🅈🄴🄻🄻🄾🅆 🄲🄰🄽🄰🅁🅈 🄱🄸🅁🄳 •Stanley Barber•

Drugs, Hugs, and Pugs

Author's Note: This chapter contains unsafe drug and alcohol usage that will be represented poorly. Please don't hurt your body. Drink water. Be nice. Love yourself. Eat the rich.

Ten minutes until Stan would arrive. Why was I so nervous? And giddy? This wasn't like me at all.

None of this was like me, actually. But this was a new Kara, one who actually tried to live a bit instead of staying stuck at home with her awful father. One who was going to go to a party with Stanley Barber and do some stupid shit.

Hell. Yeah.

I pushed myself from the floor, grunting from my own weight, and waddled over to the door. It closed with delight, giving me the privacy I needed as I peeled off my jeans for a nicer pair.

Shirt-wise, I didn't really have anything better than my work polo, but Jacob did. After some heavy cleaning yesterday, I had finally taken out the dirty clothes from Jacob's room, and washed them with my own. Now they all sat in my dresser drawer in not-so-neat bundles.

It was a hard decision, but I chose a red button-up with floral designs. Melissa had gotten it for him on his sixteenth birthday, I believe. I tucked it into my pants, playing with the top few buttons to see what felt good.

The mirror called me a lesbian when I stood in front of it, but that was fine. I wasn't entirely opposed by it; the outfit was one I would find rather attractive on anyone, so why not wear it myself? Besides, I needed a boost of confidence for tonight.

"Kara?" Dad shouted from outside my room. That was unusual.

I unlocked my door, and wandered into the kitchen. Dad stood awkwardly near the door, one hand draped over the door knob.

"Some kid is asking for you," Dad explained. "He said his name is Stan."

Oh. Oh God no.

"Well? Do you know him?" Dad asked. I put on my best smile, and tip-toed toward the door.

"Yeah, he's my friend," I said. Did he know what those were? "We're, um, going out."

Neither of us really knew what to say, but luckily he let me get to the front door without an objection. Stan stood on my porch, and he gave me his usual gigawatt grin. He looked great, even with a formal, olive green tweed jacket over a plain white shirt. In fact, nothing he wore made sense, with his oversized khaki pants and black dress shoes to go with the outfit, but that was just Stan. He probably couldn't look better.

Seeing him brought a warmth to my chest that I wasn't expecting. With the porch light shining on him just so, he looked like my flamboyant guardian angel sent straight from heaven. I really hoped he wasn't gay. He sure did dress that way, though.

"Hey," I mumbled, trying to hide my smile. I stepped out onto the porch to meet him. A cool breeze drifted by, sending a shiver down my bare arms. It was too late to go inside now for a jacket, especially with Dad watching. Besides, I had my phone. I literally had nothing else important to carry on me.

"I'll have her home by twelve," Stan promised. My dad just grunted, and slammed the door closed. Stan winced, so I gave him a little reassuring pat on the back.

I followed Stan to his car parked by the curb. He opened the passenger door for me politely, and I thanked him as I got in.

"Your dad seems nice," Stan said when he got to the other side.

"He's not."

"Okay, good. That's what I was actually thinking, but I didn't want to offend you." He turned the car on, and it hummed happily. "You look great, by the way."