The Stars In Your Eyes ✩ Tim Shepard

Distractions Don't Work

I groaned, falling onto Bre's bed as she paced back and forth in front of me, babbling nonsense. Her brown hair swung behind her in a high ponytail and her black eyes flashed with an emotion I couldn't place. Though, I could practically see the gears turning in her head.

I had told Bre about everything that had happened the night before. Even about my dream, which haunted me every second since I woke up this morning, though I didn't specify what kind of dream it was. But I think she got the point.

"I know exactly what you need." Bre finally said. I sprang up, looking at her with wide eyes.

"What?" I asked breathlessly. Bre smiled. I knew that smile and what it meant.

"We are going to go have fun." She said. "I don't have work tonight, so we're gonna get an early dinner at the Dingo and then hop over to the drive-in, and you're going to enjoy it, and forget all about your boy problems."

Bre snatched my wrist, dragging me off her bed and out the door before I could even react.

We stopped at the shopping mall on the corner of Pickett and Sutton to look around before we went to the Dingo. We were laughing and talking about anything and everything over burgers, fries, and cokes. It was nice, not having to worry about stuff for once. And by "stuff", I meant Tim Shepard.

I wished I could stop thinking about him. But that seemed to be all I did. Tim had been on my mind since the night I met him. The thought of him plagued me every second of every minute of every hour. I couldn't stop thinking about him and his smoldering blue eyes. His crooked nose. The scar from his temple to his chin. The thought of his lips on mine...

"Connie?" Bre had snapped her fingers in front of my eyes, pulling me from my daydream. "Did you hear a word of what I said?" She asked.

"No, sorry. I was... thinking." I stuttered.

"Not about a certain boy, I hope." She responded, chewing on the end of her Coke straw, a small habit she could never get rid of.

"About the movie, actually." I lied.

Bre hummed, glancing down at her watch.
"Speaking of movies, c'mon we're gonna be late."
She sprang up, grabbed her purse, and dug through it. Before she could even pull out money, I had already slammed some bills on the table and was dragging her out of the diner.

We laughed the whole way to the Nightly Double, got in, paid for popcorn, and settled in. The drive-in was quiet that night, even though it was the weekend. About a dozen or so cars were scattered around, and no one but me and Bre was in the seats by the concession stands. There was some stupid beach movie playing, one with no plot or real dialogue, just a bunch of girls in bikinis and boys with sunglasses.

"What a waste," Bre muttered, inhaling a handful of popcorn.

"Is it ever this quiet?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Bre shrugged and sighed at the same time. "Not really... Ugh, I'm gonna die of boredom before they even get to the climax. Maybe we should have stayed home and studied for finals."

I chuckled a little. Bre loved to study, but she loved having fun just as much. She would have chosen a boring beach movie over studying on most days.

The two of us talked and laughed for the rest of the movie. By the time the second one rolled around, Bre was already on her third bag of popcorn and had made herself comfortable, by extending her legs over the empty seats beside her.

The new movie wasn't half-bad, but I wasn't really paying attention. A few more cars had pulled into the lot by then, a couple had seated themselves off to the side, and I think a small group walked in.