolled his eyes and snagged the keys. Fids took the gesture as a free pass to drink as much as he wanted, and knocked back his whole drink in three huge gulps. He pulled back, shaking his head compulsively. He took a deep breath and blinked his eyes.
"Maybe you should pace yourself," Ford suggested.
"Oh please, I'll be just fine," Fids reassured. The two shared an awkward moment, neither able to think of what to say.
Ford was still stuck on the kiss. The kiss that seemed to turn his whole world upside down and made him question who he was. He had been trying to read Fids' face all night, but he just looked nervous. Was it something I did? Ford thought. Why haven't we talked about it yet? I thought for sure he'd bring it up on the car ride here, but he hardly said anything… is he starting to regret it? Oh God, he is, isn't he. Fuck… I bet he's trying to think of a way to ask to just be friends. That kiss was probably just in the heat of the moment… he probably didn't even mean it. I have to ask him about it… I have to know. Ford took a deep breath, " Hey, Fids?"
"Yes?"
"Did… why…" He paused, trying to think of how to word the question, "Can we talk about it?"
Fiddleford knew exactly what he meant, but had been trying to avoid potentially getting rejected, "T-Talk about what?"
"Talk about you kissi-"
A bloodcurdling scream came from the living room, interrupting every conversation in the house. The two boys dashed into the room almost instinctively. When they arrived on the scene, everyone was crowding around something in the center of the room. Ford pushed through the crowd to see what had caught everyone's attention. He gasped at a limp body laying on the floor as the same girl who had screamed let out another shriek, "He's dead!"
A/N: So...It has occurred to me that I would be really sad leaving this fic with so many parts of it left to tell. Where will Ford and Fids' relationship go? Will Ford finally resolve some of the feelings he has towards his brother without punching a wall? Who's the dead guy? You see? Too many questions and too many ideas in my head. Thus, I've devised a way to continue to post chapters and keep this fic going! I don't know when I'll finish it, but I'm not done with Ford's college days yet! On a more serious note, though, I seriously appreciate you guys reading this. I started it thinking maybe I'd get a few people to read it, but I didn't expect so many loyal patrons. Reading your comments is seriously the highlight of my day, and I find myself smiling like a doofus because I'm so happy people like my writing :) You guys keep me going and keep this story going. I wish I could hug you all, but since I'm poor and can't afford to travel to you, I'll leave you with a pun! What did the children eat their homework? Their teacher said it was a piece of cake! :D 3
