Bastards Like Us

Happy Birthday

        My room wasn't as warm as it usually was as I woke up. Glancing over, I could see that I left the window open, because I snuck out last night, then I feel a dripping onto me. I look above to see that my roof is leaking... again. The cracks and stains on the ceiling don't phase me as much as they used to, and I can feel the wind brush into my skin, as I tuck myself into the covers.
Suddenly, I couldn't believe I didn't notice it before, but I started to realize that there was muffled yelling coming from the living room. Quickly, I pull the covers off of the bed and tip toe over to the door, pressing my ear up onto the door to hear my parents fighting. It's hard to make out what it was, but maybe it was about my dad sleeping with another woman.
That's what it usually is anyways. Why of all the days they had to fight, it had to be my 18th birthday...?
I sigh, hoping he doesn't hurt her like last time, and I just wait until it's safe to leave, then I hear a door slam shut. Curiously, I poke my head out of the door, and see my mom looking down cooking. She noticed me and gave off a sad, almost forced smile, "Happy birthday, my baby girl." She said. I smiled, "Thanks mama." I said, walking past her, I go into the bathroom and start to do my makeup, and I fix my hair up a little, which is hard to manage due to how long and curly it is.
I do some basic eyeshadow, along with some cat eye eyeliner, and lastly, mascara. I never bothered with foundation, because I wash my skin everyday, and all I drink is water, so my skin is clear. When I was finished, I look up into the mirror, and look at myself. Adrian always said I was beautiful, but I didn't think I was all that. I mean, I don't hate myself, but I don't think I'm "beautiful" either. I'm... okay.
I have no problem with my dark brown eyes, or my brown skin, my dimples, my full lips, nothing really, it's all okay. But what I really like about myself is my long curly hair. When I look at it's wild aesthetic, or the way it loops and bounces, it lifts my mood.
I get a text from Adrian, and look down. "Mornin beautiful." It said. I scoff, rolling my eyes smiling a little. Yes, I know what you're thinking, and NO; Adrian is NOT my boyfriend. He's just really flirty, it's his thing, and we've been friends forever, AND to top it all off, he has a girlfriend, and I'm totally cool with it, so no... he's not (and NEVER will be) my boyfriend. But suddenly, I get a craving for cheeseburgers.
I pick up my phone and start typing.
"Sup loser, was just wondering if you wanted to hang out at Papa Joes." Then I put my phone down waiting for a response. Just thinking about Papa Joes Diner makes my mouth have an orgasm, drooling a little over the savory taste of the cheeseburger, with a side of french fries. Every time we go there, I always get a cheeseburger and fries like a NORMAL person, but Adrian is weird, and he gets... of all things... a hot dog with mac n' cheese on it. MAC N CHEESE!!!
The thought of it makes me cringe and I look back down at my phone, and see his text.
"Sure. Literally starvin. Already havin a mouth orgasm thinkin bout Papa Joes famous mac n' cheesy dog."
"You're disgusting." I texted back.
"You haven't even tried it yet! XD"
"So? You haven't tried dog shit, but would you still eat it?"
"Depends on the breed." He texted, and just by knowing how Adrian is, he's probably not giving a single shit about my opinion right now. I grab my backpack and walk out of the bathroom, before heading out the door, "Mom, I'm going to Papa Joes!" I said.
"Avery, be back soon!" She called out. I nod in agreement walking out the door and heading to the shop. The walk there was calm, and when I finally got to the chocolate shop, Adrian was already at a booth with his feet on the table, with cheap drug store sunglasses hiding his face.
He ran his fingers through his dark hair and smirked up at me, "Finally, I was waiting for you." He said, "I already ordered, so don't bother. Our food should be here in..." he waited, looking down and snapping his fingers and suddenly a waitress came out with our food, setting it on the table. I smile looking down at the cheeseburger. It looks unhealthy, but who gives a fuck? It's still delicious.
I grab it excitedly biting into it, and suddenly, my appetite was almost destroyed when I see Adrian biting into his mac n cheesy dog.
It wasn't easy trying to ignore it, but I managed to, as I kept eating. When I was finished with my burger, I glide my basket over to him, "Here." I said, giving him the rest of my fries. He looked up at me and nodded, "No, that's fine, you need to eat." He said.
