“Micah!”

My mom whirled around the corner into the living room where I was sitting.

“Yes?”

“I have some news for you!”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Um, okay. What is it?”

“You remember Armok, right?”

I wrinkled my forehead trying to remember who Armok was.

Armok…Armok…ARMOK?! Who the heck is that?!

“Uhh…no…?”

“Well, I just got a call from Jake’s mom and she said that Armok wants to go to homecoming with you!”

Oh…

At my friends Jake and Jenna’s house, we had a barbeque and a volleyball tournament. It was lots of fun, but my family wasn’t the only family there. Armok and his family were there, but I just got a funny feeling from them. My mom and I were talking to Armok’s mother and neither one of us liked her. Our first conversation was painful and although I don’t remember it word for word, I do remember that my mom and I talked about how we used to be vegetarian, but we stopped. His mother’s response is what turned us off.

“Oh, so you just couldn’t do it, huh?”

Umm, no, that’s definitely not what it was…

My mom and I looked at each other knowing what the other was thinking. Obviously we could do it because we had been vegetarians for a year, we just chose to stop because we wanted to. She didn’t know anything about us, so her assumption was what turned us off. As for the rest of the family… well, we just thought they were creepy.

Then I remembered… my family and I were preparing to leave Jake’s and we were standing outside in the backyard saying goodbye to everyone. I had a strange feeling come over me and I looked up to my right only for my eyes to meet with a tall, monstrous looking boy’s wide-eyes… that boy was Armok. I had chills come over my body, but even though I thought it was creepy, I didn’t say anything to anyone about it. I honestly thought I was just imagining things.

I sat on the couch and didn’t have to think too much longer to come up with a solid answer.

“No.”

“Why not?! He’s a nice boy!”

Ugh, I don’t think she even knows who he is…

“Mom, I don’t want to go to homecoming with a boy that I don’t even know. I mean you know what I think about prom, how do you know that homecoming won’t be the same way?”

I had a strong distaste for parties in general, but especially prom. I thought that if a girl went to prom with a boy, he would try to coerce her into having sex with him. And since I didn’t really know much about Armok, I didn’t want to go to homecoming with him because I thought he would try to coerce me to do something I didn’t want to do. It didn’t help that I thought he was creepy either.

“Girl, you’ll be fine.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly.

I don’t like him though…

My brother, J.J. poked his head in the living room from around the corner.

“What’s going on?”

“Armok wants to go to homecoming with Micah!”

My brother pondered on the thought for a brief moment... then he shrugged.

“Oh Armok, he’s cool.”

Oh my God…

I knew for myself that I would listen to my mom to try and be respectful to her, but that didn’t mean I would enjoy it.

“Girl, you need to get out. You’re always cooped up in the house on your computer. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get out of the house!”

Yes, it was true, but I didn’t want to get out of the house because of a boy. My family always teased me and called me a hermit. Being homeschooled kind of helped me even more to be a hermit as a teenager. I didn’t care, but my mom eventually pried the answer out of me I knew she wanted. Well, maybe not the exact response.

“Fine.”

When my dad came home, of course my mom told him about it.

“I need to meet this guy.”

My dad said with his arms folded across his chest.

Ugh, it’s not like we’re going out on a date…

I rolled my eyes, dreading the fact that I was going out with a boy I didn’t know. My mom called Jake’s mom and asked for Armok’s mom’s number. She called her and set up a time for us to meet before homecoming. A few days had passed and Armok came to our house with his parents to meet us. Reluctantly, I hugged all three of them and we sat down to chat.

“Thanks for agreeing to go to homecoming with me Micah.”

Armok said as he quickly glanced at me out the corner of his eye.

“Um, yeah, no problem.”

I said with a smile and nervous laugh. There was a moment of silence between Armok and I as our parents chatted away.

I can’t believe I’m really about to do this. I mean, what am I thinking? Am I going nuts or something? I can’t go out with this guy, not by myself… I mean he can’t even keep eye contact with me, it’s so awkward and-

“Aren’t you going to ask me something?”

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked at Armok with a raised eyebrow.

“What?”

“Ask me something.”

I was very confused… he had said something and I didn’t even realize it because I was too wrapped up in my thoughts.

“I-I don’t know what to ask…”

“It’s okay.”

I don’t remember how, but we started talking about music and some artists that we listened to and other things I don’t recall. An hour passed and Armok left with his parents after getting their home address. I felt a little bit better about going to homecoming with him, but I still had a few doubts. A couple of weeks later passed and it was homecoming day… er, night. My mom wouldn’t stop taking pictures of me even though I really wasn’t all that dressed up.

“I’m just surprised to see you looking so cute!”

“Ugh, whatever mom. We need to go.”

“You know whenever you go out we have to tell you to change.”

I didn’t care about going out to look nice or impress people. Not that she was trying to impress people, she just wanted us to dress nicely when we went out. But anyway… we got in the car and drove to Armok’s house. My mom took pictures of Armok and I together which was really awkward, but then she left so Armok’s parents took us to homecoming.

When we got in the car, Armok sat on the right side and I sat on the left leaving a seat gapped between us. His mom asked me questions on the way to the school and I answered them, although I can’t recall any of the questions she asked me. I just kept looking out the window up at the moon trying to ignore the strong scent of cologne.

God, I hope my stomach will stop twisting and I don’t vomit…

Once we arrived to the school, I said goodbye to Armok’s parents and before I could open the door, Armok was on the other side of the car opening the door for me.

“Oh… thank you.”

I got out of the car and suddenly the October chill got to me, causing me to shiver.

I wasn’t expecting him to open the door for me since I get it myself… I guess it was a nice gesture though.

