Hideaway: Chapter 5

Arthur looked up from his Legal Thinking text book from his spot at his desk when he heard the key in the lock, and a moment later, Paul stepped into the room. Arthur didn't think Paul looked too disheveled, but he did look pretty tired. “Rough night?” he asked when Paul kicked off his shoes into the corner of the room and then pulled off his shirt over his head.

Paul threw his shirt on top of his shoes. “Eh, it was okay,” he replied, not bothering to put his pajamas on and climbing up into his loft anyway. “You still doing homework this late?”

Arthur wrinkled his nose at Paul's dirty laundry sitting on the floor, but he had known Paul his whole life, and Paul was a hopeless case. “I'm reading ahead,” he admitted. “Did the girls have a good time?”

“Probably not. Becca was in a bad mood... as usual.”

“What about Casey?” he asked.

“Hard to have a good time with Becca for company,” he heard Paul say from his loft. “Hey, are you going to bed soon? It's getting late, and the lights are bright.”

Arthur closed his book and shoved it in his backpack. “Yeah, why not,” he agreed. He was already a week ahead in his reading, anyway. Not to mention completely bored to tears. In fact, he would be surprised if he remembered anything he'd read in the morning.

*****

After Theater class the next day, Arthur and Casey said goodbye to Paul and headed off to their Communications class. They walked in silence until Paul was out of earshot, and that was when Arthur noticed that Casey's eyes were on him.

“What is it?” he asked when he realized she wasn't looking away.

“Oh,” she flushed and looked back down at her feet. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare, it's just that I wanted to ask you something.”

Arthur glanced down at her. “If it's about the chapter that's due in Government, you'd better ask Paul... he knows a lot more about that stuff than I do.”

“No, no, it's not about school,” Casey assured him. “It's actually about Paul. You said you've known him a long time, right?” She looked up at him, and he nodded. “Well, I would ask Becca, but I don't know if you've noticed... Paul isn't exactly her favorite person right now.”

Arthur laughed. “I guess that's true,” he said.

“That, and what I want to know also involves Becca,” Casey went on.

They had reached the Political Science building, and Arthur held the door open for her so she could walk inside. “Well,” he said when they began making their way down the hallway. “If you're asking what I think you are, it's kind of a long story.”

“It's just that Paul seems like a nice person, and I don't think you'd hang out with him so much if he wasn't... but Becca just can't stand him! And then yesterday at the party...” Casey trailed off when they reached their classroom, and the two of them walked inside.

Arthur set his backpack down next to a desk in the middle row, and Casey took the spot next to him. “Oh, no... what happened at the party? Wait!” He held up his hands. “Do I even want to know?”

“It really wasn't that bad,” Casey smiled and sat down in her seat. “I mean, all in all the party was a complete bore. Paul was hanging around some girl, and Becca was crabby the entire time. It was just something Becca said. I kinda got the feeling it wasn't exactly true.”

Arthur put his arm over the back of his seat and smiled at her. “That sounds about right. What was it that Becca said?”

Casey leaned in a little closer to him. “She said that he has a new girlfriend every other week and insinuated that he was some sort of playboy,” she said in a hushed voice.

Arthur laughed so hard that a few other students in the room turned to look at him. He leaned forward, grinning at Casey, “That's just what Paul would like Becca to think,” he explained. “The truth is that Paul has it bad for Becca, and he's trying to make her jealous. So if Becca thinks that he has a lot of girlfriends, it's only because Paul is trying a little too hard.”

Casey looked a little stunned for a moment, but then she smiled. “So, that's the story. Well, it sure explains a lot of their behavior last night. I just wish I knew then... it would have made the night a little more entertaining for me.”

“I should have warned you,” Arthur said. “Parties with Paul and Becca usually don't end well. I'll go with and keep you company next time.”

She grinned at him. “As long as it's on the weekend, right?”

Arthur frowned at her, but for some reason was having trouble keeping the smile from creeping back onto his face. “Don't you start with that, too,” he warned. “The last thing I need is two Pauls.”

She leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow at him. “Do I look like Paul to you?”

Arthur was laughing again when the professor came into the room and apologized for being late. Class promptly started, but Arthur had a hard time concentrating on anything related to interpersonal communications.

*****

Later that afternoon, Arthur was working on some of his homework for next week when Paul walked into their room and threw his backpack on the floor by his desk.

“You up for some action tonight?” Paul asked, nudging the backpack towards the wall with his foot.

