Chapter 6: Later that Friday Night
“So, how do we look?” Samantha asked as the three of them entered the doorway.
“You look like you put a lot of time and effort into these outfits.” I said, still taken aback.
“Well yes, but I’m more curious as to if we look pretty or not.” Samantha teased.
“I mean you all look fine to me. But then again, I’m not exactly the person to ask when it comes to physical beauty.” I answered, shrugging a bit as we made our way into the living room.
“Eh? Why’s that Michael?” Misty inquired. Oh yeah, she doesn’t know.
“Because I’m asexual and don’t really judge people by their outward beauty.” I very briefly explained.
“I’ll explain it too you later Mist, just worry about having a good night tonight.” Wreath reassured after seeing the look of confusion on Misty’s face as she sat down next to me.
“So, what would you all like to do for dinner?” I hastily asked, making sure not to given them any time to talk about me and my outfit.
“Nothing too expensive, but I think we should at least have some quality,” Wreath chimed in, which caused Samantha to nod in agreement.
“Alright, but do you have any suggestions in mind?” I clarified, only really thinking of a few restaurants that fit the bill.
“Well as long as I can grab a vegetarian meal, I should be fine,” Misty piped up, probably anticipating that I would ask her specifically soon enough.
“Oh yeah… right. I forgot about that,” I mumbled to myself, narrowing my list down a little more. Mostly because the places removed, while they do have salads and such, don’t have very good vegetarian choices.
“I’ve got it! Let’s go to Atami’s,” Samantha exclaimed after something like a minute of thought, startling me out of my own train of thought.
“Yeah, that’s actually pretty great given what we’re looking for,” Wreath backed.
“Um, what’s this ‘Atami’s’ place?” Misty unsurprisingly asked.
“It’s a Japanese restaurant. I personally really like it. They serve a few different types of chicken, in the sense that they have different seasoning and such along with different sides. They do this with other meats as well. But for your interest, the have absolutely fabulous rice, steamed vegetables and mushroom, and they do have a few lesser known orders there,” I explained to her as I silently thanked Samantha for the awesome Idea. (IRL there’s a Japanese restaurant near me called Atami’s. It’s reeeeaaally good. Like holy crap, I could eat their food any day without complaints. It’s one of my favourite restaurants.)
“What do mean by ‘lesser known orders’ Cym?” Wreath questioned, obviously intrigued.
“Well, they don’t exactly have it on the menu, but they do have fruit and tofu for those who ask. I’ve never really had the guts to try tofu before, so I never bothered with it, and whenever I think about trying their fruit, I always get too wrapped up in the rice and forget to order any,” I explained, feeling all kinds of derp.
“Really? Huh, today I learned,” Wreath muttered to herself.
“Well alright, is that alright with everyone?” I asked as I got up and stretched.
“It was kind of my idea, so I’m fine with it,” Samantha said, teasing lightly.
“I kind of want to try the tofu now, so I’m up for it,” Wreath mumbled as her stomach let out a grumble backing up her thoughts. Heh, stomachs. Always making this silly.
“I trust your judgment Michael, if you think I’ll like it, then I’ll go with you,” Misty said as a very obvious blush appeared on her features. Is this like a medical thing? Her blushing all the time, because there really isn’t much else of an explanation.
“Well alright then. Give me a minute to grab my wallet and stuff and we can head out,” I stated as I walked over towards the steps, them just nodding and going back to chatting with each other as I went to go get my stuff.
We had some small conversations on the way to our dinner, mostly stuff that the girls wanted to talk about and I just kind of listened to. I chimed in when the time was right, but I’ve learned over the years that there are some conversations that you just don’t want to jump into. Most of the time I just had music running through my face (because having stuff running through the mind isn’t as funny =P) as I ran through scores of notes and lyrics so that I wouldn’t jump into a conversation without merit. It was only a 20 minute drive, so the talking and talking upon talking didn’t last forever. Or at least that’s what I thought, because they did the same thing during dinner. Meanwhile I’m just sitting here with my chopsticks and trying not to get pulled into the current conversation of relationships. Unluckily for me, I got pulled in.
“So Michael, how’s your love life?” Samantha inquired after taking a sip of water.
