The Bucket List [boyxboy]

Chapter Seven

Friday, March 4, 2016

So today somebody finally felt normal enough to bring up the third thing on Byron's list: seeing the Northern Lights.

I don't know whether to be pissed or impressed with Anita about the strength of that acid. I'm usually fucked up for a couple of days after drugs but wtf.

Anyway we were at lunch and I swear we've spent the last three days just sitting in contemplative silence with one another because I nearly shuffled off the mortal coil in surprise when Carly cleared her throat and asked in a voice that sounded like it hadn't been used in approx. one millennium, 'So Byron, how do you want to go about seeing the Northern Lights?'

And Byron looked about as surprised as I did that we were back to speaking and just opened and closed his mouth a couple times like that fish I watched die on the beach when I was eight.

So then Lewis was like, 'We could go camping for a weekend up north,' because of course Lewis wants to go camping in the fucking wilderness in Northern Canada in fucking MARCH.

Abby was like, 'We would literally freeze to death,' and then Anita and Carly both elbowed her and she was like, 'Ow! What?!' and we were all looking at her like, the fuck is wrong with you exactly???? Because of course Dead Boy was sitting right next to me.

But Byron was chill about it and just said, 'That sounds cool, let's do that.'

And Lewis started listing all the things we would have to do and bring to not freeze to death and then Anita looked at me with a stupid smirk on her face and said, 'If anybody gets too cold we can all just strip off and huddle together for warmth, right Charlie?'

Someday I will straight up murder a bitch and the jury will just be like, 'Nah, she deserved it, let him go.'

Anyway it's Carly's birthday this weekend so we'll probably have to do something. I swear if anybody suggests drugs I'm done.

Monday, March 7, 2016

So I rocked up to Carly's place on Saturday an hour later than I was supposed to get there and her mom let me in and was like, 'Oh, hi, Charlie, dear, it's so good to see you! It's been so long, gosh, I don't think I've even seen you since the start of the year! How's your mother? How's her job going? How's school? Any girlfriends yet? Oh, no, it's boyfriends for you, isn't it? Well, any boyfriends yet?' and I've never been more glad to be the product of a single-parent household because OH MY GOD. How do regular kids stand it? It's like getting interrogated.

Anyway I booked it out of there as quickly as I could. There are only two reasons to ever come to Carly's house: One, because she's got a shed down the bottom of her garden that she and her brother set up as a sort of clubhouse. They've got a TV in there and a mini fridge and some couches and it's chill af. And Two, her hot older brother. Reason Two disappeared off the university last September and Reason One isn't worth putting up with the Spanish Inquisition from her parents more than once per season.

I let myself into the shed and was punched right in the face by a cosmic fist of marijuana smoke.

I was like, 'Oh, for fuck's sake, you guys. We said no drugs!'

And Anita was sitting like the Cheshire Cat in the middle of the room because of course she brought the weed because of course she fucking did because she's involved in a fucking pyramid scheme and if she doesn't make her quota each month Romeo will like remove her kneecaps or something.

Carly was like, 'Dude, chill. Here, take a hit,' and she tried to hand me her bong even though I fully do not ever use a bong.

I had already decided to spend at least a few minutes being pissed with them but then I caught Byron's eye and he was sitting on the couch with a space beside him and kind of smiling at me, and I felt that weird feeling in my tummy again, and for the first time in a really long time I felt... Like, lost? I don't know, like I'm usually so comfortable around these people that I never have any trouble being mad at them or making an idiot out of myself around them, but just then I really wanted to go and sit next to him but I felt unsure and kind of weird and conspicuous and I didn't know whether I should or not.