The Strange House Pt 04

*

"Who was that?" Mom asked as I came home.

"Just someone giving me a lift. I slipped at the mall and they drove me," I said, trying to make the details vague. I wasn't entirely sure why I did that, but I guess I found Faith very pretty, and like most other insecure eighteen-year-olds I was too shy to talk about girls with my mom.

"That's nice," Mom said, returning to her newspaper. Luckily, she didn't notice my lip. The bruising in my ribs would probably be hidden as well.

After a shower, some fresh clean clothes, and I'd run around to Marsh and Browning with their stuff. Both were happy enough, so I went home for the day, figuring I'd perhaps run through Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood questline for the 400th time.

I was halfway through sneaking poison into a cauldron when eddie345 suddenly wrote to me again on Discord. It had been a while since the last time. I had mostly dismissed him as some guy who just writes to everyone he encounters online, and that I had replied to something he wrote or something.

"What's up?" he wrote.

"Not much, u?" I wrote back.

"Not much," he said.

I sat there and wondered for a bit if I should follow up like Faith had advised me to. But no. I decided against it. Instead, I alt-tabbed back into Skyrim, cursing the old alt-tab bug they never fixed.

The next school day I was utterly distracted. I was never the most diligent student anyway, but today I was just not able to focus at all. Even when Zach and Jeremy found me that morning at my locker and started talking about whatever the fuck party I hadn't joined in on, and how dumb I was, I did not even bother to respond. I just walked away, barely registering them.

"What the fuck, lil faggot, you think you better than us?" Zach asked angrily as he thought I ignored him. "How about I fuck-"

"How about I fuck your mother, you little shit?!" Jeremy called after me. But as the bell rang I just went to class.

The truth is, it wasn't a newfound courage that made me able to ignore them. It was Faith. I couldn't stop thinking about her. There was just something intriguing about her. Her confidence, how kind she was despite being so pretty... It wasn't anything like the girls at school. Except Anna. She was perfect. I knew she sometimes laughed at me, and that made me feel like shit, but she probably didn't know the extent of Jeremy and Zach's torment. I couldn't really blame her for that. Out of context, perhaps some of the teasing they did was objectively funny.

The two gorillas did, however, make me pay back later. They did the ol' trick of throwing me into a bathroom stall and started banging on the doors, yelling obscenities, and by the time it was time for class, they broke the lock.

"Hey!" I called. "You gotta let me out!"

"Fuck you," Zach yelled as he exited the door, the two of them laughing hysterically.

Before I would just climb over the stall, but even I had grown too big for that small little gap between the edge and the roof. So instead, I just sat there on the toilet seat and waited for my rescue. It came an hour later in terms of a janitor, accompanied by my PE teacher Louise. A pretty woman in her own right. She knew to some extent my predicament so she had sometimes come to my rescue, though I knew better than to say who it was who had locked me up again.

One thing that did change in my day-to-day life was that almost every day I 'chatted' with eddie345. I put chatting in quotation marks because our conversations were more or less the same each and every time.

"What's up?" he'd write around six PM every day.

"Not much, u?" I wrote back.

"Not much," he said.

I still hadn't taken the leap in expanding on what I had done, or taken any initiative to prolong the conversation like Faith had suggested, but it felt nice to chat with someone who wasn't my parents, my bullies, or old folks around the neighborhood. Until one day I did take that leap.

"What's up," Eddie wrote.

"Not much, u?" I wrote.

"Not much," he replied like always.

Fuck it. Why not? Though, I had to google how to 'break the ice' to figure out how to broker a conversation. Yes, I'm that ill-trained in meeting new people. Or talking to people in general. Or perhaps I was just looking for topics to even talk to someone whom I knew nothing about.

"Can I ask where you are from?" I wrote, before quickly, albeit awkwardly, adding, "Just wondering cuz time zones and stuff."

"I live in Indiana," he wrote after a bit. "How about you?"

"Me too! Where in Indiana?" I asked. What were the chances? I wasn't interested in meeting anyone for real, but it would be pretty cool if we both happened to live in the same area.

I saw the small notification of Eddie's writing. I was starting to think whoever this was, he wasn't all that comfortable with computers as he didn't write the fastest. As I waited for his reply, I glanced out the window and saw Pete wander toward the old house, a shopping bag in hand by the looks of it. Then eddie345 finally wrote his reply.

"I am from Courtington."

"Me too!"

"Cool. is Watford still principal?"