“One does not kiss and tell,” I replied, trying desperately to stay out of this. I’m not very secure when it comes to relationships.
“That would of course require that one kisses,” Wreath teased, knowing full well that I’ve yet to have my first kiss. Well, save for that incident with Misty. Speaking of which, why is she blushing again?
“Wait, you haven’t had your first kiss yet?” Samantha asked, immediately more interested. I, on the other hand, stayed silent with a blush myself.
“As far as I know, he’s still as clean as they come Sam,” Wreath said as she elbowed Samantha a bit in the ribs. Those two are sitting on one side of the table while Misty and I are sitting across from them.
“Mmmm. Interesting. I would’ve figure someone like you would’ve been more experienced,” Samantha smiled a bit as she spoke. Meanwhile, Misty and I are having the same idea and just kept shut and ate what little rice we had left. We shared a meal and ordered an extra side of rice, since she didn’t want to order something and not eat it all and waste my money, her words not mine, and I tend to not eat all of the steamed vegetables that are served with my entrée anyway.
“Maybe by the end of the night we can get them together Sam. I mean they’re already sharing a meal,” Wreath grinned like a madwoman, to which Samantha didn’t respond well, Misty blushed even more, and I just shook my head.
“Wreath, please don’t drink the punch tonight,” I requested.
“Why?” Wreath simply asked.
“Because you’re already acting differently than normal and the punch will more than likely be spiked,” I half-jokingly responded.
“But seriously, you’ve never had your first kiss Michael?” Samantha insisted, eating some of her steak after phrasing her question.
“I’d rather not talk about my failed relationship status Samantha. Why must you insist?” I calmly retorted.
“I’m just curious,” Samantha replied. To which I just nodded slightly in understanding. I’m curious by nature myself.
A few minutes went by, Misty asked about sherbet, which prompted me to order some. The best way for me to describe what sherbet is like is to just let you taste some. She protested but I insisted. I like sherbet a lot and it won’t go to waste. She caved, tried it, loved it, and asked for more. I obliged while Wreath and Samantha just sat back, content with the full serving of food they had for dinner. Then came the check.
“Ok, so I had the hibachi steak, and that was what, $6.99?” Samantha figured, trying to pay for her own dinner, but I wasn’t having any of that.
“Don’t worry about it, I’ll pay for all of us,” I reassured, taking out my wallet.
“No no no. I’m paying for my dinner, it’s a principle Michael,” Samantha started.
“That may be so, but it’s also principle for me to offer to pay. I was raised with the general idea that the guy will generally pay for the meal,” I responded.
“That really only applies to when said guy is dating someone else, and last I checked, we’re not dating,” Samantha stubbornly replied.
“Sam, just let him do this. He’s too stubborn, besides, you can always pay for his desserts at the dance,” Wreath jumped in, partially taking my side.
“But, I can’t just… mm fine. Just this once Michael,” Samantha caved, to which I just nodded and smiled, paying for all of our food.
We went on to the dance after that, but it took us a while. While Atami’s was delicious, it was also in the exact opposite direction as the Lighthouse (for those of you I know IRL, yes. I’m using this year’s as setting). So we had maybe like 45 minutes of driving ahead of us before we got to the actual event. Samantha kept prodding me about my relationship status and history and similar things from the passenger seat, while Misty and Wreath were just chatting in the back seats. I tried my best to evade all of the questions while still being polite about it, but my patience was running thin. I mean I’m ok with people wanting to know about stuff like relationships and whatnot, but it gets really old, really fast. Luckily for all involved, Samantha quit with the barrage of questions, only to pester me to sing while driving. Which I mean I can, but I’d really rather not. Maybe if it was just her in the car, but Misty and Wreath are here too and I don’t want to put them in danger by getting distracted by singing. She insisted, and I pushed back. I told her I would later, when we got to the dance. And that was that. I focused on driving for the rest of the way while the three of them talked about god knows what. When we got there, we were greeted by my best friend Bobby.
“Hey! Michael’s here!” Bobby overly stated when I got out of the car. Bobby’s about the same height as me with thick black hair that he keeps long enough to the point where it’s just a little bit past his ears and about halfway down his forehead.
“Hey man, how’re you doing tonight?” I asked, almost mimicking the enthusiasm.
