ITS BEEN YOU
it was saturday. the deal with jonah and jack's supplier went well, although he was upset with the amount of money they had to give to him. that made daniel nervous.
daniel laid in bed. it was late in the afternoon, and jonah hadn't texted him or called him with any plans. daniel was relieved. he was tired of running around, explaining maths to jack and jonah, and putting his life on the line to deal drugs.
"my first week here and i'm already caught up in something shady." daniel mumbled, sitting up in bed. their attempt to sell the pound of cocaine failed, and daniel was nervous jonah would get mad. as daniel stretched, his phone buzzed. daniel picked it up, answering it. "hello?" daniel asked, voice still groggy.
"hey, it's corbyn." daniel raised an eyebrow.
"how'd you get my number?" daniel asked.
"i know everyone's number. let's meet at our diner and talk."
"i'm trying to avoid getting my shit kicked by jonah. that's his favorite diner. is there anywhere else we can meet?"
"we can either meet up and speak now or later. you choose." corbyn said. daniel, still feeling tired, took a moment to think before answering.
"can we meet later? i'm—"
"what's your address?"
"why is that important?"
"we'll go to the drive-in theater. now, give me your address." nervous, daniel gave corbyn his address.
they scheduled for daniel to be picked up at seven. daniel laid in bed nervous all day. hanging out with jonah's biggest rival should have not been in something daniel looked forward to, but it was anyway.
corbyn was intriguing. he had it all. the looks, the money, and apparently the wits as well. he was too good for daniel.
when six o' clock rolled around, daniel showered. before he was able to get in the shower though, his phone began ringing again.
"jonah.." daniel mumbled, answering the phone.
"hey, dan. wanna' come play poker with jack and i? we're at the shop." daniel thought briefly for a moment.
"i wish i could, but my family has something going on tonight. we're having a family night since i've been out all week. i'm free tomorrow though! let's do something tomorrow, yeah?" daniel asked.
"whatever, sure. by the way, we have something to discuss tomorrow. be at jack's at noon. bye, dan."
"sure. bye jonah." daniel said, hanging up. he sighed in relief once the conversation was over. then, without any interruptions, daniel showered. it only took him a few minutes, and he was out and dressed with time to spare. daniel looked at himself in the mirror. he wore a black hoodie with a red and black flannel, with black jeans.
it matched, and that's all daniel cared about. daniel patiently waited at the door for corbyn's arrival. when corbyn arrived, he honked.
"bye dad, bye mom! i'll be back later tonight!" daniel called, leaving. daniel jogged down to corbyn's car.
it was a a red mustang, 1970 model.
"hi." daniel said as he got in the car. "you're not going to kill me, right?" daniel asked, buckling his seat belt.
"i wouldn't murder you in this car. i'm too classy for that." corbyn said, pulling out of the driveway.
"great. why did you want to meet again?" daniel asked looking out the window.
"just wanted a friend. is that too much to ask?" corbyn asked.
"yeah, right. you want to be friends with the new kid-drug dealer rival opponent." daniel mumbled, glancing over at corbyn.
"i do. i know you think i'm going to murder you, but i'm not. you're quite literally the only person who doesn't hate me. 'look at corbyn besson, he's a slut. he sleeps around. he deals drugs, he's a spoiled brat'. i have to hear that all the time. and so far, you haven't said those things to me." corbyn said, keeping his eyes on the road.
"you get that my life is on the line hanging out with you?" daniel asked.
"your life isn't on the line."
"do you even know my name?"
"it's dan."
"christ sake, it's daniel." corbyn looked over at daniel.
"sorry, daniel."
"it's okay."
corbyn nodded as they pulled into the drive-in, paying for both him and daniel. they found a spot just in time for the movie to start.
"how's dealing?" corbyn asked.
"well, considering your friend tried murdering jack and i a few days back, not so good."
"what's life in your old town like?" corbyn asked.
"peaceful. nothing like here," daniel said. "besides being called a whore and made fun of constantly, what's it like being you?" daniel asked.
"shitty. it's alright for girls and other guys to sleep around, but the second i do it, i'm a whore?" corbyn said, slouching in his seat. "and i've only had sex twice." corbyn mumbled. "jonah started the rumor that i sleep around."
"i don't think you're a slut." daniel said, looking at corbyn.
"you don't even know me." corbyn said.
"then tell me about you."
"what is there to tell? i'm just me. i've lived here all my life. i met jonah at a party. jonah knew some kid that was caught up in drug dealing, and he told me i could help. i thought he actually cared about me, you know? he didn't. he just used me to get started. i didn't like how he did things, so i left. started dealing my own. my parents let me do whatever. my partner in crime, zach, can barely tolerate me as well."
"i've never done drugs," daniel said. "or had sex, but nobody wants to have sex with me. jack and jonah think it's strange how i'm helping distribute drugs without ever doing them myself. i've never been to a party, or drank either." daniel said.
"you'll find someone who wants to have sex with you."
"'guess we'll have to wait and see." daniel said, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"boyfriend, you mean." corbyn said.
"oh. have you ever had a boyfriend?"
"yeah. one. he broke up with me when i didn't want to have sex with him. the usual. have you ever had a girlfriend?"
"you mean boyfriend?" daniel asked, grinning.