folklore

mine

"you put your arm around me for the first time"

///

Betty loved getting drunk on Friday nights. It was the best way to de-stress after a long week of school. It was some cheap vodka that her boyfriend, James had somehow managed to steal from a party. The two of them had snuck into that party earlier, and were now running down the street, laughing loudly. James' blond hair was dishevelled, a loose t-shirt almost completely hidden by a cardigan, some of the vodka had spilled onto his pants. Betty was dressed in a vintage t-shirt she stole from her mother's closet, and a pair of James' old Levi jeans, stumbling in her high heels.

Betty was laughing as she tried to race him down the street in those obnoxious high heels. They were completely hammered, and had absolutely no idea what they were doing, but they were having fun. They finally stopped under a streetlight, breathing heavily through their boisterous laughter. He reached out, wrapping her around him tightly, her head tucked into the crook of his neck, as they calmed down.

James felt happy, with her arms around him, the smell of her perfume completely encasing him. He didn't need anything more.

Betty looked up at him, her brown hair in tangles from the running, sweat glistening her temples, her lively grey eyes wholly encaptured with his brown ones, as she questioned. "Wanna dance, baby?"

Her words were slightly slurred, but he could see she genuinely wanted to dance with him. And who was he to refuse her?

And so they danced, on the uneven cobblestones, under the dull orange glow of the streetlight. They danced terribly, stepping on each other's feet, bursting into laughter each time they messed up a step.

After a couple minutes, Betty wanted to get food somewhere, so they walked to a small bar nearby, James holding her up as she tripped over her heels. The bar they were going to was a dive bar downtown. The vibes and atmosphere were so fun, the two of them loved it. Betty decided to explain all the recent school drama on their way there, thoroughly entertaining James, as he never involved himself in highschool politics.

Betty mumbled. "Listen, so Inez wears this stunning-" A burp. "Black lipstick, I would never have the confidence to pull it off honestly, but she looked super pretty."

James was drunk too, and he was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on not letting her fall, and listen to what she was saying, and not trip over his own feet. Betty continued, lost in her own thoughts. "And, and you know that bitch, Becca?"

"The one who, uh, tried to slap you the other day?" James murmured, swallowing against his dry throat.

"Yes! Yes, her. I hate her so much, James. Do you know how much I hate her?" Betty extended her hands to show how much she hated Becca. "And, and she tried to steal it from Inez, claiming it was hers. Like, how childish could she possibly be? She shoulda just asked Inez if she could borrow it. Anyways, Inez got angry, and they got into a massive fight, and guess what?"

"What?"

Betty lowered her voice, like she was exposing a massive secret. "Becca was sleeping with Inez's boyfriend."

James gasped. "How could he?"

"Exactly!" She then turned to James, seriously. "You'd never do that to me, right?"

James shook his head firmly, or at least tried to in his drunk state. "I'd never do that to you, baby." He pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "I love you too much to do that. You keep me sane, remember?"

4 YEARS AGO

"Betty!"

Betty shifted in her sleep, towards the window. James continued to knock on it, hoping Betty would wake up, he desperately needed to hide from his father. In a final attempt, he called out her name a bit more loudly, trying not to wake up everyone in her household. She finally shot up, looking scared, her mouth open, prepared to scream when her eyes fell on James.

James, whose eyes were swollen badly and he had a small cut on the side of his forehead, blood dripping onto his nose, a bruise starting to form on the side of his cheek. Betty gasped, hurriedly opening her window. "James! What happened? Come in."

James forced himself through the window, with Betty's help, collapsing onto her floor. Betty whispered to him. "Wait here, I'll be back in a second, okay?"

"Don't call your parents, please." James grumbled out.

Promising him she wouldn't, she quickly ran to the bathroom, where her mother kept their first aid kit. She tried to be as silent as possible, but she wanted to make sure James was alright and it was becoming increasingly more difficult to hold back her tears. Betty came back to her room, closing her door. She sat James up against the wall. "What happened?"

James, who saw Betty's tearful eyes, didn't have the heart to tell her, but he knew she wouldn't let it rest till he did. "My father."

Betty opened up the first aid kit, sitting next to him on the floor. She quickly wiped away the cut with some antiseptic, and put a plaster on top of the cut, before using some tissues to clean up the blood on his face. "I have no idea what I'm doing, are you sure you don't want me to call my parents?"

He shook his head. "I trust you, you know what you're doing. Remember, you took a health class back in November?"

She shook her head, continuing to wipe away the blood, her voice cracked as she muttered, the tears flowing freely from her eyes. "James, please. This is the second time this week. Let me tell my parents, they'll fix this. I can't let you stay there."

She knew it should be her who was comforting him, not the other way around. But seeing him beaten up, hurt her in ways she simply couldn't explain. She blinked, trying to fight the tears, her hand reaching up to touch the cut on his forehead.

He barely flinched, his eyes on her fragile state, he wanted to hug her, but he wasn't sure how she'd react. Would she push him away? Or would she let him calm her down? He could feel the familiar feel of anxiety creep up his throat, and he almost talked himself out of embracing her. It was stupid, to worry about her reaction if he hugged her, in a moment like this, but it was a distraction for him, one he desperately needed, and one he hoped would change their platonic relationship. And he wanted to comfort her, more than anything. He hated to see her cry. Her tears felt like knives to his chest, and he itched to wipe them away and promise her he was fine.

But he wasn't fine. Not really. It wasn't the first time his father had hurt him and he doubted it would be the last. He wanted to leave, but he couldn't. That was his father, after all. His father never took care of himself, it was James who always made sure his father ate his meals, and went to work. A part of James hated him, but the other was attached to him. His father was the only living person of his family. James had no one else. He had Betty, yes. But how long could he rely on her? He could see how much this was hurting her, he couldn't bear it. Looking into those eyes that were normally filled with something that could only be described as a childish happiness, were filled with sadness, and James couldn't bear to see those beautiful eyes of hers look so empty, and he hated that it was because of him she was exposed to the harsh realities of the world. He wished he could hide it from her, protect her from it, but he had nowhere else to go during times like these. And he knew despite how much he tried to protect her, at the end he'd always go back to her when these things occurred.

Running a hand through his hair, he wrapped his free arm around her, bringing her closer. He looked at her, trying to see her reaction. She didn't hesitate, throwing her arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest.

It would have sounded cheesy to other people, but the joy he felt when she welcomed his embrace was the best thing he felt and he ever would feel.

He wrapped his arms around her, running a hand up and down her back, trying to calm her down. "Not yet, then they'll ship me off to foster care or something. Then I won't see you everyday like I do now, and that's not something I want to happen. I can't survive without seeing you everyday, yeah?" He forced a weak smile, murmuring. "You keep me sane in the middle of all this."

///

"braced myself for the goodbye,
'cause that's all I've ever known
then, you took me by surprise"