Out

Boyfriend.

"I think we're dating."

"What?"

"Well I mean, I don't know for sure."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Tinny laughed as she sat in front of her vanity, combing through her bleach blonde hair "You guys didn't talk about it?"

"I don't know! I didn't....ask! But we held hands the whole night."

"Aww!"

"No, not "Aww!" I don't know if I have a boyfriend or not! Am I a boyfriend? Oh God, I don't know how to be a boyfriend!"

"Well, I mean, have you talked to him since last night?"

"No. I woke up and his parents looked really mad- not at me, Nicodemus says they like me. I just slipped out the door and came here."

Tinny placed her floral brush down on the Vanity and sat down next to Dmitri on her pink duvetd bed.
"They were mad? What were they mad about? Did he do something bad?" She asked eagerly.

Dmitri sighed, leaning his head on the wall.
"Yep. He was going to take Emily to this party and he said I could come with but..." he trailed off

"But what?"

"I left him. I was dancing for a bit and this girl...and...."

Tinny looked away
"Oh Dmitri, you didn't."

He nodded.
"Then I found him coming out of the bathroom and he was so wasted Tinny. It was... I didn't know who that was. He was so upset with me, I felt awful. I ended up calling his parents to come get us."

"Was he angry with you then?"

Dmitri shook his head.
"No. He didn't say anything about being that drunk, or the fact that I called his parents. Did you know he went to rehab?"

"What? No, I didn't know that. For drinking?"

Dmitri nodded
"I wish I had known, because now he has to start all over again, all because I wanted to go to a party."

"I think it would've happened anyhow, Dmitri, don't blame yourself. You wanting to have a good time was a convenient excuse for him to fall off the wagon."

"Tinny, I don't know what to do." Dmitri sighed.
"I don't know how to date, I've never dated- I've had so much sex," He laughed "like SO much, but I never called them like I told them I would, I never wanted to. Oh, Am I awful?"

Tinny thought for a moment about what to say
"....no, you aren't....awful. You've done some things that maybe weren't so good, but that doesn't mean you yourself aren't good."

"I can't be a boyfriend, I'm going to mess it all up. I'm going to hurt him, because that's who I am, I'm self destructive, I'm mean."

"You're not mean Dmitri. You called his parents because you were worried. You stayed with him because he asked you to. You're not mean."

Dmitri looked at her for a moment, really looked at her long fake eyelashes and coffee brown eyes. Her beautiful peaches and cream coloured skin and he wished again that he loved her like she loved him. She was beautiful and sweet, and kind. He was lucky to have her, but she would have been better off with a different best friend, and he knew it.

"Tinny... why are you still friends with me? I mean, I come to you with all this shit, and I don't even know what's going on in your life."

"You've been my best friend since you moved to this stupid town, you keep me sane. Besides, I don't mind. I'm glad you tell me things. Nothing's going on in my life anyway. Dad is still cheating on mom, she's still pretending she doesn't know. I'd rather hear about your life than talk about mine."