Displaced

Chevelle - Fifty-Three

Wicken was right in front of me, less than three feet away. I could touch him if I dared to. Somehow, all I could manage was staring. Words escaped me, my brain ceased to function. It was kind of like I was looking at a ghost. Yet he was right there, right in front of me, breathing, moving, and looking mad. But why? Didn't he want to see me too?

One of the guys who was trying to pull Wicken away gazed at me.

"Please, let him stay, please." I dried my eyes with my napkin, not wanting to make the scene even more embarrassing or dramatic than it already was.

"I'll get you another order," the guy who was staring at me said. He winked at Wicken and threw a few towels at him. "Clean up."

Wicken grunted and knelt down to start wiping off the mess on the table. He didn't say anything. Why wasn't he talking to me? What was wrong?

I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn't know what to say. What could I say? Sorry you got yourself into trouble? Looking good, what do you think of the spaceship? Do you think being held hostage by these crazy aliens sucks as much as I do? Remember how you told me you loved me and I said the same? I'm not sure I meant it the same way you did.

Yeah, all of those ideas sucked. He cleaned, grumbling the whole time.

Timber slid his chair away from the table. "I'm going to go find a bathroom to...figure something out." He pulled at his shirt, untucking it from his pants and shook some of the spaghetti off.

I wouldn't put it past him to strip right there in the restaurant, Mr. Confident in his appearance. Every day he got more and more risqué. It would only be a matter of time before he walked around in just his boxers all of the time. Which I don't appreciate, I should add, because I don't think he'd be okay with me wearing only my underwear all of the time.

He glanced over his shoulder, and scowled. I followed his gaze and noticed Rumor, sipping on a glass of wine, giggling, and looking awfully smug. Sure, she came off as super sweet every time we'd spoken. I didn't like her. At all. She gave off a lot of mega mean vibes, and watching her laugh at Timber's misery with her mini-me's made me want to go over and slap that grin off of her face. When he left for the bathroom, I actually heard them whine as if disappointed. Seriously, what is wrong with them?

I shook my head and returned my attention to Wicken. With some hesitation, I touched his arm, ever so gently. His skin was warm, his muscles tensed under my fingers, and he took in a slow breath. He was real, alive, and far more beautiful than I remembered. Something about him was different. I couldn't put my finger on what because it was so subtle.

"Are you okay?" I asked. It sounded so much better in my head than it did coming out. I figured it'd make for a nice jumping point for a small conversation. Now, I just felt lame.

He nodded. "I'm okay. Y-you? Nobody has hurt you or...done...anything to you?"

"No, nothing has happened." I replayed his question in my mind, and the realization hit me full force in my gut. In fact, I almost wanted to puke from a mixture of heartache and frustration. He thought Timber and I were a thing. No wonder he dropped the spaghetti on Timber's head. I'd seen the brief malicious glare in his eye right before he conveniently tipped the bowl over.

Just to ease his mind, I gazed up at him and made sure he was looking back at me. "And I do mean nothing."

Wicken slowly released a breath and a small smile twitched onto his lips. "I didn't assume, but I like knowing for sure."

I almost went on to explain how my relationship with Timber was nowhere near romantic. Then I remembered all of the spectators and held my tongue. "Do you think we could talk privately soon? I know you're supposed to be working. Not sure how this is works to be honest. I was told we'd get to meet, but not for long."

"I'm not sure how it works, either. I shouldn't hang around your table for too long. Somehow I'll find you again."

"Don't make it sound so complicated and impossible. Of course we're going to talk and see each other again." He bristled at my words and my heart sank. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as I thought.

Wicken finished wiping and mopping up the mess just as Timber returned with a new blue button-down shirt that brought out the colors of his eyes. His blue eye seemed deeper, and the green one appeared to be almost teal. The boys made eye contact for a few seconds, Wicken tightening his posture as if he were trying to prove he was the bigger man or something. Was he seriously going to pick a fight over me like some kind of alpha wolf? Last I checked, we were humans, not dogs. The last thing I needed protection from was Timber.

"Sorry about the accident," Wicken said stiffly, and then left the table. I didn't see him again for the rest of the night.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Timber sat back down in his chair. "You don't think he's going to get in trouble do you?"

"I hope not," I whispered, my gaze still stuck on the door Wicken had disappeared into.

"Hey," Timber said, snapping my attention onto him again. "Let's try not to think about it. This is our first step up to the top. The top being getting him back and out of there. You can only eat an elephant one bite at a time."

I laughed. "What?"

"It's a phrase my mom told me a lot when I was trying to figure out how to maneuver around being an actor, going to high school, and overall keeping my sanity. There's a lot of work that goes into the job, a lot of time, and a lot of my relationships and interests suffered. I had to drop out of traditional school because it was just too much for me to keep up with. Anyway, she always told me, 'You can't eat an elephant all at once. Take it one bite at a time.' One task, then the next, and they'll all get done. Same thing applies here."

And that was when I learned why Timber was such an "old soul." He grew up a lot faster than most of the guys his age. I took his words to heart. One bite at a time. My patience was starting to get a lot better as of late because the idea didn't make me as anxious as it normally would have. Either that or Wicken was simply worth waiting for.