Chapter Seven: It Doesn't Feel Like It When You Don't Feel It
I'm walking.
If I say accurately, I am not basically walking what people might define as move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn, never having both feet off the ground at once. What am I doing currently is now lugging with someone under my arms in an irregular pace.
I don't know if there is any laws against bringing a drunk student in the school and if there is, I'm doomed.
Jayden mumbles something on the crook of my neck where his cherry-beer-ish breath was persistently hitting, his soft, messy, kind of rough hair tickling under my chin and the side of my neck. I reshuffled him under my arms, in and out weary, pretty sure the bag of my eyes is big as my teddy bear.
"Did you say something?"
He softly chuckles and again mutters some incoherent words, and I let it go this time.
Sam had dropped us a few minutes ago and went back to their place since he and I were the only ones who were sober enough to drive a truck- precisely me- and apologized to me and said something about their last bunk, how they were literally trapped in a janitors closet. Too exhausted even to listen properly I nodded to them- or Sam, the rest of the two of them were tipsy-and engulfed Jayden in my arms as they drove away.
The hallway is utterly silent for the reason that all the students had left half an hour ago, in fact if it is practicable, we were the only one left in the school exclude for the teachers and staffs, perhaps only us. I pivoted my heads to see anyone was seeing us or not. Making sure that no one wasn't, I walked to my locker to pick my bag and other stuffs from there, then his, and then where to go, I don't know. I was never been with a drunk person before, unless it counted Blake, and very likely Jayden was the first one to give me the experience and for God's sake, it has to be him.
Confused?
So this is what happened.
After they all dragged me with them, Jayden and Austin had basically forced us to take a few shots of beer in a pub. Yes you heard that right. Beer. Correctly, underage drinking.
Sam and I was wondering if Vanessa, Jayden and Austin would ever stop drinking cause even if they would, they will be totally wasted. I, for once, never in my life touched beers, I mean, I am not exactly a good drinker and my experience in North Carolina was easy to deal with the situation since I had too much awkward memories with those.
And so, here I am you can see, dealing with this weigh of a ton boy, with no future in my life. But surely, I never thought the answer would come that fast.
"Evelyn? Is that you?"
Screw the answers. No janitor's closet here?
Blinking repeatedly, finding no where to hide lastly, I whiled around, defeated and too tired even to run away with the bulk in my hand, my back aching with this pain in the ass. No, back.
As soon as I did, I wish I didn't, as a matter of fact, it was the blackhead boy I knew so well, Owen Carter, one of the best friend of my brother and if he is here, or if my eyesight is working properly, today I'll be grounded.
"Hey Owen." My voice seemed too high pitched even in my own ears, that his head shot up in a blow.
Owen was possibly the only one who cared about me like his own sister. And for that point, I loved him like a brother too. On the other hand Blake's other two best friends, Kai and Noah were the two who's always up to how they could annoy me in every possible way.
He walked to our direction, stiffed in fear that I might collapse on my knees any moment, that I didn't. "What's Jay doing with you?"
I was right with the nickname part. That's cringe.
"I- uh... how do I explain..." I muttered weakly and looked down at him as Jayden slurred again, this time the distinguishable word was 'wheels'.
Owen's left eyebrows scooched up in confusion. Or I guess he already predicted something. Blurting garbled words, Owen nods in understand and I wished for that moment I could curl into a ball and someone could push me into a grave and cover them with mud all over so I would be not visible.
"Ditching school and drinking?"
I sighed and wagged my head. "It was actually him and his other friends, he kind of forced me with them."
Lie. He barely encouraged me and most of the part was me who wanted to go with them. I thought him a zombie too and still I went. But my decision was fine, I was late in Chemistry class the teacher would criticized me anyways, so I think it's okay.
"You won't tell Blake will you?" I asked him, feeling so exposed all of a sudden.
He laughed for the first time and slipped his hand between the side of my body where Jayden and I was pressed involuntarily and his back as he smoothly drew Jayden to his hands from mine.
My whole frame fundamentally landed on the floor and I leaned my back on one of the lockers, the pain of carrying the fatass spreading all over my body as I closed my eyes slowly. I heard a sound of moving until the sound of some one's back hitting the locker entered my ears.
"I don't think so." He answers my question at last. A smile finds it's way to my lips when I felt Owen puts his hands on my knees and squeezed it for a second and that was the time when I realized it was gnawing badly.