Arthur sighed and closed his book. “What kind of action are you talking about? Don't we have your parents' barbeque tomorrow? What time does that start?”

Paul waved his hand at Arthur. “Oh, not till noon. We can still do something tonight. You can't possibly still have any homework, Artie... C'mon!”

“You still haven't told me what you mean by 'action,' and besides, I have to go help out at the lawfirm in a half hour. I'm not done till seven.”

Paul flopped down in his computer chair and sighed. “Aw, man. I thought maybe we could drive up to the Cities. Well, maybe we can go to Mankato when you're out. Do you think maybe Becca and Casey will want to go?”

Arthur had to resist laughing at him. After what he heard about the party last night, he doubted Becca would want to go anywhere with Paul today. “Maybe you should give them a break,” he suggested. “Besides, Casey said that Becca had a late volleyball practice.”

Paul's shoulders slumped. “Oh,” he muttered.

“Maybe Casey will still want to go,” Arthur said, stuffing his books into his backpack and zipping it up.

“You know,” Paul said thoughtfully. “I might be playing this from the wrong angle. Maybe the best way to get to Becca is through her roommate.”

Arthur reached a small pillow that was sitting on the chair under his loft and flung it at Paul. “You're sick,” he said. “You're only going to make Becca hate you if you keep this up. I wasn't going to say anything, but Casey and I had a whole conversation about you and your behavior last night, and whatever you're doing, isn't working at all. Casey says that Becca can't even stand to look at you.”

“That's only because she's jealous!” Paul replied, a sly smile on his face. He picked the pillow up from the floor and lopped it back onto the chair. “She'll come around.”

“So, in the meantime, you want to her to fight with her roommate? That's a great way to treat someone you care about. Not to mention, she's going to hate you even more for doing it.”

“Okay, okay, so maybe I didn't think this all the way through,” Paul admitted. “But you see, it's a good thing I have you as a best bud, or I would really be in trouble.”

Arthur wasn't sure if he should smile or feel sick to his stomach. “No kidding,” he said, standing up and grabbing his car keys from the top of his dresser. “Anyway, I have to go. If you want to go to Mankato tonight, I'm up for it.” He put his hand on the doorknob and shot Paul a pointed look. “But I do not want to go to a dumb club.”

“Aw, you're no fun, Artie!” Paul complained from his chair, his lower lip jutting out.

“Besides, if we're taking Casey with us, I doubt she'll want to spend all night clubbing with you either. So pick someplace else.”

Paul sat up straight and raised his eyebrows at him. “How do you know Casey won't like clubbing?”

Arthur shrugged. “She just doesn't seem like the type.”

“Oh, so now you're the expert on Casey, hm?” Paul smirked.

“No,” Arthur frowned. “We just have a lot of classes together, that's all. Look, I have to go. I'll call you when I'm done.” He quickly left the dorm room before Paul could get another word in and shut the door hard behind him. If Paul suspected that Arthur had even a little crush on Casey - which he definitely did not - Arthur would never hear the end of it. Paul had always been one for never letting up on things. Ever. Arthur had gotten really good at evading him, but it wasn't always easy. Unfortunately, it meant that Arthur had to resort to being slightly dishonest with Paul at times, mostly by omission, and for that he felt horribly guilty.

When Arthur arrived at the firm, Elizabeth met him at the door and told him that their father wanted him at the house to help him go over some of his personal papers in his office there. Arthur, grumbling, got back in his car and drove the short distance to his parents' house and let himself in. He had a feeling this was going to be more of a lecturing session than he would be working.

Arthur stuffed his keys into his pocket and made his way through the front hallway. His parents' house was quite large, having to accommodate five children, not to mention four of them being girls. Being the only boy, Arthur was lucky enough to be the only one who didn't have to share a bathroom growing up.

He heard music playing from his sister Sarah's room, and he ducked his head in as he passed. She was sitting on her bed with a teen magazine spread out in front of her. When she saw Arthur at her door, she pointed the remote at her stereo system and turned the volume down a bit.

“Arthur!” she squealed, ditching her magazine and jumping off the bed so she could give him a big hug. “You came to see me!”

“I wish,” he laughed, spinning her around and setting her back on the floor. “But dad's apparently got work for me here tonight, so I can't stay in here long. I just thought I'd pop in and say hi.”

“Aw man,” she said, her face falling.