“Pretty great man, except for the fact that you’re wearing the same thing as me,” Bobby joked as he pointed out that he was wearing his Honors Chorale tux too. He’s a tenor as well, and a year younger than me. He’s one of the best, if not the best all together, male singer we have. And he plays trumpet in the Marching Band. Yeah, just an all around boss.
“Heh, oh. I feel like an idiot now,” I said rubbing the back of my head as we walked around to the other side of the car.
“It’s cool dude, no big deal,” Bobby said, lightly punching my arm.
“And I see Jane is here too,” I said, as I opened the doors to let the girls out, noticing a familiar figure approaching the Lighthouse.
“Yeah, Mom heard there was going to be brownies and went straight for them,” Bobby said, pointing towards a female figure who was making her way towards the reception area building thing. BACKSTORY: Jane is writing a comic called Artemis Academy and in said story, Bobby’s character is the biological offspring of Jane’s character because of test tubes (basically. There's more to it, but I lack the specifics). So because of this he calls her Mom.
“Why am I not surprised,” I joked as I helped Misty out of the car.
“Oh ho ho ho… Who’s this?” Bobby inquired as he saw.
“Oh right. Bobby, this is Misty. Misty, Bobby,” I quickly introduced them to each other.
“Nice to meet you Misty,” Bobby said as they shook hands.
“Likewise,” Misty shyly replied.
“Shall we get going then Michael?” Samantha asked as she nearly latched onto my arm. Weird.
“Sure thing. You coming too Bobby, or are you waiting for someone?” I asked.
“Nah, I’m coming,” Bobby said as he walked alongside us towards the Lighthouse.
So we headed into the building. Me and Bobby in our plain black Tuxedos, Samantha in a shorter, silver dress, complete with sequence and the works, Wreath in just a plain black dress, and Misty in a sky blue floor length dress with what looked to me to be the Wonderbolts insignia on a silver chain necklace. Hm, when did she get that… Anyway, we headed into the building as a group, Samantha still attached to my arm, and were assaulted by noise. Noise being loud rap music with admittedly good bass. Immediately afterward, I was glomped from behind by someone. I didn’t know exactly who it was, but given the fact that only like one person ever really glomps me, I had a good idea.
“Hey Jane, how’re you?” I asked as I stood up, the assailant still on my back.
“Good Mike. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Jane happily responded.
“Well I didn’t exactly plan to be here, but more importantly, can you let go of me so we can actually see each other while we talk?” I requested, to which she agreed and got off of me.
“So why are you here then dude?” Jane questioned as I turned around to face her. She’s a year older than me, a bit shorter than me, maybe by a couple of inches or so (I’m not good with height), has ridiculously long hair, like down to her waist long (don't ask why cause I don't know). I will admit that it's weird seeing her without her jewelry and accessories she wears, some of them being heavily spiked (like they have spikes on them, not that other thing), but it's probably because of school Prom dress code idiocy. But to be fair, her choice of a fancy black dress with lace looks pretty damn good on her.
“I got pulled in with a couple of friends who wanted me to come with them, save for Bobby.” I answered, motioning to the group.
“Ah, that makes enough sense. So who’s this over here? I can’t say I’ve seen her before,” Jane wondered, walking over towards Misty.
“Her name’s Misty. She’s new in town. I’ll explain more later, when in better company.” I answered, whispering the last part to Jane.
“Alright. So shall we dance then? This IS the Prom.” Jane said as the music changed to a good piece of progressive house.
From this point till a while later, we just enjoyed the Prom. All six of us just had some idle chatter and a couple of interesting topics as the dance went on, but nothing too worthy of noting. Bobby looked like he was having a blast, Jane as well. Meanwhile, Misty and I were both being the awkward people who are not the best when it comes to social dances. I can answer for myself, but not for her. I wonder what’s up with her, I mean you’d think a former Wonderbolt would fair alright in the limelight. Then again I could just be utterly wrong, as is a habit of mine. Samantha kept pulling me onto the dance floor over and over again for whatever reason, and Wreath… where did she even go? No, like seriously, I lost track of Wreath and I don’t know where she is. Hm. Well, she’ll be fine regardless, she knows how to handle herself. Then the first slow dance of the night started to play, and things got interesting. Partly because a portion of the people on the dance floor weren’t even dancing, so much as grinding. But mostly because I found myself in a predicament: Samantha kept pulling on my arm to go dance with her. The biggest reason this is a predicament is because I don’t want to just basically tell Samantha to go away, but I’m just not exactly… comfortable slow dancing. Ok, I’ve not been slow dancing like ever and I don’t want to just stumble over myself
“Come dance with me Michael.” Samantha slightly pleaded, trying to be seductive with her voice as she tried to get me to stand up. She wasn’t very good at either.
