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"fuck off, dude, nobody likes you."
***
IT TOOK PORCO A WEEK TO BE ABLE TO MOVE WITHOUT WINCING. He spent most of his time on the couch and watching TV.
Evelyn had to dip out a lot. She was still attending classes and working. It wasn't like she could just stay home and tend to Porco's every need.
So he found himself alone most of the time.
But at least he was getting better.
Evelyn was by no means trying to keep Porco from pushing himself, but he noticed that she would be especially passive-aggressive when he got up to do anything himself.
So he decided that on this Friday, he would go to the grocery store while Evelyn was out.
He took an Uber due to his lack of transportation. When Porco got to the store, he had to get a full-sized cart in place of a basket.
Porco could only use one arm at the moment. If he stretched his left arm too much, his stitches would tear and he would start bleeding.
So he pushed his cart along the store, going about casually with his day.
When Porco finally got what he needed, he stood in line and waited. It was fairly busy at the supermarket today.
"Porco, right?" said a voice from behind him.
Porco turned around to see a man he had never seen before standing behind him in line.
"Uh, yeah. Do I know you?" he asked.
The man scratched the back of his head and chuckled.
"Uh, sorry, we haven't actually met yet. I'm Peter, your friend Evelyn's study buddy." he said, holding his hand out to shake.
"So it doesn't bother you that she's talking to someone?" Bertholdt's voice replayed in Porco's head.
Porco was realizing that this was the guy that Evelyn had been spending time with.
"Oh. Nice to meet you." Porco said as he shook Peter's hand.
"Likewise! Are you feeling better? Evelyn told me you had gotten in an accident." Peter said.
"Did she meet up with this guy earlier this week? What?" Porco thought.
"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Didn't get hurt too badly." Porco replied.
"That's good! Hey, I've got a question for you." Peter said.
"What is it?" Porco asked.
"Do you know if Evelyn is doing anything for Valentine's Day? I've been kind of wanting to ask her out on a date, but I didn't know if she was seeing anyone or anything." Peter said.
Porco stood there in silent rage. Usually, he was a very straightforward and emotionally charged man.
But this frustration was different. It was a frightening, calm rage that Peter just hadn't picked up on.
"I don't know. You should just ask her. I'm sure she'll be honest with you." Porco said.
"Really? You think so?" Peter asked brightly.
"Yeah. Evelyn is a good person. I'm sure she would be glad to spend time with you."
"Ugh, seriously? Why are we doing this again?" asked Pieck as she laid her head on the table.
"Come on, Pieck. You have a girlfriend. Nobody asked you to sit at the singles' table on Valentine's Day." Zeke said in a snappish tone.
"Yelena doesn't like Valentine's Day. She says it's just too disgustingly cute for her to handle." Pieck said.
"Ugh. I guess. I thought you would've found somebody by now, Evelyn." Zeke said.
Evelyn poked at her ice cream and looked up at Zeke.
Yes, she was spending time with her friends on Valentine's day.
"No. I don't feel like anyone would want to deal with me. How can you love someone who can't show any love back?" Evelyn said.
Pieck and Zeke remained silent as they stared at Evelyn opened-mouthed.
"Shit, Lyn, you don't have to say shit like that on Valentine's Day. You're gonna make us sad." Zeke said.
"Well I wasn't lying, was I? I have nothing to offer. I'm never going to satisfy any guy's emotional needs."
"Well, what about that Peter guy? Isn't he really nice?" Pieck asked.
Evelyn shrugged and leaned her chin on her palm.
"Almost too nice. He showed up at the hospital when Porco wrecked and drove me crazy." Evelyn said.
"Wait, Lyn, you didn't mention that you were at the hospital." Zeke said.
"Yeah, what happened?" Pieck asked.
"Porco got in a wreck and ended up in the hospital. I left Peter and went straight to the hospital. Peter actually showed up at the hospital and tried to stay and study. He got really annoying so I got pissed and told him to leave." Evelyn said.
"Fuck Peter, get with Porco!" Zeke exclaimed.
Evelyn took another large bite out of her ice cream.
"Zeke, no, not her roommate! That'll just complicate things!" Pieck replied.
"Who gives a shit, I'm calling it now. Porco is the one." Zeke said.
Evelyn laid her head down on the table and sighed heavily.
"No, I don't think Porco would want to deal with me either."
Evelyn made it home at one in the morning. Zeke and Pieck managed to drag her out to a drive-in movie.
She wasn't really interested, but it was better than spending Valentine's Day alone in her room with the lights off.
Evelyn quietly closed the door and turned the lock. Only the sink light was on, meaning that Porco was asleep already.
She hung her keys and went to the refrigerator to get some water.
But she froze when something caught her eye.
A small bouquet of white flowers rested in a black vase. There was a small red note taped messily to the vase.
Evelyn frowned and reached for the note. She took it off of the vase and squinted to read the note.
Thanks for taking care of me this past week. Happy Valentine's Day.
-Porco
Evelyn sighed with a small grin on her face. Just when she found herself feeling a bit more numb than usual, Porco managed to bring her right back.
He never failed.
"No, I don't think Porco would want to deal with me either." she recalled in her head.
Evelyn took a moment and spaced out as she held on to the note. Porco was just a roommate.
