Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I awoke the next morning before Jessica did. The sunlight shining bright as can be on my face. It hurt my head, instantly I felt the hangover. I looked at Jessica who was still sleeping safe & sound, the sun didn't seem to bother her at all. I laid there for a moment & thought about all the events that happened last night. Surprisingly, I could remember everything perfectly, although blacking out has never really been an issue for me. I usually know when to quit drinking & stop smoking. Otherwise you can make a perfectly good feeling become the worst feeling your body has ever experienced. I cautiously pulled myself out of bed, careful not to wake Jes. My head was killing me. I slowly walked out of the room. When I arrived into the sunlit living room of Joshes house I could tell that today was going to be hot & beautiful. If I didn't get myself feeling better than this day was going to suck. I looked at my shoes, but I really didn't feel like putting them on yet so I just walked into the kitchen & opened the refrigerator door. I grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water, it seemed so good right now. I walked out to my car to get me some of my hydrocodons. As soon as I got outside I could feel the heat from the sun just forcing down on my head with unbelievable pressure. I quickly went & got the pills & took them right there. I grabbed a few more because I figured Jes & Josh would want some as well.

I found myself sitting outside on the patio as the drugs kicked. Right as I was feeling better, Josh walked out with a bottle of water as well. He lit a cigarette & pulled up a chair right next to me.

"So how ya feeling man?" He asked me, Josh held his hands over his eyes in pain.

"Here ya go man take these." I handed him a couple Hydrocodons. "I feel fine thanks to these babies."

"Thanks man." He swallows the pills & takes his hand of his head. "You want to smoke some?"

"Should we wait for Jes to get up?"

"Well weed helps hangovers as well, so we'll smoke this joint, then I'll give you this one to smoke with her when she gets up."

"Sounds like a plan to me." I really did like that idea, I mean I get twice as high.

As Josh lit the joint I took one more hit of my cigarette & tossed it towards the woods that for some reason gave me shivers last night. It doesn't seem to bother me at all during the day, I was pretty fucked up to so that could explain it. We sat there & smoked that joint & the high it gave me mixed with the hydrocodons put me in an awesome state of mind. I couldn't help but think about last night, it was wonderful night.

"So did you have a good night last night man?" Josh asked me while he was trying to keep the smoke in his lungs.

"Hell yeah man, it was fun as s**t. I slept with Jes last night." Josh knew about my feelings for Jes, so it didn't bother me telling him.

"Really?" Joshes eyes got bigger.

"Yeah. Nothing happened we just kissed & fell asleep while we cuddled."

"Did you tell her how you felt?" Josh passes the joint to me.

"Nah...but I did ask to go get some coffee with me today." I hit the joint & this time I hit it especially hard.

"Way to go man." Josh took the last hit off from the joint & got up to stretch. "Well I have to head off to work man, I'm going to lock the front door, but I'll keep the back unlocked while my parents are gone."

"Alright have fun at work man. When do you get off?"

"I will, I get off at seven tonight."

I waved & sat back in my chair as I looked out into the woods. As I sit there high as a kite I decided I would go get Joshes little boom-box & play some music out here. I walked inside & here comes poor ol' Jessica walking out from the bedroom holding her head. She waved lazily & walked to the fridge to get some water. I never realized how much water helps hangovers until today.

"Here take some of these, they'll make you feel better." I gave her the hydrocodons then went into Joshes room to get the stereo & some CD's. I brought it out to the porch & she was already outside. I also never realized how much time we spend outside. I don't really like being inside that much. That could be why I despise rainy days so much. I set up the stereo on a little table in the corner & I put in one my of my favorite Billy Joel albums. As the music starting playing Jes looked at me & smiled.

"I love Billy Joel." Jes said as she smoked her cigarette.

"Me too, his music is so beautiful & compassionate."

"I enjoyed sleeping with you last night Ian." She looked at me & smiled again. "You're a very good cuddler."

