The Kings IV II

35

Hero

"Amelia, open the door," I said, banging on her door.

I gripped my hips, letting out an angry sigh.

"Amelia, I know you're fucking here," I said, "your car's right here. That a-"

She opened the door, her head tilted over.

"Woah," I said, completely caught off-guard. I'd never seen Amelia look anything but completely put together, at all times.

She stood in front of me in a pair of sweatpants, a tank top, her hair in a bun, and glasses- and this was most certainly the most attractive she'd ever looked.

I scratched the back of my neck, trailing my eyes down her.

"Why are you here?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Can I come inside?" I asked, "it's fucking pouring."

She stepped to the side and I walked inside, turning around to face her.

"Nice house."

"Is that sarcasm?" She deadpanned.

"No," I said, matching her tone.

"What do you want?"

"I want to explain," I said, "I've got so much shit going on, I can't have you mad at me, too."

"Why do you care if I'm mad at you?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly," she said, her eyes locked on mine.

"Because I need to get laid."

She laughed, shaking her head. "If that's why you came over, then you can walk back out."

She began to brush past me, but I grabbed her arm. "Amelia, I'm kidding."

"And who's to say you haven't been getting laid by all those other girls?" She asked, ripping her arm away from me.

"Amelia, newsflash, I don't have the time, nor energy, nor headspace currently to get laid. It was a fucking joke."

"What is so terrible in your life, Hero?" She asked, knitting her eyebrows together.

I bit down on my lip, choosing to evade and deflect. "Listen, what happened with Mrs. Thompson the other day-"

"Hero, I just got the picture out of my head," she said, walking into the kitchen.

"Why did it bother you so much?" I asked, shrugging.

"Because she's a teacher, Hero," she said.

"No, because it was me," I said.

"You know, she's kind of got a rep. For getting too close to her students. Specifically the attractive males."

"She was just going through it, alright?" I said, "I hugged her. That's it."

"I bet if I would've been a fly on the wall in that moment, I could call you a liar."

"Listen, yeah. I think she's hot. Yeah, I've definitely let my mind go places when I've thought of her. Yeah."

"Why did I have to know that?" She asked.

"A-and I've never been one to not make advances," I said, "I can admit that. But I also know that she's a teacher. I get that."

"You've stressed yourself out, haven't you?" She asked, looking back at me, "because you know you got too close to her."