Owen

Progress All Around

I had made progress.

I graduated. And unlike all those heart warming, tear inducing videos where the tragic accident leaves a kid crippled who then struggles and works their way back so that they can walk across the graduation stage and receive their diploma on their own two feet, didn't happen. I rolled.

So no more high school and no more scholarship to U of M or anywhere. Really no more plans in the educational section of my life but I was surprisingly alright about it. I still had time to enroll at a community college if I felt like it. I was on the fence really, depended on the day, my mood, my pain.

Still had a whole lot of nothing from the waist down minus my left thigh, so no progress there which was...just...great.

Not my progress per say but Brandy and Jase were on a "break". Whatever the fuck that meant.

And I was still too skinny by my doctor's standards even though I had gained a couple pounds.

But...

I had gotten a new chair and started playing basketball at Crip.

I was definitely stronger.

And the real progress....

Mina almost sort of considered me a friend. I think. Well I guess I wasn't completely sure, maybe somewhere around 65% sure, 70% on a good day. Whatever it was I considered it progress.

I had to take my victories where I could.

"I hate waiting tables." Max groaned, letting himself fall into the half booth we were at. "This place is seriously going to kill me."

"It's not that bad." Chelsea rolled her eyes, something I couldn't figure out if she'd gotten from Mina or if Mina picked it up from her. Sometimes they even did it at the exact same time which was actually a little scary to watch. "I love the cafe."

"That's because you think that guy is hot." Max shot back. "I don't blame you, the boy has some eyes."

"I'm done with guys. I don't care how good looking he is."

Let's just say things hadn't turned out between Chelsea and Colby. I hadn't asked for details but I got them anyway, when Max and Chelsea showed up at my house one day with a bag of take out and climbed into my bed with me while I was asleep. I wasn't entirely sure when we had crossed the line between being friends and being that kind of friends but apparently we had passed it and now they just appeared, constantly, at the most random times, without warning.

It was cool.

"Not all of us are bad." I defended weakly.

She gave me a flat look. "From the guy that pushed us together."

"At least I warned you." I said with a shrug. "I could have just said nothing."

She threw a fry at me, hitting me in the eye. The shock of it caused me to cuss, surprise there, salt stinging my eye as I glared at her.

"What the fuck Chels?"

"You deserved it."

"Watch your mouth, you're going to get me yelled at." Max snapped.

"Your uncle owns the place, how much trouble can you actually get in?" I asked, picking up the fry that had assaulted me and eating it. Mother fucker couldn't get me now.

Max rolled his eyes, it didn't have quite the same effect as the girls did.

"I need this job as much as I hate it, don't make it anymore unpleasant for me than it needs to be." He muttered.

"You're so dramatic." I told him.

"Basically the worst isn't he?" Chelsea agreed.

I ate another fry. "Yeah, pretty much."

"You guys suck. Chelsea more so because you're beautiful." Max said as he winked at me, climbing out of the booth again.

"Hey!" Chelsea protested.

I laughed, Max almost always let me off the hook. Guess it was a perk when your gay best friend has a crush on you.

"Who are you complaining about now?"

"Mina they're being mean to me." Max complained one more time. "I have to go be a slave again, you all better be nice when I get back."

My heart started skipping in my chest like it always did when Mina was around. She slid into the booth beside Chelsea.

"Whats he whining about this time?" She asked, eating a tomato slice Chelsea had pulled off her burger.

"Working." Chelsea and I said in unison.

Mina looked from the two of us, her eyebrows pinched together as she said, "you guys hang out too much".

I laughed. "You're just jealous we haven't gotten to that level yet."

And in true Mina fashion she rolled her eyes and said "you're obnoxious".

Which only made my smile widen and my heart beat harder. Her green eyes met mine for a second, full of mischief even though she wasn't smiling. These were the moments with Mina that I knew she liked me.

"Okay you guys are cute and all but would you stop. I'm trying to hate on guys and relationships and you sort of make it hard when you're all adorable and pretending you're  not in love with each other." Chelsea interjected.

I wasn't pretending. It was no secret I was in love with Mina.

Mina however, she had stopped saying she hated me so we had finally moved on to stage two of denial. I couldn't remember the exact logistics of it but Chelsea and Max had confirmed it for me.

"We are not in love." Mina disagreed. "And we aren't adorable."

"Yeah okay." Chelsea said sarcastically.

"Completely adorable!" Max called as he brushed past us with a tray full of food.

"Why do I even bother to hang out with you guys? You're all annoying." Mina said.

"Because secretly you know they're right." I told her as a smirk fell on my face. "It's alright, I'll wait. Told you, I got patience for days."

"More like years." Chelsea muttered. "Lucky."

Chelsea and Mina both looked up behind me at something, I turned seeing Alec and Bre striding toward us.

"Took ya long enough." I said.

"Sorry, we uh...got distracted." Alec said lamely.

All of us laughed, even Mina, as Bre slapped him in the shoulder.

"What!?" He raised his hands up in surrender. "We did."

They sat down, the noise growing from our table as Bre started telling Chelsea something. Alec leaned over, stealing a handful of my fries and shoving them all at once in his mouth. It was no wonder the kid was massive. I glanced at Mina, who had leaned back into the booth, a flat expression on her face. I wouldn't say Mina loved Bre, she tolerated her. Sometimes it felt like she even tolerated Alec as opposed to actually liking him.

She must have felt me staring at her because her green eyes met mine a moment later.

"Want to go kick my ass at pool?" I asked her.

A small tugged at her lips. "Always."

                                ———————

Sorry about yesterday. I couldn't quite pull it off. I went to the zoo and needless to say I was exhausted. I think I went to bed at 8 last night 🤣 sucks getting old.

But anyway, just for clarification, there's a little time gap here. Like a month or so.

Anyway, I haven't said this in a minute but thanks everyone for reading! And super thanks to the handful of you that vote and comment. Seriously makes my day. You're fucking awesome and I love you.