“Totally stylin', Kurt!” Krist said to him as he strode past towards the stage. Kurt grinned and gave him a thumbs up.
“Why are you wearing that?” Dave asked, indicating the air freshener.
Kurt shrugged. “I smell bad,” he said.
Dave couldn't stop himself from laughing. “You know, there's this cool thing called 'soap'. I can lend you some.”
Kurt changed the subject. “Come on, we're on.” He headed out onto the stage and Dave followed, shaking his head at his weird friend.
Four years later, Dave happened to see a pine tree air freshener hanging on someone's rearview mirror in a parking lot, and he was thrown into the past so suddenly he had to step on the brake for a second.
When Kurt had died, Dave had been so depressed he'd stopped showering. He remembered not giving a fuck about his increasingly oily hair and smelly pits. He hadn't had the energy for anything beyond eating and sleeping, at least for a while.
He remembered Kurt's greasy hair and dirty clothes. Wearing pajamas in and out of bed. And the air freshener around his neck. He hadn't been totally joking about that. That was Kurt struggling to give a shit about something.
Dave parked his car and cried.
