Survivin' - [B.C.]

Chapter 10: Heart and Soul

I stood there in the rain in the same condition they were; dripping wet, smiling widely, and feeling proud.

That kid of yours is something else...

========== SURVIVIN' ==========

It was Saturday and Ben and Sophie hadn't uttered a word about the newscast to me. I in return said nothing about it to them. We just existed peacefully together for those few days and enjoyed what we had going on around us. Neither Ben nor I had acknowledged what happened on both sides of my door that one night.

I think that out of embarrassment, I hadn't spoken to Toby since my last message telling him that our feelings were mutual. I didn't even open his chats. I was too scared to. I was doubting our whole relationship. It wasn't a question of 'if' I liked him - it was a question of 'what.' What would happen if we decided to date? Would we date online and see each other only every now and then? Would our dates consist of video chats over ice cream and coffee? What would it be like to date someone overseas?

For a whole day right up until dinner, I debated on whether or not to actually ask if I could date someone over the interwebs. How do you even go about something like that?

It was just me and Sophie left in the room after Ben had made his plate and went to go sit down in the dining room. We were having crab rangoons (per my request) with a side of homemade mac-n'-cheese. You know, I don't quite get the global obsession with macaroni and cheese. Yes, it's good, but is it really that good?

"Hey..." I scooted a bit closer to Sophie as she was loading two plates for the both of us. "Do you remember that boy from the mall that I said goodbye to before we left New York?"

"Yes, I do. You guys were practically fawning over each other!" I turned my face away as I felt my cheeks get hot.

"Yes, well... I want to date him. But he's overseas, and I was wondering if it would be okay if I did that or not."

Sophie paused her ladling for a fraction of a second and only seemed to think about it for that long.

"I suppose that's fine," she said. "As long as you trust him."

I nodded with a huge smile on my face, then I wrapped my arms around her.

"Thanks, Sophie!" She laughed at my enthusiasm and I grabbed my plate and ran off to meet Ben in the dining room. Sophie joined us not much later. She brought up the topic to Ben and stated her answer and opinions. Ben had pretty much the same point of view. He said that he didn't see a problem with it as long as the person I'm dating is trustworthy and that I can know who they really are.

So it was good to go. I was cleared to date Toby online.

Dinner was pretty chaotic, honestly. The rest of the time was spent arguing over what type of macaroni and cheese (both individually and together) was the best, taking turns trying to make the other people laugh, and other absolute bullshittery. I guess that's what you can classify most of our interactions as; bullshit.

At 8:55 PM, I snuck out the back door into the garden and walked to the piano. At 8:59, I started counting down the seconds. I didn't have time to protest when I saw Ben and Sophie climbing up the gazebo to listen to my weekly ritual performance.

"It's nine o'clock on a Saturday..."

Of course I messed up a few times. But neither of my guardians seemed to care. They were just smiling as they held each other and swayed to my music. I grinned and looked up at them every so often. I ended the song with a completely improvised piano riff and received impressed claps from Ben and Sophie. I milked it for all I could, standing up and giving a lavish bow. That got a laugh out of the both of them. Then Ben asked he could play something. I let him sit on the bench alone and I resumed his spot next to Sophie. He began to play a widely familiar tune. I didn't even know he played piano.