Boy was he oblivious.
Sure, I was dense,
but at least I could admit it.
I could also admit that
I was a little hurt
each time he
seemingly
chose to ignore my pokes and prods.
I get to listen to him go on and on about this one girl-
who I don’t even care that much about-
and he gets to go on and on about her.

Obviously, I’ve got to be there for him.
Everyone should be there for the ones they love. But ****,
does it hurt when the ones you love
jab
at the heart that throbs for them.

I refused to let the ride home be silent.

“Did you want some ice cream or something to make you feel better?”

A groan of a reply.

I didn’t bother to give him a glance.
I squeezed the steering wheel and kept my eyes glued to the road,
though I’d rather they be glued to him.

“You should come over,”
I spoke, though it was almost
drowned out by the whiny screech of my brakes.
I took the opportunity to look at him.
He did not meet my eyes.
Instead, his arms were over his chest and he stared at the window at some old car wash
on the right side of my Toyota.
“I think you could benefit from a break  thinking
about that girl.”

“I don’t know, man,”
a sentence at last.
“I have homework probably.”

The car ****** forward as the light turned green, breaking my companion’s eye contact with
the gas station extension.
My eyes lingered on him for a moment before
I scratched the back of my neck.

“C’mon, it’s Friday,”
I urged.
“You deserve a chance to take your mind off that girl.”

He threw his arms out.
“She’s not just some girl!
She’s an absolute beauty who
barely knows I exist! Like I said,
angel fish,”
he gestured to the air to the right of him,
“Sea urchin,”
the same hand now met his chest on the “sea”.

“I,”
I shook my head.
“I think you give that
b#tch
too much credit, you know?
She called you slurs…”
I brought the car to a cruising speed when I noticed we were alone on the road.
“And, ‘cause, y’know. I think sea urchins are pretty f#cking awesome.”
I snuck a glance at him.
He was staring at his lap;
his brows were knitted and his eyes looked as if they would fall out of the sockets.
“…I think I’m a sea urchin as well.”

He snorted and sat up straight to look at me. “Really?”
He smiled,
dimples showing.
Good.
“You can’t be a sea urchin too;
you’re too perfect to be one.”
His head of brown hair shook and
one of his matching brows raised.

“Perfect?”
I grinned.
“This guy?”
I brought a hand off the steering wheel and ****** a thumb towards my chest.
I was a careful enough driver to
still be focused on the road.
At first glance you might think I’m some sort of reckless delinquent
who only cares about
getting girls and
getting drunk.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Well, maybe not perfect,”
he smiled towards me, rolling his eyes.
I let my gaze meet his before snapping back to the street.
“But definitely perfect enough..”

“So,”
I mumbled and scratched the back of my neck, “Ice cream?”