make you miss me • q. hughes

02

"Schuy!"

"What?!"

No answer. She always does this. She'll shout for me and refuse to answer the shout back. Without fail. It makes me have to go all the way downstairs to get an answer. Guess it kind of works out for her.

Oh wow. Val's definitely gone shopping today. The kitchen island which is not small is covered in grocery bags. All the cabinets and the fridge and freezer are open as she bustles through the kitchen to put it all away. I nearly die on the spot.

"Valentine Davis, what's all this?" I ask.

She pauses mid-rifling through a bag. "We're having a little shindig here tonight with the guys coming over. But, uh, I... Something came over me at the grocery store and I think I went overkill."

"That's why you always go with a list."

"Fuck, I couldn't remember that one." She takes a box of pasta out of a bag and puts it in the cabinet next to the one with the rest of the pasta.

I'm already over there, correcting her little mishap. "Shindig?"

"Yeah! With the guys from last night. Jack, Luke, one of their friends that are here, and..." She lowers her voice. "Quinn."

"Why'd you say it like that?" I ask.

"You guys were quite a lot last night at the bar."

A shrug is my only response. For a few minutes, the only noise is me following behind her, making sure it's being organized right.

She stops and looks at me. "You're alright with this, yeah?"

"Of course," I say. "Even if I wasn't, it's your house. You have every right to have people over that you've known pretty much forever."

"It's fine if you're not okay with it."

"Tiny, it's cool. I like people."

"But you don't like Quinn."

"I barely know him. Maybe I'll warm up to him."

"You usually either immediately like someone or immediately dislike them and that first status doesn't change."

Okay, she's right. Of course, she's right. She knows me more than I know myself sometimes. If I'm cold with someone, there isn't the biggest chance of the temperature going up. Maybe he'll surprise me.

"Have I ever let me not liking someone ruin an entire night?" I say. "The only person's night to be ruined would be the person I don't like. And mine, maybe."

She half-sighs, half-laughs. "I don't want you having bad nights this summer. You're going to be all alone in Vancouver after this and-"

"Let's not dwell on that whole situation. That'll definitely ruin a night."

"True. Okay. This is going to be so fun."

* * * * *

"Jean Louise?" Trevor says, emphasizing both names. The fire in the fire pit dances shadows all over his face. Which is entirely too amusing.

"It's a nickname!" I argue, taking another sip of my second, very strong drink. "My parents gave me a character's nickname so they call me that character's real name as a nickname. It's not that complicated."

"What character is named Jean Louise and nicknamed Scout?"

"To Kill A Mockingbird. Me and my brothers are all named after characters from it because the first time my parents met they argued over the book for over an hour."