Really, it was his car. He didn't have to hitch rides from Tori or Shane anymore. Not to mention his parents.
However,
It was black.
He stepped out of the cool shade and into the blaring sun. Looking both ways before crossing the parking lot, then heading to the car.
Peering at the window, his reflection was darkened by tint. The once bright yellow shirt he wore appeared brown.
A car was a car, right? As long as it got him to school and work, it was a car that worked.
Then why did the black bother him so much?
He smiled at the thought of the colour blue. Red would be nice, too. But he knew that sometimes it was hard to find a primary colour.
Her reflection was coming closer. "Hey, Tori"
"Hey, yourself. Not preening in front of your car, I hope?"
"What?" Dustin was admittedly confused into he saw the shadow in the window. "Oh, uh…No?"
"I know. Just teasing you." Tori laughed warmly.
She wore blue, again. Like everyday. But her reflection just made her shirt appear darker. Unlike in his reflection, there was no brown in her shirt.
"I was just thinking that my car is black. And I always wear yellow." Tori's questioning gaze prompted him to explain further.
"You have your blue car. Shane has his red truck. And I have my black car." He couldn't understand it, but the mere thought of it bothered him. He liked the inside, but the outside made him somewhat uneasy.
"Dustin." Tori could feel his distress clearly, now. "It's just a car. Not having a yellow car isn't going to kill you. It's just paint. As long as it works, right?"
"I tried telling myself that already."
"How about we go inside? What not having a yellow car won't do to you, the sun is doing to me."
"Yeah, yeah. But it really, really bothers me."
"Inside, Dustin." Tori sighed in good humour as she guided a barely struggling Dustin away from the current source of his problems.
The waitress set two bowls upon the table. She gave Dustin and Tori an endearing smile, taking nearly empty plates off the table.
"Enjoy your ice cream." She then left with her latest acquisition. Juggling it alongside silverware and a pitcher of water.
"So?"
"So?"
"What did you have for breakfast?"
"Dustin?"
"What?"
"Okay, that's weird. And considering it's you…"
"Even-"
"Yes, including, what I now dub, "the black car incident."
"I can't ask what you ate anymore?" Tori's gaze communicated her disbelief.
It was Saturday. Therefore, she didn't have breakfast because she usually slept in. And they took turns picking where to go for lunch.
Dustin quickly realised that he was backed into a corner. She would grill him until there was nothing left to ask. "What tipped you off?" He just didn't know how he would tell her.
"Ignoring the obvious fact that we're eating lunch, forgetting is not something you usually do."
His eyes widened in surprise. "You know me that well?"
"Hello. Aren't we best friends?" The smile she gave was infectious, and he couldn't help but give one in return.
"Never forgot."
"Is it the ice cream? You have your lemon sherbet." She bit her lip. "I don't think they have flavours that are totally black."
Gazing inside the bowl, he saw that the sherbet did have a yellowish tint. Just like Tori's was sort of blue because she likes blue raspberry sherbet.
"It just feels like something big is going to happen, you know."
"Actually, I don't."
He paused, as if he wasn't sure how to correctly voice his concerns. "Did you ever notice that Shane doesn't hang out with us as much?"
"Not in particular."
"Du-" At her murderous look, he quickly changed his wording "-plex. We were going to live in one after school. And he's not here like he usually is."
"Nice recovery, but seriously, I haven't. It's not like it's a big deal." However, her tone conveyed her burgeoning concern. "I mean, we're graduating soon. He probably just wants to hang out more."
"With who?"
Unwittingly, her reply was bitterly sarcastic, "I don't know, Dustin. Other people."
Okay, I deserved that." He stirred his now melted ice cream in agitation. "I meant to ask why."
"Huh?"
"It's always been the three of us for as long as I can remember. Why now?"
And despite her attempts to retort, Tori didn't have an answer for that.
I'm sorry if this isn't quite the cuppa for everyone, but I really need an outside perspective. I wasn't pleased with the last chapter, either. And I hope this can redeem me somewhat.
And I didn't intend for Tori to appear mean, but she has to contend with much. And maybe is just a bit cranky, but no bashing. Having to deal with school, being a power ranger, and subsiding friendships.
Dustin was my favourite character before Blake. I hope I touched upon him. He was tricky because, he does have so-called "blonde moments" in the show, but I think it's only because he has an optimistic, if not innocent, perspective of life.
For this chapter, both he and Tori are simply experiencing one of the scariest things in life (to me): change. Dustin is trying to figure out why, and Tori doesn't want to admit to it happening.