Skeptics and Psychics Chapter 5

‘So you said you’d be here at like 7:30, and it’s like 7:31 you are late.’

Stardust didn’t even bother to send the text with his name attached. He wanted it to startle and surprise Cori when he got it, he didn’t want to make it a big deal that he’d finally gotten his hands on a cellphone, even though it definitely was. Cori’s number was the third number to go into his phone, the first two had belonged to his dad and then the fourth was his mother’s number. It was kind of sad but that was likely going to be it for his contract book until he got back to school and he could ask his friends for their numbers then. Still, it was nice to have numbers stored somewhere other than in a notebook, he was terrible at memorizing them but the little notebook just seemed so awkward to carry around.

‘Wow. You must not have looked out your window then because I definitely pulled in right at 7:30. You’re the one who’s late now.’

When he got the text, Stardust peeked out of the kitchen window, it had a view of the driveway. Cori was actually there, he’d clearly parked, got out, then checked his phone because he was holding it in his hand, leaning against the roof of the car. Stardust grabbed the money his dad had insisted on leaving for him for dinner, a twenty, shoving it into the pocket of his almost too tight jeans before he headed outside.

“It’s hard to move fast in this pants okay? I’m just fashionably late.”

“As in fashion made you late?” Cori had already been grinning but at Stardust’s joke he laughed. He looked good, good enough to make Stardust more than a little self conscious about his own outfit decisions for the day. How was it that someone else could make skinny jeans looks so much better? It was probably the way his butt filled out the back of them. The peach haired teen was convinced that his date for the night had a better butt than he did. “Well, I’ll accept that excuse since you look super cute today.”

“Whatever, like you don’t look like you stepped off a magazine page.” Stardust countered, face hot from the blush on his cheeks. “But thanks.”

“My sister’s influence. Take it up with her.” Despite the lighthearted conversation there was a heaviness to Cori’s tone when he replied. It was mirrored in his eyes though Stardust only caught it for a brief moment before the older teen had his eyes glued to the road, taking them somewhere only he knew. It left the passenger wondering if there had been a fight or something recently, to make him look so sad even for just a moment. He wouldn’t really know what it was like for siblings, he’d always been an only child.

“More like thank her. You look amazing. Where are we going for food?” Stardust wasn’t sure what it was, but there was a nagging feeling in his stomach that told him they should move onto a different subject. The one they were one was starting to drag the night now and it had only just begun. He didn’t want to mess up the first date he’d had in months just because he didn’t know how to have a conversation.

“We only have like, a handful of places in town to go for fast food? There’s one really good place for burgers that’s like, family run but I was thinking we could save that for another day? Mostly because my friend decided she needs a lift after work after all.” Cori grinned over at his sheepishly. “If that’s okay. If not I can tell her to suck it up and just wait for us.”

“That’s okay. Where does your friend work?” It was more than okay really. Cori had said another day, as in, right now, he still wanted to see Stardust again after this. That was exciting, more exciting than a party really, although he knew this party could really make or break his chance with the other teen.

“Timmies? They have like, sandwiches and stuff. And it’s my treat because I’m making you go there instead of this super amazing burger place that is just to die for.” Using a red light as a break the driver turned to beam at his passenger, like he’d been really surprised that Stardust had said yes to going someplace like Tim Hortons. It wasn’t like he was all that picky, anyplace was a treat really.

“Timmies is great. I like their doughnuts. Which I might have to guilt from you along with one of those sandwiches.”

“Tell you what, I’ll get you a whole meal deal so that you get a drink on top of all that. Treat you like a prince.” Cori was extremely charming, especially when he laughed like that, all bright and clear like he was having the time of his life. If Stardust wasn’t in the car alone with him he might have sighed over it. This was a bad crush but at least so far it wasn’t being ridiculed.

“Well then, that just sounds like a dream come true.”

