Human

15.

            "Wow." I said. "Your car is kind of amazing."

"Thanks." He replied as he took off the T-tops. "I got it for my birthday and my paw and I have been fixing it up."

"Did it already have this hood scoop when you bought it, or is that something you added?" I asked.

"I added it." He said narrowing his eyes.

"The dual scoops are my favorite." I smiled. "Is it a '69?"

"Yeah it is, and if you keep talking like that I may have to get on my knees and beg you to marry me." He laughed. "How do you know about cars?"

"My brother." I answered easily. I had been getting that question for years. I got in and admired the perfect black leather, and how they had perfectly restored the dash and gear shift. "You said you just got this for your birthday? How far along was it when you bought it?"

Derrek sat down beside me in the driver's seat and passed me his phone. "Scroll to the left you can see all the pictures from when we got it." I could feel him watching me as I looked through them all. They had seriously overhauled it. It was rusted out and on blocks when they got it, and now it was this beautiful masterpiece. It was nearly perfectly restored, minus the few little touches he had added here and there. It was a sleek white and had two navy blue racing stripes running up the middle. Stephen would have peed his pants over this car.

I handed him his phone back and he started the car up. Its engine roared to life with thunderous power. "God, I love how older cars smell." I said over the rumbling. "This is awesome."

"Does your brother go here too? Sounds like he must really know his cars to have taught you." He asked me as we pulled out of the school lot.

My stomach sank a little. No one here knew about Stephen. That was the one thing I did like about the idea of moving here. I wouldn't have to deal with the sympathy everyone was dishing out back home, and the constant questions about him. "Stephen actually passed away a few months back." I said lowly.

Derrek looked over to me, but surprisingly he didn't look like he was pitying me. "I'm sorry to hear that." He said. "I actually had a brother who drowned when I was 10. I would say I know how you feel, but I remember how much I hated it when people would say that to me, so I won't."

"Thanks." I told him. "I'm sorry about your brother too."

"Thanks." He replied. "How about some music to get us out of this dark mood?"

"Sounds fantastic."

Derrek had won some extra bonus points with me for having an amazing list of songs on his playlists. Our music libraries were probably almost identical to one another.

As we pulled up to his house, it was easy to see how he had been able to restore his car so quickly. Derrek was clearly loaded. He had a giant three story brick house with a manicured lawn, and a circular drive way. He parked his car out front and I followed him up the steps into his house. "The parentals won't be home until tomorrow, so don't worry about them." He said, even though I hadn't thought anything about that. He dropped his book bag right inside the front door and I did the same. The inside of his house was just as impressive as the out. It looked more like an art gallery than a home. I tried not to stare too long at it all, and followed Derrek through the house and out the back door to his killer patio.

There was a partial kitchen area set up, and a nice fire pit to one side. On the other side was luxurious looking patio furniture that was either cleaned often, or never used.