The New KISS High School

Ch 8: Dinner (Eric C)

"Dammit, damn, he's gonna be here any minute, I'm not ready, I'm not even close to ready," I muttered to myself, scrambling around my room in a desperate attempt to clean everything. I had pretty much made it look like I hadn't lived in it within the last five years despite not even having the slightest clue whether he'd even end up in my room at all. I stepped out of my room and walked to the bathroom, looking at my reflection and letting out a sigh. There was nothing I could do to make my hair look presentable that wouldn't take at least an hour, so I didn't even bother. 

Loretta walked up to me, giving me a grin. "Geez Eric, I don't think your room's been this clean since we moved here," she said with a laugh. "Why didn't you tell me Bob was Bruce's older brother?!" I cried. "Why, who's Bruce?" she asked, giving me a confused look. "He's in my class at school," I grumbled, feeling my face growing warm, and judging by the huge smile that had spread across her face I had gone red. "Aww Eric don't tell me you've got a crush on him!" she said gleefully. "I'm doomed, he's going to be able to tell in a heartbeat," I moaned. Giggling, she ruffled my hair, making it look even messier than it already did. 

"I'm sure you'll be just fine! Just try not to make it too obvious! Aw think of how cute that would be if my brother dated my boyfriend's brother," she said, giving me a smile. "I don't even know if he's like that," I muttered, but she shrugged. "Only one way to find out! Besides, you're a nice guy! I'm sure he'll love you," she said. "Hopefully he's not into tall guys though." "Hah hah. When do you go back to school again?" I asked, and her smile got wider. "Not until September, so you're stuck with me for another month. Anyway, I've got to go check on Mom and see if she needs help with dinner, I'm sure it'll be just fine between you and Bruce. Just act casual!" she said, walking downstairs and leaving me to return to desperately cleaning my room. 

It still looked far too lived in by the time the doorbell rang, and I felt my heart drop. "Ohh damn I'm not ready at all," I said to myself, shooting a glance at my phone and wondering if I could escape to Gene's place for the night. But before I could even attempt to call him, Mom was calling my name and telling me to come downstairs. Taking a deep breath, I looked around my room one last time, still unsatisfied, before heading down the stairs. My parents were talking to who I assumed were Bruce's parents while of course Bob and Loretta were already deep in conversation, leaving just Bruce standing there. He gave me a smile and a small wave as soon as he saw me, and my heart melted into a puddle in an instant. 

"Hey Eric! Sorry I didn't tell you I was coming over until yesterday, I had no idea what your last name was," he said. "Hah, yeah, I usually just tell people it's Carr so it's easier to say. I mean hell even Eric's a nickname, my real name is Paul," I said with a sheepish shrug. He let out a chuckle. "Damn, I swear all of you in that group go by entirely different names than your actual names," he said, shaking his head. I frowned, running it over in my head before nodding. "Huh, you're right, we all do! Well, Peter is at least Peter's middle name," I said. Before Bruce could say anything, Mom turned to me. "Eric, why don't you take Bruce up to your room? I'll call you when dinner's ready," she said. 

I motioned for Bruce to follow me, feeling myself getting flustered all over again as I led him upstairs to my room. "Oh wow your room is really clean!" he said. "Mine's an absolute disaster." "Hah, thanks," I mumbled, feeling guilty for cleaning as if I had somehow lied to him. "I've got so many posters that I really need to rehang, they keep falling off the wall," he said, looking at my bare walls. "Oh yeah same," I said without thinking, and he gave me a baffled look. "Well I-I mean I've taken them down, I haven't rehung them yet," I added weakly, hoping he wouldn't put together I had taken them all down because I was terrified he'd judge me for them. 

"Ohh, nice nice." There was a pause as he looked around my pretty much now empty room before his eyes drifted to the closet. "Um anyway so yeah what do you think of Lester so far?" I blurted out, desperate to get him away from the closet since that's where I had shoved pretty much everything in my room. "It's nice to be back! I did miss it, I had good friends there, and it's nice to meet people I wasn't as close with again," he said, giving me a warm smile. "Why'd you leave?" I asked, and my stomach knotted as his smile disappeared. "Ah, just...wanted to try another school and see how it went," he said in a much less cheerful voice. "Oh. Well I-I'm glad you're back!" I said, trying to salvage it, and to my relief his smile returned. "Me too." 

Before I could find a way to ruin the conversation again Loretta shouted up the stairs it was dinnertime. "So you've got just the one sister?" he asked as we walked downstairs. "Nah, I've got another one, Marie. She's older though, and married too. You got any other siblings?" "Nope, just Bob," he said, walking into the dining room with me. He took his seat which was of course next to mine, accepting the plate of food Mom handed him. "Thanks Mrs. Caravello!" he said, and she absolutely beamed at him. "You're very welcome!" she said happily, handing me a plate. "Thanks Mom!" I said.

"What is this?" Bruce asked in a low voice. "Huh? Oh! It's just like a lemon chicken dish with some vegetables. Why, you're not allergic to anything are you?" I asked. To my relief, he shook his head. "Nah, just curious! It looks really good." "It is, Mom's a good cook," I said with a shrug. Thankfully I was right, since he absolutely loved dinner. And thankfully our parents and siblings dominated the conversation, meaning I didn't have to actually talk to him and ruin it somehow. Eventually we had all finished eating and Dad gave me a look. "Eric, why don't you get started on the dishes?" he said. Nodding, I jumped to my feet, grateful for a chance to escape Bruce. As much as I loved him, I was still absolutely a disaster around him, and I could feel my face was bright red. 

"Oh here I'll help," Bruce said, and I wanted to die on the spot as he helped me clear the plates. "So what do you want me to do?" he asked as I turned on the sink. "Oh, um, you can dry the dishes once I wash them, lemme load the plates into the dishwasher first," I said, hastily doing that as he watched. I began to wash the dishes, setting the pots and pans on the counter for him to dry. I was distracted as I worked, trying to focus only on the dishes and not on the fact that the guy I had a huge crush on was currently in my house. 

"Hey Eric," he said, tapping me on the shoulder, and I jumped, immediately slicing my thumb on the knife I was washing. "Oh my gosh I'm so sorry," he said, face going white. "Oh no it's fine!" I said, forcing a smile and trying not to panic. "What did you need?" "Um you know what forget what I was gonna say, let's take care of that first," he said, grabbing some paper towels and picking up my hand. I could only stand there and pray my face wasn't crimson as he gently washed off my hand before pressing the paper towels against the cut, practically holding my hand. "I'm really sorry, damn I should've thought about the fact you were washing a knife before I startled you, I'm really really sorry," he said, looking miserable. 

I gave him a smile, heart melting at how he was trying to help me, and just shrugged. "Don't worry about it! Trust me, I've had way worse. It's just a little paper cut really, it's not bad. Lemme go grab a band-aid for myself," I said, pulling my hand free of his before I could completely panic. "I'll take over the washing for you," he said, stepping in front of the sink before I could tell him he didn't have to. Heart fluttering, I pulled open the junk drawer, grabbing a band-aid. "Oh lemme help," Bruce said, taking it from me and putting it over my thumb, fingers soft as they brushed gently against my hand. 

"Oh, thanks," I mumbled, looking at the ground. "Of course," he said with a faint smile, eyes sparkling. We finished the rest of the dishes together and just sort of stayed in the kitchen talking before at last he had to say goodbye, his family finally heading home. As soon as the front door shut behind him I let out a relieved sigh, looking fondly at the band-aid on my thumb. 

It had shockingly not been a disaster, and I could only hope desperately that if he did realize how I felt about him, he felt the same about me.