oh, so that's how it is...

 

Matty always listened carefully to what his Dad said. Granted, his dad wasn't all that old. He was barely thirty-four and adopted at that. Still, his dad Xander was good with friendships.

"I remember you telling me if you want to be friends, you should at least eat with them, when you can," Matty said he was doing just that with Valentina at school. 

He was busy helping his dad put dinner on the table. His dad's brother Simon was over with his roommate. It was spaghetti night. 

"Sounds like it's going great," Xander smiled back as he got out the warm french bread from the oven. It was colder now and everyone needed more comfort food. 

"No garlic and no mushrooms," He informed the boys who were about to sit down and eat.

Matty poured himself a glass a milk and Kevin a glass too. Simon's roommate Steve took the jug from Matty and poured himself a glass as well as one for Simon.

"So I hear you're seeing Valentina?" Simon said as he buttered his bread. The way he said her name made her sound like a legend somehow and Matty wasn't sure he was all right with that.

He nodded, not wanting to give too much away. "We ..we run together."

"Running?" Simon winced. "I never thought of her being actually athletic." He went on to say he remembered her being a stick of a girl, "But..she's grown up since then."

Matty was losing his appetite. He cleared his throat and did his best to take a sip of milk.

"He, he really didn't date her," Steve piped in about Valentina. "It was only a short while, and he even said he used her more or less as a press secretary. He thought of her as a fangirl back then. She was only a freshman who..who looked more like a middle schooler, back then."

Matty didn't want to know this, and yet he did.

"I should have been nicer to her," Simon said before he stuffed a fork full of spaghetti in his mouth. "She's a sweet girl. I hope you treat her right."

"What do you mean?" Matty didn't understand as he frowned. Did something bad happen to Val that he didn't know about?

Simon only smiled back at Matty. "I know you care about her, and she probably needs somebody like you even if you are younger. I know you'll pay attention to all the little details."

Matty went on to stuff his mouth with bread. He didn't know about details. What could that mean? Still, he wanted to be the best boyfriend Valentina ever had even if that meant she'd be doing all the driving. Matty didn't have his driver's license yet.