Kissing Dylan

two: dylan

         [unedited]

           Ludwig asked a  strange question. But then again, when didn't he?  "Do you ever eat?"

          We were sitting cross-legged on the carpet floor, staring out the window. When I turned to face him, he was still focussed on the dimmed sky where the full moon shined luminously. "Of course I do. I'm always eating with you during meals."

           "No, but do you ever eat because you want to eat? Like simultaneously feeling the texture of the crispy and soft potato things as you chew, or to taste a joyous harmony in your palette as you enjoy your mother's food?" He was lost in his little poetic zone that I was often too difficult to interpret. And he was praising greasy french fries of all things related to food.

          "Of course I eat. You need to eat to survive, stupid," I answered.

          "You should be more excited about it; it'll make you happier."

          I found the warm passion he had for food rather peculiar; coming from such a skinny boy, though, it didn't make sense to me why he endeared the necessity so much. But then again, there was a reason why he was so thin.

---

          Despite his brownish-black hair, thinner eyes, and the unsymmetrical shape of his lips when he showed his teeth, Liam Liang reminded me more of Ludwig than Dylan West did. It was his vibe, always seemingly bright, but also filled with strange oblivion to the world around him.

          He pushed the door that clearly said PULL, for example. And then he'd just stare for a couple of seconds, until he laughs it off after realization struck him. He was an odd, upbeat boy, and also, for some reason, made me feel nostalgic.

         Sheena, on the other hand, was ready to deflate. It was probably because we were at McDonald's. There was nothing wrong with the restaurant, except for the fact that it was a cheap fast food chain.

         She still made me pay for her oatmeal raisin cookie. Her eyes lingered on the menu where the burgers were for a couple of seconds, but she didn't ask me to buy her one. She acted indifferent to her usual personality when we were with guys, as if she had to maintain her image.

          But it wasn't Liam or Sheena that caused an eerie ambience; it was Dylan.

          He ordered coffee.

          At McDonald's.

          As we sat at an empty, rather clean table booth, nobody uttered a word, or even touched their food or beverage. Even around us, there were hardly any customers, which made the mood awkwardly worse.

          "So who are these guys?" Sheena finally asked me. She took a cute nibble out of her cookie, watching me expectantly.

          I tried to focus on her voluminous lashes drenched with black paint. "Their names are Dylan and Liam," turning to the boys who sat across, I said, "This is Sheena."

          "Hello Dylan and Liam, then," she said with a careless wave, which Liam returned warmly while Dylan only stared down at his coffee. "But why are we here again?"

          "I guess we needed to catch up on things?" I shot Dylan a nervous glance, but he still refused to raise his head. It was difficult to express what he and I really needed to discuss because to the other two, it was going to sound like I was insane.