Drunk Without Cause

Thirteen.

It felt odd, unlike anything he had ever felt. Nessa sat at the table, surrounded by all of his new friends. The seating arrangement had been a nightmare to sort out. Vaguely, they all implied that Ilya absolutely had to sit beside Venice, which made Nessa wonder why that was. Emi and Keely had to sit by one another too, though that reason was obvious, then there was Jada and Ian. Which just left Nessa to sit beside a dutiful Kiwi.

They were occupying two tables in a small fast food restaurant located within the mall. Nessa sat at the same table as Ian and Jada, the other four sat across the aisle from them. Emi was as far away as she could get, sipping from her diet soda as Keely tried to console her. Nessa wondered why she still had her chin tilted up, eyes indifferent as she stared blankly across the room. Didn't she have the right to be visibly mad?

Kiwi was talking animatedly with Jada, and from what Nessa had tuned into, she had apparently been his babysitter for a very long time growing up. He had learned other small facts about her as well, like what her major was, the name of her dorm mate, and the fact that she came by almost every weekend to "make sure her brother wasn't being as depressing as always" which was followed up by, "and this weekend he was cooped up in his room, speed-reading some book about houses and snakes."

That made Nessa smile. He liked listening to them reminisce, but it really proved how little he knew about everyone. He was supposed to be their friend, but he hardly spoke to any of them. A wave of guilt washed over him once he realized that he had probably spoken more words to Ian—who he had only met on a few occasions—than he did to Kiwi—who was always by his side.

Things had been easier when he lived in California. The friends he had were always there since he was in middle school—some of them had even gone to the same elementary school as him. Things had been different, he had been different. Then everything fell apart, making him wonder if that would happen to these guys too.

He predicted the future as he sat there quietly. Emi would probably go to a college for something edgy like sociology, and Keely would blindly follow her because Nessa didn't have to look to know how much she truly loved her. Ilya would probably end up working at a bar, maybe doing it on the side as he began studies of his own. Ian would definitely go on to do great things, probably becoming a politician or new-age philosopher.

But what about Venice? That almost made Nessa laugh. He had spent a fair bit of time beside Venice, and yet he knew next to nothing about him. He was the kind of person to immediately know when someone was approaching him, to sit in utter silence, piercing eyes seeing the things that most other people would not. He was the kind of person to carry switchblades in his pockets, and choose not to drink alcohol. That was the kind of person who probably wouldn't go to college.

Maybe something was going to happen first. Before they were all able to part ways like normal teenage groups did. That thought scared Nessa, because it was same thing that tore him from his previous friends. One event leading to another, and then just like that, everything was all wrong.

What the fuck did you do, Charm?

"Nessa?" That caused Nessa to blink, realizing that Kiwi had been speaking to him. His eyes briefly met Ian's dark ones. Nessa looked away. "You alright?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "I'm fine. I was just... thinking."

"I do that too." Kiwi laughed. Before he could explain why he had said Nessa's name in the first place, Ilya's voice suddenly carried over.

"Hey, Nessa." He turned to see him brushing a loose curl out of his face. "I've noticed that not only have you finished your food, but you're also just sitting there silently."

"Well, I was just about to tell him—" Kiwi protested, but was quickly cut off by Ilya again.

"Anyway, Venice here seems to have lost his phone somewhere between here and Hot Topic." He explained. "And the rest of us are still eating, so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping him out while we finished up?"