I had no idea who that even was, and I had been under at least two principals. I was guessing Eddie was an older gentleman. Not that it mattered, he seemed nice anyhow.

"No. When was he at the school?" I asked. But no reply. The conversation seemed to stop there.

Oh well. If he indeed was an older guy, perhaps sitting on his computer all day wasn't something he often did.

*

"This fucking thing won't budge," Dad grunted.

As yet another Saturday came, Dad had recruited me in an attempt to get rid of a root that was in the perfect spot for a small pavilion. Gazebo, they called it. Sounded like some dangerous Australian animal if you ask me. But the root wouldn't budge, as the old man said. We had hauled at it for what we both were worth, though Dad was far stronger than I was. There were certainly some secret techniques people who knew these things did to make root removal much easier. But sadly, nobody had shared that with us.

"Fuck it," Dad said, grunting after giving a last yank.

Who would've thought volunteering for yard work would be so backbreaking? Dad had made it sound so easy. As I said, lately helping out folks, including my parents, has become somewhat of a habit. I even made new trips to the mall. Sometimes in hopes of seeing Faith again. Partially as she had promised to help me out, but also because I couldn't get her out of my head. Her hazel-green eyes, her sandy blonde hair, her freckles, how sun-struck she looked even in the winter. She was just so... Different. And interesting.

Something I had thought back to, as I thought back to our few encounters a lot, was that I hadn't stuttered as much with her, even as intimidating as I found her. It was like her confidence in herself, how she carried herself, gave serenity to my awkwardness. I wasn't sure if I was able to explain it, even to myself.

And her advice had helped. After 'opening up', if you can call it that, to Eddie, I felt much more comfortable in my own skin. Of course, 'much more comfortable' means that it felt good to see casual social interactions weren't so scary after all. Everything is relevant to the status quo, though, where mine was pretty abysmal in the first place.

Still, I was even able to talk to Anna for a brief moment without being influenced by alcohol. Not much, but I had said an unprompted 'hi'. She looked a bit surprised, but pleasantly so. Thanks to that little nudge Faith had given me in the car before, I had made Anna, my crush, pleasantly surprised. That's a good thing, right?

Mom had teased me a bit by asking a few times who the pretty lady was, having seen Faith when she dropped me off, asking me if she should be worried. I never talked with or about girls, and certainly not in the presence of my mom, so I think she was pleasantly surprised.

I shyly dismissed that immediately every time though. No way. Faith was in another league, too unobtainable, and that was the end of that. Not that Anna wasn't also unobtainable, but at least... I don't know, she was sort of always my crush. I never thought of Faith the way I thought of Anna. I think. I mean, Faith did put me pretty hard in the friend zone by saying she was my sister. But then again, what else could she say?

"Dad," I started. "How did you meet Mom?"

Dad looked a bit surprised. I never talked about girls. But I had managed to say 'hi' to Anna, so I needed to know where to go from here. Who better to ask than my dad? He had landed Mom who was a pretty woman in her own right.

He stared at the shovel for a second before answering, finding some remnant soil stuck on its iron head to scrape off with his boot. Finally, he took his handkerchief and wiped his hands as he looked to be in some state of remembering, a nostalgic glint in his eyes.

"You asked when you were younger, but I guess old Paps' stories don't stick," he chuckled. "Well, now that you're older, I can probably give you the adult version."

"Ew, gross," I joked.

"No no. I mean, nothing like that, for heaven's sake. I caught your mother's friend drunk behind the wheel. Sally(my mom) tried to talk her way out of it, and perhaps she managed to do just that," Dad told. "What, got someone catching your eye?"

"I guess. But she barely knows I exist. And... I don't know, she's too pretty for me," I mumbled, sitting down on the back porch steps.

"Nonsense," Dad chuckled. "You just gotta talk to her."

"Easy to say, not so easy to do," I muttered.

"I get it. Why don't you start by just greeting her? A lil 'good morning'? I'm guessing she's in your class?"

"Yeah, I already said 'hi' once," I said, sorta realizing how that sounded. Dad just smiled under his bushy mustache.

"Well, that's the first step. A few more of those and you guys are talkin'," Dad said, ever the optimist.

"I guess," I muttered. Was it that simple?

So on Monday when I took the bus and walked past Anna, I mumbled a 'good morning' to her. Better than a regular hi, I think. Anna smiled and greeted me back. Oh, what a smile. My whole body heated up just from that small exchange. It was so different from when we were kind of intoxicated.

