He was friendly when he wanted to be, but so were cats.

“You feel uncomfortable yet?” she asked. I shook my head no in response. Speak damn it! Don’t be a p***y! My mind ruthlessly hollered. 

“That’s a first. Anyways, Anthony...if I were you...for your own good. I’d skip out tonight. Hell, if you want you can hang out with me. Mae is busy tonight, and well...I’m not going to be doing much either. It’s an offer though, not a demand,” she said with a light hearted giggle. The same giggle that made my heart melt the first time I heard, managed to do it again.

“S-Sure,” I said with a smile. Who would refuse an offer like that, especially an offer from a girl as attractive as she.

“Don’t be so nervous, I’m not gonna bite you, damn,” she said while pushing my shoulder lightly with that hand that didn’t hold the bottle. I laughed then realized she was staring at me, “Do you want some?” she offered me the bottle. Not having the confidence to ask what it was I took a sip. It was bitter and seemingly taint. I wanted to spit it out, but she was able to drink it with no problem so I forced it down. Was this...manning up? 

“Don’t like it do ya’?” she smiled at me in amusement. 

“Not really...what is it?” I admitted honestly. Weak! Lie! Tell her you liked it! She’s drinking it fine! My stubborn brain screamed. I sighed wishing it would shut up.

“Straight gin,” she said with a face that was full of shame. If she was ashamed to drink it...then why did she?

“How come you got yourself tied up into a mess like this? Not to be rude, but your friends...besides Mae....seem to be well a bad crowd,” I breathed.

Her blue eyes gazed out at the landscape, “How come your letting yourself get tied up into this mess?” she threw the question back at me, and honestly I didn’t know how to answer it. When she came to the conclusion that I had no answer she continued, “Sometimes...the fear of being alone...sends you to anyone. I knew Tyler before he got tied up into the stuff he’s in now. My family vacations to Florida every year, which is were Tyler’s family lives. We met down there when I was young...he’s a good kid. Though...I struggled with making friends in high school. Dropped out of public school my sophomore year and started cyber school my junior year...which allowed me to graduate and instantly become a senior...technically I skipped my junior year. Though...Anthony, that came at a price. I lost friends. I still had Mae I’ve grown up with her...and there was always Tyler. It’s just...when you have a fear of being alone you stay with who accepts you. They accepted me...and I accepted them. They gave me a method of coping with...my past that was better than what I had been doing,” she said now taking a long swig of the gin.

I looked down, clearly KiKi had more of a past than I truly could comprehend, “How were you coping before?”

  She only allowed her eyes to meet my own for a second before returning to ground...or was it the sky...maybe the skyline? Whatever it was it most defiantly was not me, “Over dosing; I couldn’t handle cutting or anything...I’m weak like that. So I over dosed...a lot. That’s not even the dumbest I’ve done....but those are stories for later times...for now...the sky’s too blue for us to ignore. Enjoy it,” she whispered.

I lowered my head for a moment. The idea of this angel trying to dispose of herself from this Earth was unpleasant, but I didn’t judge her...it wasn’t in my place. I had just met her...and she openly told me something deep. Part of me assumed the alcohol played a small role with her letting me in on a piece of her life. Still, I was grateful.

Leaning back she laid flat on the ground now looking at the sky with the bottle in hand. I followed her actions and laid next to her, we stared at the blue sky side by side in nothing but an honest silence that wrapped around us in a clear cover of unspoken stories. Our pasts being told not through words, but through the oddly calm tensions that were felt between us. 

This was the beginning of my life...of my world. Of the realization that everything around me was changing. That everything changed...that nothing was the same. That I was growing up. That I didn’t have it so bad. This was the beginning of my future I had dreamed about since I began to actually care about it. This was....the start of something...that we unable to be described through words...but only actions. This began my world...my everything.

The present was unfolding into the unspoken future, and I was only screaming for the forbidden taste of reality.

“Wake up,” a voice said while jabbing me in the side. My tired eyes opened to four tall figures, rubbing them groggily and seeing past the blinding sun I made out their silhouettes. To the left stood Adrian. Next to Adrian was the newest guy I met, Dante. Closest to me was Milo who was on the right side of me, he was creator of the throbbing pain that now ached my ribs, and Tyler stood behind Chuck and Adrian with his arms crossed an an expressionless gaze.

What was going on? Why was I asleep? Why was I outside? My mind forced every question from the back of my brain to my lips, which I had to blurt out.

Milo shook his head, “You fell asleep. KiKi went to class...a while ago. Tyler told me you weren’t in English 102 so I figured you’d be out here. That was your last class of the day you know...you basically missed your entire first day,” he laughed and held out a hand to help me up. Reluctantly I took it.

So, where did that leave KiKi now? Why wouldn’t she have woken me up? I sighed forcefully ending the questions that my mind threw at me. “You’re sayin’ I’ve made myself look like an a*****e without even trying on the first day....right?”

“Pretty much,” Dante threw in. I glanced at him shoot the ‘no one asked you’ looked. Milo sighed and straightened out his clothes before lighting another cigarette and walking off. 

“We’re going to get ready. Come on, Tony,” he said lowly.

“Sure,” I said while now walking with a group. I wasn’t going to go with them tonight, I promised KiKi I’d spend it with her, thought it was nice to walk with a group of people. it made me feel a little less out of place. 

By the time we reached the East Dorms Milo had smoked three cigarettes, I didn’t think an addiction could get that bad. Dante and Chuck walked ahead of us going to their own dorm (Dorm 137) to get ready, Tyler had left us earlier to go to his room (Dorm 105) and now once again it was just Milo and I.

“What’d you and KiKi talk about?” Milo said while staring at the floor. He shoved his hands into his pockets while standing in front of our dorm. He didn’t even glance at the door, part of me assumed that Milo had feelings for her.

“We didn’t say much. She told me a little bit...like she cracked opened her book a little...then snapped it shut before I could even turn the front cover over,” I explained. Not sure if he was aware that she had over dosed before at all. He nodded and opened the door, he didn’t reply or make a remark to anything said. As the dorm room opened it looked like it had been raided. “What...happened,” I breathed while pushing myself through the piles of trash that now rested on the floor. Wasn’t this place clean only hours ago?

“Ha! Oh, Adrian,” Milo laughed while digging through the junk to find his stuff. I blinked this wasn’t funny my stuff was everywhere. Food, drinks, papers, clothes, just trash laid everywhere in the room. 

“What are you talking about?” I questioned through anger. 

“Adrian beat me to the punch. Last year I destroyed his dorm. Payback,” he explained. 

“Is this going to happen often?”

“Probably,” he smiled at me.

Wonderful. I kneeled down and began to pick up my stuff, I glanced up to see Milo grabbing a bag and stuffing things like duct tape, rope, wires, and whatnots into it. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked. 

Clearly, this kid was up to no good.

“Well, we have some stuff to do tonight. You’re coming with us,” he didn’t ask. That was the thing about Milo you never questioned him. Not because you knew things would be okay or that he was usually doing something that’d benefit you. There was no reason for listening to him, you just did. Simple as that. 

“Of course!” I smiled and held to thumbs up. My stuff falling back to the floor in the process. Why did I just give him thumbs up? I thought, but more importantly. Why didn’t I tell him I had plans with KiKi? Milo was tall and rather intimidating. He was friendly when he wanted to be, but so were cats.

“Awesome,” Milo smirked and began to walk out, “I’ll be back to get you in a few. I have some more things to pick up,” he explained.

“Okay,” I replied shortly. 

Author's Note

Please ignore any/all spelling and grammatical errors.