My Plauge

Chapter 43: Joey

I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close. He smelt of his cologne and cigarettes. The usual smell. The one I associated with safety and home.

I heard a small sound as I rubbed his back. "Are you...crying?"

"No." He sniffed "I'm okay im just...I wow joey. I love you."

"I love you too." I chuckled

Eventually he let go, his shoulders still curved with the weight of the world however which saddened me but I couldnt expect him to just suddenly be happy. I wish he would be though.

I sighed as I sat on his bed, with my legs hanging off. "I'm glad I met you." I said

"Dont know why?" Corey muttered as he lit up a cigarette

"You're better than you think." I said

"No." He sighed "want one?" He turned to me.

I took it as I sighed, lighting it and inhaling it into my lungs. I felt my eyes widen as I immediately started coughing my lungs up.

"Oh god!" I wheezed, the smoke must have gone down the wrong way.

Corey sat up as he patted my back and I choked.

"You okay?"

"Yeah..." I sputtered as I coughed again. My throat burning as I felt a single tear fall from my eye.

"That was quite nasty." Corey said

"Yeah, tell me about it." I sighed

"It reminds me when we first met." Corey smiled

"Really?" I asked

"Yeah." Corey nodded "that wasnt too long ago." He layed back on his bed.

"I know right? We havent really been together for all that long but it really fucking feels like it." I said lying next to him and playing with his growing hair.

"Its been a ride." Corey sighed around his cigarettes.

"I'm sorry for the jim thing..." I said "I still feel awful."

Corey shrugged "i would have probely ended up in the hospital anyway so irrelevant i guess."

"Still. It just felt nice to have the power to rebel against something for once. Just the wrong person."

"I mean I get it joey. When I was younger, loyalty was either something I was all in with or not in at all." He sighed looking away "my attitude sucked."

"Girlfriends?"

He nodded "a few have cheated on me though, and it hurts every time. That's if they weren't violent." He sighed again "but you know. I've got you now."

"You do. And I ain't gonna leave you."

He sighed gently.

"But you can't go out there in the rain like that again." I said "you could have caught your death."

"I was writing."

"What where you writing?" I asked

"My emotions." He smiled falsely

I just nodded, I didnt know what to say, Corey was smart...super smart. He was a genius. Sometimes he was so smart he made me feel dumb but that was because I kinda was.

I intwined our fingers and squeezed his. He just huffed as he looked up at his ceiling.

"It's weird to think..."

"What is?"

"In that basement when I was eleven that I was going to die. I really thought I was. Fuck dude, but you're here and I love you and I'm amazed because you love me and I'm just. Yeah." He looked away "i just I'm really lucky and I want to like well die but I've got you and part of me could never do that."

"Part of you would ?"

"No, but like it's hard to explain... sorry."

"It's okay."

"I do wanna go somewhere..." he started "somewhere with you. But I dont think I'm ever gonna get anywhere you know?"

"Corey, stop being so negative! You will!" I sighed "and so will I. And Jim, and Wednesday, we all will."

"You really do think that dont you?" He giggled

"I do." I smiled before looking around his room.

"Corey..."

"Mmm?"

"Will you play guitar for me again?" I asked

He blushed softly "yeah."

I smiled as he got up and grabbed his guitar, leaning back as be strummed the strings, and his beautiful vocals came out. I shut my eyes and let myself fall into his metaphors. Blissfully.