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Saturday, April 21, 2001

Grandview Apartment Complex

Colorado Springs, CO

The apartment Julie and Terri lived in was a modest two-bedroom in the same building as Seth and his parents. The décor was mostly Terri’s doing; a couple of landscapes, potted plants and a sectional couch dominated the living room; the TV sat on a stand with the requisite VCR. A DVD player had been a last-minute addition, probably pulled from Seth’s living room. The kitchen was an open area which bordered the living room and was situated next to the front door; it was somewhat cramped with five teens sharing the room at once but it was doable.

We broke into the snacks and drinks we bought on the way to the apartment; everybody had chipped in for soda, chips, and candy. Julie started us off. “Okay, first up is Will’s pick. Looks like an action flick called The Way of the Gun. After that I picked Bedazzled , and Seth’s pick is The Fifth Element. Holly wanted to introduce us to Cowboy Bebop, so we should have time for at least a few episodes. Adam didn’t pick anything so we get to subject him to our tastes this evening without reprisal.” I responded by sticking my tongue out at her; eliciting a laugh from the others.

“I figure we’ll be ready to order pizza after we finish Bedazzled,” Seth mentioned as he inserted the first disc into the DVD player. “We’ll discuss what we want to order then. Get your drinks and snacks, because this movie night is officially about to begin!”

There wasn’t much space to spread out; Will staked out the recliner seat at the end while Julie and Seth took up a significant portion of the real estate to stretch out and cuddle up against each other. The display of affection sent a slight stab of pain through my heart; a sign that Megan’s loss wasn’t something I had healed from. Not for quite a while, at least. As the opening title started to play Holly sat down next to me. No words were said other than an inquisitive glance from her and a shrug from me. My issues were my own and I didn’t want them to be her concern. It was a storm I had weathered for months and would continue to weather until I came out on the other side. The movie would prove a welcome distraction as I started to get sucked in.

---

The ending credits rolled as Will got up from his recliner. There were some remarks made during the movie, especially when one of the characters got shards of glass stuck in their arm. It wasn’t the best action movie I’ve seen but it was solid; the gunplay looked impressive. Julie looked a little squicked out at some of the gorier scenes, something that wasn’t quite mirrored by Holly. “Not too bad though there were some flaws,” Holly remarked. “What did you think?” It took me a second to realize she was asking me.

“Lots of trying to shoot people through walls in that last fight scene,” I answered. “I’m not sure how realistic it was but I figure adobe walls probably aren’t great cover.”

“My dad taught me a little about guns,” Holly answered. “They’re not really my thing but I think it depends on how dense and thick those walls are.” She smiled slightly as I considered her explanation. It made sense to me, at least.

“That might be the case and there’s the whole suspension of disbelief thing to consider,” I quipped, standing up to stretch my legs and to get rid of my empty can of Coke. “Going to grab another soda and some snacks. Could I get you anything?”

“I brought a couple boxes of Pocky from home; they should be in the outer pocket of my backpack that’s sitting in the kitchen. Could you get them for me?” Holly pointed over to the kitchen with a smile.

“While you’re up, could you grab us a couple of Dews?” Seth asked, taking the time to exchange a brief kiss with Julie. I politely looked away and nodded; outside of school they really let their hair down and didn’t care who saw them. Their parents didn’t quite mind; I suspected it was because they had been a pretty stable couple. They hadn’t done the on-again, off-again thing and I wouldn’t be surprised if they got married within the next few years. I was happy for them even if it was a little painful to watch at times.

As I stepped past Will on my way to the kitchen I noticed Julie stretching forward to whisper to Holly. I didn’t pay any overt attention as I collected drinks, a bag of chips, and the colorful, neatly packed boxes Holly requested. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I would soon find out. “Hey, Will! You want anything?”

“No, I’m good!” Will shot back as I returned to my seat; passing the proffered items to Holly and Julie before I sat back down. The menu for the next movie danced on the screen as we settled in for the next showing.

Holly popped open one of the boxes and pulled out a few of what looked like very thin, chocolate-covered cookie sticks and passed them to the others. “Have you had Pocky before?” I shook my head as she offered one of the sticks to me. “It’s a sweet snack that’s popular in Japan. I absolutely love them but they’re kinda hard to find here,” She pulled out another stick and tapped it against mine. “Try it; I’m sure you’ll like it!”