It didn’t take all that long to get to the Tim Hortons in question though the area looked familiar to Stardust. When he got out of the car he backed up a little in the parking lot, staring up at the building while Cori watched. It took him a moment but he did recognize the place. This was the location his mom had dropped his off at, the new one that his dad didn’t remember about until Stardust had been left waiting forever. Not that he really blamed his father for that anymore. A lot of it had to do with the fact that his mother wouldn’t wait around and risk seeing Torvald. If she’d stayed there would have been emails that his dad could have received a hell of a lot faster than a voicemail on his home phone.

The face behind the counter was far easier to recognize than the building had been. It was the nice girl who’d given him the phone and the extra iced coffee when he’d been waiting forever. He didn’t know if she remembered him at all, though she clearly knew his date. She smiled over when Cori came in, waving at him while she served the woman in front of them who seemed to be getting enough coffee for a small army. That was okay, it gave Stardust a chance to actually look over the menu and pretend like he knew what he wanted.

“Cori! You are saving my butt from having to call Begonia, you’re the best!” The girl greeted the older teen first when it was their turn up at the cash. This had to be the friend they were here to pick up. “Oh, and you actually do have a date! I don’t know why I doubted you, it’s not like you’re ever wrong right?”

“Petunia, bring it down.” Cori actually looked a little nervous or perhaps embarrassed about his friend’s energy. Stardust just thought it was kind of sweet to see how excited she was to see them. “We would like to make an order since someone broke into our dinner plans.”

“And that someone is extremely grateful that she did. She’ll even offer to be the DD for tonight if you want and she’ll totally take your order.” With the last bit she actually did tone it down a little, straightening her shoulders and bringing her fingers up to the touch screen that served as her register.

“I don’t need a DD, but I definitely need one of those turkey clubs on white with a medium double double and a chocolate dip doughnut. And then whatever Stardust is getting.” Cori tugged Stardust a little closer with the announcement of his name. The peach haired teen had been kind of hovering behind Cori while he chatted with his friend but now he was standing next to him, the other teen’s hand still hanging onto his arm. If having attention drawn to him hadn’t already made him blush that little, light touch definitely would have.

“Um, I just want a BLT please? With a hot chocolate and a boston cream doughnut?” It felt strange for Stardust to be ordering more than one thing at a time. Usually when he was the one placing the order it was because he'd been given an allowance and he was trying to stretch it out for as many days as possible. He'd rather have a small snack everyday than one big meal one day. It felt even weirder for him because someone was treating him. Normally when someone wanted to treat him he'd turn it down but he wasn't sure what the etiquette was like for dates and he didn't want to mess that up.

“Size for the hot chocolate?” Petunia’s question had Stardust floundering for a moment as he looked for the size options.

“Make his a medium too, or a large if he wants a large. Not a small.” Cori piped up for Stardust. When people spoke for him it more often than not pissed him off and put him into a bad mood but Cori had actually been right, he had been about to order a small mostly because it was less expesive that way. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, medium works.”

There was a small giggle from the girl behind the counter, one that got shushed so fast that it actually made Stardust suspicious. She'd been bubbly since they came in, it wouldn't have seemed so strange to see her laughing over what probably looked like a cute exchange but clearly it meant more to Cori than that. It left the peach haired teen watching him carefully even after he'd paid for it all and they'd gotten their drinks. Cori let Stardust pick where they sat while they waited for their food which only meant that they ended up sitting in a corner. They could still see the counter from there but it was quieter than the rest of the place.

When their food was ready it was Cori who hopped up to go fetch it, ignoring Stardust's offer to take his place. The city teen was still watching his date, not just his butt, as he headed up to the pick up section of the counter. The older teen exchanged words with his friend that were too low, too drowned out by the small crowd in here for the eavesdropper to hear but from her sheepish expression he wondered if she'd been scolded. Did he think that her high energy would scare Stardust off? That wasn't the case, it was nice to see that he had friends who cared so much about him. When Cori turned around to come back, Stardust whipped around to make it look like he'd been staring at an empty chair this whole time.