Once we got inside the school building, Armok and I walked into the gymnasium where loud rap music was playing and kids were on the dance floor acting silly dancing, but not really dancing. We looked at each other and smiled awkwardly.

“You wanna sit down?”

I hesitated.

“...Yeah…”

I felt really odd... it was my first time being out without my family. Armok and I sat on the bleachers at first, but that was uncomfortable so we found a table to sit at and one of his friends from school walked up to us.

“Hey.”

I looked up and smiled nervously.

Oh God, I’m so going to vomit…

“Y’all not gon’ dance?”

Armok and I exchanged looks, and then shook our heads no.

“Alright, well, have fun.”

“Mm hm.”

I nodded my head and smiled as Armok’s friend walked away. There was a moment of silence and then I sighed.

“So when is Jake coming?”

“He doesn’t go to this school.”

“Oh…”

I was kind of bummed that Jake wasn’t going to show up, I had hoped he would. The rap music continued to play, kids were on the dance floor talking and laughing. Sometimes they would dance for a few seconds and then start laughing. I was hardly entertained and I honestly wanted to go home.

“This music is horrible…”

“Yeah it is.”

“I’d rather listen to Japanese music.”

Armok’s eyes widened so large I thought they were going to pop out of his head.

“Really? I love Japanese music! It’s like everything sounds better in Japanese!”

“Me too!”

“So do you watch anime?”

“Yeah, I love anime! I watch it all the time! I like drawing anime too!”

“Same here. We should share work with each other.”

“Sounds cool!”

Armok and I laughed and talked about anime, drawing, and even writing. I started to forget I didn’t want to go to homecoming in the first place. Once the homecoming was over, Armok and I headed outside to wait for his parents to come get us.

Man, it’s freezing out here!

Of course, I didn’t say anything to Armok about it because… well, I didn’t really want him to lend me his jacket. When his parents arrived, he opened the door for me.

“Thank you.”

I got in the car and he ran to the other side of the car to get in and put his seatbelt on.

“So did you enjoy the homecoming?”

Armok’s mom asked and I nodded my head.

“Yes, I did.”

“That’s good.”

I don’t remember the rest of the conversation, but I do remember that I was ready to get home soon. Unfortunately for me, that didn’t happen. Armok’s parents decided to take us to Applebee’s with his four brothers and cousin.

Oh God, what have I gotten myself into?

When we were seated, Armok and I were at a table together while his family members were at two other tables. When the waiter came to ask what we wanted to drink, he stared at us for a moment, and then a huge grin came across his lips.

“You know, I was just thinking, you two look like a really nice couple.”

My eyes widened and I looked at Armok. He was looking at me with a blank expression on his face but averted his eyes.

Umm… we’re not a couple!

I wanted to scream that at the waiter and storm out, but I just smiled awkwardly and laughed. The waiter wrote down our drinks and walked away to get everyone else’s drinks.

Oh my God… I’m going to vomit all over this table…

I couldn’t stop my stomach from twisting and turning all the while I was there with Armok, so I decided to eat lightly and ordered a salad. Armok and I talked a bit, but it was awkward. When we finished eating, Armok’s youngest brother came over to our table.

“Did you enjoy your meal, Armok?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you. Did you?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Armok’s brother looked at me with the same blank expression as him, then turned around and walked back to the table he was at.

Oh my God… can I please hurry up and go home?!

Soon after that, the waiter came to our table and Armok paid for the both of us.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

I felt bad that he paid for me because I wanted to pay for myself. Soon after, we all left and I guided Armok’s parents back to my house. Once we arrived, I was about to get out of the car but Armok got out before me and opened the door again.

“Thanks.”

We walked up to the door and I couldn’t even get my key out of my purse before my mom snatched the front door open and I smiled. She opened the screen door for me and as I walked in-

“Here she is, safe and sound.”

My mom chuckled.

“Alright, thank you.”

I got settled in at home and was happy that nothing bizarre happened at homecoming. I was done going out with Armok and things would go back to normal. At least, that’s what I thought would happen. Armok kept calling our house phone, practically every day and eventually my mom convinced me to give him my cell number.

He invited me to several parties after that and I reluctantly went to each one. Whenever I talked to Armok, my mom would eavesdrop on my conversation and if I sounded like I didn’t want to go, she would yell into my room-

“Girl, go with that boy!”

I would then roll my eyes and sigh heavily.

“All right, what time is it at?”

Armok would give me the time and day of the event and when that day came, I would practically drag my feet on the floor to get ready. I would go to the event and have a somewhat good time, then I would leave feeling depleted of energy, but Armok would call me immediately the following day to see how I was doing. Sometimes I would decline his invites to parties... sometimes I wouldn’t answer the phone. As an introvert, I needed time to recharge. This seemed to irritate Armok because my mom came to me in my room with a blank look on her face one day.

“What is it?”

“Armok’s mom just called me. She told me he was wondering why you seemed like you didn’t want to talk?”

I raised an eyebrow.

“He has plenty of friends, doesn’t he? He can hang out with them.”

My mom sighed and shook her head.

“No, no, no... you’ve got it all wrong, Micah! He wants to hang out with you!”

I sighed and threw my head back, staring at my mom blankly upside down.

“But I’m tired.”

“Girl... what are you doing? You’re on your computer all the time.”

I puckered my lips.

“Yeah mom, you’ve mentioned that before.”

“Well anyway, you should really answer when he calls.”

And so I did, reluctantly. One day as we were ending our call, he told me this.

“Call me some time... think about me.”

Wha- think about you? Why do I need to think about you?!

“Okay.”

I hung up my phone and pondered on Armok’s words.

Maybe I don’t have many friends because I shut people out so quickly... maybe I should give him a chance...