The Bright Side of Darkness

Seventeen

"So, this is what the average teenage girl's room looks like." Asa picks up my lamp and inspects the shade.

"Excuse me," I say, taking the lamp from him and setting it down, "but I know darn well that you've been in a girl's room before."

"Yeah, but your room is different than Toni's. There are a lot less My Chemical Romance posters." He sits in my bean bag chair and looks around the room. "Your room is a lot less hostile, too."

I laugh as I search for my craft supplies. There is a box around here somewhere full of markers, paper, glitter pens, and whatever else I thought I needed when I was in fifth grade. "Hostile? No, that doesn't sound like Toni at all," I retort.

He chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you're not wrong to think that way." He leans down to look under my bed while I keep looking for my box. "This what you're looking for?" A bright blue storage box is in his hands as he holds it up for me to see.

"Yes. Thank you." I grab the box and sit on the floor, crossing my legs under me. Paper, markers, copier on standby, glitter, glue, colored pencils, scissors, and stencils. Everything we could possibly need.

Asa slips off the chair to sit across from me. "Toni's not that bad, you know. Not once you get to know her."

I start making a small sketch of a basket. "I'd believe that. Are you two together?" When I lean back to examine it, the basket is a little lopsided, so I start over with a new piece of paper.

Asa is taken aback. "No. She and Angel are."

Now it's my turn to be surprised. I never considered the possibility that Toni might have been a lesbian. "Oh. My bad." I continue my sketch, so I don't have to look at his face. It can't be easy to be in a same-sex relationship around here. Tennessee isn't exactly the center of LGBTQ+ tolerance. I admire their confidence to ignore what everyone else thinks.

He shrugs. "It's not something either of them makes known. Besides, I've kinda got my eye on someone else."

My head snaps up, but he's already looking down at his own drawing.

"What about this?" He holds up his drawing, which is significantly better than mine.

I stare at him for a moment. He seems completely unbothered by what he said. The thought hits me that maybe he isn't talking about me. I shake my head. Of course, he isn't. "Yeah, it looks great!" How stupid of me to think that. I only started talking to him again a couple of days ago.

He puts the drawing back down. "So, what are you calling this thing? Fundraiser sounds a bit generic."

My mind goes blank. I haven't thought of that. "Uh... I don't know."

    He snorts. "You don't know."

I chew on my lip and look down at my paper. "Nope."

"Picnic with a Buddy? Ew, no," he notes to himself. "Maybe we should just call it a brunch event."

"Picnics on Prairifire Hill? There's a park up there that I thought would be a good place for the fundraiser." Prairifire Hill Park is surrounded by Prairifire trees. The pink buds are, hopefully, still out. They would make a great background for a fun atmosphere.

"Not bad. That works." He nods in approval.

I reach over to snatch his paper. "What if we added some decorations and flowers to the basket to match the fundraiser's idea?"

He looks down at the drawing and runs a hand through his hair. "I still think it's missing something." His lip disappears between his teeth as he scribbles a bow onto the paper. "There we go. Now we just need to add a description of what it is, and it should be good."

I write the description on the paper and hold it at arms' length to examine it. It isn't half-bad. Not the most professional, but if I give it to my mom, she can put it into an online software.

"Awesome." Asa holds up a hand, and I high-five him. "Now what?"

"Well, you could go home, or I've got a few movies here if you wanna stick around a little longer." I gesture to my bookshelf. The whole bottom ledge is filled with movies of all genres.

"You know, I think I'll take you up on that offer." He pushes himself up off the floor and stretches. Then he plops right back down in front of my bookshelf and browses the movie selections. He grabs one and puts it in the DVD player as I turn the TV on.

"I'm gonna go grab some popcorn. Go ahead and make yourself at home." I trust Asa enough to stay out of my stuff while I go downstairs. Plus, it's not like I have anything of interest. I'll only be a minute, anyway.

By the time I come back up, bowl in hand, Asa is already chilling on the floor, leaning against my bed. I laugh. I can't help myself.

"You could have sat on the bed," I tell him, tossing a handful of popcorn into my mouth to keep from giggling.

"I figured it might make you uncomfortable. So, I just, kind of, sat here." He clears his throat like he's embarrassed. "I put in A Dog's Purpose, by the way."

"Okay, now you really have to sit on the bed with me. I bawl my eyes out every time I watch this movie." I flop down on my bed and pat the spot beside me.

He smirks as he settles in beside me. "Now, that's a sight I have to see."

"Oh, I don't think you're ready for the mess I'm about to become." I cross my arms. Ever since I was little, any time something emotional happens in a book or movie, I cry. I can't help it. And I'm not a pretty crier.

He gives me a lopsided grin and lifts the remote slowly to make a show of pushing play. "And so it begins."

Throughout the movie, as Bailey lives more lives, Asa becomes more invested and slowly leans toward the TV. It's kind of endearing.

At the end of the movie, I start crying for the fifth time. I steal a glance at Asa, whose eyes are still glued to the TV. I can't tell if I'm imagining it or not, but his eyes are shiny as if he wants to cry, too.

"God," I say, wiping the tears from my eyes. "I feel like I cry at the littlest things."

"I think I forgot how sad some of the scenes are," he says, tilting his head from side to side to crack it.

"I'm glad you decided to stay." I scoot to the edge of my bed.

He smiles. "Me too. It's been a while since we got the chance to hang out." He tilts his head to the side. "I mean, we never really got to meet outside of school, but still."

"Still," I repeat.

His phone chimes, and at first, he ignores it, but then it chimes again. And again. And once again.

He sighs and gives me an apologetic look before glancing down to read the notifications. "Shit. I have to go. It's my mom."

I nod and my eyebrows pull together in understanding. "Yeah, no. Go. We can talk later."

He squeezes my hand in thanks and rushes out the door. I lean back on my bed.

Despite Asa's abrupt exit, this is the most fun I've had in a while. As I lay on my bed staring up at the ceiling, I can't help but smile to myself.