Our Fooling Game

008

Percy Flynn

"Why did I agree to do this?" Spencer asked for the fifth time since we left his house. He had his arms folded in front of him as his eyes shifted from left to right like the first time I'd taken him for a ride around town, except this time instead of awe and curiosity in his eyes, I saw confusion and a bit of fear —anxiety.

"Oh come on, relax. It's not like you've never been to a party before." I said trying to calm his nerves even though I was confused as to why he was making a big deal out of this.

"I'm sick. I'm the town psycho and almost murderer. I'm attending a party I wasn't invited to with someone who's supposed to be my enemy." He scoffed. "I don't think it's really my fault that I'm skeptical and nervous about all this."

Inhale. Exhale.

"First of all, you're sick that's why you need to leave that dump of a home, get some air and be around people who'd notice when you faint again. Walls can't exactly do that. And this is Tom's party, everyone is invited." I finished up, looking for a parking spot as we drove on Tom's driveway.

"You skipped the enemy and psycho part." He informed me.

"There are drinks, I don't think anybody would pay attention to you being the towns psycho. And-" I fidgeted a bit with the wheel and mumbled. "I'm not exactly your enemy."

"What did you say? Sorry I didn't catch it." He said leaning closer to me. When I looked at him, he genuinely looked honest.

"I said, you're not exactly my enemy!" I all but shouted.

The car remained silent until by God's grace, I found a suitable parking spot. The car died off but none of us made the move to get out.

"What changed?" Spencer eventually asked, his voice low and unsure.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was seeing you drenched up in the rain and resembling a homeless puppy."

Spencer chuckled at that. "Your weakness," I nodded. "How many did you say you've brought home before?"

"Seven. My mother never let me keep any and when I finally succeeded in getting her to let me keep the last one, he died." I explained, my brows narrowing as the image of my first and last dog popped into mind.

"I'm sorry." Spencer supplied and I turned to see him looking at me.

I forced on a smile. "Yeah but don't you think of yourself as puppy. There could be many reasons to why I changed our status." Spencer raised a challenging brow at me, silently saying 'like what?'. "It could be because of your ratty home that looks like its falling anytime soon. Or the neighborhood filled with stoners and thieves. I can't imagine myself living there all to myself."

"Well, that is the cheapest neighborhood to get an apartment in. I didn't want to squeeze my father dry. And that home has potential, it'll just need a little cleaning up."

"A little?"

He sneezed, "Fine, a wee more than a little."

This time, I chuckled. "God, I can't even imagine what the hell made you leave your family."

"Family," He echoed and when I looked at him, he had this faraway look in his eyes as his middle finger tapped on his thigh. "That word has many ropes around it but it could also mean 'a group of people living under the same roof'. I haven't felt like family to them at all and I don't blame them. I don't fit into their lives Percy. The things I want are way over my head. They are a family, without me included. I was just a temporary shake to the ship but now it's back to smooth sailing."