Arthur looked around her room and noticed a decoration change. The previous obsession had come down and now her walls were decked out with Carly Callahan and Brandon Sloan posters. He listened closer and realized that it was Carly Callahan singing over the speakers as well. “New passion?” he asked, smiling at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I've decided that I want to be just like Carly Callahan when I grow up!” Sarah insisted. “I can even sing like her! I'll show you later.”

He chuckled, ruffling her hair. “I'm sure you will. Hey, you know what? I have a friend at school who's a huge Carly Callahan fan. Maybe the two of you can get together and sing.”

Sarah lit up. “Really?”

“Maybe! If she wants to!”

“Did you hear, though?” Sarah said, the smile sliding off her face. “Carly Callahan had to cancel her tour. They were talking about it on the news last night... apparently she has some crazy stalker, and it's not safe for her in public right now. She couldn't even be on TV to let her fans know what was going on.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow at her. “Crazy stalker, huh? That sucks.”

“Yeah, hopefully they catch the guy soon,” Sarah pouted. “I wanted to go to her concert here. I was going to ask you to take me.”

Art Ramsey appeared in the doorway and Arthur's conversation with his little sister came to an abrupt end. “There you are,” his father said. “I thought I heard you come in. Quit dawdling and come into my office.”

Arthur tried not to scowl openly. “Yes,” he said. “I'll be right there.” He didn't have to look to know that his father had gone; he could feel it. He turned to his sister. “Talk to you later, squirt. I better go with Dad.”

She looked up at him gravely. “Have fun.”

Arthur gave her a half smile and then went on his way back into the hallway and towards the back of the house where his father's personal office was located. He moved slowly into the doorway and stood there, looking in.

“Don't just stand there, come in,” Art said without looking up. “And sit down.”

Arthur sat down in front of his father's desk and waited for instruction. He had been sitting in this very chair many times before, mostly when he was in trouble, or in need, according to his father, or some sort of lecture or another, but the last time he had been in his father's office had been the worst. He had tried to block out the memory, but it kept creeping its way into the forefront of his mind.

Art cleared his throat and looked up at Arthur from the papers on his desk. “I asked you here to talk to you about something. I don't actually have any work for you to do here. I'm sorry about the pretense.”

“It's okay,” Arthur said. He had figured, anyway.

“The thing is,” Art went on. “I wanted to ask you about your studies.”

Arthur tried his best not to let the expression on his face darken. This was his least favorite topic. “What about them?” he asked.

Art folded his hands on top of the desk. “Now that you've completed your first week of your new classes, how do you like them?”

Arthur chewed on his lower lip. He hated lying, especially to his father, who was the one person that was able drag the truth out of him the best, but he didn't know how he could possibly tell the truth right then. “They're okay,” he said. “It's just the first week. Not much has happened.” He figured that wasn't a complete lie.

“I know you're a good student,” Art said, swiveling his chair so that it faced the window. “But I can't stress enough how important your classes are. Especially the ones involved in your major. I want you to really try your best, son.”

“I know,” Arthur said between his teeth. “I will, Dad.” The truth was, there hadn't been one assignment or test that Arthur had ever slacked off on, and his dad knew it. To insinuate that he would, was insulting. “I always do,” he added.

Art looked back at him with a small smile. “You're a good kid,” he said. “And I know you'll do a good job. I just wanted you to know how important it is that you do well.”

Arthur wanted to ask him who it was important for, but years of experience taught him to keep his mouth shut. Besides, he already knew the answer to that question.

“That's all I wanted to say,” Art told him, giving his hand a slight wave. “You can have the night off.”

“Thanks,” Arthur muttered, pushing on the arms of the chair and standing up. He quickly said goodbye to his dad and left the office as fast as was acceptable. Once he was out in the hallway, he took a deep breath and thought to himself that his least favorite place in the world was his dad's office. At least in other places, he felt like he had some sort of control over his life. In there, his dad held all the strings.

“Hey, I got out early,” Arthur said into his phone after he pulled up to his dorm building. “You ready to go? We can just take my car.”

“No, wait!” Paul's voice came through. “I wanted to see if Casey could come with... hang tight, I'm gonna swing by her room, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” Arthur disconnected the call, and placed his phone in the center console of his car. He reached over on the dash and flipped past a few radio stations before deciding that there was nothing on he liked, and then turned it off. When he saw Paul and Casey hurrying out of the building and walking towards the car, he stopped tapping his fingers on the steering wheel and unlocked the doors.

