The Art Of Noticing

Chapter Six: I can't fight.

2018. October.

A few weeks later, after school, Tom and Griffin accompanied me to Wetagers. The three of us waited while Reese worked her shift for a few hours.

"Anything good today?" Griffin teased.

Reese rolled her eyes, ignoring him while she served another table.

"Hey, where's Stacey?" I asked Tom

"Drama club. They're doing a play." he answered while making air quotations with his fingers.

"And Ollie?"

"Hanging with Claire."

I nodded and went back to reading my victim of the day. An hour went by. In that time, I switched between reading, doing homework, and looking up the songs that Reese had sent me.

YESTERDAY 3:15 P.M.

Reese: I Hear a Symphony - Cody Fry

               Then He Kissed Me - The Crystals

               My Sharona - The Knack

Every so often, I would stop and look to see what Reese was doing. Just to check on her. I know doing that seemed ridiculous, since, as far as her and I were concerned, we weren't much to each other. But that didn't make the slightest of a difference.

Not to me.

After another hour had gone by, a bored and antsy Griffin tried starting up a conversation.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked me.

"A book." I replied without lifting my eyes.

"Yeah, no kidding. What book is it?"

I sighed, "It's a book called They Both Die At The End."

"Let me guess, they both die at the end."

I laughed.

"There's a lot more to it. The book starts when they both get a call from this company that basically tells you that you're gon-"

My voice trailed off and I stopped mid sentence. I could hear Reese's voice along with another behind me. She sounded annoyed, angry, like she wanted the interaction to end. Griffin noticed this too. Tom as well. I turned to see who she was talking to.

"Oh, come on. Help me out here. What do I gotta do to see you again?" a tall, blonde boy asked Reese.

I recognized him. He was wearing a purple and gray letterman jacket. Our school colors.

"Well," Reese replied, matter-of-fact, "You can either wait till I get off or take no for an answer."

"Alright. When do you get off?" the guy smirked

Reese laughed, "You're hilarious. And I'm not interested."

She turned and started to walk away when he stood up and grabbed her arm, holding it tightly. I became tense, clutching the back of my chair.

"I can make you interested," the guy said, almost whispering into her ear.

"I doubt it." she ripped her arm from his grip and began to walk away.

Seeing this guy stand so close to Reese, being so invasive, made me feel sick to my stomach. But it wasn't until the boy continued following her further that I couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly, I got up abruptly and darted in between Reese and the guy.

Griffin and Tom stood up as well, hovering above their seats.

"Leave her alone, okay. She doesn't like you. She made that clear," I said angrily, my chest tight.

"And who are you?" he scoffed, looking me up and down.

A million thoughts ran through my head. I thought about the distance between my fist and his face. I thought about the speed I would have to use to get from where I stood to the door. And I thought about how out of place I was.

I couldn't fight. But this guy certainly could.

Reese ran up to me.

"Go sit down, Seb. It's okay." she said, holding my arm, nervous as ever.

"Oh, I know you," the guy cackled, "you're that quiet kid whose friend died a while back. What was her name? Lisa? Lyla?"

"Lea," I said intensely

"Oh, well I see the mute speaks." he mocked

My hands turned into fists at my sides. I really wanted to hit this kid. And I would have if it weren't for Reese holding my arm.

"Seb," Reese repeated in a stern tone, "go sit down."

I sighed, "Fine."

"Yeah, that's right. Go sit down." the guy said as he shoved me towards our table.

I immediately stopped dead in my tracks.

In a flash, I turned around and swung. My tight fist clashed against the boy's face and he fell to the ground, cupping his hands to his nose while squirming on the floor.

I looked around. People were staring. Reese's jaw had dropped. The boy shot a glare up at me.

"What the heck was that!?" he cried.

Suddenly, his friends hoisted from their seats.

"Alright, time to go!" Griffin announced

Tom hurried to grab our stuff, while Griffin ran out to his dad's truck, starting the engine. I grabbed Reese' hand and ran out with them. We all jumped into the bed of the truck and drove off. We all took a moment to catch our breath. The only thing heard was the sound of the tires friction against the road.

After a moment, Tom opened the back window of the truck and climbed through. Reese and I followed.

"That was awesome." Griffin laughed, breaking the silence.

"This kid is just full of surprises. What can't you do, man?" Tom laughed

"Control my temper, apparently." I chuckled nervously, adrenaline pumping through my system.

Our laughter was uncontrollable. None of us could explain what had just happened. All I knew is that this was one of the most cinematic, cliche things that had ever happened to me. And I had a sore fist to show for it. I looked over at Reese, who was smiling at me.

"Are you okay?" I asked

"Yeah, I'm okay." She assured, continuing to smile at me.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just. . . No one has ever done something like that for me before. But you did. . . without hesitation."

Reese rested her head on my shoulder. She then put her hand in mine, interlocking our fingers.

The five of us stayed in the truck for a while, just driving. Driving on the highway at 80 miles an hour with all the windows down, Hotel California on full volume, wind hitting our faces.

I realized the last time I had mentioned something like this, I had no friends, no hope. But now I had this. I had this family. This girl.

And the feeling was incredible.