Page 31 of The Friend Scheme
I pull out my phone, and sync it to my Bluetooth speaker. I find the song, and hit play. It’s a song called “Mulholland Drive” by the Gaslight Anthem. To me, it feels like how the movie feels. And I love it for that.
The chorus hits. It goes:Oh that I’d just die if you ever took your love away.
“Damn, nice,” he says, nodding his head along. “I like it. He sounds so desperate.”
“Dude, that’s exactly why I like it!”
“Nice. You have such cool taste in music; I’m so jealous.”
I sit down on my desk chair, and he sits down on the edge of my bed. He kind of lounges, which I really like. It’s as if he’s already super comfortable here.
“What music do you like?” I ask. “Sorry, that’s such a broad question. I’ll narrow it down: What’s your favorite band?”
“I don’t really know. I feel like I haven’t come across any I like that much. I like this, though.”
“That’s exciting,” I say. “That means they’re still out there, for you to find.”
He smiles. “I’ve never thought about it that way. Thatispretty exciting.”
“In the meantime, though, what do you listen to?”
I have a moment where I realize this is happening. There he is. Sitting on my bed, like he’s done this a bunch of times. I have a friend over. This is so cool.
“I usually just listen to the playlists Spotify makes for me,” hesays. “I’m not really a big music guy.” He shrugs. “Sorry. I know you are.”
“Hey, don’t be sorry. I’m not one of those people who expects people to like everything I like. I hope I don’t seem like I am.”
“No, you don’t. You seem very cool.”
He smiles. God, he’s so cute.
“I’m glad.”
He quirks his head to the side and then pushes up off my bed and goes over to my bookshelf. He scans it.
“Harry Potter, nice,” he says. “The Game of Thrones series, too.”
“Yep.”
He taps the top of the shelf and looks around.
“I really do love your room,” he says. “It feels like, yours, you know?”
I lean back against my chair. “Yours doesn’t?”
“Nope.”
“Why?”
“Can’t say. It’s a family thing.”
“Oh, right.”
That kind of lingers between us. I get the idea he wants to change the subject pretty badly. For the first time since he got here, he looks uncomfortable.
“Did you want to play someSmash Bros.?” I ask.
“Dude, yes! I loveSmash Bros.!”