On Tuesday, I did it as well. But when I was about to walk back to my regular seat, Anna patted the seat next to her for me to sit. My heart jumped, and shaking like a leaf I sunk down next to her.

"Top of the mornin' to ya," Anna chuckled.

"T-to you a-as well," I replied. The bus seats were in theory double, but not really, so I was able to feel her warm body next to mine. It felt like I would melt my way out of the seat and all over the floor of the bus.

"Mind if I listen to music?" she asked, lifting her earpods for emphasis.

"N-not at all," I said. Damn it. Oh well, I was happy just sitting here.

It wasn't until Thursday that I was able to ask her what she listened to. As she was about to pop in her earpods, I hurriedly blurted out, "Wait!"

She looked a bit surprised at my outburst but looked at me expectantly.

"Erh, wh-what are you lis-listening to?" I asked.

"Just some hip-hop songs," she said. "Jeremy likes them so I thought I'd give them a listen. It's pretty bad."

"Oh. Yeah, I'm sure. I don't really... listen. To hip hop that is. Or music, I guess," I said. I saw her politely, but impatiently, waiting for me to get done talking. "Oh. Go ahead, sorry to bother you." She offered a stiff smile and popped them back in.

When the school day ended, I once again stood by my locker. Jeremy and Zach too, talking and talking above my head as if I wasn't there. Zach went to shove Jeremy's shoulder for something he said but made sure to step on my toes and bump into me on the way, showing his true intention.

"Oh shit, sorry, didn't see ya there," Zach said cruelly, looking down without moving his head.

"Hey, there's another party this Saturday. But you know what, lil Gay Boy," Jeremy said. "You can't come. We got a new alcohol supplier, so fuck off ait?"

"I wasn't going anyway," I said. Jeremy slapped the back of my head for talking back.

"Too bad you can't come. It's over at Anna's place. Parents are out, so you better believe I'm gonna donkey dick that bitch," Jeremy said, staring into me as if daring me to talk back. "Maybe I'll fuck your bitch mom too. You think you can introduce me?"

"Hey! Logan!" A far more pleasant voice said from down the hall. Anna was walking towards us.

"Sorry about this morning. I'm always tired on the bus," she said.

"From sucking too much of this pole!" Jeremy joked, grabbing his crotch for emphasis as if it wasn't obvious what she meant.

Anna just rolled her eyes. "So anyway. Party at my place this Saturday. Wanna come? Could be

fun

," she said with a small wink. Oh boy.

I nodded eagerly, wanting to know what she meant by 'fun', especially with the way she said it, and before I got out a verbal confirmation, Anna spun and walked away.

"Guess you got off lucky, you fucking idiot," Jeremy chuckled, slapping the back of my head again.

*

Mom and Dad were happy I was getting out of the house, unaware of what had happened last time. When I asked, they made me promise to behave, which I swore I would, so the party was pretty much a given at this point. It probably helped that it was at Anna's place too, and not the woods. However, she actually lived somewhere on the other side of said woods.

Honestly, I was excited. Not only was this possibly yet another step in having a somewhat normal life, but I was excited about seeing Anna. I mean, she had called me cute, she had promised to 'reward' me previously, and now she openly invited me to a party to have fun. We even talked.

But I didn't think much further, though. Too afraid to imagine. I just looked forward to that evening. I was too distracted to even play a game. I alt-tabbed in and out, here and there, until a Discord notification popped up.

"What's up," Eddie wrote.

You know what? Let's tell someone the good news. I had reason to be happy, after all.

"Going to a party this weekend," I wrote.

"Meeting a cute girl?" Eddie wrote. He saw right through me. Why else would a boy my age highlight going to a party? This time the prospect of a party just felt different, I have to say.

"You could say that. Got any advice?" I replied.

"A new shirt is always nice. And perfume," he wrote back.

"Any recommendations?" I asked. Perfumes? Wasn't that something only women wore? I thought back to Mom and Faith. They wore perfume. I guess Anna did too, but something way more bubbly, fitting her age.

But Eddie never responded. He always kept it a few replies at a time. I guess he had a life. Who would've thunk, that people actually got that. A life, that is. But I hurried down, pulling a jacket on me, hollering to Mom I was going to the mall.

A quick bus ride later, I was there. However, it was not the best bus ride, as an old lady came on and it was really slippery so I gave her my seat. When the bus ran into a small crevice in the road, I slid and almost fell. Clumsy me. That was why I preferred to walk, bus rides were never fun, but in my eagerness, I wanted to save time.

