Morning Shift

Freckles

It was the fourth time Jonah had come over to Nicky's that week, and the two boys had already gotten into a routine of avoiding all the other Haddad kids by sprinting upstairs, locking themselves in Nicky's room, plopping down in front of the Xbox, and turning on Jonah's playlist, basically consisting of the entire discography of Bob Dylan.

What started off as the main focus of their conversations turned quickly to background music as Jonah started to ask less and talk more, and as Nicky started to feel less like he was suffocating and more like he was having fun.

He's had that problem for as long as he could remember, and no one else in his family did. Even the little guys had tons of friends, but Nicky never really wanted any. Anytime he tried to strike up a conversation, he'd get dizzy and feel like someone was sitting on his chest, and then he'd have to walk away. For him, it was better off alone, and he didn't mind all that much.

The first day Jonah came over, he felt like that. They didn't talk much except if it was about Bob Dylan, which Nicky was sort of thankful for because he knew way too much about him for a sixteen year old kid. But whenever Jonah came back, it got a little easier.

And by the fourth time, they were talking like best friends, playing video games like they had all the time in the world, and not paying that much attention to whatever song was playing— unless it was a favorite of course. Like a Rolling Stone had only come up twice so far, but both times they didn't hesitate on belting out the lyrics over the screaming kids downstairs.

"Excited for school?" Nicky asked as he watched Jonah run around and steal cars in whatever game he was playing. Honestly, Nicky didn't know anything about video games, but he didn't hesitate to steal some of Naveen's and pretend he did when Jonah said he liked to play them.

        School was starting back up in only a few days and Nicky was already dreading going back. Jonah didn't look too excited either when he shrugged. "Nah. Hockey season's starting up again, which means no more casual practices, plus I have to deal with the team trying to vote me off as captain again like they did at the beginning of the school year."

"Why'd they do that? Aren't you their best player or something?"

"Yeah, but I think that's why they want me out of the spotlight so bad. All the scouts and the newspapers are coming to me, and they don't really get a chance to shine, you know?" He explained. "I feel kinda bad sometimes."

"Don't," Nicky said. "Seriously, Jo. From what I've heard, you deserve that spotlight more than anyone else."

Jonah didn't smile or give a humble thanks like Nicky expected. Instead, he paused the game, keeping his eyes locked on the TV. He didn't know what it was, but something about Jonah had suddenly changed. He still had the same smiling eyes, and the same resting smile, but it lacked the blinding light Nicky had gotten so used to seeing, and he found himself wanting Jonah back to normal more than anything.

"Are we friends, Nicky?" Jonah asked, catching Nicky sort of off guard. Obviously he hoped Jonah was his friend— the guy had been hanging out at his house for three hours now— but now he was a little confused.

"Um," Nicky replied quietly, "I think so."

"Do you really wanna be friends? Or do you just want a social boost or something? Because if that's what you're looking for, I'm really not the guy to give it to you."

Nicky's head shot up from where it was resting on his hands after a few seconds of confusion when it fully registered in his mind what Jonah was accusing him of. "Really? You think I'm like that?"