Match Your Weakness With A Name

Two?

Jenna called me after her shift yesterday to inform me that I did have to come to work today, though I wasn't going to actually do any guarding of lives. She told me I could just do the paperwork instead. I'm getting paid, so of course I didn't turn it down, but I am not looking forward to it.

I amble through the pool gates at eleven fifty-four, trying not to be too much of an annoyance to the people in the water. They'd hate me if I even so much as looked at them, probably. Derek has taken over my position. I wave at him with my good hand and resume my standard stare-at-your-feet posture.

"Hey."

I look up. It's Sweater Boy. Awsten. Him. He's here again. It occurs to me that he might be one of the "regulars", as Derek calls them.

"I like your shirt."

"Oh." I glance down at the Cobra Starship shirt I'd decided to wear that morning for some reason. "You listen to them?"

"No, I just liked the design," he says, smiling and rolling his eyes. "Duh. They're one of my favorite bands."

"Really?" I say, moving closer to him, so as to not be in the way of the kids running on the deck. Derek's going to chew them out soon enough anyway. "I wouldn't call them my favorite, but they're up there."

"I'm in love with Gabe Saporta," he proclaims, and I laugh. I wonder if he means that in a gay way.

"Me too."

His smile suddenly loses some of its glow. "Oh. Dang. I just realized. Am I making you late?"

"Uh, kind of," I say, "but it's fine. Jenna doesn't listen to Cobra Starship."

"How's your hand, by the way?"

I look down at my cast awkwardly. "Broken. At least it's not my right hand."

"You're very good at pretending you're not in pain," he says. I don't know whether that's a compliment or not.

"Anyway, I should get going, or Jenna will whip my ass for being late." For some reason, I feel bad for having to leave him alone. I've only just met him. It should be fine, just letting him be, but it's not.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for holding you up," he responds. "But if you give me your phone number, we don't have to stop being fanboys." He flashes me an exaggerated seductive grin, and I can't help but return it.

"Sure." I pull out my phone, and we exchange numbers.

We say our final goodbyes, and I head off to the office, a lot happier with my current work situation than I was five minutes ago. At least now I have something to take the edge off the mind-numbing pain of filling out paperwork for at least two hours. And maybe Awsten will enjoy it, too. Yesterday he seemed pretty bored, just sitting there on the bench by himself.

Jenna smiles at me on my way in. "Hey, Geoff. How're you doing?"

"Uh," I say. "Pretty good. You?"

"Good as well," she says. "Actually...not really."

"Why, what's up?" I ask.

"I have a crush," she admits.

"Really?" I say absently, searching for the papers I'm supposed to be sorting. "Tell me about them."

"Promise you won't tell anyone?" I nod and she continues. "He's a regular here, has been for a couple months now. I swear I'd seen him before that, though. I don't even know his name, because he hardly ever talks to the staff, but he's just so cute. I wish I could talk to him."