“I’d really rather not trip over my own two feet on the dance floor Samantha…” I kind of shyly stated as I looked away from her.
“Oh come on, I’ve seen you dance just earlier tonight, you’ll be fine.” Samantha tried to persuade me.
“Yeah, but those were crazy and silly dances that just kind of happened or were Gangnam Style. I’m not good at slow dancing, you know, since I’ve never really… well tried before…” I kind of mumbled a bit. Ok, I mumbled a lot.
“Well let me teach you then.” Samantha insisted as she pulled me up from the table.
“I’d really rather not Samantha… I really appreciate the offer, I really do, but I don’t want to impose.” I tried to and like shy out of it, or something like that. Yeah, it never has worked before though.
“Quit trying to get out of this Mike, it’s not going to work.” Wreath said as she came back to our little table with a cup of punch and a slice of cake.
“See, even Wreath understands this. Now come on, the song’s not going to wait for us!” Samantha said as she pulled me onto the dance floor against my will.
“Are you sure? I mean I really am bad at this, maybe you could dance with someone better and have a good time yourself…” I stammered as she turned to face me, causing me to look away a bit.
“Michael, I’m sure. I’ve already been mean too you enough over the years, and I want to make it up to you some how. Also, I enjoy teaching others how to dance! It’s so fulfilling to see someone dance and express themselves, as weird as that may sound,” Samantha seriously reassured me as she taught me the basics of traditional slow dances.
“Trust me, nothing really sounds weird to me anymore, just surprising,” I half-joked as she rested her head on me. She’s a little bit shorter than me, so it works, although it’s a little awkward for me given the history between us.
Either it was sheer luck, or there were a lot of requests made, but the next like 4 songs all slow songs and Samantha would not let me sit back down and let someone else dance with her. No matter how awkward and uncomfortable I kept saying I was. Also, every time I looked over towards Misty and Wreath, there was always at least 3 guys just talking with them, and if it were somewhere else, I would’ve been fine with it, but this is the Prom. I am suspicious of most everyone here. So after Samantha finally let me go, I immediately sat back down next to Misty and let my feet rest for a bit. I made a bit of small talk with her and Wreath, mostly asking about how they’re enjoying the Prom, until Wreath heard a dubstep song that she absolutely loves and left me with Misty alone at the table. It's times like these that I wish I could better blend in social situations, cause some of my only friends were off somewhere having fun while I was just staying back with Misty trying not to make a huge fool of myself.
“Have you gotten up and danced yet Misty?” I asked curiously.
"Not really, no," Misty mumbled back, her head hanging.
"Hey, let's go outside by the lakeside, alright? Some fresh air will help clear your mind and relax you a bit," I suggested, understanding that she's not in a good mood.
"Just you and me?" Misty asked, looking up at me.
"Yes. We're not supposed to, but I'll pull some strings with the administrators," I answered honestly. I'm well liked by the staff here, so I can do this kind of stuff every now and then.
"Alright then, lead the way," Misty said as we both stood and made our way to the door. We passed my principle and I explained what's going on and asked about us going to the lakeside and he let us go. He trusts me.
"Listen, I'm not going to push this issues, but I can tell something's bothering you Misty. I'd love to know what and help you in whatever way I can, but that's all your decision whether or not you want to let me in on a secret or whatever may be bothering you." I said as I took off my tux jacket for her to sit on. What, it's a nice gesture.
"Well, how long do we have?" Misty asked as she took a seat on the aforementioned jacket.
"Prom ends at Midnight, so that gives us about two hours. However, that doesn't mean we can't stay longer. I'm used to being up late so if you need to take your time, so be it. I'll listen," I responded as I looked up at the night sky. Night's the best.
