Midnight Kisses

XXIV

I'M BACK!! I have a few chapters pre-written and will be posting these every other day to give me time to write a new chapter. Have fun!

After we finish eating, we both go to the bathroom and get ready. She hands me my tooth brush that they've kept for me whenever I feel the need to come over. We brush our teeth and fix our hair. "You never put gel in your hair anymore. Why?" I don't answer. She stays silent as well, knowing she said something upsetting. "Uhm..." I start talking. "Misch. He always liked it." I find hair gel that I left here a long long time ago and put some on my hand. I slick back my hair. "Do you really wanna break up with him?" I think for a minute. "Maybe.". Her face does a 180 with a mix of concern, guilt, anger, sadness, almost every negative emotion. This poor poor gem. She keeps asking. I can't handle it. So, I'll just ignore it. "I'm gonna get dressed." She nods as I leave the bathroom.

I look through the closet and drawers to find old clothes of mine. I find a shirt that I used to dance in. A tank top, baggy enough for the pits of the shirt to hang low. Plain white. I also find dress pants with some clip on chains that I can style it with. I tuck the shirt in the pants on one side to show off my ultimate fashion skills even with a basic outfit. Finally, a black hoodie. "Alright, Ocean! You can change now!" She hears this and we swap places in the bedroom. I wait for her to call for me, to let me know she's ready. As I wait, I hear a knock at the door and go to see who it is. When I walk near it, I notice it open. I look at who it is and see Constance. "Noel!" She raises her voice in excitement. "Constance! How are you, love?" She gives me a bright, big, shining smile. "Really good! How are you?" I make up my best smile, trying to match hers, but it's impossible. "Great...!" I say with my crooked smile. I think she understands that I don't want to get into, so she just says, "Good!" And we walk off when we hear Ocean call my name.

Walking out of the door, Ocean wears a dress shirt with a loose tie. She wears a midi skirt under the shirt and a cardigan for warmth. "Ocean, you look adorable!" Constance says, complimenting her girlfriend. Ocean smiles and walks towards Constance to plant a gentle kiss on her now-softened lips. "I know you two won't make me a third wheel." They both laugh at my remark. I roll my eyes and manage a smirk. "I didn't know you'd be joining us!" Ocean states, excitedly. "Yeah, I thought I'd come over to hang out. But it looks like we're going places." Ocean and I nod. "We're going to get coffee first." I say, knowing we're all drained. I grab both of their shoulders and joyfully walk off with them to the coffee shop near by.

I order an espresso, Ocean orders a vanilla latte, and Constance gets black coffee. We wait for my name to be called and chat. I become busy, scrolling until my fingers hurt. No. Not just my fingers. Everything. "Hey! Noel! Put the phone down. It won't help. Also, can you check and see if our order is ready?" I look up at first, unknowingly, but then nod, having a job to do now. I walk inside and check the counter for our drinks. I notice they aren't quite ready and I wait there, standing, looking out the window at the two. Nothing bothers them. They're perfect for each other. They're over all of the pain and have it nice and easy. It's unfair. Why can't my relationship with Misch be as golden as those two? Deep down in my thoughts, I hear a burst of words. "Hey, you're the hottie that performs at different clubs for money!" I look at the man saying this. "Uhm, yes?" He smirks. "Are you single?" Knowing I'm only on a break, I have no clue how to answer this. "Uhhhh... I don't even know at this point." His playful smirk becomes a worried face. "Oh shit! are you alright?" I nod and grab the drinks that are just now served. Quickly walking out to the table, I groan. "You okay?" I look up in frustration. "I don't know, you tell me, Ocean." Concern grows.

I'm stuck in a loop of confusion, regret, and anger. He makes me feel so many things at once and it hurts. But I do love him... Yes. I do. That's for certain. This man is who I've always dreamed to be with. These mixed emotions... Does Ocean feel them as well? Is this a normal thing in love? I grew up, yearning to feel love in any form. It didn't matter what kind. I always thought it was centered on romantic and sexual. I was wrong. I learned nothing about love when I was younger. Now I see this has affected me. No one ever truly loved me like he does. I pull Ocean aside and she goes along with it. "Have you gone through mixed emotions and feelings for Constance? Like I do?" She nods and looks down at her feet. "Always... But it's normal. Love is a rollercoaster. Ups and downs, but they all lead to an end. Whether you feel like throwing up or going again." This makes me happy. "Thank you." She shows a straight, awkward smile in return.

After we drink our coffee, we go to the mall and shop for clothes, jewelry, make up, and anything that smells nice. We look through clothes at our favorite stores and try them on. All different styles, clothes we can't afford, some ripped up. It's all fun. We smell every perfume at the scent stores, sniff every incense stick in spiritual stores, giving ourselves headaches. "You having fun?" Ocean asks with a sly smirk. I nod with a big smile when I look at the time. 3 pm. "Hey, can we go? I have to ask Misch a question." They both nod, exhausted from the exciting day.

We drive back and they drop me off at my apartment. "Thank you guys so so so much!" I give them my best hugs, given they're sitting in a car. "Good luck." Ocean says with absolute sincerity. I only slightly smile, now a bit stressed.

I walk up to the door, nervous and excited. I attempt to open it, but the door is locked. So, I knock on the door waiting for someone to respond. I hear heavy footsteps walking to the door, sounding as if they're in a hurry. The door opens and I hear a thick accent, cursing? I look slightly up to see him. "Mischa. I'm-" He pulls me in tightly before I can finish my sentence. "NOEL, ARE YOU OKAY?" He's worried. I feel bad now. "Yes. I'm fine. I wanted to say sorry for last night. You don't deserve all of my drama, and I'll make it up to you. Bring me to the job. I wanna meet her." He smiles. "They did say you could come. Thank you, love." He takes my hand and brings me to the car. I kiss him on the cheek, letting him know that I'm done figuring things out and we're still together. He only blichest slightly and begins the drive.