Stuck out of Orbit

Chapter 6 | I'm Rubbing Off on You

"Marco!" Nova calls from the kitchen and I reply with a halfhearted 'Polo!'.

"What happened to you?" She asks and surveys the damage. I'm laying on the floor of my bedroom, wearing sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt, one earbud pulsing music through body.

"Life." I see Indy come in the door, a disappointed look on her face.

"You cannot be trusted to do anything by yourself."

"And why is that?" I ask.

"Is this about your date with Elek?" Nova asks. Indy nods so sharply she could cut a diamond.

"I dressed you up nice, I shoved you out the door into capable hands and you run?! You are physically unable to date people. You have no idea how the whole thing works. None of it! You're completely clueless."

"That's why I had my notes that you so gratefully ripped to shreds." I sit up, my melancholy disappearing.

"From now on I'm organizing your dates since neither of you know what you're doing. You need some interference, you're both hopeless. Nova, let's do it."

"Excuse me, but I would have done just fine with my notes if you hadn't so graciously destroyed my hard worked research." Indy and Nova roll their eyes.

"Get dressed, Oceanne. And look presentable please." Nova pleads.

"Fine." I groan and lift myself to my feet. Nova and Indy walk away chattering. I rummage through my drawers and closet.

"What am I dressing for?" I yell.

"Group dinner." Indy calls back.

"Where?"

"Yamagoya!" Ok great. We haven't had group dinner in forever. I open a drawer and pull out my black tights with grey polka dots. I find my dark wash jean shorts and grey tank top with my tribal design keyhole top. I clean my glasses, put on some lip balm and grab my blue MEC daypack.

Now before you judge, group dinner is really just the three of us going to escape the terrors of family and sibling rivalries if only for a few hours. We started the tradition the summer of the tenth grade. We stand outside the doors, the cold autumn air nipping at any exposed limbs. Finally the doors open and a waitress escorts us to a booth, we gratefully step into the warmth of the restaurant and chatter excitedly as we're handed menus.

"For just the three of us this is a pretty big spot." Indy looks uncomfortable as I say this.

"I made a reservation and wanted the best spot."

"Tell her the truth." Nova prods.

"Fine. I invited a few other people." Nova frowns pointedly and Indy sighs. "I invited Elek and a few other people."

"What?! Why would you do that?!" Panic seeps in.

"You need help. The both of you."

"So you figured this was the best way to go about it?" I hiss.

"Yes, we did." Indy looks at Nova.

"Hey! Don't throw me under the bus, this was your idea!" Nova raises her arms in mock surrender.

"You'll pay for this. The both of you." I growl.

"You should thank us."

"For what?"

"Giving you a second chance." Indy smirks and Nova looks everywhere but me.

"Oh you're going to pay -"

"Hi, sorry I'm late." Elek's voice cuts me off and I glance at him quickly before realizing I'm blocking the entrance. I scooch towards Nova, my eyes glaring at Indy who just smiles. Elek sits next to me, and I frown. Nova elbows me, her eyes widening towards Elek as though to say, 'Talk to him.'

"It's no problem, there wasn't a set time." I reply smiling at him. He smiles carefully back and I hand him a menu before dropping my gaze to my menu. I peek at Nova and Indy, smiles on their faces. Well isn't this just great. I've been set up. Set up by my two best friends and they're enjoying themselves. The waitress comes back when the rest of the group has filled the booth and takes our drink orders. I fidget, watching people converse easily and I throw daggers in Indy and Nova's direction who pretend obliviousness. Our drinks come and I excuse myself to the washroom. I stand in front of the room, trying to get my breathing under control and the tears at bay. A knock sounds on the door.

"Occupied."

"Open the door, Oceanne." Damn you, Nova! I unlock the door and raise one eyebrow. She comes in and closes the door behind her.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"Planning my escape. I can't do this with all these people here. I could barely do it when it just him and me."

"I was just trying to make it easier."

"I know and I appreciate it, but this is so stressful."

"Alright. How about you go back in there, don't think of it as a date, just all of us hanging out. Then you guys can leave and try again."

"Fine, but I'm not making any guarantees that I'll be fun. I'll be civil."

"No, you'll be cordial." Nova's eyes widen and I open my mouth in surprise.

"I'm rubbing off on you!"

"Shut up and get back in there!"

"I'm rubbing off on you!" I practically skip back to the table, I sit back down at my spot and give Elek a dazzling smile. I hear people talking about finals and I join in, school an easy topic for me. Soon Elek joins the conversation and sub-topics are created. Indy, Nova, Elek and I are discussing the newest X-men movie, Apocolypse. 

After dinner, Nova does as she promises and splits the rest of the group up from Elek and I. Grateful, we leave the restaurant and into the cool, night air.

"So, my little feminist, what's the plan?" He asks, walking next to me.

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, judging by the success of our last date, I've decided to let you take the reins. So, what's the plan for this evening?" I cringe when he brings up our last date.

"I really want to apologize for that. I'm guessing I came across as cold and distant, but I was so nervous, I didn't even know how to act. I still don't. I'm not trying to make excuses for my behaviour, I'm just trying to explain it. I have trust issues, it's not as though there's some sort of dark thing that happened in my childhood or anything, I just am not a trusting person. My longest friendship is actually the one I have with Nova, everyone leaves sooner or later and so I set myself up for success by staying away from people. Which is why I had a plan. School, grades, university. I didn't have time for boys, but then you showed interest in me and I was interested in you. And now I realize I'm rambling but I'm really just trying to explain myself, and my nervousness is getting to me and I don't know why I can't stop talking, so please just say something to interrupt me-"

"Apology accepted," he interrupts for which I will be eternally grateful, "I understand the nervousness. You make me nervous, more nervous than I've ever been in my entire life. I don't want to hurt you or scare you away and I think that our date last night was partly my fault. You told me you didn't like to be touched at the beginning of the evening and I kissed you, without permission and against what you had told me. So I feel we are both to blame, we're inexperienced, it makes sense. Now, how about we move on and focus on the now." He smiles at me and I smile back. I make him nervous. I've never made anyone nervous before. It leaves a funny feeling in my stomach. I make a boy nervous.

"Yes, lets. I have an idea, follow me." I make my way towards the dike trail, the chill in my bones leaving a feeling of good times.