Living With Boys

four // i can totally change your mind

The four boys migrated to the living room after dinner, all heartily drunk and full and merry. They all seemed to have their own spot on the couch, and collapsed into well-worn dents the exact shape of their respective asses.

Jonah had the comfiest spot in the corner, and immediately curled up and let his eyes drift to half-mast. Seb and Jonah crowded into the couch beside them, while Will had the armchair off to the side. Despite the lack of space on the couch, the other armchair was left absent, and I knew it had once been the spot that Kai filled. The year that had eclipsed since his departure had still not encouraged them to pass it on.

I had no desire to step into his space. I was already becoming uncomfortably aware that almost all of my high school friends had spent time with me solely because I was Kai's sister. Kai used to make offhand comments about my popularity and likeability, because I was naturally social, but all the people I'd truly liked, my real friends, had belonged to him.

I stole a cushion from one of the seats and threw it on the ground at Jamie's legs, leaning back into him. He immediately shifted to accommodate the weight of my head, letting me rest against the fleshiest part of his thigh. Then he passed me down a Wii remote.

"Mario Kart," Will said. "It's Jamie's favourite game."

"Exactly," said Jameson. "And if you try to steal Yoshi or Player 1 from me, you have to move out."

"That is not true," Will clarified. "He has no power over your rental status."

"Speaking of my rental status, I probably have to set up my bed and unpack," I said.

The three boys on the couch did not appear to understand what that meant, but the less-drunk and always-perceptive Will immediately clocked my meaning. "It's okay, Izzy. Why don't I show you your room, instead? After you're settled, we can come back down and play Mario Kart."

Ah, yes, because being alone with Will is so awesome for my mental health right now! But I did actually want to see the infamous master bedroom, and I was on a campaign to be cool and reasonable, so I just nodded at his suggestion and levered myself off the floor.

Jameson pouted. "But I wanted her to watch me dominate the competition."

"You are playing on 50CC," said Will. "Your only competition is either too smashed to hold the remote." Seb saluted Will with the Wii remote dangling from his wrist, though his salute was actually more toward the ceiling. "Or on the verge of falling asleep." Jonah did look very tired.

"Yeah," said Jamie. "So, I would totally dominate."

"Sorry, James," I said. "I would have been super impressed. Maybe another time?"

"Ugh, fine," said Jameson, waving a hand dismissively. "Go back to your blatant favouritism."

Ah, yes. That. If people kept talking about my high school infatuation with Will, I was going to scream.

"They'll all be asleep by the time we get back down," whispered Will, with a quick glance back at the three boys. "It takes a great feat to keep Jonah up after 10 o'clock, and the other two have had too many drinks to maintain their energy once he's out."

"You guys are wild," I teased. "How am I to keep up with your crazy lives?"

"Please," said Will. "You might have been younger, but we were always the ones who had to keep up with you."

Will led the way up the stairs. They were decorated with framed photographs, and noticed that some of them were the ones that used to be tacked to the living room walls in my childhood home. In high school, I went through a massive polaroid phase, and had taken hundreds of photos. Kai and Will had packed up that house when we moved out, and someone had stuck them to the walls in Emo Road. I was featured in many of them; it was simultaneously strange and comforting.