Rock-And-Roll Eyes

Chapter Ten

Oscar didn't let any of us speak to him for a week after that. When he returned, he seemed as chipper as ever. None of us pestered them, though I desperately wanted to comfort him.

Oscar was good at a great many things; guitar, harmonica, singing, songwriting, dancing, joking, etc. Oscar was the reigning champion at hiding his emotions. He had a mask that nobody, not even his best mate, could get through. It was a mask of joy to hide the pain he felt inside. That mask, sometimes, hurt more than the pain it worked to hide. It's one thing to feel the pain, it's another to have to hide it.

Around Christmas time, Oscar had called all of us to a band meeting. It was supposed to be simple, just four mates getting together and laughing. No fights, no surprises, and nothing out of the ordinary.

Vincent, Oscar, Benedict, and I had decided to have a friendly hang out at the local coffee shop. Jack and Clyde were supposed to come, but Jack was sick and Clyde had to cancel for family reasons. That left the four of us to sit at the corner table in a coffee shop I hadn't known existed before that day.

I pushed my chair back, resting my heels on the nearby railing. Vincent sat to my left with Oscar to my right. Benedict was across the table, inspecting a biscuit. He poked it like a scientist does a sample of some foreign material.

"What's wrong, Benny?" I asked.

Benedict frowned, "The biscuit is soggy."

"Wait for it to dry, then."

Benedict shrugged. He poked at it a few more times. Vincent watched him do so with the same intensity as a mother watching her child.

"Almost forgot," Oscar leaned forward, "Me girl's going to join us for a bit."

"You got a girl?" Vincent asked.

"Just last week. Lovely gal, she is."

"I'm excited to meet her," I smiled.

Oscar didn't look at me. He seemed to look at everything around us except for me. I cocked my head, lifting an eyebrow in confusion but saying nothing. Even Benedict and Vincent noticed and they exchanged confused glances.

"Hullo!"

Molly Mackenzie pushed through the gate of the cafe patio. I thought she was talking to me, as she was my best friend. I was about to reply when Oscar stood up and opened his arms for her. She practically dove into his embrace, and he kissed her temple.

"Lads, meet my girl, Molly Mackenzie," Oscar introduced.

I leaped up, "What?!"

"I was going to tell you," Molly said in a small voice, "I was worried how you would react."

Seeing the two latched to each other, I felt my heart lurch. A sickening feeling developed in my stomach and slowly crawled into my brain. The sick feeling was overpowering. I couldn't quite tell what it was, I hadn't experienced a feeling like that up to that point. It hurt in the deepest pits of my heart to see Molly and Oscar looking lovingly into each other's eyes. I felt like I wanted to run away, or tell them exactly how I felt even though I wasn't quite sure what that was. I felt like purple looks, a deep purple color that makes you feel uneasy. That purple color quickly lead to a bright red one, the color of anger. One bad emotion often leads to another though the next is never any better. It was either fight or flight, and my brain seemed to always choose fight.

"Calm down, Melly," Oscar tried.

I flung my arms up, "I'm not going to calm down, Oscar! You're dating my best friend, and you didn't even tell me!"