18

18

Aestus sat up in bed, realizing four things immediately: 1) she was in an unfamiliar bed, presumably the motel bed, 2) the smell of cigarettes and cologne was wafting all around her, 3) she was alone in the motel room, and 4) she was completely naked.

“Holy s**t,” Aestus said out loud, staring directly at the wall. She took a moment to think about what had happened again. Getting out of the bed, she quickly slipped on her bra and panties from the previous night. Her clothes were scattered on the floor. She turned to the mirror on the wall and stared at her reflection, noticing her ruffled hair and the glow on her skin. She couldn’t help but grin, despite the fact that she should have been angry at herself for giving in and having a one-night stand. It came so suddenly that Aestus couldn’t have possibly resisted him.

Slipping on the rest of her clothes, Aestus picked up her iPhone from the side table and hit the speed-dial for her friend, Kim. As she waited for Kim to pick up, she looked around the room. Her shoes were there, as were her glasses and her Dell. She sighed in relief; Gamzee hadn’t stolen anything. The other line on the phone picked up.

“Hello?” said a sleepy Kim on the other line.

“Kim, I need a ride to the drug store,” Aestus said, picking up her glasses and putting them on. “I’m at the motel by the library. You’re not busy, are you? You don’t have class until three today.” She slipped her shoes on and grabbed her Dell.

“Yeah, but...” Kim yawned. She must have just been woken up. “Wait, did you say the motel?!”

“Uh-huh,” Aestus replied, opening the motel door and walking to the front of the building.

“Aestus Cassus, you got laid before I did? F*****g unbelievable!”

“Just pick me up, will you? I’ll talk details when you get here. Meet me at the library.”

Kim snickered on the line and hung up. Aestus put her phone away and hugged her laptop to her chest as she exited the motel. It was still early in the day, around nine, and it was a Saturday. Aestus didn’t have classes today, so she was relieved. All she was focused on was getting the night-after pill; God knows if Gamzee even thought to use a condom.

She walked through the parking lot and to the sidewalk that led to the library. It was still unbelievable, what had happened the previous night. It didn’t seem real at all. Aestus should have been more concerned that she had just lost her virginity to a complete stranger, but who gave a s**t? She had just gotten laid by Gamzee motherfucking Makara.

“Excuse me,” said a friendly voice from behind Aestus. She turned around to see a girl a bit younger than her with long brown hair, a cute blue dress and a fringed scarf. She was smiling and carrying a book bag. Aestus recognized her as the girl Gamzee had sung to at his last concert. Aestus tightened her grip on her Dell.

“Do you need something?” she asked the girl.

“Oh, no, you just looked familiar,” the girl replied, smiling again. “I’ve seen you at Gamzee’s performances. If you don’t mind my asking, what’s your name?”

“Uh, my name is Aestus Cassus.” She stood there for a moment and started walking again in attempt to get away from the girl, but she followed promptly.

“It’s nice to meet you,” the girl said happily, walking beside Aestus. “I’m Keevan Khan. What are you doing out so early on a Saturday?”

“I could ask you the same.”

“Oh, I’m going in early to work at the library,” Keevan said. Aestus sighed, hesitating to tell Keevan where she had been. Then again, if Gamzee and Keevan had ever been close to an “item”, it would certainly dampen their relationship to tell Keevan about the fling.

“Are you coming from the motel?” Keevan asked after a moment, seeming a bit concerned. “Are you without a place to stay?”

“No, I have an apartment on campus,” Aestus said, her ears starting to burn. “I was, uh...only staying there because it was too late to go home last night. I met Gamzee last night and talked to him for a while, but it was late so I had to�"”

“Wait,” Keevan said, stopping. “Did you say Gamzee? You were with Gamzee at a motel last night?”

“Uh, no, it’s not like that�"”

“Did you sleep with Gamzee? It was just a one-night stand, wasn’t it?” Keevan looked very furious. She put her hands on her hips. Aestus became annoyed.

“What if it was?" Aestus said back. “What are you, his mother?”

“I’m his best friend,” Keevan said sternly. “I can’t believe he did this! And he’s not even with you right now, what, did he leave you alone this morning? God, Gamzee...!”

“Although you may think it’s something to get worked up about, I really don’t have time for this,” Aestus muttered, starting to walk away quickly. Keevan began to talk to her again, but Aestus ignored her. She reached the library and Kim was waiting in the parking lot in her car. Aestus jumped in the passenger’s seat and she looked out the window, seeing a frustrated Keevan shouting something to her that she couldn’t hear. Aestus clenched her fists and told Kim to drive. She didn’t care what this Keevan girl thought of her and Gamzee, even if she was Gamzee’s best friend. It was a one-night stand and Aestus would probably never speak to him again, so what did it matter?

Her relationship with Gamzee Makara had ended just as quickly as it had started.

 

“Gamzee Makara, how could you be so irresponsible?!” Keevan demanded, one hand on her hip as she closed the front door of her house. “A one-night stand with a girl that you don’t even know?! You’re so impulsive! You’re going to hurt someone!”

Keevan had demanded that Gamzee come over to her house directly after she got back from work. He had denied, but Keevan told him that Karkat had gone home and she knew what all the fuss was about between them, so Gamzee would be okay there. He reluctantly agreed, although he already knew what Keevan was so upset about.

“It’s not that big of a motherfuckin’ deal!” Gamzee shouted back. “Kee, you’re overreacting!”

“Don’t you use that language with me,” Keevan said sternly. “This kind of stuff shouldn’t be taken lightly, Gamzee! It’s not a joke, it's serious business! You can't just do things like this on impulse! What if you got that girl pregnant? Did you even think of the consequences?!”

“It doesn’t matter! It was goddamn sex, not murder! Why are you so upset?!” Gamzee stood up against Keevan, but she didn’t back down. She wasn’t afraid of him.

“You can’t be so careless with your body! Sex isn’t something you mess around about, it’s supposed to be with someone special! Not with just anyone that you can find!”

“Oh, calm your s**t already!”

“Don’t talk to me like that! You know I hate it!” Keevan stood up to Gamzee.

“Well maybe I hate waiting around for someone that is special!” Gamzee shouted, shoving Keevan. She gasped and bumped into the wall by his force. “Maybe the one that’s special is too busy with someone else,” Gamzee continued, even though Keevan looked hurt that Gamzee had shoved her like that. Her hurt expression turned into a kind of surprise that he was saying things like that.

“Gamzee, what do you mean?” Keevan asked, softening her voice. “Is there something you want to talk about?”

Gamzee shook his head and backed away. “No,” he said. “No, I’m sorry, Kee. I didn’t mean to get all mad at you.”

“It’s alright, Gam,” Keevan said, putting a hand on his cheek. “I just want you to be safe, okay?”

Gamzee lowered his head and sighed, then took her hand away from him. He turned and started to the front door of Keevan’s house.

“Gamzee, where are you going?” Keevan asked. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he muttered. Gamzee opened the front door and slammed it behind him. He left quickly, feeling awful for leaving Keevan abruptly again like that. As tears welled in his eyes, he got into his car and put the keys in. Before he started ignition, he put his arms on the steering wheel and lowered his head. He started to cry. He had only taken advantage of Aestus to forget about Keevan. But now that he had only used her for sex, he couldn’t seem to forget her, either.

Maybe he wouldn't have to forget Aestus. Maybe she could be his own Keevan.