Boring, 1997-1998

Time Heals

"This is a bad idea," Oliver muttered.
"No it's not," Tyler insisted.
"They definitely don't want to see me."
"That might be true, but an apology might clear the air."
Oliver kicked the dirt as they approached the house, "How're we gonna get in?"
"Oh come on. You don't give me enough credit," Tyler chuckled, "Luke has a first floor bedroom. He's our ticket inside."
They circled the house, and Tyler approached a window. He tapped a couple of times with his knuckle before the blinds were lifted to reveal Luke, wearing pajamas. Upon seeing Oliver, Luke began to draw them closed again. "Stop it," Tyler loudly whispered, "He's here to say he's sorry."
Luke sighed and opened the window, "Fine. But seriously; you better not f*ck this up. Go to the front door, when I let you in be absolutely silent. My parents are gonna kill me if you get busted."
Parents. Luke silently rejoiced at the word. It has just slipped out, but it felt so real. He pushed the thought away and made his way to the foyer. When he opened he door, the boys crept past him and up the stairs.
Kate's door was open a crack, but Oliver still knocked quietly. "Come in?" Kate's voice sounded confused.
He pushed the door open. Tyler was out of sight, standing behind the wall. Oliver saw Emaline lying on her stomach on the floor, doing homework. She wore headphones that were connected to a Walkman. Kate was reading Romeo and Juliet for her Junior English class, but immediately stopped when she saw him. "Emaline." She said tentatively.
"Huh?" The girl asked, removing her headphones. She turned to see the figure in the door, and quickly rose to her feet. "What the f*ck are you doing here?" she growled, placing herself between her girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend.
"I came to apologize."
Emaline raised her eyebrows, slightly shocked. In all the years she had known him, he had never apologized for anything. Not even once. "Um, o-okay," She stuttered, still caught off guard, "Kate? Can he come in?"
"Yes." Kate said slowly.
"Nothing I can say will erase what I did to you," He said to Emaline, but turned to Kate, "To both of you. I was jealous and ignorant. Emaline, I'm sorry for hurting you. Physically and emotionally. I was never the guy you deserved, and if Kate treats you like I never did, what more could I ask?" He took a step forwards, "Kate, I'm sorry for everything. I... I don't really understand homosexuality, but if you're happy, a-and she's happy, it's okay that I don't understand. I'm just really sorry."
Both girls stood, paralyzed. Kate's fingers brushed Emaline's, but the shorter girl didn't take her hand. Instead, she took a breath and walked up to Oliver. She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him. "Thank you," she murmured into his chest, "I really appreciate it, Oli."
"I'm sorry I was such a dick to you. That's not how you're supposed to treat a girl you love." He whispered into her hair.
"Well, let this be a learning experience," She chuckled as she pulled away from him, "You're gonna find a nice, New York City hottie. You're gonna treat her like a princess. You're gonna respect her, and love her. Sound good?"
"Yeah, it does. Kate? Are we okay?"
"I'm not sure. But time heals, Schermerhorn. Thank you for apologizing."
He nodded respectfully and left Kate's room. When the door was closed, Tyler grinned and lightly punched Oliver's shoulder, "I'm proud of you."
"Thanks, buddy."
They walked down the stairs and Luke caught Tyler's arm, "Hey. We have got to hang out sometime. Just you, me, and McQuaid, like last year."
"Absolutely." Tyler smiled and exited the house.

...

"Why did we go see Titanic? It's so sad," Jenya whispered to Daniel. He shrugged and grabbed some popcorn.
"Boo, you're boring." She teased and threw a kernel at him. He caught it in his mouth and they laughed.
Jenya leaned forward to look past him. Sofía and McQuaid were cuddled against each other. "Psst. Geniuses. How historically accurate is this?" She asked quietly.
"I mean, it's actually pretty realistic." Sofía answered.
"There are many mysteries about the Titanic that we will never be able to confirm or deny," McQuaid said, "but this does seem very close to the truth." Sofía giggled, "You're such a nerd," and nuzzled against him.
Rolling her eyes, Jenya looked back to the screen.
"Get in the boat, Rose."
"No, Jack."
"Yes, get on the boat. Go on, I'll get the next one."
"No. Not without you!"
"I'll be fine. I'm a survivor."
She suddenly felt nauseous. A friend had spoiled the end of the movie for her, but only then did it dawn on her that it actually happened. Sure, these characters were fictional, but the event was real. When thousands of people boarded that boat, they were guaranteed it was unsinkable. They had no idea they were sailing to their graves.
"Danny?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm not feeling so hot, I'm gonna step out for a minute."
"Wait-"
"I'll be back."
She got out of her seat and exited the theater. When she got to the lobby, she noticed Leslie sitting on a bench. As she got closer, she could see that she was crying.
"Leslie?" She said softly.
The girl pushed her tears out of her eyes, "Hi, Jenya."
"Are you okay?"
She looked so helpless, and finally broke down, hiding her face in her hands, "No. I'm not. Tyler stood me up. He was supposed to be here! We were gonna see Men In Black," she sniffed, "and I didn't even wanna see that dumb action movie! I don't have, like, any friends... and this girl I was friends with is a disgusting dyke. And now I'm telling all of this to a damn freshman." She sobbed.
"I'm really sorry about Tyler, Leslie. Try not to take it personally, though. He's been spending a lot of time with that Oliver kid lately. He might have double booked himself. Trust me, I'm familiar with trying to get a guy's attention when his head is up his own ass. As for your friend situation, my friends will gladly take you in! I mean, yeah we're freshies, but we're also A/V. So we're basically family." This received a chuckle from Leslie, as she wiped tears from her face, "And one more thing. Is the only reason you're not friends with this girl anymore because she's a lesbian?"
Leslie thought quietly for a moment, and nodded, "I mean, kind of. But she knows how I feel about gay people. It's gross. And it's against the word of God."
"Okay, well hear me out. Maybe she's not considering your feelings. Maybe it's not about you. She's just trying to be happy. And I get it, it's against the Bible. But so is premarital sex, and plenty of people do that. Leslie, if your only issue with this girl is her sexual orientation, I suggest you put that aside," Jenya placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hey. I've gotta go, movie is at the climax right now. Bye, Leslie."