All That Matters

Chapter 6

All That Matters, Chapter 6, a romance fiction |

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others, that in the end, we become disguised to ourselves.

-Francois de La Rochefoucauld
______________________
The Johnson's weren't home; not that I expected them to be. Derek was an only child and his parents worked all the time. It wasn't uncommon for him to have the house for himself for weeks at a time. That actually explained why he spent most of his time in our house. I never really considered that it might be lonely for him when his parents were away. I always assumed he had some girl around to entertain him. He never showed any signs that he wasn't happy with his home life but then again, I stopped paying attention long ago. And if he was unhappy with his home life, I doubted that I would be the person he would tell.

I had no idea why that thought crept into my head all of a sudden. Maybe because just like his car, it occurred to me that I hadn't set foot inside his house in a long time either. There was never a reason to but seeing as I unwillingly agreed to be Mallory's wingman that night, I had no other choice.

I always knew when Derek had people over because the music would be loud and I could hear it all the way across the street from my room. It was no different this time. The music was booming, there was alcohol, his friends, a bunch of girls I didn't know and God knew what else.

I figured Mallory must have really liked Derek so maybe the two of them getting together would keep him away from me. I had absolutely no problem with that.

We were in the basement. It was fully carpeted and furnished and there was a even bar in the corner( His father's idea). There were at least twenty to thirty other people down there, but I really didn't count. While they were talking and socializing among each other, I was sitting apart from them on the couch, minding my own business-not that I even had any business to mind in there. I just kept to myself.

There was a couple I recognized from school sitting on the couch next to mine, making out. That was all they ever did, even in school. They could never keep their hands from each other and I stopped myself from barfing in their faces. Two other couples who were already feeling the effects of the alcohol were dancing together to the music in the middle of the floor. I could see them from the corner of my eyes, giggling and busting out the latest popular dance moves. The rest of his guests were drinking, eating, talking and laughing.

I was doing none of those. I was sitting there, all by myself, watching one of my favorite movies of all time, 2 Fast 2 Furious playing mutely on the TV. I was just fine with Paul Walker and Tyrese keeping me company.

The movie was just approaching my favorite scene. The one where they were being chased by the cops and included the skillful trick involving multiple racecars that spared them from getting caught.

"Hey!"

I almost jumped out of my seat, because of his voice. Derek appeared out of nowhere staring crookedly at me. The last time I saw him he was taking a shot with his friends by the bar, where Mallory and a few other girls were also partaking in. That was a while ago before I became engulfed in the movie.

"What?" I yelled back at him, already annoyed at seeing him close to me. I had to yell because the music was drowning out my voice. I had to use subtitle on the screen because I couldn't hear a thing.

He jumped next to me on the couch and snatched the remote from my lap. "Watch your tone, this is my house."

I rolled my eyes intentionally and made sure he saw it. As if it had escaped my mind that I was indeed inside his house.

"Whatever." I mumbled, my eyes glued on the TV.

"So why are you sitting here by yourself?" He asked me, suddenly changing the channel to ESPN.