“Sorry for the wait.” Cori handed over the sandwich, sitting on a plate, as he sat down. Stardust knew that most Tim Horton's had actual china like this but most of the time, in the city, you had to ask for it specifically, otherwise they just wrapped everything up to go. It was kind of nice, made it feel a little less like fast food. “I just needed to talk to Petunia about something.”

“It's okay, thanks for grabbing it.” With one half of the sandwich in his hand, Stardust was too curious about the whole exchange to take a bite yet. He at least waited for Cori to finish the mouthful he'd taken before he decided to be nosey about it. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. She's just being really hyper about me actually getting a date. Last year was a bad year for me. She's just, you know, celebrating earlier than I'd like her too. I wanna make sure you actually like me before I cheer about having a boyfriend or something.” At the word boyfriend Stardust went red. Cori said it so casually, as if he thought it was a real possibility between the two of them. “Eat you, I bet all they have at the party is chips and maybe cupcakes that the hockey team will have already demolished before we even get there.”

“Right.” He smiled over his food before he took the first bite. He had to remember not to inhale it, that breathing and manners were a good thing to exercise, especially when on a date. He was just hungry because, despite knowing how to cook and fend for himself, he didn’t really like to do it and there’d been no leftovers in the fridge to reheat earlier when his dad had been called into work. Despite earlier claims that they’d be eating something small, the sandwich and doughnut had done wonders for filling Stardust up, at least for now.

“Okay loser and cool kid, I’m done working now.” Petunia came over while the pair were working through their drinks and desserts, emphasising her nickname for Cori with a light punch to his arm. She’d called Stardust cool though, smiling over at him with eyes that said she knew something he didn’t. It made him think back to the quiet conversation he’d not been privy to. Was there something more going on here? Was this all just a big joke to Cori? Or maybe, despite his claims from the other day, Stardust was his first adventure into the world of men? The peach haired teen wasn’t sure he wanted to be someone’s first when it might just be experimentation.

“Good. We aren’t done yet and you can deal with that.” Cori actually shifted seats, moving over to Stardust’s side to let Petunia in. At least that took her unreadable expression away from him and put it onto her friend. Plus Cori reached under the table to squeeze one of Stardust’s hands as if he could sense the nerves coming off of him. He’d not realized he’d been that easy to read but it was nice, it helped him feel better about it all again.

“So you don’t need a DD? Does that mean I’m free to consume whatever god awful concoction they’re calling a punch?” Petunia didn’t seem to mind having to wait, she had a bag of sugar all her own, popping a timbit into her mouth following her question.

“Ew, yeah. You can and that reminds me. Stardust, I recommend only grabbing the canned drinks there, unless you want to be drinking. They spike everything and the punch Petunia is interested in is really just a mix of whatever alcohol they could get their hands on preparty. It’s nasty.”

“It’s not nasty. It’s effective. One of those and you’re good for the night.” Petunia didn’t seem to agree with Cori like Stardust did. It was good to know that he should basically be avoiding anything that had been preopened. His dad had only said to be careful but drinking didn’t seem like a very smart move, not surrounded by strangers.

“It’s good to know. I’ll be avoiding it then.” Stardust voiced his gratitude over the warning, giving Cori’s closest hand a little squeeze of his own.

“That’s cool. I’m still drinking it. I’m glad Cori found someone whose mind he can actually re- ow!”

A soft thunk had given away the kick that had caused the sound of dismay. She stopped whatever it was she’d been saying, pouting over at Cori. That just made Stardust even more curious but it was clear whatever subject it was this girl had been boring on was a touchy one for his date. Maybe some other time, if he could ever get her alone. Not that he would go out of his way for that to happen, sure he was curious but if it was really important Cori would tell him at some point or another, wouldn’t he? Either way, it wasn’t something to dwell on for the night. There was a party to go to and Stardust was determined to have fun.