Thank God for Santa Clara Comics. This place was his safehouse when he had nowhere else to go. Summer meant he didn’t have school, but it also meant
he could spend three months locked inside the house. Not that that was awful as his family kept him thoroughly entertained, but he would go stir crazy
if he didn’t have somewhere to go during the day. And what with Sheen gone to the mainland, that limited his fun even more. So when he was on
schedule to work, he always found that time to be more “play” that he just so happened to get paid for. And today was no different.
He was running racks, returning things to their rightful places on the shelf. There was barely anyone else in the store so he was pretty sure he could
watch the register and put things in order without pulling anything. Well at least that was what he thought before he reached the bottome of his pile
and came across a copy of a Battle Royale manga. Damn it. It was his anti-drug and now he had something better to do at the register. He opened it,
his eyes starting at the beginning of the most epic horror story in history.
He was still moving back to the front and with his face buried in the comic and his mind being sucked into another world, it was kind of hard to see.
Which was why he wasn’t sure what it was he bumped into when it happened. All he knew was that it spoke and...oh hell! He’d completely knocked
what she was reading from her hands. Shoot.
“Oh crap. Sorry, about that-,” he began closing his distraction and reaching for her. “Caught up-,” he tried to explain waving the manga in
his hand. Great. Not a month into summer and already he was embarrassing himself. Was he sure he’d left high school?
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
It was like he was cursed. Doomed to be socially awkward for the rest of his life. It was like he was the frickin’ Michael Cera character in a teen
comedy that was his life. Only the crap wasn’t funny when it was happening to you. Or more accurately, happening to her. With his face
buried in manga, he had run over a customer...and she was audibly pissed about it. Oh hell.
He apologized quickly, taking a step back as he adjusted his glasses and smoothed over his tee shirt nervously. He was used to getting cussed out, but
that didn’t make it any less uncomfortable. Just the other day, he’d run into a couple of the kids from AJW on the boardwalk. He took the time to
wave at...her. And that nearly got him tossed off the boardwalk by the jocks she was with. Charlena waved back though, so it was totally
worth it. Sadly, he’d done more than wave at his girl, his clumsiness not only clearing her hands of what she was reading but also crushing her
feet. Awesome...but what was this?
She was smiling. The girl told him not to worry about it as she plucked his reading material from his hands, glancing at the cover and repeating the
name. Such a guy? “Yeah, that’s the general consensus-,” he said with a nervous chuckle. “Course, not everybody thinks so though.” True. He
had been called plenty of synonyms for female that he’d rather not repeat, especially not in front of anyone. “Do you...uh, need help with
anything? Now that I’ve kind of knocked you over I feel kind of obligated to find you something you’ll like.
And the options were many in Santa Clara. He knew from experience.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
He wouldn’t be surprised at all if she hadn’t noticed him in the shop before. Dex was mostly hired for his comic book knowledge, not his people
skills. He stayed as invisible as possible whenever it wasn’t absolutely necessary to make his presence known. He had learned his lesson a long time
ago at, where else, AJW. It was actually how he’d meet his best friend, Sheen. He wasn’t too popular either and somehow he’d gotten into it with
Derrick, quarterback jock. I know stereotypes. It’ll make you nuts...Anyway, Dex made the mistake of speaking up for him and they both ended up
getting their asses kicked...Friends since then though, so he couldn’t complain too much.
But that wasn’t the point right now. She was asking him stuff. “It’s probably the latter, but I don’t take it personal. I tend to take the Sue
Storm approach to life and stay invisible-,” he smiled a little back at her as he moved past the shelves. scanning them for something zombie
related, as the comic in her hand was enough for him to find her something.
“I’ve been here for a while, actually. I just never really say much. I wasn’t exactly hired for my charm and obviously not my grace-,” he said
referencing their little crash from moments ago. He had split his attention between this conversation and looking for her something to read but he was
having a little trouble with one of them. Hmm...maybe he did need a little more than just Zombies. There were too many comics in Santa Clara. “What
exactly are you into? Besides zombies I mean.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
She was lucky. They messed with Dex whenever they got the chance. Oh, what? He was walking down the hall with books in his hand? Bump on the shoulder
so that they hit the floor. And what’s that? Trying to to participate in an English class? Spitballs. As if that wasn’t straight from the 80s. It
was like they missed their issue of Nerd Tormentors Quarterly and went with the same old pranks and harassment that father’s had used. Of
course, he probably should have been glad they weren’t more creative. If those guys thought anything beyond “hulk smash” Dex might be in
trouble.
