Mistakes

Nineteen

Michael

"You think he likes Pasta? What if he's allergic?" I asked.

"Is he allergic to anything?" Ashton asked, tensing up as he poured the spaghetti into the strainer. "Go ask."

I raced out the kitchen, eyes closed because I was going to sneeze. I sneezed loudly, bumping into someone. I grabbed them before they could fall, but I fell instead. Thankfully we didn't make much noise.

"Sorry!" I apologized.

I opened my eyes and saw Dale standing still in front of me.

"Sorry, Dale." I apologized again.

He didn't say a word, and didn't move a bit.

"You okay?" I asked.

He nodded hesitantly, still frozen in place.

"I have a question." I said, standing up. "Are you allergic to anything?"

"Transphobics." He said sternly.

"Wh-I mean. Anything else?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his answer.

"Shellfish." He responded quietly.

"Okay. Thanks." I slowly walked away.

He just stood like a statue, motionless. I walked back into the kitchen, a bit lightheaded from sneezing.

"Is he allergic to anything?" Ashton asked.

I hesitated to answer, afraid of how he would respond. I'm pretty sure Dale meant Ashton by transphobics.

"Michael, tell me."

"Shellfish and Transphobics."

Luke

"Dinner is going to be weird." Calum said.

"Yeah. New family member."

"I want to challenge him to a game of FIFA."

"You'll win."

"Of course."

"Dale is-" Michael walked in the living room, laughing loudly.

"What?" I asked.

"I asked him if he's allergic to anything and guess what he said." Michael sat beside me, still laughing.

"Uh." I stuttered, unsure of how an allergy would be funny.

"Vegemite?" Calum guessed.

"Shellfish and Transphobics." Michael said.

"Oh my god." Calum starts laughing.

"He must be really mad at Ashton." I said, watching them laugh.

"Dale's first dinner with us!" Michael celebrated.

"Dinner will be-"

"An adventure, alright. Come on, dinner's ready." Ashton poked his head in the living room.

Calum and Michael raced out, heading for the dining room. I walked past the dining room, and further down the hall. I knocked on his door, waiting for someone to open the door. There wasn't an answer, so I slowly opened the door myself.

No one was inside. I began searching around, looking in every room. He wasn't in the kitchen, or the dining room, or in any of our rooms. I walked in the room with all our instruments. We never really named the room, it was just where we jammed out. He wasn't there, and Ashton was yelling for both of us to dinner.

I raced to the last room I haven't checked. I tried to open the door but the door was locked.

"Dale?" I knocked on the bathroom door.

No response.

"Dale, it's dinner time." I said.

"Oh." I heard a faint voice.

The door unlocked and Dale sped past me. I watched him race into the kitchen instead of the dining room. I followed him, but a strong hand pulled me back. I shrieked, Ashton scolding me for being so late.

"Where is Dale?" He asked.

"I was going to get him." I told him.

"I'll get he-him." Ashton shoved me in the dining room.

"What happened?" Calum asked me.

"I was looking for Dale but Ashton just shoved me in here and went to look instead." I sat in my seat, resting my head on the table.

After a solid 10 minutes, Dale and Ashton silently walked in and sat in there seats. Dale looked terrified, staring down at all the food on the table. Ashton looked angry, like he was going to punch someone square in the nose.

"Can we eat now?"