Glass Half Full

3. Caldera, Maine

      You would think that after a week of constant "no's" and "you're fuckin' crazy man's" that Damien might have actually gotten the point. When I had objected at the diner, it just opened the floodgates. That was what you were dealing with when you came across someone who didn't understand the concept of "no."

     

        Even as a child, he had had it easy. Damien's parents kind of grew up in the flower child environment, being the type of parents who were open to debate and often nurtured their children. Think family game night, with the exception that competition was replaced with thoughts and feelings, any teenage boy's nightmare. Where most kids were getting themselves punished whenever they spoke out of turn, his parents decided to reward him for "vocalizing himself in a positive way."

      With that type of background, you'd probably think that he was a little messed up. He was. He'd tell you he was. But the thing is, he was relatively normal with all things considered. In our whole high school career, he'd only been suspended once; that time he'd knocked Avery "Kong" Summers on his ass for dropping the f-bomb.

      I'll admit, Damien was well grounded. He was a good friend, and one that I was more than happy to have. Even if I didn't get a little breathless each time he looked at me, he would still be my best friend.

      That's probably what got me round to a "okay, fine. I'll come with" in the end. The boy who never knew the word 'No' just so happened to be one of the most persistent people on the face of the planet. It was a killer combination indeed.

      It was two weeks to the day of the proposal when I finally agreed to join. I knew in the back of my head, he would go either way, but part of me liked to think that he might have stayed if I'd just said no one more time. When I'd rung him up to admit my own defeat, I could hear the elation in his voice and just imagine that fist raising in the air.

      "You will not regret this man..." he started out. "Just us two. Damien Walters and Newt Roth, out on the open road, having the time of our lives."

      Just us. The idea repeated itself. It was like a record, stuck on the same note. Except no matter how hard you jerked it, the music would still play that same note. I know he hadn't meant it in that way. I knew that it was all wishful thinking in my head. Still, it was the wishful thinking that made me hope that one day it could all fall together.

      As my bony fingers wrestled with the steering wheel once more, I let out a sigh. Why was it that I was so willing to risk everything just for someone who probably couldn't reciprocate my feelings. Damien was impulsive, but he could be impulsive all he wanted. If he were the kite, his parents were the weak twine holding him down to the earth. It was a truth that if he ever wanted to venture out into the big wide world, he probably could have.

      I on the other hand was not so fortunate.

      Being driven insane by my own thoughts, I decided it best to turn the radio up just a bit louder. The only way to subside the thoughts though, was to turn the volume knob a little too far. I knew that the car was probably shaking on its suspensions from the ridiculous amount of bass being pumped out, but I didn't care. Focusing on the bass made it all the easier to just forget about everything for a moment or so.

      Peering out the window, there were people who were huddled in their best spring attire looking at my car with such a hated disgust. People were just so easily annoyed these days.

      All I could do right now was what I knew best; crawl into my own little world and pretend that these people were all good people deep down. I liked to think that everyone had the sense to do good when the opportunity came for it. Damien didn't exactly share my opinion on people. He'd always counter that people, whether you liked them or not, were always gonna step over each other.

      Before I had any chance to think more on it, the poorly groomed devil himself opened the passenger side door and crawled in. Not to be outdone by my thoughts, he instantly looked in one of the rearview mirrors and batted down a specifically curly strand of hair. After messing around for half a minute to no avail, he turned to finally face me. Quick as a whip, I set the volume back to its normal setting.

      "Ready to roll, man?" he asked, a playful smirk presenting itself on his face.

      I knew there was no real way out of this now. The night before we had stocked the car with some clothes and things we might need. CD's had been bought for the extensive route in case we came across a signal less wasteland. The correct people had been notified, and other people who mattered were kept out of the loop.

      Sighing to myself seemed like the only way to even go back against the idea. "My mom is so gonna kill me" I recited in a groan, crashing my hands against my face. "I'll never make it through the year if she finds out."

      Damien chuckled to himself. Glad to see that my pain was something that he took enjoyment in. "Dude, you're mom's always pissy at you, ever since you dashed her dreams of grandchildren." That much was true. "Hell, I bet she even had plans for you to settle down with a nice Jewish girl."

      "See I wish that were actually just a stereotype..."I started, my face breaking out into the first smile of the day. "...But I know my mom would be arranging my wedding to someone I have no interest in right now if I hadn't come out to her."

      "To be fair, Priscilla is a total babe and a half."

      "She sounds like she swallowed a balloon full of helium when she laughs."

      "Well in that case, just be a major buzzkill all the ti- oh wait, you do that anyway."

      "Damien..."

      "Right, yeah I know." That was why he was my best friend. No matter the mood, no matter the situation, he would always make you smile. It was just who Damien was.

       I twisted the keys once in the ignition of the car. We were at Caldera now. Traffic permitting, we were looking at a two day drive either side. Give or take an extra day. Five days trapped in a metal can with the boy I've always loved. "You can do this you loved up fool." 

      One final sigh was all it took for me to turn out from the parking spot as we embarked on the greatest journey of our adolescent lives.

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Authors Note: Like, I don't even know how this got popular (okay, i kind of do) but I'm so glad that so many peoplelike this crazy little idea that's been brewing in my head for months. I don't generally know how to do these kinds of things so I might as well keep it short and sweet. Bless all of you and your beautiful faces. Hopefully I'll get better at these as time goes on.