Adrian doesn't know that I know this, but I found out last night that he doesn't eat much at home, due to his mom being too lazy to cook, and she never bothered to teach her kids how to do so also. Adrian eats just enough to keep himself at a healthy weight, but not enough to satisfy his stomach, leaving him always just a little bit hungry. And him and his other siblings argue over who gets the last piece of pizza, but Adrian always let his siblings fight it out, being the oldest one, he never took the last slice. He would always eat snacks, but never a full on meal, unless he went to Papa Joes of course. I don't like that thought, so from now on, he can have my fries.
"I insist, I'm full anyways." I said. And honestly, it's true. My stomach is rather small, and Papa Joe's burgers are huge, and enough to keep me satisfied.
Adrian smiled a little, pulling the basket over to himself, "I mean... if you insist..." he smirked looking down at it.
"You're having a mouth orgasm, huh?" I ask as he eats the fries. He looks at me, trying not to laugh almost choking on his fries, "Yeah, it's to hot." He teased. We laughed a little as we kept eating. I waited, watching eat, wondering if he actually remembered my birthday. He didn't forget, did he...? Adrian would never forget. Unless... unless he actually did this time. When we were finished, Adrian looked at me and smiled, "Thanks." He said before we stood up and walked out. Yep.., he forgot.
We made out way to our favorite ally that we hand out at, its always warm, and pretty safe, and surprisingly doesn't smell bad. It's the perfect spot. Our little spot.
Adrian walks by and leans on the dumpster, taking his backpack off of himself and smiling, before reaching inside and grabbing a can of spray paint, then a mouth mask, putting the mask onto himself. One of the reasons Adrian loves this spot, is because he could graffiti here. He always loved to do so. Every now and then he would do a small graffiti, and it would look nice most of the time. He rested his hand onto the wall, before shaking his can, and be begun to spray. I sat on the dumpster, swinging my legs back and forth, watching as he painted. He kept looking back at me, and I smiled and him. Adrian continued to paint, before grabbing a chair, and standing on it. I looked down at the bottom half of his painting, and it was a pair of colorful legs. The legs were of a woman's. Her skin was brown, with green paint splatters. Adrian had an entire bag of paint, and occasionally pulled out a new color every now and then. He looked at me, "You have to turn around for this." He said. I paused and chuckled, scoffing, before shrugging, "Whatever." I said. I turned around and could hear the sounds of paint being sprayed, empty cans being dropped, and new ones being shook. I faced that wall for at least an hour, tapping on my phone, before I could hear footsteps behind me, "Okay... turn around." He said. I look behind me to see a bright, colorful, beautiful painting of... me..?
Adrian smiled, covered in paint, before pulling the mask down as it hung onto his neck. I was breathless, staring at the painting. Adrian was talented when it came to graffiti, but this... this was flawless. I glance over at him and he had a little box in his hands.
"Happy birthday, Avery." He smiled, handing me the box. I was too shocked to say anything as I opened the box, and inside, there was a little gold necklace, with a small heart charm, with my name encrusted in it. "Adrian... it's beautiful, but, where did you find the money? How much was it? I can't accept this without paying you back." I said. Adrian laughed a little, "You don't have to, I stole it." He said. I rolled my eyes, tryin to hold in a giggle before he leaned in pulling me in for a hug, "You actually thought I forgot, didn't you?" He said. I hugged him back, still as shocked as ever, "Yeah, I kinda did." I laughed. Adrian pulled away and smiled tilting his head, "You're literally my only friend." He said smiling. It was true. He was my only friend, and I was his. It's been just us forever, and hopefully, it will stay that way. His eyes widened slightly, "Oh! I almost forgot, the obvious gift." He reached in his sweater pocket and pulled out a small bag of sweetish fish and handed it to me. Swedish Fish is how we bond together, and it's kind of a little tradition to give each other Swedish Fish during a special memory we want to remember, and I truly want to remember this moment. My eyes were glued onto the painting me made, the detail, the pop of color. It was exactly like me, but... it had more color, I had highlights of pink and green in my hair, and my eyelashes were blue. He clearly planned this for a long while, and it was honestly the best gift I could ever have gotten.