Different colored minds

Tables

MAVERICK POV

Every day now, I look over my shoulder, waiting for Jeremy to come from behind me. But he never does.

Joe and I have been hanging out more though because of it, having each other's back. Joe keeps trying to get Pamela to join our group too but she hasn't showed. Sadly both of us realized since she never texted either of us, neither of us has her number. Joe says she won't even talk to him in class. So we can't figure out what to do. I know and he knows that if Jeremy was willing to cut the breaks in someone's car, murdering someone can't be that much farther.

Now that I have my eyes on Jeremy I see him a lot more—I actually even have a class with the guy. He's in my English class. I can tell from the way he talks he's intelligent, not only that, but if he knows how to mess with cars he knows a lot about machinery like me. At least that's my thought. But if I didn't know he was the one that did it, I wouldn't have even thought he was capable of doing something like that. He looks just as innocent as the person next to him.

Joe can't stop looking around for him either, although thankfully they don't have a class together. All I keep thinking is it's too peaceful. If someone is willing to jack a car, there's got to be other things like that on their mind. Other things that are too dark to conceive. Joe thinks the same. Although I never thought about this in the past, Joe and I have a lot more in common than I thought originally. He's a lot kinder than I gave him credit for, and he's pretty intelligent. It's not that I thought he was mean, but I've seen a lot of bullies in my days, and the way it starts out is apathy—

"Hey Maverick! I figured out how we're gonna talk to Pamela!" Joe sits down next to me at one of the tables in the cafeteria.
"Really? What are we going to do?" I smile back at him.
"I know her brother, and I've been meaning to see if he wanted to go do something with me. He let me drop him off in my car so ironically I even know where he lives." He looks elated. "And then she'll have to talk to me."
"That's a great plan," I laugh. His eyes are looking far off, I follow his line of sight.
In the corner of the cafeteria, sitting alone at a round table is Steven.
"What happened with you and Steven?" I ask, looking towards the lonely kid at the table.
"He said he didn't want to be my friend anymore."
"Why?"
Joe shrugs.
"It's not really my problem."
"I thought you guys were best friends though,"
"I don't really know anymore. We hung out a lot, but by the end, he didn't really know me."
"So you gave up?"
"He's the one that said he didn't want to be friends anymore,"
"But you didn't ask him why,"
"I mean I'm not going to go against his wishes. If he'd rather not have me as a friend, then that's fine. There's other fish in the sea as they say."
"I guess so, but who's he got now?"
"Again, not my problem."
"You're pretty cold Joe."
"I don't think so. I'm realistic, why try and be friends with someone who doesn't want to be friends with you?"
I laugh. I understand where he's coming from, but I don't agree. At the end of the day it is each person's choice to stay or leave. But I hope I'm the kind of friend that would stick it out no matter what. If I had to guess what pulled those two apart, I wouldn't say it was the fact that Steven said he didn't want to be his friend anymore. To be honest I bet Steven felt like he was the only one that was being a friend until the end.
"I don't know man. I guess there you have it." But I can't stop looking at Steven. He looks the way Joe did when I met him, alone, and vulnerable. He's looks so fragile. He looks like me. Maybe I'm just seeing myself in a lot of people these days. Makes me feel like I could be better. I could be there for more people. Joe said that he shouldn't care about someone who says they want to leave, but there's always a reason.

My hands shove into my pockets.

I guess I was always the side choice. Never the main man. Always. So what's the point in trying. In trying to make friends. In trying at all. That's what that kid has to be thinking. Because the one person he wanted to look back and say, 'oh shit I fucked up' didn't. He left him in the dust.

Maybe he felt like joe would care if he left. He would show that he still cared about the friendship. Still wanted soemthing to come out of it. Joe is a very delicate person. And I don't think Steven thought he ever was. He must have thought he was capable of talking about what he was feeling. Joe barely knows the temperature of the day.

I shake my head.

Relationships are forever my first curiosity besides god.