Francine & Earl

Man

Earl functioned on the belief that every person was made to perform some act in their lifetime. That all people had their own destiny. Everyone had a purpose, and it took many mistakes and mishaps before that purpose was fulfilled.

As of this moment, Earl didn't know what his purpose was. He didn't even know who he was.

He used to think that it was worse being himself and being uncomfortable about what people automatically thought about him, but it actually turned out to be quite the opposite. When he slipped on his mask, his disguise to fit in with those who were "normal", all he could worry about was whether someone would finally tug it from his face and reveal who was beneath the costume. All he could think about was if he was saying the right thing and giving a "mysterious" smirk at the right people, not even dwelling on how he missed awkwardly revealing his slightly crooked teeth in a wide smile. 

It took so long for him to realize that these people he idolized, that so may people aimed to become, weren't heroes. They were no better than him, even in his less-than-perfect state. Their masks were just as flimsy as his, but he was the one too busy trying to replicate them to notice.

Earl knew that he would never be able to meet the standards that he was expected to automatically fill. He may not like sports and he might not be the body type he heard the girls in his homeroom swooning about, but he was a man.

The role he was presumed to fill would have to remain empty.

* * *

His knuckles tapped hesitantly against the door, and he felt as though he shouldn't even be there. He felt like he didn't have the right. The only thing that bolstered him up the steps and to the wooden barrier was the thought that if he could apologize to his best friend he could do this.

The night before, he was persistent in the pursuit of Mae's forgiveness. He didn't know whether he should thank her parents or her absentmindedness for the fact that she was terrible at holding grudges. Now, she was sitting in the driver's seat of his car, there for "emotional support" as he talked to the woman behind the door. Shooting a glace behind him as he waited for someone to answer the door, he saw Mae give him a thumbs up and a wink before driving away, even though it wasn't apart of the plan. Now, he was stranded here.

The door swung open, revealing a disheveled man.

Earl took a step back as he studied him. The man was tall, even though everyone was tall to Earl. His dark hair fell into his bloodshot eyes, and uneven stubble grew on his face as if he had attempted to shave but gave up half way through. With wide eyes, Earl watched as the man attempted a friendly smile in his direction, but it ended up looking like a painful grimace.

"Good mo-" The man stopped to clear his throat. "Good morning."

"Hi," Earl squeaked, wincing at the sound of his voice. "Can I speak to Francine?"

The strange man's eyes widened, as if he came to a sudden realization. Opening the door wider, he gestured for Earl to enter.

"You must be Earl," the man said. "I'm Fran's dad. Come on in."

Earl's voice left him at that moment, so all he could do was nod and pretend that he wasn't worried. He was only a few steps closer to facing up to his mistakes, but he realized that he had to. No one else would apologize for him, and it was only a fault of his that he let this span out for so long.

With that thought in his head, Earl swallowed his fears and stepped into the house, trying not to focus on the dread he felt when the door finally slammed.

* * *

"Earl?"

Looking up from his lap, the boy in question saw Francine gazing down at him. Her brows were scrunched in confusion, and he was almost glad that her father hadn't come down with her. After leading him into their house, Mr. Waters disappeared to tell his daughter to come down, leaving Earl awkwardly sitting on the edge of their couch in a room that was big enough to fit both his bedroom and his father's.

Standing on shaky legs, Earl gave Francine a small smile that could only be described as a quick, nervous tick at the corner of his mouth. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shifted on his feet, hoping the words that he had spent days practicing would reappear in his suddenly foggy memory. When they finally came back to him, it was as if he could not say them fast enough.

"I'm so sorry Francine, I didn't mean for this to go on so long and you are so right and I am such an idiot-"

His rambling was cut off with a laugh, and he glanced up from the untied laces of his converse to see her hiding her amused expression behind her hands. She walked over to him and squeezed him in a bone-crushing hug that had become her signature, and only pulled back to ruffle his shaggy mop of hair.

"Earl," she began, a smile crinkling the skin at the corner of her eyes, distracting him from the dark circles beneath them. "You're okay. It took me a while to get the hang of this too."

Slipping out of her hold, he let out a sigh of relief. He had expected it would take more than this to get her forgiveness. Just as he thought it would be with Mae. He realized that he always expected the worse, even when it came to himself.

"Thanks, Frannie," Earl said, and poked her in her side which was covered in a sweatshirt that didn't belong to her.

"It's whatever, Earl," she drawled as she attempted to put her arm around his shoulders, which were significantly closer to the ground than hers. Giving up, she ruffled his hair again and pretended as if she didn't see his glare of annoyance, and it felt as if everything was almost back to normal.

"Besides," she continued, plopping down on the couch and patting the space next to her, "it would make a great story to tell to our grandchildren. We can call it 'The Misadventures of Francine and Earl.'"

Earl nodded before he sat down as well, quickly sending a text to Mae to say that he didn't die, no thanks to her. He turned to look at Francine, her eyes closed as if she was already thinking of a way to tell the next generation how screwed up they were. Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't mind boring his non-existent grandchildren with stories about his last year in high school, even if he thought that he wouldn't get to the 'having children' stage with someone else to begin with. 

Leaning back, he closed his eyes as well, thinking about the horrified gazes he might get in a time where he expected for there to be no human interaction and everyone was into their phones.

"Yeah," he said, more calm than he had been in the past few weeks. "Francine and Earl."

The End