"I never knew bunking was that hard." I feebly said as he drew circles on my thigh delicately. Owen perhaps laughed noiselessly but I don't know. His fingers felt so good on my legs that I didn't say anything further.
"It isn't apparently." He softly said. I thrust my chins upward to support my head on the cold iron material of the locker. "unless you count drinking in a club in broad daylight..."
"It was a pub."
"Sure."
"What do you want, I was fine on my own."
Owen stayed silent for a second before blurting out. "It doesn't feel like it when you don't feel it."
Opening my eyes, I glanced at him sideways. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean," he tittered. "Let's say you're walking since one hour because something extremely exciting will be coming up if you walk another thirty minutes, let's say in an amusing park, you'll be feeling exhausted, won't you?" I apprehended Jayden saying 'Yay! Exciting place! Is it the amusement park?' Owen ignored him.
"I will. Who wouldn't?"
"But you're way too excited to feel the thrill so when you've reached the place, you'll forget all the hard works you've done before, the walking, the leg aches, isn't that right?"
I thought about it for a second. In one way, he was right. "Yeah. But what's the point?"
"My point is," he said. "If you were really wanting to join them, were really wanting to feel all the thrill, you would surely think what they did was fun, wouldn't you?"
"I would."
"Do you?"
I thought. "What they did wasn't right but I guess their definition of fun may not be similar to mine."
Owen squinted his eyes at me. "Or maybe you didn't enjoy at all."
Staying quiet, I reasoned his opinion. Owen was right in all way. I didn't have fun touring with them, I never even knew them. I almost ran away from the bunch at one point and they again kind of pushed me to stay with them. They were all awesome, but the real thing was I never had fun. Not because I didn't know the people, but I wasn't feeling the feel the thrill that Owen talked about.
"Maybe you're right." Fidgeting with my fingers, I jadedly declared. "What are you doing here anyways?" I asked to change the subject, because it just didn't feel right talking shit about the guys even though I barely knew them.
I may not have enjoyed what they did, but them alone were enjoyable.
He shrugged lazily and Jayden mused (cupcakes!). "I'm the student council co president, don't you remember?"
"Oh, right."
We stayed silent for a long moment until Owen breaks it. "What were you going to do if I weren't here?"
I giggled. I didn't know what I was going to do honestly. Jayden mumbled again, making me undergo like to slap him hardly on his head. Let it go, he's drunken out and out. So it's better to go out like this.
"Legitimately, I dunno..."
"Want me to give you a ride?" Owen offers in an enthusiastic voice that I couldn't help but open my eyes and laugh at him. "I would love to but first of all, I have to ask this dumbhead if he had brought his bike or not."
He nods at me. "Go on."
I stood up and bent at the queue of Jayden and tapped his warmed and red cheeks. "Hey, jackass."
He opened his bloodshot eyes and his lips stretched into a small smile that I had to chortle a little too. "What's up queen?"
I groaned in exasperation, the smile vanished from my face as I slapped my hands on my forehead and then I found myself smiling again like a creep. What the hell is wrong with me?
"I am fine, you are fine, we all happy? Did you bring your bike?"
Jayden's brow knitted together. "You mean my Ducati?"
Huffing, I said, now lumping down on the floor in weariness. Owen chuckled near from his space as I glared at him. "Whatever it is, did you bring it?"
Jayden mussed. "Nah. It brokeee down on the-the way..."
I cursed a random swear word at him as I said again. "Where do you live?"
Something about the question bothered me, like I was missing something but I shook my head, focusing on Jayden again.
He shrugs off his jacket, revealing a white muscle hugging shirt and even with his drunk state, I couldn't help but think what kind of exercise he does. What I meant is, every boys are nowadays fat or too slim for their own good or bad. But look at him, he isn't something who I can- or generally- ignore. And he, for goddamn sake, is already a pain in the ass of my life. One glance from his eyes, and here I am, getting my karmas.
"Something doesn't feel right but I'll call my sister, wait uuup." He brings out his phone and dialed a number. It rang and I gazed up at the phone to see he contact.
There was a picture of a girl , particularly, a girl copy of Jayden smiling, with beautiful blue eyes and paradoxically when she was in the phone, I felt like I was staring in a very bright light and couldn't see her longer. She possibly picked up the phone cause Jayden practically screamed.
"Jessi!"
Jessi, his sister, said something from the other side of the phone I can't hear and Jayden pursed his lips. "I'm soooo sorry my Jessi. I won't drink anymore, I promise."