"Ok. Do you mind if I just sit here for a bit?" Misty asked shyly as she hugged her knees
"Not at all. Would you like me to stay and keep you company, or would you rather I leave you to your thoughts?" I inquired so that I could best help her.
"You can go back to the dance if you want, I'll be fine. Go have fun in there," Misty replied, lightly murmuring.
"Yeah, that won't happen anytime soon. I've already told you before, Prom just isn't my thing. Especially when I'm being forced to slow dance with a girl that I cannot stand. Hell, this one of the least fun things I've ever done in my High School career," I snidely replied, to which Misty responded oddly.
"Wait, you mean you don't like Samantha.... like that?" Misty ask, looking directly at me, and I at her.
"What do you mean?" I obliviously questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, you don't... Like her... like her..." Misty muttered, blushing lightly.
"No." I tersely replied as soon as I understood what she meant, to which she seemed to be relieved of a heavy burden or something.
"Oh, that's good to hear..." She sighed to herself. Well, mostly to herself.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" I asked even though I completely heard her the first time. Just in case she didn't want me to hear what she said.
"Oh, I was just thinking to myself," Misty more cheerfully responded.
"Alright, fair enough. So I can stay out here and not lose my hearing, right?" I joked, serious about staying here with her though.
"That's fine with me, but you need to sit here if you do," Misty said as she scooted over on the jacket and patted the area next to her, meaning she wanted me to sit there.
"Oh no, that's fine Misty, I can sit on the grass, really. I don't want to cramp you on the jacket..." I very shyly stuttered as I moved to sit on the grass nearby.
"Please Michael?" Misty pleaded as she grabbed my hand. I couldn't say no now, so I obliged and sat there next to her.
The next hour or so was just spent sitting by the lakeside, Misty still holding onto my hand. I was nervous and didn't exactly know what to do since I wanted her to feel better but I didn't want to be holding her hand. To me, that's really something that I reserve for people I'm in a relationship with , and Misty deserves better than a screw up like me. I mean just look at her, her hair alone is enough to at least interest most anyone she comes in contact with. Who else really has icy blue hair and can pull it off anyway? Hardly anybody, that's who. Given her athletic nature from being a Wonderbolt, she has a figure that most other guys would swoon over, and if that's not their fancy, then she could always impress them with her athletic skill. She's been running with the track team recently and has just been on fire. Then past all of the physical attributes comes her personality. She's sweet and kind, albeit clumsy from time to time, and is generally fun to hang around. I've yet to really have a bad time around her and I hope to keep it that way. She's a fantastic girl, even if her backstory is a bit confusing and hectic, and I don't want to see her get hurt. Even though it's more enjoyable than losing my hearing inside the hall, I couldn't just sit here forever. I needed to stand.
"Something wrong Michael?" Misty worriedly asked when I somewhat suddenly stood.
"Not really, I just need to stand for a minute or so. I have a bad tendency of being too energetic, i.e. sometimes I just can't sit still," I responded plainly.
"Alright, that makes enough sense. How much longer until Prom's over?" Misty changed the subject. Reason why? Beats me.
"Roughly an hour or so. But again, we can leave early if you want, or we can stay here for a bit after or whatever. I'm flexible with the time," I informed her.
"What about Wreath and Samantha? They rode over with us," Misty pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that little fact. Hm. Well, I could go try and find them and ask them what they'd like to do," I offered.
"That sounds awesome. Let's go see if they're about ready to go then," Misty said as she stood as well and handed me my jacket.
"Wait, so you want to go back home then?" I asked as we walked back, putting my jacket back on as we walked.
"Yeah. I mean I haven't really done anything this whole time and I'm a little tired," Misty briefly explained.
"That sounds like something I would say," I joked as we walked back up onto the porch attached to the dance hall. I thanked my principle as we passed.
"Well I guess living with you has an impact on me then Michael," Misty replied jovially as well.
"Maybe. Hey, do you want to wait out here and let me go find those two? It's bloody loud in there still," I offered.
"Nah, I'll go in with you. I'm, or I was actually, a Wonderbolt. This isn't nearly as loud as the wind when flying at high speeds," Misty declined with sound (get it?) reasoning.