"Thanks, I enjoyed sleeping with you too." We sat there silently & listened to music for a few minutes. Billy Joel always put me in a good mood. He made me think about my life a lot, how I have such good friends & I'm very lucky to have them.

"Those pills really helped, thanks again." Jes said. "You want to go get some coffee now?"

"Sure, sounds good to me." We stood up, I walked over to turn off the music. "I'll meet you at the car." She started walking around to the car. I went inside to make sure I had everything & to lock the front door. I walked out to the car to find Jes already sitting in it. I imagine it was very hot in the car, but that if she doesn't mind then it's whatever. I went back to grab the Billy Joel CD, the music seemed to hit the spot today.

The drive to the coffee shop wasn't that long of a drive, maybe ten minutes or so. Jes & I talked about music & how there lives are often harder than the average persons. I never really thought of it before, but it is really true. Relationships would be harder because they have to put so much time into writing & playing there music it might not leave much time for the partner. There is no guarantee that the musician will always have a steady income either. I decided that we were going to go to my favorite coffee shop it is called: Joe's Cup of Joe. When we arrived Jes & I got out of the car. It wasn't busy at all, which was a good thing. I held the door open for Jes on the way in, just for a nice gesture. I ordered just a normal coffee, & Jes ordered a tall Espresso. On the way to sit down I stopped to put some cream & sugar in my coffee. I saw the old man from the gas station yesterday. Of course he was staring me down. He slowly drove his car away while he gave me that angry glare that he had the last time. I couldn't figure out what the f**k that old man's problem was, it was little bit more annoying now that it had happened twice. I noticed he had also been wearing the same clothes...Does he not change clothes or something? I decided I wasn't going to worry about it right now. I walked over to where Jessica was sitting.

"Wanna sit outside so we can smoke & stuff?" She asked me.

"Yeah sure."

It was a nice day today, a little hot but in the summer that happens. I gave Jes a cigarette & lit one myself.

"So what are you thinking about?" Jes asked me as she sipped her coffee.

"Well..." I sipped my coffee & hit my cigarette while I thought. "I'm glad you decided to come with me."

"Me too, I had a really good time with you last night Ian."

I smiled & I might have blushed a little bit. "Hey you want to go to a park & smoke some weed while we drink this coffee?"

"Hell yeah."

As we found our way through the green grassy hills of the city park. I noticed that it was unusually dead. I didn't think much of it though, my mind was still completely stuck on the fact that I was kind of on a date with Jessica. We sipped our coffees & walked silently through the windy trails in the woods. Some people didn't even know about the other side of park that was located on the other side of some deeps woods. We were about half way through the trail when Jes broke the silence,

"Lets go sit on that rock over there!" She exclaimed as she pointed towards a huge rock that had a nice flat, moss-free top on it.

I agreed & we walked over. I lit the joint & passed it right to Jessica. She had a cute glow about her that I had never noticed before, maybe because it was never there. Her brown hair was pushed out of her eyes for once & the way she was examining the wilderness seemed as though she was soaking it all in. Did she feel as if it wasn't going to last?

She started reciting type of poem or something as she passed it to me. "In a coma you don't drink you just hope that someone sits with you. I'll listen to this lecture of nonsense 'till dawn. If there wasn't women present we wouldn't be here..." It didn't make much sense, but there something about that made me think. "...I asked like a child if I may be excused, Then I disobeyed them all." Then she looked at me & smiled.

"What was that?" I asked, trying not show how puzzled I was.

"It was a compilation of different lyrics that just kind of popped into me head."

"Oh wow."

