Fix You ~Completed~

Act Eighty-Six

"Does he prefer dry food or wet food?"

"Well, he likes wet food better, but it's more expensive, so he gets dry."

I leaned forward to get a better look at the snowy face of the kitten, smiling weakly when he let out a weak meow and tried batting at my nose. "I can help you pay for the wet food?" I offered, reaching into my hoodie pocket. Gale had taken me to the store the other day to buy my own wallet. Despite being twenty-years-old, I've never owned a wallet before. I never had any reason to.

"You already help me with the dry food and crap," Lyric reminded me, leaning across the countertops to hand me a soda. I was about to turn him away, but he thrust it into my hands. "Gale told me I'm never allowed to let you weasel out of getting some calories in you."

Lately, I'd been spending a lot of time with Lyric. It made Eddie a little jealous at first, but he understood the why of it even if he didn't really like the guy. Both of his best friends disappeared last May. Could he really blame me for wanting to be there for Lyric whenever he needed it?

"Thanks, Lyric," I murmured, popping open the can and drinking from it hesitantly. "Linda and Susan must be warming up to Michael. I saw they had a picture of him on the wall by the front door."

"Oh, yeah," Lyric laughed weakly, shrugging. He didn't say much more.

Jimmy's moms had been letting Lyric stay with them on and off since twelve kids, including Jimmy and Alto, went missing. Everyone was paranoid about the whole deal and the teachers definitely weren't spared. Lyric said that Lind and Susan considered him as much their son as Jimmy was. That was why they agreed to also take in Michael. His original owner's name had been James, and he also went missing last spring.

There wasn't even a single lead as to where anyone went. The whole deal was just so horrifying.

"I'm shocked you haven't talked your boyfriend into letting you adopt a cat," Lyric spoke up after a few minutes of awkward silence.

I pulled Michael onto my lap and stroked his head absentmindedly. "Our apartment doesn't allow pets," I admitted, squishing Michael's soft kitten cheeks. "After college, we've talked about getting a place by ourselves. We'll probably have five cats and six dogs."

"Is Eddie a dog person?"

"Yeah."

Lyric snorted. "That's fitting."

"Why don't you guys like each other?" I asked meekly, hoping I wouldn't offend Lyric by bringing their obvious dislike up. As long as I'd known Lyric, he and Eddie had never exactly gotten along. The closest they got was during Winter Break last year when they chatted about how lame New Year's Resolutions are.

I still never came up with my own resolution, but I guess it was too late for that. Maybe I'll come up with one this year.

My friend chugged his soda quickly then crushed the can between his palm and the countertop. "He's a hockey puck, I'm a grungy theater dork," Lyric explained in a disinterested voice. I frowned. "We just don't mix well, Clementine."

Even though he knew that wasn't my name, he insisted on calling me that. Oddly enough, I didn't mind.

"That's ridiculous! Eddie and Gale get along even though Ed's sort of a jock and Gale's calls himself a dorky outcast. And Ed and I are together even though-"

"It's different between Gale and Eddie. They've been friends all their lives," Lyric pointed out, holding up his hands in protest. Unlike Jimmy, he never would stick his fingers in your face to make literal points. He kept his distance. Jimmy said Lyric hated contact. One of the only people he didn't mind hugging was Alto. "And guys like Eddie like shy, meek types."

"No, they don't. Guys like Eddie tend to date girls like themselves." I shrugged, setting Michael back on the counter and scratching the back of my neck uncomfortably. "He's different. I think you should give him more of a chance."

With a huff, Lyric turned on his heels and went over to check the oven. Twenty minutes ago, he'd popped in a quick-bake pizza for us to share. "I'll consider it," he muttered, but I knew he was only saying that so that we'd drop the subject.

I nodded. "Are you coming to Karaoke Night this week? It's the first one of the year and all..."

"No way."

"But, Lyric-"

He sent me daggers. "I'm not going and that's final, okay?"

"Is it because it's too hard without Jimmy and Alto?" I whispered when he turned back to pop open the oven and slide the pizza out. The sadist didn't even use an oven mitt. How he didn't burn himself to high heavens was a mystery to me.

"Please, don't act like my therapist," Lyric begged me, a twitch of a smile coming to his face. It was a weak smile, one that belonged to a heartbroken person. I slid down off my stool and hesitantly stepped around the kitchen island to Lyric. "Fine. Yes. Karaoke Night will suck without Alto and Jimmy. I don't care to watch some loser get on stage and doing Alto's announcing job or have to order from some blank-faced kid who stole Jim-Jam's job."

"That's understandable," I admitted, surprising him with a hug.

"Clem," Lyric murmured, but he didn't brush me off. I squeezed his torso. "Stop making me feel better. I don't like it."

I didn't release him. I knew he didn't want me to. "It gets better," I promised, and he set his head down on top of mine. "If you need to cry, I won't judge or anything."

"You cry every five seconds. There is no way you can judge anyone for shedding a tear or two. Not that I need to." Slowly, Lyric pushed my arms down and went to retrieve the pizza cutter. "Hey, check Michael's food-dish, would you?"

I did and saw it was still full. "He's good," I said, reaching over to lift the little guy into a hug. "You're such a fuzz-ball."

By the time Lyric cut the pizza and we were sitting down at Linda and Susan's kitchen table, the clock already said it was seven o'clock at night. Ed had promised to come pick me up when he got off work at eight, so I still had an hour to chill with Lyric.

After the kids went missing, Eddie stopped letting me walk home by myself even though Lyric really didn't live too far from us. Everyone at school had someone to drive them or at least walk with them to and from class, work, and home. It was rare to see any lone wolves. Even Lyric had given in and agreed to be my walking buddy when Gale and Eddie couldn't.

"If anything happens to me," Lyric said, half a slice of pizza hanging out of his mouth, "and Linda and Susan decide they don't want him, you'll take care of Michael, right?"

"What?" I frowned, caught off guard. "Nothing's going to happen to you. What are you talking about?"

I couldn't lose another person. Kyla leaving me nearly dried me out for good. Jimmy's disappearance might not have hurt as bad, but it did leave a decently sized hole in my chest.

Lyric pursed his lips. "Don't be naive. Anything is possible," he responded, waving his arms around. There were photographs of Jimmy on the wall. I looked down at my plate. "I just want to make sure Michael is taken care of. We don't want a repeat of what happened with the James guy. The poor cat had practically starved by the time his landlord opened the door to get the rent."

It had been over a week before anyone realized Michael's owner was gone. He had no friends at school and none of his teachers knew him well enough to notice his absence from class.

The thought made me grimace and push my plate away, my appetite gone.

"I didn't bring this up to make you upset. I'm just... just preparing for the worst."

"Nothing is going to happen to you," I repeated, giving Lyric a desperate look. He let out a deep breath and nodded begrudgingly. "Now let's stop talking about this. Let's talk about literally anything else."

My friend sighed, setting his elbows down on the table. "Okay. Ya like jazz?"