Freshman Screwup

Chapter 8

Dinner that night wasn't as awkward as I feared it would be, but was still pretty uncomfortable. Pete and I tried to talk to each other, but it was stilted and weird. Joe and Andy were good at acting like nothing was out of the ordinary, though Andy did keep giving me worried looks that I was trying to ignore. Patrick was the most affected, sitting between Pete and I, and didn't know which of us to talk to. He stayed mostly quiet through the meal before taking Andy's offer of practice as a means of escape, taking along Joe as well.

Pete gave me a significant look that I tried to ignore as well.

"Hey, you should go along with them. I know you play bass. Go play some dumb metal or whatever, I have homework to do," I told him before quickly leaving, taking long and quick steps that I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with without running. I didn't hear him approaching and breathed a sigh of relief as I left the cafeteria and started back home.

The dorm was blessedly empty and I was incredibly thankful. I didn't want to deal with my weird feelings for Patrick or another emotional breakdown around him. I didn't want to think about Pete or what happened or Andy's concerned looks. Maybe I should hang out with Joe more, but I would probably find a way to make it weird.

With a sigh, I got into my pajamas and turned out my seldom used tv. I did have my Playstation 2 hooked up, and popped in Resident Evil. I wanted to get immersed in its story again, and ignore my own. Soon, I was creeping down the misty streets looking for clues and avoiding lurching enemies. Even though I was tense and paranoid as I played, it still felt better than thinking about everything going on.

I knew I was getting close to another big story event, the music was getting louder and the static was overwhelming and at any moment a zombie was going to-

"Hey."

I screamed loudly with fright and tossed my controller in the air, startled beyond belief. I whipped around to see Patrick torn between guilt and amusement in the doorway. He gave me a grin and I frowned in return, knowing I was pink with embarrassment.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," Patrick said, closing the door and putting up his guitar. He was a little sweaty from rocking out, and I tried not to notice how his shirt clung to him. I picked back up my controller and went back to playing, trying to find a save point. I shrugged it off, focusing on the game again. Even though realistically I knew it had been a few hours, I still felt like I hadn't been left alone long enough.

Patrick puttered around quietly in the room, and was easy enough to tune out. It was a while before he interrupted me again, and seemed a little uncomfortable doing so.

"Hey, its getting a little late," he reminded me, and I quickly wound down my game and turned it off. Looking at the clock, I saw it was almost midnight and we both had morning classes. Feeling a bit bad, I looked at Patrick to see him already crawling into bed.

"Sorry," I offered, and Patrick gave me a sleepy smile. I felt even worse for being rude with him.

"Don't worry. We all have bad days," he said and I felt terrible. He was very nice and I was mean and grumpy. I said nothing else but got into bed myself, only making a small sound when he told me good night. I hoped the morning would bring a better feeling with it.