My Imaginary Boyfriend

My Imaginary Boyfriend *Faith

"What are you doing?" I ask Caleb, sitting on my chair beside him.

"Killing zombies," he replies, never taking his eyes off his PSP.

"That's just a game," I comment, "why so serious?"

Caleb is playing like a pro. He's not even distracted by me talking to him. "It's not just a game. You never know what will happen in the future."

"What, there will be zombies?" I ask, feigning I'm scared. "And they will eat us alive?"

Caleb clicks the pause in the game, and rolls his eyes at me. "I think I've watched all the zombie movies out there, even Zombieland – which was amazing by the way. If there will be zombies, I know a lot of ways to kill them." When he sees my dubious expression he adds, "No one knows what the future will bring. Besides, people are different from before. And how did the writers think of creatures like that when there's no possibility that it will happen?"

I shake my head slowly and say, "Really, Caleb." I don't bother to roll my eyes.

He just shrugs. "Don't worry, I'll save you when that happens," he says, "I don't want you to be eaten by zombies."

"Is that a promise?" I ask amusedly.

"There's nothing funny about it," he mutters, "but count on it."

It's just a couple of weeks since I know Caleb and now I'm wondering why he chooses to be my friend. It's amazing how we know a lot of things about each other, and at the same time, we're still learning more. Like, just now, when I find him playing a zombie killing game. I didn't expect that he believes, er, I mean, he's preparing for the future on ways to kill zombies.

A smile makes its way onto my face as an image appears in my mind of Caleb running away from zombies. When one almost bites him, he shoves a knife to the zombie's chest. Then when the zombie still clings to him, he puts a bullet through his head. Fortunately, the zombie falls to the ground and then all of a sudden, his other dead friends start to run to Caleb.

Creepy.

What am I thinking?

I force the thought away. I don't like to daydream about zombies.

Blinking my eyes, I turn to my left and find Caleb staring at me. "What?" I ask.

"Nothing," he says, shaking his head.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"How do I look at you?" he asks, raising his eyebrow.

"It's like. . it's like you're studying m-me," I stutter.

He grins, his eyes lighting in amusement. "I'm just. . . well, I think you're daydreaming."

"How do you know?"

"You have that look."

"What look?" I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I can't explain it," he says with a sigh. "And haven't I told you that before?"

"You did?" I ask incredulously.

"Yeah."

"I probably forgot it," I say dryly.

"For instance," he says, "you have a faraway look, and then it's like you're staring at something only you can see. It's like, you're somewhere else. I swear I can see your thoughts above your head."

"Ha ha," I say sarcastically, "funny."

"Your mouth is even moving," he continues, ignoring my side comment, "but you're not talking. You just smiled a couple of minutes ago. I saw your mouth pulls upward for a fraction of a second."