I took a bite and sure enough, it was pretty damn good. The cookie stick was very delicate and light in flavor, which carried the chocolate quite well. I nodded my approval before Seth raised the remote and pressed play.

The second movie started; a Faustian story wrapped up as a romantic comedy. It starred that guy from The Mummy as well as an admittedly cute female romantic interest and Elizabeth Hurley as the Devil. It was a bit risqué at points, though absolutely done for laughs. Holly was cracking up along with Julie and while matters of the heart were still kind of a painful subject it was entertaining, especially the whole Colombian drug lord bit.

During the movie I noticed something else as well; I tried to keep a polite distance between myself and Holly. About midway through the movie she had nudged up against me; I was reticent to scoot farther away as I was just about up against Julie and Seth, who were too involved in the movie to really catch what was happening. I gave her a confused look to which she responded with a soft smile and nothing else.

The film ended on a positive note; there was a moral lesson involving relationships if one cared to dig into it a bit. I didn’t and a romcom wasn’t the easiest thing for me to watch, but it was fairly well made at the very least. Like last time, Will got up to pull the movie from the player. “Okay, I think we should take a quick break and discuss pizza plans.”

We hadn’t pigged out too much and a glance to my watch revealed it was about seven in the evening. I wasn’t incredibly hungry but I wasn’t tired of pizza just yet. Seth plucked a well-worn paper menu from the endtable and we passed it around; a quick discussion about our preferences made it clear that we needed a few different options. Julie preferred her pizza to be dragged through the garden, Seth and Holly wanted what some would consider the cardinal sin of Hawaiian, and Will and I preferred to keep it simple with pepperoni and extra cheese.

Leon’s was a good local pizzeria and was generally pretty quick to deliver; Julie picked up the phone and gave them a call. Within minutes dinner was settled and we even got a side of their signature garlic cheese bread as part of a promotion. Not wanting to start Seth’s pick before chowing down gave us a bit of a break to discuss movies and to use the restroom without pausing the action.

“So what sort of wish would you pick, given that you would have to suffer some sort of consequences?” Julie’s question was centered on Bedazzled’s central plot point. “I think that being selfish wouldn’t be the answer, considering how things went for our hero.”

“I’d wish for my new friends to be happy and successful,” Holly’s answer wasn’t too surprising given our conversation on personal philosophies. “All of you have been very kind to me and this has been a very fun day. Thanks for letting me tag along.”

Julie beamed. “I’m very glad to hear that, Holl. I figure our parties are a bit different, but in a good way.”

“Absolutely,” Holly replied. “I like the fact things aren’t so wild. I feel like I can enjoy myself a bit more and not be pressured. I was missing out.”

“It might not be as often but we should do this on occasion after we graduate,” Seth offered. “And yes that includes you, Will. Unless you end up ditching us and moving to Ohio to chase your online paramour.”

Will chuckled at that; we all knew that Seth’s ribbing was good-natured and he did it to lighten the mood. “I’ll see how that goes, but I’m going to be here through my senior year at the least. Em and I are excited for my visit over the summer, though!”

“Just remember to give it time and feel each other out,” Julie advised. “Maybe leave the physical feeling each other out until later, just like Seth and I tried and failed to do.” She giggled as she nudged her other half with her elbow.

“Hey, you were the one who kissed me first!” Seth retorted, pressing his lips to her cheek in response.

“Not my fault that the matchmaker knows what she likes,” Julie commented. “I’d say getting six couples together and perhaps a couple more by the time we graduate isn’t a bad run for high school.” I inwardly winced; Megan and I had been one of those couples. Yet, what did she mean by a couple more?

I inwardly chided myself for not quite remembering the obvious. Will had asked Julie some pointed questions about trying to figure out if someone might be interested in him; he took the initiative to adapt her advice for the realms of AOL. Then there was the elephant in the room that pointed right at Holly and myself. There wasn’t much to discuss; we agreed to keep it as friends, though I was sure that Julie would push Holly to be a little bolder. I told myself that I wouldn’t hold any of that against Holly, but I was going to be firm on keeping a friendship strictly a friendship.

