friday night football. he had bought a large bag of kettlecorn, and dustin, lucas, will, and max all agreed to meet him in the bleachers.
as the four of them saw mike sitting alone, they quickly rushed over and sat around him, max pulling the large blanket she brought to every game out. she and the boys all positioned themselves inside of it, so they each got some of the warmth of the soft, cotton blanket.
max and will pointed out cute boys on the football team, and dustin, lucas, and mike walked about mike's upcoming internship. "i know guys, i'm excited, too." mike said, running his cold hands through his messy, curly hair. their team scored a touchdown, and max practically leaped out of her seat
to scream in support.
mike looked away from his rambunctious friend, and continued on with the conversation he was having with dustin and lucas. "mike, you need to enjoy this. we know it's a huge deal because that's where they kept her, but you need to move on. mike, she's gone, and you can't keep pining after a girl that's been dead for four years." lucas said this in a somber tone.
mike tensed up. "is that why we're here tonight? is it? did you really just want to let me know that the one girl i've ever loved is dead?" he said, trying not to yell. "lucas, you've had so many girlfriends, i'm not even sure you know what love is!" mike exclaimed, going to stand up, but he felt a warm hand on his shoulder, keeping him down. it was dustin.
dustin had always been the peacekeeper. he tried to calm down mike when he missed eleven too much, and he would always be there for lucas after breakups. max and will were practically inseparable, they were basically joined to the hip. mike loved his friends. but when they did things like this to him, he wanted them to know they've gone too far. and they did, this time.
"whatever, man. i can't believe you would do this to me." lucas said, standing up, dropping his handful of kettle corn. he walked away briskly, and mike felt awful.
why was mike such a jerk? he just lost friends left and right, and no one liked him, or at least, that's what he always thought. he would have to apologize tomorrow, before he left for the lab.
the four of them awkwardly watched the rest of the game, before all going their separate ways.
