The Bright Side

Chapter 11 - Part 3

SKY

I press the doorbell and take a step back. Cars drive by and project my shadow on the front of Tristan's house. There's no reaction, Tristan and Rory are playing that stupid game of theirs again. I can see light in both of their rooms and I know that Tristan is awaiting me. The minutes stretch endlessly before I hear steps down the stairs and the door opens.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say. "I must've gotten the wrong house." I half turn around when Tristan grabs my arm and pulls me in.

"Don't try to be funny," he grins.

"Ohhhh, it's you. Mate, honestly, I almost didn't recognize you without the cast."

He's wearing his favourite dark grey hoodie with the neon birds on it and the left sleeve is a bit too loose for his arm now that the cast is off. The hand that sticks out of his sleeve is a sick white, only his fingers have caught some sun during the summer.

"Great, isn't it?" Tristan says and wiggles his fingers, rather ineffective. "I feel like I'm reborn."

He closes the door behind me and heads towards the stairs.

"Can't move it properly, though," he sighs. "Yet." He's holding it like it was still in the cast.

"So, what are we watching?" I ask as we go up the stairs.

"Oh, I've got some lovely movie choices prepared for you." Tristan's voice is extremely casual and I listen attentively. He's up to mischief. "It's either Mamma Mia, Titanic, Dirty Dancing or Lords of Dogtown."

I have to chuckle at his lame attempt to make me choose Lords of Dogtown. It's his favourite movie, alright, but we've seen it only a few weeks ago.

"Those are the choices?" I ask.

"Tough, huh?"

The DVDs are already sitting on his TV stand, I guess he stole them from his Mum, or hope so anyways and he takes them to hold them out towards me.

"Yeah. Umm... well, I guess I choose Mamma Mia then." It will be the worst possible punishment for him for trying to be sly.

"Great!" Tristan cheers and shoves the DVD into the player.

I have a very romance-crazy mother and two teenage sisters, so when it comes to girl movies, I can take a lot. I've mastered the skill to totally zone out of reality and lock myself up in my head. Tristan hasn't though. He's sighing and groaning every now and then and it takes him twenty-three minutes into the movie before he grabs the remote and pauses it.

"Honestly, mate? You're that stubborn? I'm writhing in pain here."

"Serves you right." I grin.

"Please, Sky. Just, please, please, please let's watch Lords of Dogtown." His puppy eyes are irresistible.

"Urgh, again?"

"There's really no other movie worth watching," he pleads.

"Alr..." I can't even finish and he's already kneeling in front of the DVD player to put it in.

"You're just the best." That goofy broad smile of his makes my heart jump up and down from excitement in my chest and even more as his shoulder rests against mine as he sits back down on the bed next to me.

It is a good movie, but my thoughts still drift off. I find it kind of hard to concentrate with Tristan so close to me. His presence is so strong, as if he were there a hundred times instead of once. Every little movement of his redirects my attention from the movie towards him. Halfway through he starts to massage his left forearm and his palm and then slowly clenches and unclenches his fist. He sighs softly and rests it back on his lap.