We both laid down on the rock & I started looking around with Jes, partly because I wondering what Jes was so into & also because I was too fucked up to do anything else. The sky looked as if it was going to come down & swallow me whole, but for some reason my body was completely okay with that. I'm pretty sure that the sun was shining it's pretty rays on just Jes & I that afternoon. I couldn't describe the feeling that I had. I was overwhelmed with happiness, there was not a hint of darkness inside my body. Jes started singing a song. I love that about her, she isn't afraid to just sing her heart away whenever & wherever she is. As she was singing the words sounded like they were really far away. It was almost like my brain was automatically putting the melody & rhythm behind her beautiful words. The words seemed to form more & more of an echo on them. I couldn't even understand them anymore. Everything in my head was just pushing itself into one big mess. Nothing seemed real...nor fake...I couldn't tell. This feeling got scary & made me a little uneasy. I sat up fast in hopes to gain control of myself & as quickly as the trip hit me, it went away.

Jes sat up & put her arm on my shoulder, "Are you okay Ian?"

I looked at her & she had the most worried look in her eyes. "Yeah, I just tripped out for a second."

"Don't feel bad man, a few minutes ago everything started spinning, just for like a few seconds though." She said as she passed the joint to me. Surprisingly there was still like half of it left. It seems like we have been smoking this thing for a good thirty minutes.

"Yeah that’s the same thing that just happened to me." I hit the joint & as I held in the smoke the feeling of happiness came back in a heartbeat.

As I took my last sip of my coffee Jes laid her head down on my shoulder. I put my arm around her & rubbed her back. I wish this moment would never end.

"This is by far the best date I've ever been on." Jes said as she looked up & smiled at me.

"I'm glad, I thought this would be enjoyable." I was so happy she actually called it a date. I wasn't sure whether or not to call it a date all day.

"So Ian...How much do you like me?"

"What makes you think that I like you?" I tried to hide the fact that I was madly in love with her.

"Well, maybe the fact that you asked me on a date." She giggled & took her head off my shoulder to look into my eyes. So I looked into hers as well.

"I don't think I can accurately answer that question Jes."

"Why is that?" She sounded puzzled.

"Words can't explain it."

Jes smiled & looked down at the rock. I think she is blushing but I'm not sure. She quickly looked up & back into my eyes. I leaned in to kiss her & she happily accepted. Once her lips touched mine, I felt like I had died & gone to heaven. I rested my hand on her side & she rested hers on my thigh. When the kiss was finished she put her head back on my shoulder. I pulled her in a little closer & we sat there & watched the clouds slowly float by. I had a hard time believing what had just happened. I really wanted to know what was going through Jessica's mind, but I was too afraid to ask. Once again we were far from sober when any affection happened. I suppose she did go on the date when she was sober. I'm not going to dwell on this any longer, I wouldn't kiss a girl that I didn't like, no matter how high I was.

After about twenty minutes of us cuddling there in the shade on that tall rock, Jes lifts her head.

"You want to go play frisbee? She said really excited about it.

"I mean, yeah!"

I jumped off the rock & grabbed Jes's hand to help her get down. She then pulls me along & starts running. For some reason we were running down the trail in the woods & then it started raining. I would of never suspected it to start raining, I didn't notice any dark clouds or anything. I can lack some observation skills every once & while though, whatever. I got the frisbee out of my car & threw it a good fifty feet to Jes. I ran up the stairs from the parking lot to the field & jumped in the air to catch it as she threw it back. I was having such a good time, I barely even noticed that it had started raining even harder. F**k the rain, it's not going to ruin this day.

We must have played frisbee for about an hour until Josh called asking what we were up to. He had gotten off work early so he wanted to hang out. We decided on meeting him at Wendy's for lunch. I had to run by my house to get some money though. I was still really high & I wasn't crazy about the idea of talking to my mom while in this state of mind. I didn't care that much though, she was probably fucked up on something anyway. The ride to my house seemed like it took forever, which it's only like ten minutes away, but it was the opposite way of Wendy's. Jes said she didn't care & I wanted to spend the most time with her alone as I possibly could. We arrived at my house, this time Jes wanted to come inside. It wasn't anything new, we used to play as kids & she would come over all the time. I figured she could entertain my mom, so I didn't have to anyway. As soon I we walked in the door my mom jumped at the sight of Jessica. She ran up & gave her a hug, asking her how she had been & stuff, typical questions.

"Mom are you drunk?"