Another pause then Jayden says taking us all by surprise. "Hey Jessi! Remember what I said...talked...spoke...said about a queen? She's now here with me! Talk to her. She wants to know something!" He reached his hands to my eye level and I heard faint cursing noises from it. I took the phone in my hand and press it against my ear, not knowing what else to do.
"Hello?"
I gulped my suddenly dried mouth hearing her unnatural angelic voice, nervousness getting all over me like roller coaster and then sliding down with extra force. Does people always get nervous when they talk to strangers by phone? Haven't I done it before? I tried to say a thing that makes sense but it got stuck in my throat catching her voice earlier and that downed me totally low.
"Um, this is Evelyn Joan speaking."
And regretted immediately. I slapped my hands on the microphone damned myself.
Who the hell speaks like that?
Owen watched me in amusement and I had the strange temptation to stand up and strike him straight in his balls and eyes. Yeah you heard that right. I want to hit him in the both more than as I want to smack Jayden now. Can he not help me?
I gained some courage to how to talk properly again as I strode the phone to my ear once again to talk.
"Are you Jessi?"
She keeps silent for some fraction of second before sighing. I felt the nod she was giving right in the moment. "Yeah. So you're the queen Jay speaks about."
Does everyone call him Jay? Or am I the only one who is calling him Jayden now? Not that he minds but still.
"My name's Evelyn. You don't have to call me queen like this jack..."
Stopping in the middle of the sentence, I mentally kicked my crappy ass for calling Jayden something which I can before all people but his family, his sister particularly, who I haven't even met. Jackass really? My goodness!
"...Jayden. Uh, yes. Jayden."
Jessi laughed and it almost sounded like angel singing to me. Is this bloodline runs with beautiful faces and angel voices? Might be. I mean look at this guys!
"He's giving you a hard time, isn't he? I'm so sorry, Evelyn. He can never control himself if it comes to alcohols. Last time he was drunk, Sam had to drag him in a janitors closet. You won't believe, I was with them too..."
Sam had told me the exact same thing maybe fifteen minutes ago. And again, they both have the habit of speaking too much. Jessi speaks for almost like a train for two minutes and when she stops to breath I said, stopping her when she sucked a sigh to speak again.
"Jessi, we need your house address. Jayden refused to share that with me, so if you please..."
"Oh yeah of course."
After some few moments, Jayden, Owen and I am striding towards Owen's car, with Jayden in under Owen's arm and me carrying his backpack and my bag with my mouth open because I don't know what he carries in his bag, rocks or books. I estimate most of the boys bags aren't that heavy. Why his? He doesn't seem likely to be a nerd to me. Then he must be a spy, carries guns and jet packs and other materials spies convey.
My anomalous decoy to unzip his bag and peek through it breaks by Owen's voice when I realized I was staring down at his bag for this whole time. "Evelyn, do you think it'll be appropriate if I go to your house now? I had some works with Blake about FIFA 19 anyways..."
Gaping at him, I tried to figure out if he was being serious or not. He have some works with Blake about FIFA 19 so he can call Blake. I am not that hell of important person. He knows there is a thing which is called cell phone and he can call my brother with the device. FIFA 19? My God.
Faking my smiley face I gritted my teeth. "Sure. Why not? You have some work with Blake, right?"
Too stubborn to realize my sarcasm, he grins at me and I sighed in irritation as another thing hit me. The thing that was bothering me earlier.
Goddammit, I didn't even have to talk to Jessi to know their address.
They're our neighbors, what the heck is wrong with me this days...
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Pressing the doorbell, I took a step back cautiously, Jayden standing next to me steadily, now more sober than before subsequent of the small nap in Owen's car and gallons of water from me. His home is literally one house around from ours and that totally didn't surprise me, however. Owen didn't come with us, despite that he had something to work with his car which was parked on the road, him vanished behind the bonnet. I tried a small division inside my head to pass the time that was taking Jayden's sister to open the door.
Five hundred and fifty six divided by two. That will presumably be two hundred and seventy...
The door flies open that spite the fact I was standing front of the door, my hairs winged behind me in a blow and the sum inside my head get scrambled and I had to look up to the girl who was standing before us behind the door, panting slightly and the owner of the bright blue eyes and wavy long brunette hair cut in tousled layers to give a breathtaking innocent look only enough to bulge my eyes out from my socket.
