Insomnia

Chapter 13

"Why do I have to go?" I asked Cal while he straightened my tie.

"Because Bill asked if you'd attend," Cal answered. I was wearing the fancy suit Cal bought me, while he was wearing one his fancier ones. Bill and his wife invited us over for a formal dinner, and apparently Noah had been invited as well. Cal was just as upset as I was, because we both got a strange vibe from that guy.

"You could've told him no," I grumbled as he straightened his own tie. He rolled his eyes. "Or told him I was dead."

"Stop being dramatic, it won't be that bad. I bet they'll have pie, your favorite," Cal said in an attempt to cheer me up.

"I think we have enough here," I gestured towards the kitchen where two and a half pies sat. More and more seemed to be popping up when I wasn't around, and they were always homemade. Cal shrugged and nodded. "Why can't I just stay and watch The Lion King?"

"Because I already told them you were coming, and you're already dressed." I pointed at him.

"You act as if any of those thing can't be changed." I loosened my tie, but he slapped my hand away and tightened back up.

"Please, Rory. I don't want to go either. Having you there would make me feel a lot better." He slyly gave me puppy dog eyes, so I glared at him.

"That's not fair."

"What's not?" I pointed as his face.

"That. You can't use that."

"My face?"

"Yes, don't use it." He laughed and looked in the mirror to style his hair a bit more.

"I promise you it won't be bad, and I will at some point buy you another milkshake."

"You'd buy me one anyways."

"I'll buy you a different flavor, though." He was good.

"You're evil, and I hate you."

"Today is not the day for lies. It's the day to be polite and honest."

"The whole reason I'm going to this thing is because we lied. Now you're telling me to be honest?" Cal rolled his eyes.

"Let's go," Cal ordered as he grabbed his keys off the counter. I let out a loud groan and followed after him. I loosened my tie a bit since he wasn't looking. I was a bit nervous even though I didn't let him know. Cal told me it was pretty formal and if I wasn't sure about something, I just shouldn't do it. I don't think he was joking this time around, so my stomach was doing flips.

The music we played on the way there didn't calm my nerves. Bill lived just outside the populated city in a neighborhood with many large houses like his own. It was late when we arrived, so the sky was a bright orange from the sun setting.

Cal knocked on the door, then looked over at me. He frowned and started to tighten my tie again, so I glared at him. He stopped just as the door opened, revealing Noah Noble. Cal plastered a fake smile on his face and greeted Noah, so I did the same. Noah smiled slightly, then moved aside to let us both in.

"Dinner is still being prepared, so we are relaxing in the sitting room," Noah informed us. We followed after him through the large house. I looked around to see pictures only containing Bill and his wife. It didn't look like they were very close with anybody else. When we reached the sitting room, Bill and his wife stood to greet us.

"Cal, Rory, thanks for joining us this evening," Bill said cheerily. He was gripping a glass of dark red liquid as he gave Cal a firm handshake. He did the same to me, then gestured to his wife. "This is my wife, Laura." Laura gave us a kind smile and shook both of our hands. When she gripped my hand, she looked up at me and paused for a second. Then she shook her head and smiled again. She was probably noticing how young I looked. Bill gestured for us all to take a seat, so we did.