Austin's mom's car's headlights shine brightly and blindingly upon my concrete driveway. This always excites me. I run out to meet him with the hot box of pizza in my arms. It warms them in this cool weather.
I creepily watched him get out of his car and put his keys in his pockets. He was surprised at me jumping up and down like a child.
"What are you excited about? Jesus Christ." He mutters, cracking a grin.
"Well what do you think, loser? Or should I say, Sketch."
He looks annoyed, but when has his fuse not been short lately...
"What are we doing tonight?"
"Pizza, video games."
He snickered.
"Well now I wonder how Rhiannon is at video games. Bet you a solid 5 she can't even work a controller."
I slapped hands with him while we walked inside.
"You're on man."
-
I pulled up in front of Garrett's house about 3 minutes ago, but now I'm just sitting in my car. It's dark. I'm freaking out about my appearance. Do I look ok? How do I act? Do I need to spray myself with more perfume??
Not according to that note that I got this morning. Should I feel guilty that it made me confident? Should I tell them about it? Or was it one of them who wrote it?
I suddenly didn't feel as self conscious. A sigh of relief escaped my throat and released into the air. I slid back in my seat.
"Need medicine?"
The hairs on the nape of my neck stood straight. My muscles jolted up and brought me out of my muscle's tired trance.
It was only Austin, I should have expected. He handed me a red solo cup with condensation dripping down the sides. It smelt of strong alcohol.
I chugged the pint of beer down in one gulp. Tilting my head back, I never let the liquid go anywhere but my throat. I thought maybe if I didn't breathe through my nose it's taste better (not as horrid).
"Wow I haven't seen you chug a beer that fast- ever."
I got out of my vehicle and began walking to the door by his side.
"Neither have I." I said, chuckling.
I don't really know why I was stressed. I just was. They overwhelmed me.
Earlier at school came back at my mind.
"Hey, are you going to paint my back?"
His head shot up and he nodded happily.
"Garrett has some old paints here, I really wanted to do it. I'm so surprised you'd let me." He laughs.
Garrett leaned against the doorway of his fancy porch, a devious look painted across his face.
"I have Call of Duty and 3 controllers in the living room. Pizzas here, and I see you've found the beer."
He eyed the empty red solo cup dangling from my hand.
"Yeah, I needed one."
"You ready for us to kick your ass at some video games?" Garrett smirks.
We were all inside now, immediately sprawling out on the couch. My back was leaned against Austin's broad bony shoulder. He was smelling extra good lately, his body heat rubbing off on mine. Garrett was at the end of the couch. They had both already started a game and were too focused into their controllers to even blink. I stared at Austin, lights of the screen flashing brilliantly off of his widened eyes. His mouth dropped open; those bags under his eyes that made him look like he had never slept before. A good kind of sleepy. His body seemed warm and cozy and sleepy all the time, someone you'd wanna cuddle up to. Touching shoulders made me want to jump into his arms.
Garrett was kicking Austin's ass at every video game possible, and I just sat back to watch. Yeah, I could play, but this was too entertaining. The couch smelled of cologne. We had blown through half the box of pizza in the past hour, just wasting time staring at the TV. I was too lost in laughing until my stomach hurt because Austin and Garrett would try to out-insult each other. Some games Austin was better at, other games Garrett. They'd bicker like an old married couple and throw out excuses like "I wasn't looking" or "my thumbs were sore".
"Have you ever noticed that every time we are on a device we are just wasting time staring at something." I blurted out. I was more comfortable with them now, being able to blurt out my random thoughts without thinking twice about how I'd sound when I say them.
"Our minds are lost in it, but in reality, we're just sitting there. Kinda dumb, huh? Most of our generation spends the day just sitting, staring. Not that we don't. I'm a hypocrite, I admit."
Austin had very interesting points of view. Garrett agreed, laughing at the subject and going back to start his own game of Call of Duty. He switched the CDs out of the Xbox.
"Everyone name their favorite color." Garrett spoke, focused on cleaning off the CD with his shirtsleeve.
"Green."
"Ditto."
Austin's body was more hunched into mine now. He had his arm around the couch for some time now, and I hadn't noticed that it had snaked it's way around me until now. Our bodies fit like puzzle pieces, Garrett being the odd man out.
He seemed a bit bothered by it, trying to answer his view on his favorite color.
"There are too many to pick, you feel? I might be ordinary and just say blue. But who the fuck has a conversation about their favorite colors." He laughed. He was getting deep for a second, not caring of his image. Not being afraid to talk about childish subjects like favorite colors. He's the one who brought it up anyways.
I felt Austin's head move lower toward my ear. His hot breath tickled the nape of my neck.
"Hey do you want me to get the paint?"
I nodded. I did want him to get the paint, but I also didn't want him to ruin the comfortable position we lied in.
He wrestled out of the cushions. I flopped down into the warm spot he left, snuggling up with the pillow he used to rest his head on.
Garrett was on a chair next to the couch now. I was taking in the clean, fancy scenery when his voice interrupted my thoughts.
"Do you like poetry?"
"Of course. It's beautiful." I reply, turning my attention to him. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands.
"I like it too. Have you ever read Walt Whitman? William Shakespeare? Edgar Allen Poe?"
It made me really happy that he recognized the famous names in poetry. It was valid that he at least knew what he was talking about.
"Yeah, Poe's used to scare the shit out of me. Tell Tale Heart made me want to never leave my room."
He seemed to not pay attention to my babbling. He eased farther into his pose and looked deeper into my eyes.
I was driven into an awkward silence, wanting it to take me anywhere but here. I wished Austin would hurry back. My mind came up with a quick-witted excuse.
"I have to check my phone."
Without his consent, I propped up from the comfortable couch and scurried to the front entryway. I yanked my bag off of the floor and unzipped it. Another white piece of paper was in sight. It stook out to me like a sore thumb among all of the other junk I carried in my bag. I opened it and felt my heart heat up and drop to my knees.
"You're heaven to me, as cheesy as that sounds.
- Sketch."
This note sure as hell wasn't here before.
It was one of them.
-
i have HUGE plans for this story. It's all coming together and although this chapter might be boring, it's leading up to be important in the events ahead. I will make sure to update faster. This chapter took way too long to write/publish.