"Alright, fair enough," I tersely responded as we went back into the hall.
So we then just navigated the dance floor for a while, trying to pick out Wreath and Samantha while being nearly assaulted by people, Misty more so than me. But neither of us accepted any of the invitations to dance and decided to go check at the tables and see if they were sitting down. Luckily they were, along with Bobby and Jane. I'm not sure if those two came with each other or not, but I'm really glad they're both here, since they're both really good friends to me. Maybe we can invite them over and have a little bit of an "after party", i.e. just a few of us at my house talking and laughing and such. That sounds like a good idea, let's do that.
"Heya people," I started as I pulled up two chairs to the table, letting Misty sit first.
"Where have you two been for the last hour?" Wreath asked immediately as I took my seat.
"We were just sitting outside Wreath. I was not very comfortable in here actually," Misty answered.
"Like on the lawn?" Wreath quickly added, raising an eyebrow.
"No, down by the lake. I asked the Principle if we could and he said yes," I briefly responded. She knows that the staff likes me, so she should hopefully understand.
"Well damn, why did I think of that," Samantha joked kinda. It was a joke and we all laughed, but there was something to it that made me think otherwise.
"So Michael, I don't think you've introduced me to your new friend yet," Jane started from across the table.
"Oh, right. Misty this is Jane, Jane this is Misty," I quickly introduced each other. I could go on to make a case for Jane and why Misty should befriend her, but Jane kind of does that on her own naturally.
"It's nice to meet you Misty. Where did you get your hair done like that? Whoever did it did a great job with the coloring," Jane said, shaking Misty's hand.
"Likewise. Oh, this is natural," Misty truthfully answered, to which everyone else but me was surprised. What, I know about her backstory, so I know that she's not lying.
"Hey, before we really get into this discussion, I have a suggestion to make," I started, knowing where the conversation would probably go.
"And that would be?" Wreath inquired, albeit hesitantly since she was still shocked by what Misty said. Although I doubt she actually believes it.
"How about we go ahead and leave here and go just like hang out or something at my house?" I offered, given the conversation I had earlier with Misty and the assumption that it would be much better for everyone if we just talked while not being assaulted by loud "music".
"Give me a minute man, I need to call my parents to see if it's alright with them," Bobby said as he stood up to go make a call.
"Alright, and all of you?" I said, wanting to not leave anyone else out of the decision.
"I'm starting to get a bit of a headache and my parents are both probably asleep by now, so I'm alright with that idea," Wreath answered.
"Fine with me, although if I go I might have to crash there over night," Jane responded.
"My car's still at your house and if everyone else wants to go, then I can tag along as well," Samantha said as Bobby walked back over.
"Dad said it's fine if I go with you guys and also wanted me to tell you hi Michael," Bobby informed us as he sat back down
"Cool. Does he want you back by any particular time?" I asked, wanting to cover all my bases.
"He trusts you and said I could just stay at your place for the night," Bobby answered.
"Alright, so we all are fine with just going back then?" I questioned once more, just to be sure I'm not leaving anyone out.
"Yeah, but I'm going to have to ride with you," Bobby said, with everyone else just nodding.
"As will I," Jane chimed in. Right, she doesn't have a car of her own yet, I forgot about that.
"Hm, we'll have to figure out some seating then, cause the volvo only seats four passengers," I murmured a bit as we all stood to get ready to leave.
"Well Bobby and I could always sit in the same seat," Jane offered, to which I nodded in acknowledgement.
"Alright, either of you three have a seat preference?" I asked, trying to be nice.
"I mean I wouldn't mind sitting up front myself, but if someone else wants to then they can," Misty said, very lightly blushing.
"Wreath, Samantha?" I tersely addressed them, hoping they would understand my question.
"She can have it," Wreath answered, shrugging for added effect.
"I mean I sat there on the way up here, it she'd like it on the way back then that's fine with me," Samantha complied.
"Alright then, shall we get going?" I said as I stood up, everyone else following my lead. We all pushed our chairs back in as we left, which is refreshing to see since not many people I know do this, and climbed into the car.