But they didn’t. And it wasn’t. And right now it didn’t matter. Right now he needed to focus on what she was trying to take with her back
to...life guarding? Yeah, Dex, obviously. She was a life guard. Probably on break or lunch or something. And he was probably wasting her time.
Although she seemed to kind of be enjoying the waste, laughing lightly at his Sue Storm comment. If Sheen had been there he would have told him that
he was “so fucking in there”. Sheen did that with all the pretty girls that found reason to speak to Dex. It didn’t matter what was said. If
they spoke to him, he was in there. Dex didn’t hold the same philosophy though. She laughed because he was funny. Nothing to it, and as he scanned
the shelves, he laughed too as she referred to herself as the queen of gracelessness. Nice.
With their “strong-suits” out of the way of conversation, he could turn to something he could actually talk about. Comic books. Apparently cutting
out zombies made it hard for her, but she did have other interest. Fables and of course everyone’s favorite, Marvel...He was more of a DC guy
himself. Especially now that Cartoon Network was putting Young Justice on the small screen, but to each their own. He wasn’t one to judge. He could
give his opinion though.
“I mean Battle Royale was more than gore. It was one of those things that made you think about the kind of stuff that could happen with the click of
a pen y’know? And then Taguchi did an insane job writing it. It was a manga, but it totally read like a novel. I...am rambling like an
idiot...-,” he said rolling his eyes a little. “Um...if I had to pick somthing other than BR it’d probably be either Blood+ or Gantz. But from
what you just told me, maybe you wanna try Taller Tales or Proposition Player. They were a lot like Fables.”
Wow that was a lot. Wasn’t really his fault though he had read most everything in the store so it was bound to come bursting out every now and again
in the form of a tangent.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Yeah it was a good thing they couldn’t argue Marvel and DC. Sure, Marvel had some classisc. Spiderman, Thor, Captain America; it was cool, but DC
made for some of the best superherosin existence. Come on! Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Wonderwoman? And then there were the
villains The Joker? He was the ultimate bad guy hands down! Of course that was only Dex’s opinion and he wasn’t going to push it off on
her if she didn’t ask him to. It wasn’t that Marvel wasn’t great, like, who didn’t have a thing for Elektra at one point or another, but DC
was epic. Nothing compared in Dex’s head.
But that was in his head. Outside of this thoughts, she was agreeing with him about Battle Royale and excusing his spazzy comic book rant; even
throwing in her two cents about how it took the right reader to get it. Well that was true of everything, but yeah. He could see how someone could
take it at face value as gore. That was one way to look at it.
But they had moved on and she was telling him that she’d already read two of his recommendations and tried another. Gantz was going to be her drug
of choice this time. Good pick in his opinion. Spirits and aliens? Plenty of people were into that. He smiled a bit as she stooped to retrieve the
comic off the wall.
“Great-,” he said brightly, his finger coming to push at the glasses that had begun to slip down his nose. He was about to ask if there was
anything else she needed, but she spoke first, a compliment. He blushed a little, like he always did when all a member of the opposite sex said
something to him that wasn’t wholly negative. “Uh, thanks...It’s uh...Comes with not having a life I guess-,” he joked, a small chuckle on his
lips as he tried to focus on anything that wasn’t her face.
“So uh...you’re welcome to look around a little bit. Unless you’re, y’know finished...”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
He breathed a little easier as she started down the isle again. Not that he wasn’t enjoying her company or anything, he just...she was a girl. And
she wasn’t asking for a pencil or how to get somewhere. They were talking. Real live conversation. It always boggled his mind when a pretty
girl gave him more than the time of day and boggled minds thought slower. He couldn’t be witty and charming and sweet-talky like a normal dude. He
got tongue tied and goofy and things turned into a train wreck quick. He just didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of...gah! He hadn’t even
asked her name yet! See this was exactly what he was talking about!
He spoke again, telling her she could look around if she wasn’t finished. She was probably tired of his awkwardness and he was willing to retreat to
the register and leave her be...but she wasn’t? He smiled as she weighed her options, going back to work, or spending her break here. I’d
rather stick around with you. Oh uhh...
