Morana knows she's different from other people in more ways than one. Firstly, she's sixty-seven years old but stopped ageing in her twenties. Weird things have also happened around her right after she's wished for it. But most importantly, no matte...
"Why don't we do something? Or are you busy today as well?" Dereck asked during the lunch break. I was on my way to say no, but a little voice in my head stopped me. Would I really be the type of person to stop hanging with a friend just because someone else showed up? No. That wasn't fair to Dereck and it also honestly wasn't good for me to do that neither. Having just one friend made it so much easier to end up with no one.
So though I much rather wanted to go home straight after work to practice more magic, I headed out with Dereck to watch a movie.
We talked about random work-related things on our way to the cinema. Complained mainly about rude and annoying customers.
I let Dereck pick the movie, and he went for a romantic comedy. I suppressed a sigh. They really weren't my thing, but I was there partly because of guilt, so I wasn't about to tell Dereck to pick something else.
Since it was a workday, the cinema was almost empty, and we could have sat anywhere. But Dereck led the way to two seats in the row furthest back. There we settled and watched.
It only took about half an hour before I was bored out of my mind. I also regretted not having told him to pick something else as he didn't seem that into the movie either. Most likely he had picked it because he thought I would like it. That realization made the whole experience feel awkward.
Several times I started thinking about random things and my eyes drifted off the screen as I did. But I always hurried to turn back to the movie. Though I didn't look towards Dereck, I had the distinct feeling of that he was watching me.
When the credits rolled, I had come up with a million more questions I wanted to ask Alejo as soon as I got home.
"What did you think?" Dereck asked as we left.
"It was great!" I lied swiftly.
"Really? You didn't seem that into it."
"Oh, just because I'm tired, I guess."
"Too tired to eat out?"
I wanted to say yes and leave. But Dereck had a forlorn expression and that little voice which had told me to agree to hang in the first place came back.
"We can grab something quick to eat," I agreed, and Dereck's expression instantly brightened.
There was a diner, designed like the ones from the 80s with black-and-white checkered floors and turquoise faux-leather couches, around the corner from the cinema. After we had ordered, I sent a quick message to Alejo, letting him know to not wait for me with food.
"Are you texting Alejo?" Dereck asked, and the brightness was gone from his expression again.
"Yeah, sorry. Just had to let him know I would be eating out," I explained and put the phone away.
"What does that matter to him?"
I opened my mouth to answer and not until then did I realize I hadn't told Dereck about moving. Granted, it was recent and sudden and too much had been going on, so I hadn't exactly had time. But I felt my guilt increase.
"Ehm, so he had a spare room. So I moved in with him," I told Dereck.
His expression darkened further, and a frown appeared.
"So, I really don't mean this the wrong way," Dereck said in a cautious tone, which made me sure I wouldn't like whatever came next. "But who is he, really? I mean, you never mentioned him, he was just suddenly there and now you're even living with him."
"We did meet kinda coincidentally," I said and decided to tell as much of the truth as I could. "I was almost in an accident. A truck almost ran over me. I wasn't hurt or anything, though, just a bit shaken. Alejo was there when it happened and help me out and we got talking and realized we had a lot in common."
I added a shrug to make it convincing that there was nothing more to the story. Dereck looked pale though.
"Why is this the first I hear about this? Are you sure you weren't hurt? When did this happen?"
"I'm sure. It was the day before Alejo came to pick me up the first time. And since I wasn't hurt, I didn't think of telling you. A bit much has been happening since then also, so I kinda forgot."
"Like moving."
His voice had an edge to it, which made me think of jealousy. Alejo's claim that Dereck wanted to be more than my friend came to mind, but I shoot the thought down. It was a ridiculous idea. If that was the case, then why hadn't Dereck ever asked me out?
I was saved from saying anything more in that moment by a waitress who arrived with our food.
While we ate, we talked about random things, but it felt like the topic of Alejo hung in the air between us, so it came as no surprise when Dereck brought him up again as we were finishing the meal.
"I don't mean to be all in your personal business," he started. "But you really haven't known him that long. Can you really trust him? Is it really smart to live with him? What if he turns out to be completely different from what he is now?"
A part of me wanted to tell Dereck off and curse him out. But I knew he was only saying this as a concerned friend, and he had a valid point. So I pushed my anger aside before answering him.
"I do trust him. But if things become bad, I'll deal with it then. Right now, living with him makes sense though. He had an extra room and it'll make me able to save a lot of money. So if things go bad also, then I'll have money saved up if needed."
Dereck's jaw tensed. I got the distinct feeling of that he tried to find a rebuttal. But eventually he nodded.
We paid and got dressed to leave. I checked my phone and saw I had a message from Alejo waiting for me.
Text when you're done and I'll pick you up.
I answered with that we were done but that he didn't have to pick me up. It came as no surprise, though, when I saw him walking towards us as we stepped outside.
"What are you doing here?" Dereck asked in such a hostile voice that I had a hard time not rolling my eyes.
"Was close by so thought I might as well pick Morana up. You've had fun?" Alejo answered in a cheerful voice that became a great contrast to Dereck's.
"Yeah," I answered. "I told you that you didn't have to pick me up."
"I know. But I wanted to," he smiled at me, and my face mirrored his. I couldn't think of any time before when someone had wanted to do something for me.
I shook my head lightly at how sweet he was and then turned to Dereck. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."
His eyes went from Alejo to me and the hostility was exchanged for a smile.
"Yes," he answered before giving me a hug. The hug felt firmer than usual and like it lasted longer than it should have. Just long enough to make me want to squirm away.
"Here, take my jacket. It's cold and you have far too little clothes on," Alejo said as we started walking away.
"We'll anyway teleport ourselves back to the apartment as soon as we're away from people," I tried to refuse his offer, but he had already put the jacket over my shoulders.
"I know. But still." He took hold of my hand and steered me to a side street and away from prying eyes.
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