Pomegranate

Seth - 6

On Saturday, Meredith and Seth were late to the party. Meredith had taken too long to pick out a dress, Corey wanted to straighten their hair, and Seth spent twenty minutes re-doing the opal-blue eyeliner he borrowed from Corey and applying the shimmery lip gloss evenly.

The event was held in someone's house, probably one of the seniors Corey knew. The living room was decorated with colorful fairy lights, the cramped space smelled of beer and weed, and Katy Perry was playing from the speakers.

"Drinks? Drinks?" Corey pointed at Meredith and Seth. They both shook their heads. Meredith would be driving later, and Seth never drank anyway.

"Where's the pink-haired girl?" He asked Corey once they returned with a cup filled with a purple-looking combination.

"Vee? Hopefully here soon, otherwise I spent forty minutes straightening my hair over nothing."

Vee did, in fact, arrive, and she and Corey moved to dance closer to the kitchen area, while Meredith was swept away by a friend from her art class. Seth ran into a friend from his dorm, Maura, and started chatting about the barely functional laundry machines. This was one of the things Seth liked the most about Bradwell, how friends who seemed to be casual acquaintances could suddenly become close friends. In Trinity, he felt like it was the other way around; everyone acted like they were close friends to him but were distant acquaintances when it came to it. 

Seth liked to think he was over his roommates and so-called friends from freshman year. But part of him felt as if he needed to prove something to people he would never see again — see? All the genuine friends I have and people who actually care about me? He was still the guy who wanted to be friends with everybody. But he felt certain, as certain as he could be, that even if some people there turned out to be not very good friends, he still had few people he trusted next to him. Max and Aubrey. Corey. Meredith.

And, when Seth turned to the door, he spotted him. Benji.

"Hey!" He waved.

Benji nodded at him, looking relieved. His hands were so deep in his pockets it was like he wanted his arms to disappear. He wore a blue button-down and jeans, his hair was wet from a shower, and he smelled different than he usually did. Seth wondered if it was cologne or something. He looked so awkwardly out of place Seth wanted to hug him. Instead, he settled for a one-armed hug.

"What do you think?" Seth asked over the music, gesturing to the room full of people.

"Um." Benji's eyes glanced at the colorful flags on the walls, the glittery painting on people's faces and their rainbow clothes. "I didn't know it was a Spectrum party."

"Oh, right. Yeah, it's their event."

"I mean, is it..." Benji looked around. "Is it okay for me to..."

He trailed off, the sentence ending like that. Benji closed his mouth, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Yep!" He said, surprising Seth. Benji followed him to the kitchen, almost too closely, like he was afraid to be left behind. Seth gave him one of the cups filled with boxed wine. Benji downed half the cup in one, long gulp.

"Oh...kay." Seth said.

"So, where's Meredith?"

"She was talking with a friend." Seth looked around. Benji nodded rapidly and took another long gulp.

"Um, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Just...relax. Everybody here is chill."