21st Century Breakdown: Nathan and Ari

13 - Horseshoes and Handgrenades

Chapter 13

Joey Armstrong

When it came to clothes, Nathan was a life saver and I was completely helpless.

I stood in front of the mirror for I don't even know how long, just looking at the masterpiece that Nathan had chosen. My insanely beat up Chuck Taylors, a pair of jeans, a red button down (that I refused to tuck in), and a black bow tie. Strangely, the bow tie didn't look nerdy; it actually looked really good under the circumstances. Now, if I added some hipster glasses to this outfit, I definitely would've looked like a nerd.

There was a slight knock on my door, followed by the sound of ice rattling inside a plastic cup. "Uh, yeah?" I said, looking toward my door as it opened.

And in stepped Mel, holding a grande Iced Caffè Mocha from Starbucks. "Hey," she said, taking the liberty of inviting herself in and sitting down on my bed. "Y'know, that actually looks really good, your outfit." I smiled, turning around to face her. Mel was the fashion phenom of the little group that we had. Whenever she complimented your outfit, you knew it was a good one. She gave you that extra little reassurance that didn't make you feel insecure about what you were wearing. She took a sip of her drink, holding it out to me after doing so. "Want some?" she offered, curling one side of her mouth up. It wasn't uncommon for Mel and I to share drinks, what with her being Ari's best friend and all.

I took the drink from her hand and took a sip before looking at the name written on the cup. "You told them your name was Nora?" I inquired, causing her to smile a bit.

She nodded, retorting, "Well, your sister told them her name was Julie, so..." She laughed, taking her drink back from me. "Next time we go to Starbucks - all of us - you can be M, Nathan can be R, and Anthony can be Perry. Case closed."

"What...oh, Warm Bodies?" I asked, sitting down next to her on my bed. She nodded triumphantly, bringing her knees up to her chest, her blond hair falling into her face slightly.

She looked up at me with her ocean blue eyes through her long eyelashes and said, "You read that, didn't you? I mean, Ari talked about it from the time she found it to about a week after she finished it. Hell, she's still talking about how amazing it was!" She took another sip of her drink and I nodded, so she went on. "So you did read it?" I nodded again. "Well, you remember how it ended, right?"

A flirtatious smirk formed on my face, and I nodded once again. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do..." I trailed off, looking down at Mel as she handed me her mocha so she could fall back onto my bed completely. She folded her hands on her stomach, looking up at the glow-in-the-dark stars on my ceiling that I neglected to take down from when I was about six years old.

"So, who are you going to the Olive Garden with?" Mel asked, completely out of nowhere. My eyes widened immediately as she asked that question.

"Since when do you care about my sex life?" I retorted, starting to get defensive. Why? I have no idea.

"I get into everyone's sex life, dude. Your sister's, Anthony's... I'd think that you'd know that by now," she stated nonchalantly, brushing a piece of hair off of her face. "And besides, I never said anything about your sex life, I just asked who you were going out with tonight. Jeez." I sighed internally, getting up and picking my phone up off of my bedside table. "So, who's the lucky lady?"

"Ava Marcus," I stated, handing Mel back her drink so I could fall back beside her. "She's the new new girl. Just got here yesterday. I met her in the mall. Somehow, she favored me over Max." Mel laughed, leaning her head up slightly so she could reach the straw without spilling espresso-filled deliciousness all over us and my bed.