Jessi who now glared at Jayden at the same time, kindly smiled at me. Starstruck by her beauties, I opened my mouth then closed it and opened again for nothing. She has nothing to do with the picture Jayden has in his phone but she is already hundred time beautiful than that.
I swear to God, I've never seen a girl this pretty in my life.
"Evelyn, right?" Her voice rings in my head like Christmas bells. I stuttered like a tongue tied person that it appeared like I don't know how to talk. Ashamed of myself beside this angel, I endured the hope to turn into a reptile and crawl away from the spot. I would give a million dollars to the guy who would to that in this moment for me.
But coming back in the reality, I realized it was no use. So finding no other alternative options, I looked at Jessi's nose, unable to meet her eyes straight away.
"Yeah. I am. You're Jessi, if I'm not wrong?"
She chuckled, the sound echoed to my brain even after she stopped and I (had to) notice she was staring at everywhere else but me. "Oh, where are my manners? Come in Evelyn. And you..." She trailed off pointing her fingers at Jayden. "You and I are gonna talk."
He simply shrugs like he has no kind of care whatever happens in this world, instead he pushes his twin to side and entered in the house. She rolled her eyes at him and stood aside to give me some space for letting me inside. I do and the first that caught my attention in their messy house was a picture of Jayden and Jessi's toddler version, both smiling warmly to the camera, holding each other's shoulder, a beach behind them.
A small smile finds its way to my lips as I walked to the frame and watched their smiley faces, Jayden, smiling a bit forcefully, and Jessi laughing as though she has no care in the world.
"It was when we were eight. We were in Maldives for our summer vacation."
She said beside from me. I looked at her in awe, still afraid to talk to her as if I do, I would break something so expensive. "That's cool," was all I could say.
"Hey come on inside. This house is pretty messed up. Like totally. We just moved here a few days ago."
Chuckling this time, I moved a strand of hair from my face. "Don't. Your home is far more better than our's current position. I live just two house around you. If you want to come, feel free."
Her eyes widen as she squealed. "You live in our neighbourhood?"
"I know right?"
A door slammed beside their kitchen- that's what it seem to- and I jumped in surprise, my back hitting a wooden wall. Jessi sighed frustratingly, almost not seeing the fact that I'm soon to be dead in shock and said. "He's being a total asshole this days. You know, I've been seeing for the last two years that random girls had been leaving his room in the midnight. Not everyday, but seriously, he wasn't like that."
The first that came into my head after Jessi's speech was Blake, reminding me that he's just the mirror of Jayden, and he's been doing the same thing for two years either, but something inside me screamed not to tell that to Jessi and I found myself saying.
"Blake is just like that."
Jessi's eyes scooched up in confusion. "Who?"
I chewed the inside of my cheeks. "Blake. He's my older brother. Well, I dunno why I just said you that." A small laugh escapes my lip. "Maybe I've turned crazy."
Jessi doesn't budge. She silently stared at me as though watching a very emotional movie.
"You laugh a lot."
I looked up at her. "What?"
She deadpans again."You laugh about things that you shouldn't. I don't know why." I shrugged. Maybe I do.
"Its a good thing. Not that I don't appreciate. I like this smiling side of you."
Staying silent for a moment, I rubbed my temple, almost forgetting that the school committee might kick me out from our school tomorrow and the rest of my life, I have to be a ethnic person and thanks to God I watched Life Of Pi too many times for Blake's sake. I know well how to survive in a single freaking boat, you hear me? A single boat!
Nodding, I exhaled slowly so that Jessi doesn't see that as I proceeded to take my bag which was laying on their living room mat. She follows me there, allowing me to grab that and I went out through the door as I turned around to face the burning beauty who might probably make a forest caught in fire, and not that she was hot, she was what people would call pretty. So pretty.
Again looking at her nose, fearing to meet her eyes that as though it could see inside of me, I tightly smiled at her.
"It was nice to see you Jessi. So, I-I may go now, my friend is waiting outside."
She clutched the side of the white front door and gave me a toothy smile, so similar to Jayden unlike his smugly smirks. "Yeah sure. You should come here sometimes. And where's your house?"
I pointed my finger to my so known house that I have been seeing for the last three years. She beamed at me. "We're practically next door neighbours."
Smiling, I bobbed my head. "Guess so."
I waved my hand at her shyly and she waved me back so confidently, still grinning like a small child.
I whirled around, hearing the sound of their door shutting behind me, forcing my legs to the FIFA 19. If you didn't understand my joke, it is Owen I'm talking about.
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