"A little." She said as she laughed & got right back to talking with Jes.

"It's f*****g the middle of the afternoon." I kind of mumbled as I walked down the hallway to my room. I got my money & changed my clothes quickly, I didn't want Jes to have to deal with my mom for very long. I put on a Death Cab for Cutie shirt & a pair of blue jeans, I didn't feel like dressing up nice. I grabbed Jessica's arm on the way out & said bye to my mom as I shut the door.

"God, my mom pisses me off sometimes."

"She seems pretty cool to me. I would be pretty sad too if the love of my life just left me."

"I guess your right Jes, it just seems like she should be over it all by now."

"It will all work out." She said as she rubbed my back. It really did make me feel better.

We arrived at Wendy's & Josh was already there leaning up against his car. I parked right next to him & as soon as I got out I apologized for the wait. He didn't care, Josh is pretty damn easy to get along with. By now the rain had stopped & the sun was back out & as bright as ever. I wasn't that excited about eating at Wendy's, but I got some fries & a chicken sandwich. I enjoyed that meal. We all talked about last night & how we had a better time with just us than we would of at a big a*s party. I asked Josh if that story was really true or if he was just f*****g with us because we were fucked up. He still insists that it's true. I suppose I do believe him, I've heard that some really crazy s**t happens to people who do acid. Josh recommended that since his parents were out of town then we should take advantage of it & just get fucked up every night. I mean I was down with it, especially since his parents called & said that they were going to be gone for even longer than planned. Jes said she would love to, but she needed something to tell her dad. I suggested that she say we were going camping because with as far out in the woods that Joshes house was it wasn't completely a lie. Once we finished our meals we went outside near our cars & talked about what were going to do tonight. Josh said that he thought we should figure out how to get shrooms tonight. I had $20 on me that I was expecting to spend on drugs anyway. Josh said he would pay for himself & Jes. The only thing was we didn't know anywhere to get them right off hand. We thought for a few moments as we all smoked our cigs. Then all of a sudden I remembered my cousin that lives about an hour away. He used to be really into shrooms & acid last time I talked to him. It's amazing how drug use can run in the family like genes. Jes's dad called, so she walked away to have a talk with him. We didn't really know her family much, we never hung out over there & she never talked about them at all. I had a feeling that her home life wasn't the best though. Josh & I talked about how we could all go on the trip to get the shrooms. I figured that I better call before we got to excited about it.

"I really hope he is there." I said as the phone went on to its fourth ring. Then finally he answered.

"Hello?" He sounded tired & lazy when he answered.

"Hey Chuck, it's Ian." He didn't say anything, which was kind of weird. "I got a question for you man?"

"Shoot." I could tell he wasn't much of a talker.

"Are you still into doing shrooms & stuff?" I asked for I was hoping he was so bad.

"Yeah man....I'm kind of tripping now man."

"Can I buy some from you?

"I suppose...How much you want?" He sounded like he was struggling to talk. I was kind of scared he was going to die while he was on the phone.

"Josh & I have $60." I heard a really loud scream in the background. "What the f**k?." Once again he didn't say anything so I just continued. "Is that going to get me enough for three people?"

"Yeah, I gotcha Ian. You comin' tonight?"

"Ummm...Yeah we should be there in an hour or two"

Then he just hung up the phone without even saying bye. I gave Josh a thumbs up & he jumped & yelled in excitement. He was excited, & I was too. I've never done shrooms & I was really excited to try them. I also had a small fear that I was going to have a bad trip. The way I look at it is if I have bad trip, it can't be that bad. I mean, you can't die from shrooms due to the fact that they're natural so no matter how scary the trip, is you'll come out fine in the end. Jes walked over & said she could stay with us for the week, but she had to go home for a little while to get some clothes & eat with her family first. Which was fine I wish my mom cared enough for me to want to eat together & s**t. Josh offered to drive because he has more money & gas, so Jes & I hopped in & we were on our way. After we dropped Jes off of course.