Skeletons-Jahren

.05

Early in the morning at the sunny time of 10 AM, (well, early for Joel anyway) Joel woke up with a smile on his face. He stared out the huge window of his bedroom as he sat up in his bed. Dondi was curled up at his feet, sleeping soundly atop the warm, bodily-heated duvet.

A smile wasn't something Joel was used to waking up to, but something about the way the morning sun shone through his window made him smile uncontrollably. He started to believe that the Xanax he took never had an end and he felt like he didn't even need to take it anymore. But, of course, he still took it to remain in his nice, calm state of mind.

"Good morning, Dondi. How was your sleep, boy?" Joel asked his unresponsive dog, petting his black and white best friend. Dondi yawned in response, repositioning himself and lying his heavy body back down on the lower half of Joel's legs.

"C'mon, Dondi, you gotta let me up. I have to finish packing," Joel said, before even realizing what he said. A wave of happiness overcame him as the thought of moving in with Ahren danced across his mind. He furrowed his eyebrows when he realized that he got excited, then shook his head at the unusual action.

Dondi hopped off of Joel's legs and scurried out of his room as Joel stretched out of his bed, pulling the nearest jeans onto his legs. Joel ran down his stairs, starting the coffee pot, and feeding Dondi.

Dondi happily chowed down on his kibble as Joel poured himself a mug of straight black coffee. Joel sipped on the bitter drink that shot him even more awake than he already was. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and when he pulled it out, he read the caller ID that said Chanel calling...

Joel gladly picked up, answering in a cheery way, "Good morning, Chanel, how are you?"

Chanel answered slowly, confused by Joel's sudden burst of happiness, "Good morning to you too? I'm fine, but you seem finer."

"I'm great, Chanel. I just woke up, but it was weird. I smiled when I woke up, just... smiled."

"It's 'cause you knew I was gonna call," Chanel said sarcastically, "I'm just joking. But, yeah, that's kind of unusual. Even I don't just wake up happy like that. You got something special going on today?"

Joel forced a smile down, "Maybe. But I don't know if that's why I'm happy. There's nothing else I can think of, really."

"What's making you happy? Or possibly?"

Joel stayed silent as he drank more of his coffee, blushing, "It's Ahren."

"That guy from the beach?!" Chanel said, shocked.

"Maybe," Joel trailed off shamefully, blushing harder than before.

"You whore!" Chanel teased, giggling into the phone.

"What? I'm not a whore? Why would you say that?"

"I know, Joel, I'm just joking with you. Why's he making you so happy? And can he keep doing it?"

"You're gonna be mad," Joel said slowly, afraid that he might hurt his sister with the next thing he had to confess.

"Just fucking say it, Joel, I'm anxious," Chanel said enticingly.

"Fine," Joel paused, took a breath, then spoke with much more ease, "I'm moving in with him."

"And why the he-" Chanel caught herself, then restarted her response, "Why are you moving in with him? Don't you barely know him? And I thought you didn't even like him?"

"Because he asked me to. He's got money, so he can help me out. And no, I'm not moving in because he's rich, before you ask."

"I wasn't gonna say that..." Chanel trailed off, "When are you moving in?"