Called (Ryan Ross)

Skinks

I gazed up at the man in front of me, a smile on my small, pink cheeks. My father smiled back, but his smile slowly faded. I felt my stomach drop as my father raised his hand above his head, and brought it down, hard, against my face. I heard the sound of skin slapping hard against skin, and I let out a soft cry, knowing that if I screamed, the punishment would be most severe. The man snarled something at me, something I've since shoved to the back of my memories, and locked away, the key never to be found. Tears were running down my cheeks, leaving dried stains on my quickly bruising cheeks. I had endured an entire day of abuse, and my father didn't seem to be slowing down. He was drunk. My mother was huddled in the corner with my sister, crying silently. My sister was young enough not to know what was going on, but she could feel the tension, even at such a young age. As he reached into his pocket, I saw the glint of something shiny and metallic. My eyes widened and-

I sat up, breathing heavily. It was dark in my room and I was shaking noticeably. I touched my cheek, where the scar on my cheek stretched from my cheekbone, all the way down to my jaw line. I could feel dried tears on my face, and I quickly wiped them away. I didn't cry anymore. This dream, no, this memory, was repetitive. I should be used to it by now. I sighed, running my fingers through my sweaty hair, pissed that I would have to get up now, as falling back asleep would only result in worse dreams. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and glanced at my clock. 4:47. I let out an irritated sigh. Dustin had stayed at Jade's tonight, so I wouldn't have him to wake up, so he could comfort me. I grabbed my phone and texted my only other friend.

I opened the door and was met with a tired, ruffled, Ryan. He yawned, his hair messy from sleeping, but he met my gaze with a sleepy smile.

"Hey, Jas. What can I do for you at this fine hour?" I immediately wrapped my arms around him, burying my face into his jacket. He seemed taken aback, but picked me up, carrying me over to the couch.

"Hey, what's wrong, Jaspar?" He brushed his thumb against my cheek, wiping away a tear that I hadn't realized had fallen. I sniffed and simply shook my head, breathing in the scent that clung to his jacket. It smelled like him, a mixture of cologne and coffee. It was a clean smell, a pleasant, calming smell. He shifted underneath me, lying down on the couch, leaving me lying on top of him, my head on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, feel his breathing. I tried my best to match his breathing, slow and steady. I needed to calm down. Ryan rubbed my back slowly, arms wrapped around me tightly. Once I felt my breathing steady, I sighed deeply, murmuring an apology into Ryan's shirt. He chuckled slightly.

"You're fine, Jas. But are you okay?" I hesitated a moment, but nodded.

"I'm okay. Just thought about something that I shouldn't have." Ryan nodded slowly.

"Well, would you perhaps like to get something to eat?" I pressed the power button on my phone, checking the time.

"What restaurant is open at five fifteen in the morning?" Ryan thought for a moment.

"Uh... Is McDonald's open at this time?" I let out a soft laugh.

"I'm sure it is. Is that where we're going?" Ryan shrugged.

"I suppose we are." I nodded, shifting so that Ryan could get up. He sat up, stretching. His shirt lifted up slightly, revealing part of his stomach, and I averted my eyes, not wanting to stare. He stood up, holding out his hand for me to take.

"Well?"

I laughed at my friend as we entered the crappy, fast food restaurant. He was probably the cheesiest person I'd ever met. Ryan and I stood in line, giggling to ourselves over our own stupid little joke. As we approached the register, the girl who took our order made no secret of checking Ryan out, eyeing him up and down. Ryan noticed, and his cheeks flushed slightly. He started ordering our food, trying to avoid her devious gaze. As he finished our order, the girl, her name tag read Michelle, leaned over the counter, and whispered something in Ryan's ear, making his eyes widen and his cheeks flush a darker red. As we walked away, I looked at him, a quizzical expression on my features. He whispered back to me:

"She told me I looked cute enough to eat!" I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. That was probably the most obvious thing to say to someone that I had ever heard. I nodded to Ryan and whispered to him:

"Need some help?" He nodded, looking confused. I stood on my tiptoes and connected out lips, wrapping my arms around his neck, and making sure the girl was watching as I did. Ryan made a surprised squeaking sound, but quickly caught on, kissing me back and moving his hands down to my hips. I heard someone behind us clear their throat and we separated. Ryan's face was still flushed, but he was smiling slightly. As we walked over to get our food, I threaded our fingers together, just for good measure. Michelle shot daggers at me as she grumbled for us to have a nice night as she thrust our food in our direction. I took it gratefully and told her to have a good night as well. As soon as we got outside, I burst out laughing.

"O-Oh! O-Oh my God! Did you see her face?! Oh my God!" My stomach hurt from laughing, and I heard Ryan laugh sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah, haha..." I looked up at him.

"Sorry if that was a bit far, Ryan. I don't know, I guess I just didn't like her attitude." He shrugged.

"It's understandable. I am pretty cute," he laughed as he said so. I rolled my eyes.

"Keep telling yourself that, Ry." But I kissed his cheek lightly as we walked back to his car, proving that I did agree with his statement. He smiled slightly as I did, keeping our hands together.