Aiden was excited to have his friend over, but after seeing Dylan’s giant mansion, he wondered what Dylan would think of their much smaller house. His parents weren’t poor, but they didn’t have as many nice things as Dylan’s did.
“Come on.” Aiden led the way to the bus.
Dylan made a face. “I haven’t ridden the bus since second grade.” He looked… nervous.
“It’ll be fine. Just sit with me.” Of course everyone on the bus would stare at them, but they got stared at every day at lunch, so it shouldn’t be that different. Then as he stepped on, he wondered what Toby and Tina would think. Dylan seemed to be their favorite gossip subject. Well, this should give them plenty to talk about.
Aiden walked on. The bus wasn’t quite half-full, and Toby and Tina weren’t there yet. He was here a bit earlier than usual since he wasn’t hanging around in the locker room to talk to Dylan. A few kids glanced up as Aiden stepped on, probably looking for their friends. Then Dylan stepped on behind him and the kids started staring.
Aiden grabbed an empty seat about halfway down. Dylan slid in next to him. The kids tried to look disinterested.
Toby bounced onto the bus and froze. “Whoa.” He looked between Aiden and Dylan, then took the seat in front of them. He leaned on the back of it. “What’s going on?”
“Dylan’s going to eat at my house.”
“Really?”
Dylan shifted like he was going to get up. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“It’ll be fine,” Aiden said. “People stare at you all the time, how is this different?”
Dylan shrugged.
“How come you’re friends with Aiden when you’re mean to everyone else?” Toby asked.
“I’m not mean to everyone else. I just want to be left alone.”
Toby tilted his head. “Why?”
“I just do.”
Behind Toby, Tina appeared. “Whoa,” she said, unknowingly echoing her brother. She nudged him over so she could join him on the seat. “Hi,” she said to Dylan.
He frowned. “Hi.”
She laughed, high and nervous. “Oh my God, no one’s going to believe I said hi to Dylan.”
“Could you guys just relax?” Aiden said.
The bus started and Tina and Toby turned around, but all the way home they kept glancing back. When they all got off at their stop, Toby and Tina tried to start up again, but Aiden cut them off. “Sorry, no time to talk.”
Then he led Dylan to his house. “Sorry about that,” he said on the way. “They’re just… curious.”
As they got closer to the house, Aiden got nervous again. What would Dylan think of his much smaller house? Or the much less expensive things they had? Or the food his parents made? They were definitely not having steak.
“Yeah, I know,” Dylan muttered. “It’s annoying.”
“I thought you’d be used to it by now.”
“Sometimes it gets to me, I guess.”
Aiden tried to be positive as they got to the house. “Well, here it is. Not really anything special.”
“Looks nice,” Dylan said as they walked up to the front door.
His parents were home, so he pushed open the door and led Dylan inside. Warm smells hit his nose: meat, tomatoes, oregano, garlic.
“Hi, you must be Dylan,” Mom said as she came around the corner. “Nice to meet you.”
Please don’t be weird, Aiden thought, and then almost laughed. It was so absurd.
“Yeah,” Dylan said.
Dad came in from the kitchen. “Hi there, Dylan. Nice to finally meet you. We’ve heard a lot about you… Well, as much as Aiden talks about anything these days.”
Dylan cleared his throat. “Thanks for having me over.”
“No problem. We’re glad Aiden is making friends,” Mom said.
Please leave it at that. That’s dorky enough already.
“Dinner should be ready in about fifteen or twenty minutes,” Dad said.
“Okay. Want to see my room?” It was pathetic compared to Dylan’s, but hanging out there was better than sitting in the living room where his mom could hover around them.
“Sure.” Dylan followed him up the stairs.
“I know it’s not as fancy as your house, but it’s nicer than the one we had in Dayton. Mr. Johnson got it for us, totally free.”
“This is Mr. Johnson the warden, right?” Dylan said
“Yeah.”
Dylan scoffed but didn’t make any further comment.
“So, this is my room,” Aiden said as he opened the door. It was bigger than his old room but still only about a quarter of the size of Dylan’s.
Dylan glanced around at the few posters and pictures on the walls and nodded. “Nice.”
“I don’t have a TV or anything fancy—”
“Dude, stop comparing everything to my house. Yes, I’m rich, I know.”
It hadn’t occurred to him that Dylan might be uncomfortable with their differences. “Oh, sorry.”
Dylan sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s nice, really. I like it. Much cleaner than my room,” he said with a little smile.
“I liked your room too. And your parents were super nice.”
Dylan laughed. “Yeah, they are. Drives me nuts.”
“I wasn’t expecting that. You act like you come from… a bad home, or something.” Aiden turned his desk chair around and sat.
“Nope, it’s just me. Just the way I am.” A dark look crossed his face.
Aiden wished he hadn’t said that. “People keep warning me about you, telling me you’re dangerous, but I think they’re wrong about you.”
The dark look got even darker. “What makes you think that?”
Aiden tried to think of the right thing to say. It had to be true, and it couldn’t be too much of a compliment because Dylan might brush it off. Aiden thought about how they’d met, before he knew who or what Dylan was. “Because you let me sit with you at lunch.”
Dylan snorted. “That’s it? That makes you think I’m a saint?”
“No, not a saint. Just that you’re not as bad as people say you are. You could’ve just kept on being a jerk, telling me I couldn’t sit there. But something made you change your mind. I was new and lonely, and you were nice to me. That’s all.”
“I must’ve been in a good mood.”
Aiden rolled his eyes. “You don’t have to be super macho all the time. It’s okay to admit you have some kindness in you. Nobody’s gonna come and revoke your man card.” What would tough-guy Dylan think if he knew Aiden was bi? Would he reject him? Bully him?
Dad called them down for dinner and Aiden prayed it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.
Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic-cheese bread. His dad made the best spaghetti. He glanced over at Dylan. His friend didn’t show any sign of disappointment in the meal. In fact, he was eating it like he really enjoyed it.
“How’s the food?” Dad asked.
“Great,” Aiden said, wiping a bit of sauce off his chin.
“Good,” Dylan said before slurping up more noodles.
His parents exchanged a look and a smile.
“So, Dylan, you’ve been helping Aiden practice his magic. That’s nice of you,” Mom said.
“Um, thanks.”
“What exactly do you do?” Dad asked. “Aiden doesn’t talk about it much.”
Dylan looked at Aiden before answering. “Just little stuff. He’s got it in him to do more, but he always holds back.”
“You know you should always try your best,” Dad said before taking a bite of his meatball.
“This isn’t a test or a sport, Dad. Magic is different.” He swirled his fork in his remaining spaghetti.
“But you need to learn so you can get certified,” Mom said. “How about you, Dylan? Are you doing well in school?”
Dylan bit his lip, holding back a laugh. Please don’t be a jerk about this, Aiden thought.
“Not really. Except for Major Magical Control.”
“That’s the class you have with Aiden, right?” Mom asked. “The one with the matches?”
“Yeah. It’s the only one that matters to me.”
“He’s really talented,” Aiden said, afraid of where this was going. “And you know everyone likes doing what they’re best at. That’s why I asked him to help tutor me.”
“Well, we appreciate it,” Dad said. “We might not understand all this magic stuff, but we understand it’s important for Aiden to control it.”
Dylan’s eyes narrowed, and Aiden feared a rant coming on.
Aiden jumped up. “So, how about dessert?”
With any luck, they’d be able to get through dinner without an argument.