“You’re keeping oddly quiet,” Will mentioned as he turned to me. “I mean, Julie is uncanny at the matchmaking game.”

Holly beat me to the punch. “She is, but we’ll see what happens. Don’t be too hasty; sometimes good things come from good friendships and those good friendships take time to foster.” I blinked; her words eloquently dancing around the subject but somehow mentioning the ground rules we had established. That was kind of her.

“Not everything has to be about romance and relationships, dude.” I mentioned. I was saved from any particular retort to that comment by a heavy knock on the door.

“Looks like pizza’s here,” Seth piped up. “I’ll get it.” He disentangled himself from Julie and headed for the door, taking the cash and coupons from the coffee table to hand over to the delivery driver. He came back with a stack of boxes in one hand and a couple of two-liter bottles of soda in the other. These he set on the coffee table, where we had set plates and glasses.

We all dug in pretty quickly, loading our plates with slices of what we wanted and the garlic bread. Soda flowed like wine; plates balanced on laps as we settled down to watch the next movie.

The Fifth Element wasn’t a newer release; I had actually seen it in theaters on a class trip in middle school, back when I lived in Chicago. I was kind of a Bruce Willis fan starting with Die Hard; I had even seen Sixth Sense on a date with Megan. It was still a fun movie; an action/sci-fi romp that I was willing to rewatch often.

By the time the movie ended the pizzas and sodas were reduced to empty boxes and bottles. After taking the time to clean up I glanced at my watch; it was nearly ten. It might have been late, but the night was still young.

Holly pulled a case out of her bag, presenting it to the rest of us with a flourish. “That last movie is a very good segue into what I have to show. This is Cowboy Bebop; an Anime that debuted in Japan a few years ago. My friends there absolutely loved it but it took a little while for it to reach our shores.” She popped the disc into the drive and walked back to her seat, taking the remote from Seth on her way back as the jazzy theme music started to play. Again, I noticed that Holly seemed to lean into me as we watched; albeit barely as the plot and animation started to suck me in.

It was an experience, in a good way. I wasn’t a major Anime fan; being introduced to a few of them via Will. Akira and Ninja Scroll were the main ones I had remembered, at the very least. However this one was right up my alley. The visuals were excellent; the sound design, voice acting, and writing were also stellar. I dimly noticed it was getting later as Holly swapped discs, but everyone was absolutely hooked.

The mood got quieter as it got later and drowsiness overtook us. We wanted to continue watching; to let the night last a little longer but it had been an eventful day. As the episode ended a somber jazz tune played; a mournful send-off of a character who couldn’t escape their shattered, bitter past. Their epitaph played through my ears, sparking thoughts of my own. ”That star is the tear of a warrior…”

I must have dozed off at some point after that as I was awakened to find Julie tucking a blanket around me. Well, around us, really. I was about to speak up about that but Julie held a finger to her lips and shook her head. It was then I noticed that Holly had fallen asleep against me; her head tucked into my shoulder. The floral scent of her shampoo combined with the more artificial bite of her temporary hair coloring came to my senses. I still wasn’t comfortable about those arrangements but a quick look around the darkened living room revealed Will crashed out where Julie and Seth had been.

The implications of Julie walking back to her bedroom and Seth’s being absent from the living room were obvious; I wasn’t sure that Terri would like Seth being that close with her. If Seth snuck out before Terri came back from work I wouldn’t be too surprised. All in all that wasn’t really my business and I was dead tired anyway; too tired to really address the awkwardness of the situation. I found drowsiness taking over before I knew it.

---

I awoke to the heavenly smell of bacon and clattering in the kitchen. My spot hadn’t changed much overnight; Holly still fast asleep next to me. I felt the warmth of her arm around my waist and the soft rise and fall of her breath; a feeling of slight embarrassment coming through as soon as I noticed the fact daylight was streaming into the living room and everyone else seemed to be up.

Terri had come home while we were asleep and Seth was suspiciously absent, confirming my sleep-fogged thoughts from last night. She was in the kitchen with Julie, apparently making breakfast. Will was pitching in by setting up the small dining room table; apparently things were almost ready.