"The ride home was really great and totally relaxing. With Jane in the car, jokes and hilarity were always and option, i.e. she's hilarious and could make us all laugh practically at will. and with Bobby in the car, not only was I no longer the only guy, plenty of different musical artists where discovered. He's got different tastes than me in some regards, but as a whole, he has a fantastic taste in music and played some music through his iPhone. The conversations were really entertaining and just great all around. Even Misty was talking. And not like a stray topic would come up and she would say something, like she actually talked a lot. It was like this practically the whole way back. By the time we got back we had already figured out that everyone was just going to crash at my place and I had already been thinking about how to give everyone a place to sleep. I'll ask Sarah when we get back, should she be awake. Luckily for us, she was.
"You're home early, and brought home friends," Sarah began with a smile.
"Yeah, well Misty lives here, Samantha's car is still here, Wreath could practically live here given how often she comes over, and Bobby and Jane are guests that have been invited over," I smiled back as we all got out of the car.
"Alright then. When does everyone have to be home?" Sarah followed up logically as she motioned for everyone to come one in and get settled.
"Wreath can basically do whatever, as you well know," I joked, grinning like a madman.
"Yeah, that's really not a surprise," Sarah laughed a bit herself.
"But on a more serious note, Jane and Bobby are going to crash here for the night," I started, hoping she would be fine with it.
"Alright. Are their parents OK with it?" Sarah questioned, turning into the protective older sister she is.
"Jane called on the way back and she's clear and Bobby called before we left and he's clear as well," I informed as I took a seat on the hood of the volvo.
"Alright. What about that Samantha girl?" Sarah questioned cautiously. She knows about the history between Samantha and I and is a little worried about what might happen.
"I have no idea. She said she could come over and just hang out, but she didn't say anything about sleeping here or not," I answered, losing my jovial tone and becoming more serious.
"Well regardless of whether or not she is, we still need to find places for the other three to sleep, assuming that Wreath's going to stay over night," Sarah started contemplating as Samantha made her way back over to the garage, since that's where Sarah and I are still talking.
"Hey, I just called my parents and they asked if you wouldn't mind letting me sleep here tonight. They're apparently having some issues regarding water pipes or something. Is that alright?" Samantha interjected, keeping us in the loop.
"I've got no problems with it, how about you?" Sarah said and looked at me with raised eyebrows and conflicting body language. What, I've told her about my issues with Samantha all these years and she's looking out for me and trying to also be a gracious host at the same time. It's not as easy as it looks.
"I mean you're already here, so I can't see why not," I replied, to which Samantha hugged and thanked me before returning to the group.
"Make that four places for people to sleep," Sarah chuckled a bit uneasily.
"Listen, I know I don't have the best history with her, but I'm not about to just kick her out..." I started
"I know, it just makes me uneasy..." Sarah confessed, looking me dead in the face.
"Don't worry about it, I can handle myself. However, I will need your help figuring out where everyone's going to sleep," I reassured my sister, already having ideas go through my mind.
"Well Wreath and I get along well, so the two of us can share my bed. Besides, it's not like we haven't before," Sarah offered, thinking about the options herself.
"Alright. Bobby and Jane are really close, given their history as well as Jane being Bobby's section leader in Marching band, so I thought maybe those two could share a bed if they want to," I thought out loud.
"Alright, so that just leaves you and Samantha, since Misty already has her own room and everything," Sarah added.
"Well, actually, wait a minute. I may dislike her, but Samantha still deserves to sleep on a bed. Maybe she could share Misty's bed, but we might want to ask them about that first," I figured, trying to be nice about this whole ordeal.
"Alright then, let's go ask them all then," Sarah suggested, knowing that I'll find a place for myself to sleep.
"Wait a minute, we wanted to let Bobby and Jane have a bed, but we only have the two, right?" I wondered, just now realizing this little fact.
"I figured we could let them have the couch bed," Sarah shrugged.
"What couch bed?" I asked, utterly confused.
"The one you've been sleeping on for the past few weeks," Sarah commented, a little confused herself as to why I was asking.
"Wait, that thing is a couch bed?" I blurted out, astonished by this.
"Yeah, I thought that's how you'd been sleeping on it for the past few weeks. Did you not know about that?" Sarah laughed a bit at my misfortune.