Paul climbed into the back seat while Casey opened the passenger door and stepped into the front. “Hi, Arthur,” she said, all smiles. “Paul practically dragged me out of my room saying we were going on some adventure. Being that you're driving, I'm wondering if you'll tell me where it is we're going?” she asked hopefully.

He laughed at her, and then glanced back at Paul, who was grinning at them from between their seats. “Unfortunately, I always seem to be the last to know of Paul's plans.”

Paul put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. “Just drive, buddy. We're going to the Cities!”

Arthur rolled his eyes and took the car out of park. When he stepped on the gas, Paul retreated further into the backseat and buckled up.

“By the way,” Paul spoke up after it had been quiet for a few moments. “How did you get out of work so early? Your old man going soft or something?”

“You work for your dad?” Casey spoke up before Arthur could answer.

“Yeah,” Arthur said slowly, looking past Casey's blonde hair to see if any cars were coming so he could get out on highway sixty-one. “I work for my dad's lawfirm in St Peter. And I guess there just wasn't much to do, so he let me out early.” The last thing he wanted to talk about was his dad or the firm.

“That's strange,” Paul said after a moment of silence.

Arthur pulled out onto the freeway. “So, Casey,” he said, desperate to change the subject. “Have you ever been to Minneapolis before? I know you said you liked to travel, but was Minnesota one of your destinations?”

“Oh, several times,” Casey replied, and then she turned to look back at Paul. “But I'm sure there's plenty for me to see. What do you have in mind?”

Arthur looked at Paul in the rear view mirror and noticed the telltale glint in his friend's eyes. “No, that's not how it works!” Paul said. “You'll both have to just wait and see till we get there.”

Arthur hoped that Paul remembered his promise that they wouldn't go clubbing. Wait a second, had he actually gotten Paul to make that promise? He couldn't recall. Either way, without Becca tagging along, he doubted Paul would be up to his full tricks tonight, so he and Casey should be safe from Paul's clubbing adventures. Hopefully. They drove on the two hours up to the cities, and by the time they arrived into Minneapolis, it was just after seven o'clock and all three of them were starving.

Paul sat forward in his seat, directing Arthur through Minneapolis. “Last time I came up here, one of the guys I was with showed me this great place. It's just north of the Cities. Get off here, Artie.”

Casey gripped the door when Arthur made a turn around a clover leaf. “Oh, is that a hint to where we're going?” she asked.

Paul continued to evade their questions until Arthur pulled up to a small bar restaurant in Fridley called King's Restaurant. There was a sign on the window that advertised it as a Korean restaurant that also served sushi.

Casey threw open her door. “Sushi!” she squealed. “Paul, how did you know I love sushi?”

Paul and Arthur got out of the car, and Arthur pressed the remote on his key chain to lock the doors. Paul scratched his head. “I didn't know,” he admitted. “Honestly. But that's not the reason we're here... though if you like sushi, then great! But there's more to eat here than just sushi.”

They walked into the restaurant, and Arthur shot a sideways glance at Paul. If they weren't at a restaurant to eat, then what could they possibly be doing there, he wondered. His question was answered the moment they set foot inside. A white sign in a metal display boasted, 'Karaoke Night.' Oh no... there was no way in hell this was going to happen.

He almost walked into Casey's back, but he grabbed the back of arms just in time. “Paul,” he said, letting go of Casey's arms and stepping beside her. “If you think for a second that I'm going to get up on stage and sing...” It was at that moment he noticed that all the color had drained from Casey's face. “You okay, Casey?”

She opened her mouth, but it took a moment for anything to come out. “Yeah, I'm fine,” she said. “I just hope you're not expecting me to sing either... I'm really no good.”

“See,” Arthur said, turning to Paul and narrowing his eyes at him. “You should have told us where you were taking us, because neither of us are singing.”

“Aw, come on!” Paul whined, glancing over at the hostess who was approaching them. “Both of you need to loosen up and have a little fun! No one cares what you sounds like!”

“Table for three?” the hostess asked them.

“Yes,” Paul said, smiling at her. “There're three of us.” He turned to Arthur and said through his teeth, “Artie, seriously, you're getting up there. I promise you.”

Arthur had to hold off his argument for the time being while the hostess took them at table. He was getting really sick of Paul's surprises, and no matter what Paul said, there was no way he was getting up on stage tonight.