Boundaries

More.

"You what?" Khadijah shrieks as I lower her head under the sink.

I was currently in the process of redoing the periwinkle highlights in my blond hair, and the second Khadijah realized what was happening when she came stumbling into my room after her night out with Alex, she begged that I do her hair too.

But she didn't like periwinkle, so she went to the store down the block and grabbed a box of burgundy hair dye.

I didn't mind doing her hair, aside from the endless amounts of curls resting on top of her head. Besides, it gave me something to do while my hair settled.

We had gotten onto the topic of how our night went, and I didn't even realize I had mentioned my almost assault to her. I guess talking about it is a good thing, but I didn't really want to right away.

I blame the lack of sleep I got after Hero left early this morning. I tossed and turned and refused to shut my eyes until exhaustion forced me to.

I just didn't want to be alone, especially since I thought I kept seeing shadows of people standing in my room.

They say you hallucinate when you're exhausted, so I'll just go with that explanation. Besides, it's easier to swallow than another.

"It's nothing." I insist, running the cold water over her hair to remove excess color.

"Jo, it's not nothing." She says, eyeing me from the awkward position she was stuck in. "Ugh, if you would've just let me walk you to class, none of this would've happened!"

She was right, and I knew arguing with her would be pointless.

"I know." I tell her.

"God, Jo. Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

I roll my eyes. "I really don't need a lecture right now."

"I just don't understand how within the span of two months you somehow manage to get yourself in deep shit everywhere you go!"

Suddenly, the two of us burst into laughter. I'm not entirely sure why we were laughing. Perhaps out of relief that I was okay, or fear that something like that would happen again. Whatever it was, it felt good to laugh with Khadijah.

To laugh with my friend.

"You could at least go to the doctor and get your head checked out."

"I looked at it this morning, it's not as bad as I thought it would be."

"Well, from the sound of it you took a pretty hard fall."

"I'm fine." I assure her.

"You say that now." She sighs.

"Well, the good news is that Hero is going to start walking me to class again." I tell her as I lift her head from the sink and wrap a towel around her sopping curls.

She raises a brow at me. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I think it's a great idea and, no offense, safer than you walking me."

"I understand that Jo, but what if he gets into one of his bitchy moods again and stops talking to you for another week or so? If anything, he's putting you at risk here."

"He's the one that brought it up. And besides, I don't think that's going to be a problem anymore." I feel a blush creeping onto my cheeks as I think about our time we shared last night.

Hero and I made a connection, one that changed the circumstances of our...

Anyways, I knew things were going to be different between us from now on.