COUNTING DOWN THE YEARS

TRASH DAY

Don't ask me about last night please. I turned from being embarrassed to being very angry. This is how it all went down. I guess I have to say it. 

"Am I interrupting? " Drew asks dramatically. 

Obviously enjoying our discomfort. 

"Drew get out. " Peter hisses. 

"Aren't you worried I'll run to the parents and report this abomination? " Drew asks mockingly. 

"Shut up! " I yell at him. 

"Oh, am I the one sneaking around and having s*x with a minor? Shame Annie. And you Pete... " Drew is cut off by an angry Peter. 

"Leave, now! " His tone clearly tells Drew someone is going to get hurt here and soon. 

Drew leaves sticking his tongue out at us. How mature! 

"You should leave too. " I say to Peter. 

He looks at me condescendingly. I'm taken aback a little. What, he'd hit me too? 

"I'm not done with you. Apart from wanting your help, I also want something else from you. I want you to admit that you are actually into me because the way you kissed me, that moan Annie, you want me too. " Peter speaks seriously. 

How am I going to deny any of that? But hold up, 'want me too' ? What the hell? For a second there I forgot I was dealing with a teenage boy. 

"There is no me wanting you! " I whisper yell running my fingers through my already messy hair in frustration. 

"If you want I will kiss you again. " Peter says eagerly. 

"Jesus, Peter you are just a kid. Please go to bed. That was a mistake that will never happen again. Forget about it. I don't even know what I was thinking. " I lament only now realizing the gravity of what I just did. 

"But you loved it Annie. Don't call me a kid. Technically you are supposed to be a kid too now. And you could have been mine. " Peter says pissed off. 

He is the one pissed off? 

" I'm twenty Peter. A grown woman. Go to bed and don't you ever tell anyone what happened here. I could be arrested for this. Now get out. "

"I'm not going anywhere until you admit your feelings for me Annie. I may be fourteen but I'll grow up and in six years what we've done here will still remain done. I found my very own journal in the machine. It's you who inspired me to build the thing. I planned on going back in time saving us both from that damned school and the apocalypse too. Do you know how it felt reading about having feelings for a girl who barely noticed me. I was deeply and passionately in love with you Annie. You gave me hope, purpose and fuelled my passion. That's what has been missing in my life all these years. You. " Dramatic pause. " If you think I'd let you go, think again. I somehow connected with those feelings and I liked the feeling of them. " 

Then he leaves me standing there speechless. The heaviness of his words with much feelings hang in the room for a while. I don't want to move because I think it's not a wise move. What did I just get myself into? And how do I reason with the kid to drop this madness? Ten years is a long time having all that cast a shadow on our lives. I seriously shouldn't have kissed him back. But too late I even enjoyed it and he thinks I moaned in pleasure. Maybe I did while I gasped too. I'm some lost cause here. 

So in the morning, everything is awkward. Unfortunately too the parents are not around. No one is talking to the other. The tension is suffocating. I'm so angry it's like I was born angry. Sadly I hold myself responsible for everything. I've seen someone's bags in the living room. I think someone is leaving or the both of them. I won't ask. I guess they are waiting for my parents to return before they leave. 

I try thinking of content, anything at all for my podcast but my brain refuses basic functions. And any time I look at any of the boys I want to tie my hands so that I don't end up throwing something at someone. With Drew I know it's embarrassment but with Peter I can't quite place a finger on it. I'm angry with myself too for being stupid. 

At some point I think Drew is looking between us and laughing to himself. That irritates me to my very core. He can't seriously be finding amusement in my mystery . Not his fault but still... 

"You have to admit it Pete it's funny. " Drew breaks the silence. 

Peter groans. I want to hiss because obviously whatever they are talking about is between them but I'm somehow in it. Silence follows for a while until Drew bursts out laughing like a lunatic. See I knew he was laughing at us. So I don't hold myself back throwing a pillow at him but of course with my zero sports skills it falls on the floor in front of him. And he laughs more. 

"Did he tell you about the journal? "He asks me but I ignore him so he looks at Peter, " I told you to give her the journal to read it for herself. But you wanted to experiment first didn't you? " He laughs heartily. 

The only person living his best life. 

"Dude, I'd pay you to shut the f**k up for a second. " Peter says defensively that I'm suspicious now. 

I narrow my eyes at Drew until he looks at me. 

"Spill. " I order him .

He just laughs and slouches on his seat. 

"That's between you two fornicators. "

"We didn't do anything! " I yell frustrated. 

Drew laughs again . I want to kill him now .

"Pete give her the journal. It's me who found it and I read it first before telling him. A few pages anyway before getting busted with it and now he is over protective of it. But I don't see why you should be because the way the thing describes and talks about Annie she deserves to read it too. "

"uh,  what do you mean? What does it say? " I ask alarmed. 

"Oh you know, he thought you were a virgin up-to your 20s . How you guys kissed that one time after you gave him a couple of mixed signals... " I cut him off by raising my hand. 

What's frustrating is that they both know about that and didn't tell me right away. Now I feel even more stupid . When I look at Peter I remember that incident back in junior year when we were project partners. He came to my house and in the exact room as yesterday kissed me like he did yesterday. I had stopped being friends with him that day. 

Now he reenacts that and I let it happen? All along he was following a kind of a script! I pick a pillow and walk slowly to him. But when I reach him it's pretty clear my intentions so he snatches the pillow, throws it on the ground and tramples on it. At that moment the parents walk in. Wrong timing every time. 

"What's going on? You guys are leaving? So soon. Did she kick you out? " Dad speaks first looking disappointed. 

"We have school Monday, remember? " Drew asks him. 

"Yeah, that's the day after tomorrow. " Mom almost whines pulling Peter in for a hug.

"We'll be back Bethany. " Peter assures. 

They exchange hugs and good byes with the promise of seeing each other again. It is all ridiculous seeing as they don't quite know each other. But I don't dwell on that. I escort the boys to the station in dad's car. Apparently I volunteered to do that and I couldn't believe they were leaving so I wanted to be with them longer. Is what my parents told the boys before we left. If only they knew I already kicked them out yesterday. 

Before the boys left town Drew pestered Peter to give me the journal. I wasn't sure I wanted it but took it anyway to read more of what the boys know which I don't. Our parting was one of those with silent, 'I hope to never see you again '. But of course we were seeing each other again really soon and long after that being in together on a mission and all. After that whatever happens I hope we'd have cleared the air among us.