Julie was practically beaming. She glanced over and gave me a smile, nodding and gesturing to Holly. Her makeup was gone and she had changed into clothes more suitable for lounging around the house rather than yesterday’s mallwalking activities. She gestured to her again and I got the hint. I figured we weren’t in any sort of trouble for falling asleep on the couch like we had.

I nudged her a bit, trying to be gentle and respectful. She murmured a bit before stirring; greeting me with the confused and hazy expression of someone just being roused from deep sleep. “S… sorry,” Holly managed. “I must’ve dozed off. Wait, it’s morning?” She blinked and lifted her head; a blush coming to her cheeks to realize we had fallen asleep like this. She pulled her arm away slowly; enough to let her touch linger for a fraction of a second before assisting me with pulling the blanket off us.

“I figured you two needed the rest,” Terri’s voice called from the kitchen. “That and I’m sure you weren’t up to any hanky-panky last night.” Her good-natured laugh filled the room.

“How late were we up?” I slurred, still shaking off the cobwebs. I used the opportunity to create a polite amount of distance from a still blushing Holly.

“Past four, maybe almost five,” Will chimed in. “I got woken up by Terri coming in at about six, so I don’t think we quite win the all-nighter badge this time.” I glanced to my watch; it was a little past ten in the morning.

“Thanks for letting me get a little sleep before taking you home,” Terri cut in. “It was a busy shift and I got behind a fair bit. Lots of labwork to process.” I recalled that she was some sort of lab technician at one of the local hospitals.

Will spoke up as Holly and I started shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. “I think breakfast is payment enough for that, Miss Ortega.” I had to agree; I didn’t think we would have slept in quite this long but I was absolutely ready for some food.

Breakfast was a pretty quiet affair; toast, eggs, and bacon shared between us with relatively little conversation. We were running on relatively little sleep and I would make sure to crash out early tonight. While things had been interesting I didn’t want to neglect that invitation from that mystery kitsune character online. The thought of popping in for a little bit and introducing myself wasn’t a bad idea.

Before much longer Holly, Will and I were ushered into Terri’s station wagon; this time we got the luxury of sitting in the less cramped back seat. We didn’t speak much on the ride to our respective homes, though I think that was due to our semi-groggy states more than anything else.

Due to the fact I was an out of area student I was the farthest out, which meant I was the last to be dropped off. Will was closest; his house just a mile down the road. “That was a blast!” he remarked. “Catch you tomorrow?” We said our goodbyes before we took off.

Holly’s house was a bit farther out in a somewhat more ritzy neighborhood, the same one where Megan’s parents used to live. After the accident they had moved out of state; I kept in sporadic contact with them but I knew it was as painful a reminder to them as it was to me. I guess Holly caught the look on my face as I soon felt her hand on my shoulder.

“Looks like this is my stop,” she stated. “Don’t forget our listening party tomorrow?” I nodded at her, forcing some of those memories aside.

“I’ll make sure to bring those CDs,” I responded. “Remember, vocational hallway after lunch. You’ve got a free class, right?”

Holly nodded. “Yeah, though I still have fourth period so we can’t go too long. Thanks again for taking time to talk with me yesterday; it helped a lot.” She opened the door to get out of the car, but what I wasn’t expecting was her to suddenly lean towards me; the gentle, electric pressure of her lips on my cheek came and went in a split instant. With a wave she was gone; walking up to a relatively large house that looked even more impeccably cared for than the rest of the immaculate, modern homes that lined the street. To me all of it looked sterile; something I thought when I came here to spend time with Megan.

I spent the rest of the ride home in silence; my thoughts divided between processing the events of the past twenty-four hours, keeping memories of the past at bay and the intriguing invitation that my virtual alter-ego had received a few days ago. As we pulled up in the driveway of my house I was shaken from those thoughts. “Thanks for staying over last night,” Terri mentioned. “Julie told me it had been a while since you’ve done an all-nighter with everyone.”

“Yeah, it has been a while,” I responded. “With everything that’s happened time has gotten away from me. Thanks for letting us hold a movie night; it was a good change of pace. Have a great rest of your weekend!” With that I exited the car and walked back to the house; it had been an eventful day and I still needed to get ready for the schoolweek. Afterwards, however, it would be time to log on and address the mysterious invitation from a certain kitsune…