"No, I didn't. I've been sleeping on that thing as if it was just a regular couch," I mumbled to myself out of frustration, feeling all kinds of stupid.
"Ha! That's hilarious..." Sarah started laughing as I mentally beat myself up over this.
"Whatever, let's just go ask everyone what they want to do about this," I muttered, wanting to stop the embarrassment as soon as possible.
"Alright, let's go do that then," Sarah agreed between laughs as we both walked into the house.
Sarah and I surveyed everyone about what they wanted to do with the situation and gave them what we had just thought of. Wreath agreed in a heartbeat, which surprised neither of us. Misty and Samantha talked between the two of them and both decided to share Misty's bed quickly, which actually did surprise me. Bobby and Jane had no qualms about their end of the situation and agreed to take the couch bed, which Sarah started to set up for them while making fun of my lack of knowledge of the feature. I went to go grab some extra sheets for the two of them as well as some pillows and made the bed for them whenever they were ready. Then we kind of just sat around the kitchen table and chatted for a bit, all seven of us. Eventually they realized that something was off with the plan for sleep arrangements.
"Wait a minute, everyone else is situated but you Michael," Wreath spoke up after taking a sip of iced tea.
"Hm? I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow what you're saying," I responded, utterly confused since she just said this out of context. I mean we were talking about music before hand since Bobby asked Misty about what she likes to listen to.
"Sleeping arrangements. The six of us all have someplace to sleep, a bed even, and yet you don't," Wreath clarified.
"Oh. Don't worry about it Wreath, I'll figure something out," I dodged, trying to think of something to fix this situation.
"But why? I mean this is your house, you live here. You should at least have a nice place to sleep," Wreath insisted, to which the others nodded, save for Sarah who knows me.
"But I have friends over, and I don't want to leave them out. If nothing else, guests deserve a good place to sleep more than I do myself," I retorted, knowing that they'd all disagree, save for Sarah since she and I were raised on the same idea.
"That doesn't mean you should let yourself get the short end of the deal," Samantha chipped in.
"Listen, I appreciate the concern, but I'll always give way to guests before myself. It's just how I am," I stated, hoping to end the conversation and get back to the music.
"But if you do that, then you'll be giving yourself a less than optimal place to sleep," Samantha continued. Whelp, there goes ending that conversation.
"Again, I'll think of something. Even if it's lackluster," I persevered, refusing to give in.
"How about this: you come up with me and Misty and sleep with us?" Samantha offered deviously, to which Misty blushed furiously.
"No. Firstly, that bed is really only meant for two people at most, so three would be stretching it a bit. Secondly, that situation would be all kinds of awkward," I immediately declined. I still don't trust Samantha anyway, so I really don't want to even think of accepting that offer.
"Samantha, while I really do appreciate your attempt and your generosity, you really should just stop now. I've lived with this guy all his life, and I know how stubborn he can get. He won't budge on this, so you might as well just let it be," Sarah said after a few minutes of more attempts by Samantha to get me to sleep in a bed.
"But he should sleep in a bed. It's his house..." Samantha protested, still trying.
"Seriously, it's not going to get you anywhere," Sarah reaffirmed, finishing off her glass of water.
"Mm... fine. But don't do anything stupid Michael," Samantha caved with a hint of genuine concern.
So with that settled, kind of, we continued on with our conversations and just had a fun rest of the night. Bobby and I broke out the Wii and he and I played a few Sonic games while the girls watched, all the while we were all still talking. Samantha and Misty decided to check out first, heading up at around 1am, with Sarah and Wreath following about 30 minutes later. Jane was already getting ready to crash around 2 while Bobby and I finished up our game of Smash Bros. Brawl, and the two of them called it a night. I stayed up a little while longer, standing outside on the deck and looking at the stars for a bit so I could just take in this whole night. While I was not thrilled to go to Prom at first, I have to admit that the night did not actually turn out that bad. The Prom itself was rather lackluster, but as a whole this was a good night. I went back inside for a minute to grab a few things like my iPod and a blanket and the headed back outside. I went over to the little gazebo in the backyard and laid everything down before going back to the house to pickup my hammock. I set it up just behind the gazebo between two trees, hopped in, covered myself with the blanket, turned on my music and crashed nearly immediately, smiling profusely.