Anyway, here I was. At the mall, shopping for clothes that weren't Walmart. I actually don't mind Walmart at all, but Anna had teased me with it before on occasion, so I thought it better to rule it out for now. Perfume, I don't know, it was still a bit out there. I still thought it was a bit girly and stuff. I couldn't remember if Dad ever wore it, and that was honestly the only source of reference that I could think of.

"Curious to see you here," I heard behind me. It was Anna. And Amanda. Fuck me.

"Y-y-yeah?" I replied if you can even call it that.

"Yeah, this is neither a thrift shop nor Walmart," Amanda snorted. Anna playfully slapped her girlfriend's shoulder.

"I thought p-perhaps something n-new," I mumbled. "For the weekend. Y-y'know, the party."

"What's that?" Amanda said, challenging me mumbling all over the place.

"Let's leave him alone. Good shopping and good luck," Anna said cheerfully, pulling her friend with her as they went along.

I just stood there a bit dumbstruck. Anna seemed friendly enough, but I wasn't sure if they were being passively demeaning or not. I mean, obviously, Amanda was, but Anna seemed to try to be cordial. Perhaps she was acting a bit cooler in front of her bimbo friend. Yeah. That was it. I did notice she laughed at a joke at my expense again, and that didn't feel too good.

Walking around the mall, I had to wonder how many clothing stores one needs. I mean, there were just so many. And restaurants. How was it even sustainable as a business model? I slumped down at a bench eventually, too undecided to pick something. I didn't even know what was a reasonable price. I had some money from helping out around the neighborhood, but I hated taking money from the elderly so it wasn't that much either.

"Hey there, Logan," a familiar voice said. This time it wasn't Anna, not at all. I turned and saw Faith take a seat beside me, smiling down at me. "What are you up to?"

"Hey. I don't know," I said defeated.

"Aw, don't be like that. What are you looking for?" she said. I can't explain it, but it was just something about the way she talked to me that made me feel a bit better. Like a warm embrace in an otherwise so hostile environment. Even her voice was nice to listen to.

"A shirt, I think. I'm going to a party, and I figured I would get a shirt," I explained defeatedly. "But I don't know anything about fashion."

"Trying to impress a girl, are we?" Faith teased knowingly. "Don't worry. I'll help you out."

"Really?" I asked. And now she was offering me help?

"What are sisters for?" she chuckled, getting back up. I never had a sibling, so I wouldn't know.

Faith held out a gloved hand for me to grab, and easily lifted me up on my feet. God, she was strong! Only if she actually was my older sister. Maybe she could've protected me against my bullies. Faith saw me chuckle at the notion.

"What's funny?" she asked, leading the way towards a long row of stores.

"Erh," I started, trying to come up with something. But Faith was too quick for me.

"Come on, tell me. Or your big sister will beat you up," she teased, nudging me with her elbow.

"The sister thing. I just... It's not funny, but it's fun to think about," I explained, blushing a bit. Faith nodded, steering the course ahead.

I guess it was odd to once again hang out at the mall with Faith. Last time I had hurried after her like a lowly servant to a fine Lady. Some servant I was, as she was the one carrying all the bags. No, I just walked next to her as if we had known each other forever. Though, I was still sort of scared of her. Faith certainly was an intimidating presence. At least to me.

It was not something I could put a finger on. It was not only in terms of her literal strength and apparent status but something about her demeanor and how pretty she was. Yet, the longer we walked together, the calmer and more relaxed I became. She wasn't creepy or threatening, no, it was more... playful. Friendly, in an oddly charming and daunting way. Full confidence in herself and with no need to bully others for self-esteem.

'Perhaps that was it,'

I mused.

Some girls walked towards us. Dressed in similar ways as Faith, but yet differently. They had their arms around each other as they gossiped and chatted. And glancing at Faith. Perhaps admiringly, perhaps in envy. Or perhaps they wondered why on earth she was hanging out with me. Not that she was snobby or anything, but she was just plain and simply better than me.

So Faith took me through one store after the other. I reluctantly dismissed most of the shirts she proposed, but she was undeterred. In the end, she caught on to

why

I didn't seem to find any shirt I wanted. The prices were way out of my comfort zone. I only had thirty bucks and some change. Faith did then something I was highly uncomfortable with. She paid for them. All the shirts I had liked but that was too expensive.