“Yeah. Cool-,” he could feel the heat in his face increase and he turned away from the conversation before he continued over his shoulder, “It
might be easier if we come up with something to call ourselves though. I’m Dex.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Well girls weren’t really his thing. Not since Jenna Wagner in the seventh grade. She had Mrs. Harold’s English class with him and he sat right
behind her. They were in the poetry unit of her curriculum and even then Dex had had a way with words. He figured then was the perfect time to express
his undying affection for Jenna, what with them having a school-wide poetry night and all...he assumed wrong. The night came, and recited a puppy love
poem with her name in and Jenna never spoke to him again; not that she did much before. She even moved to the front of the class room to get away from
him. Yeah. He figured then, his touch with the ladies wasn’t a Midas one and he would probably spend a lot of time alone. Of course there had been
others too, but...
Now wasn’t the time for any of that. He was talking to...the lifeguard. That’s just how great he was at this socialization thing. He hadn’t
even asked the girl’s name yet, and it all made him even more uneasy. Not to mention he had damn near bulldozed her over a few minutes ago. But she
wasn’t acting like it phased her much, she was actually pretty...friendly. That was a nice change and he would react with the same
friendliness. She was more than welcome to browse a little and he would even try to keep this conversation going. Starting with names of course.
Apparently his was pretty cool...Ha. He scoffed a little before he could catch himself. It was as cool as he could get it to be. If she knew his whole
name she would understand his reluctance to speak to her. His name screamed nerd, geek, and every other negative stereotype that would make you a
loser in high school. She didn’t know how wrong she was wishing that her name was more “unique” and he definitely wasn’t going to tell
her...besides, Leah was nothing to get your panties in a twist over. She could thank God it wasn’t Milhouse.
“Leah’s not too disappointing-,” he said with a little bit of a smile, his hand reaching for a randomly placed comic that belonged on a table
instead of a shelf. “If ever I find myself pregnant and need help picking through the “Penny Saver”, I know who to call-,” he joked, making a
reference to the friend from Juno...A reference no one but his sister would probably get. Aw, hell. Here he was making an ass out of himself again.
“Sorry. Juno reference-,” he began to explain. “I do that a lot. Again a perk to having no life, lots of time for movies and TV.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Why bother? Really? Wasn’t that what high school was all about? Hooking up and falling in and out of love with the girl or guy of your dreams?
That’s what all the teen movies made it seem like. For Dex though, it was making it through the day without too much strife. He kept his head down
and his mouth shut and in three-ish years he would be done with these people and on to something new. Somewhere new. Somewhere where his name
wouldn’t make him the ridicule of his peers and his slight obsession with superheros didn’t make him a loser.
Until then he would have to deal with the jocks and bullies that made his life hell when he was in school. Until school started again, he could have
this great reprieve with Leah. She was nice, despite the way this whole conversation had started...and the way it was going, as he seemed to be unable
to keep his foot out of his mouth. He had to remember, Mills wasn’t around. No one else did stupid pop culture references. This wasn’t Gilmore
Girls and he knew to keep the “wit” to a minimum in public. But again, Leah threw him for a loop, rendering his awkward explanation unnecessary as
she told him she got it.
In fact, he had lucked out as she had been “obsessed” with that movie. Probably not as much as Milicent had, but that wasn’t something they had
to debate. She smiled at him and Dex found it contagious. Surprised that he would get the reference? Ha! “Yeah, there aren’t many things you could
mention that I wouldn’t get. I’m sure I’ve seen plenty of movies no other guy would ever admit to even knowing about-,” he laughed a little
again, remembering having swore Mills to secrecy after watching The Notebook with her.
“Thursdays are movie nights at my house, so I don’t miss much.”
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Meh. Dex could understand that. Everybody did high school differently. Even though he didn’t get girls...at all, he was very much a
hopeless romantic. He believed in high school sweethearts, he liked to think the perfect girl was waiting for him to find her and he was pretty sure
he knew who she was. Of course, girls like her didn’t wait on anything and she was so far out of his league that there was no possible way she even
knew what his name was, but he could hope. That’s what high school was. High hopes and even bigger disappointments. Such was life right? At least
that was life for kids with names like Milhouse Poindexter. Poor saps. High school just wasn’t their era...and college had little to no potential to
be any better.
But he didn’t need to worry about that now. He’d come to find looking too far ahead would get him into trouble. Sheen had always told him how
important “just doing” was, so that’s what he was going to do now. He had been over-thinking his entire conversation with Leah and had taken to
covering his embarrassment with more embarrassment. No more! He was just going to talk to her, like any other person in the world. She wasn’t a
pretty girl anymore; she was just Leah...Ha. He wondered how long this little confidence boost would last.Not long it seemed as she asked him to prove
just how sure he was. Wow.
