No Better Than Before

Henry wished he could say he felt like a fish out of water, but truth be told he was in his element. He knew what was expected of him. After all his little fan club of Freshman girls were swarming around him. Actually, he didn't do anything, but smile.

Oh, the giggles. What were they even talking about? He wasn't even listening. He was trying his best to enjoy this cafeteria feast of tuff steak and cold bake potatoes. At one point he bit into some broccoli and one girl in pigtails said it looked like he was eating a tree. That was funny too. Honestly, it was giving him a head-ache.

Finally, he escaped to a quiet place that was out in the commons near the student center. It was a warm muggy night and he was oddly alone. He reached for his cell and direct dialed Josie.

"Hey." He smiled as if he needed to make himself happy, no one needed to hear nor see the sad feeling that clung to him like a very sad flu. He bit his thumb nail into the quick thinking Josie was probably busy with her boyfriend Ian.

"How's the drum-miester." Her voice sounded sleepy. He couldn't imagine her going to bed at this hour. After all, she was nine months pregnant. Henry remembered even if she swore he'd forget. Then he heard Ian's voice in the back ground.

Henry cringed. He'd interrupted something. He was sure of it.

"God, I shouldn't have called." He gritted then, wondering when anything good would ever happen again.

"We were just napping." She sighed heavily.

Henry winced hard thinking he could live with that image. He certainly wasn't up to listening to Josie talk about her sex life. His long skinny legs paced about. He looked down the lit sidewalk as the night was becoming alive. Laughter from the dark was coming closer and Henry needed to escape.

He went inside the Student Center. Everything was locked up, but the art area. There was a big purple cushy seat to sprawl out on, and he did to get comfortable with Josie on the phone. They laid in bed at night a lot on the phone, just not in the same bed.

"I met someone." He needed to say it before his phone died. "I think."

"You think?" She sounded puzzled as if maybe he wasn't even certain he'd met a human.

"He's nothing at all like Derrick." He told her. Now that was a name they both hated. Derrick was his ex and her ex too. Except, she was having his baby.

"I should hope not." Duh. She practically shot back.

Henry made his shaggy auburn hair all the more messy with his fingers, pushing it to one side. This humidity didn't help,

"Well? What's his name? What's he like? And..and why aren't you with him, right now?" Josie got to the point.

"Well..." He looked at his raw finger nails. Would he want to expose them to a guy like Shannon? "I dunno where he is, and..actually..I don't even know if he would recognize me if he saw me again." But maybe it was better to love from afar.

Relationships could get messy. Especially, when he'd felt so pressured with Derrick, and then to find out Derrick cheated on him.

He nursed his bottom lip, thinking how long it took him to get up the courage to talk to Derrick. But he did. At a Valentines Dance, in fact. He could do this again. But what if history repeated its self? What if he bailed when came down to the major sex stuff.

Did he really wanted to bother? Still he was living on a prayer that just might chance he'd at least see this sexy beast again.

"What happened?" Josie wanted him to tell her everything.

"We talked. He's a drummer, too." Of course, that didn't mean they'd be even near each other tomorrow. He didn't even show up at the cafeteria to eat. If he did, well, Henry missed him, but he'd scanned the masses diligently, looking for the guy with the most gorgeous hair.

"Do you even know his name? It can't be this Henry? You are good at meeting people. People like you." She told him.

"I guess." Henry supposed in some circles, but maybe not in everyone's circle. "His name is Shannon and I think he's a guy."