Misery Loves Company

Track 5: Boston

Misery Loves Company

By: theinkslingerr

A special thanks to Nika_11 and lethologicas for keeping me laughing over the past two days with their witty and hilarious commentary. Thanks for reading :)

I hope everyone likes the picture of the merry-go-round Misery, Rocco, and Eli sat on as they ate their ice cream, basking in the September sun. I also included the song that set the mood for that whole scene.

Track 5: Boston

And that's how I found myself at a park with two famous guys and a chocolate waffle cone.

"Shouldn't you like, put on a disguise or something?" I wondered, tongue catching renegade drops of chocolate ice cream.

Eli sipped his butterscotch milkshake and glanced at me, before glancing at the deserted playground.

"OK, fine," I mumbled.

Like the rest of his bandmates, Eli Owens was stupidly beautiful. Which fueled my theory that Blue Vendetta's fame rested on their looks not musical ability. Shorter than Rocco and Dominic, Eli was closer in height to Korean-American Jae, and sported short hair, even brown skin, and the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen on a man. Which really said something, because guys always seemed to have longer eyelashes than girls anyway.

He emanated a calm, steady energy, and had been decent to me throughout this insanity; first exposing Rocco's gag about them being exotic dancers then helping me up when Dominic made me fall. He definitely seemed light-years ahead of the others in the maturity department.

Eli caught me staring and smiled a little, digging one foot in the dirt and pushing off, propelling the rusty merry-go-round the three of us sat on. "Your friend's selfish."

That caught me off guard.

My first instinct was to agree, but the loyal part of me hesitated, wanting to defend Enid's behavior even as I struggled to understand it.

I sighed, continuing to lap up ice cream, "Can I get kidnapped more often?"

Rocco's laugh shook the trees in the empty park and Eli's smile widened. Something about this moment felt light. Maybe it was the temperate September air, the rich chocolate on my tongue, the fact that I was having a good time with strangers...

Or maybe it was weight lifting off my shoulders. Dead weight I'd placed there myself, thinking that if I didn't give in to Enid's demands I was the selfish one- the bad friend.

Strands of Rocco's thick, dark hair danced in the breeze as he stood up and began spinning the merry-go-round gently, relieving Eli's foot. He'd long since finished his green tea ice cream and stolen a couple sips of Eli's butterscotch shake.

The steady motion was soothing and further tempered the anxiety that had been building for the last 48 hours. Pleasant weather coupled with an easy atmosphere breached the security of my high walls, and I blurted, "The boy that tortured me when I was a kid transferred to my school."

Eli's straw left his full mouth, but Rocco kept on spinning, possibly guessing the continuous motion was what caused me to lower my guard in the first place. "What'd you do when you saw him?" He asked lightly.

My face heated even though the question was expected, and wide blue eyes, a freckled nose, and laughter free of malice flashed in my mind's eye. "Poured chocolate milk on him."