“Well, I’ve never been asked openly to embarrass myself-,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ve seen Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Sadly both.
And the main characters were Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget-,” he began blushing again as he silently damned his sister for making him watch the
first one...then making him like it enough to order the second one himself. Thank god for Netflix, because he couldn’t even imagine a Blockbuster
CSR’s face if he’d have tried to rent it in person.
“In my defense, I watched mostly for Blake Lively and Alexis Bledel.” He had to keep just a little of his manhood. It wasn’t like he could boast
about much to begin with.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Hm. Dex wasn’t sure what his parents believed in a lot of the time. They took a very laissez-faire approach to pretty much everything. He
was sure they loved each other though. That much was stupid obvious. The way they played off of one another in one of their sarcastic tirades about
absolutely nothing? That split second when he’d look at her and you could see him fall in love all over? It was a fricking Disney movie in his
house...If Disney movies were R-rated and full of pop culture bantering fluff. And he was pretty sure they spent most of high school together...Not
counting that year dad was gay in college and mom’s bout of promiscuity...
They had made it back to the front of the store and he leaned against a table across from the register while she took a seat on the counter. She
laughed, shaking her head a bit as she reasoned that it had to be his...his what now? He couldn’t help but laugh with her. Oh damn, now the
idea was even laughable to him! He hadn’t had a girlfriend since Tia Smith in the second grade and she dumped him twenty minutes into the
relationship for Billy Smith because “their names already matched”. Yeah, he definitely couldn’t blame his Traveling Pants viewing on his
“girlfriend”.
“Yeah, no, more like my sister. The Wayfers rarely turn anybody on-,” he said, pushing them up on his nose again. Even with her confession about
being the one to drag her mom to the sequel, he could never admit to making Mills watch it with him. Not even. As far as anyone would ever know, she
had tortured him into submission and he watched it tied to a chair with some type of device holding his eyes open...rather than laid out in the floor
sharing a bowl of popcorn.
Her words began again; he still wasn’t the king of chick flicks--Not a title he was willing to don openly anyway but, Marley & Me? “Sure
I’ve seen that one. Cute dog, Owen Wilson, sad ending. Not going to say I cried, but it was okay. You want to talk sad movies though, My Sister’s
Keeper was gut-wrenching...I may or may not have had allergies during that movie...” he said reluctantly, only half owning up to bawling like a
little bitch when Taylor died.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
Oh no, she was free to stay here and talk to him...he guessed. Dex didn’t know too many other girls that would be interested in doing the same, but
he wasn’t going to question her motives. Hell, for all he knew she was into nerd guys that talked about all the movies they cried while
watching...not to say that Leah was into him! No, that wasn’t what he was thinking at all. In fact, he was quite positive that she was as far from
being that kind of interested, she was a girl after all...He’d had maaybe two female friends in his life and one of them was his sister. He
was an equal opportunity non-starter in the relationship field. Girls as friends and as girlfriends tended to stay away.
Girlfriends especially. Which explained his laugh as she suggested that his girlfriend had made him watch The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants...He
wondered if Char liked that movie...Had she even seen it? Maybe they could watch it together...if she was into that...Wait. What was he thinking? They
had barely spoken two words to each other outside of her asking for help in math. Sure, they would catch a movie together if she was into that...And
if hell froze over and Satan’s balls turned blue.
But that was neither here nor there, right now. He wasn’t talking to Char, he was talking to Leah and she was pretty cool, telling him how the
glasses worked for Clark Kent. Ha. He certainly wasn’t anybody’s Superman and Kent only got the girl after she found out he was the hero...Who’s
hero was he?
Didn’t matter. He willed himself to focus and stop letting his mind drift to his insecurities. She was telling him about the book My Sister’s
Keeper was based off of. Something he shouldn't read ever! He knew how different books were from movies, without fail, and he wasn’t about to let
some words on a page punk him like he had reading the last two Harry Potter books when they came out. Dumbledore then Fred? Could anyone really blame
him? He already had his ticket for the 15th, but he was dreading that part of the movie. He’d watched Fred’s death in his mind. There was no need
to reenact it on the big screen, of course Hollywood would mess with anyone’s emotions for a buck...Much like the book industry it seemed.
“Traumatized? Well, if she couldn’t handle it, I don’t think I’ll be picking that one up-,” he chuckled a little, “I’ll stick to comics
and mangas and keep my sanity.” He smiled a little, shaking the copy of Battle Royale in his hand.
My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.
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