Outcast, chapter 5
I woke with a start and shot up quickly, almost knocking heads with Mike, who was for some strange reason sitting at the edge of the bed.
"Are you okay?" he looked mildly startled, but otherwise concerned.
"Yeah," I automatically replied. I grabbed my head at the rushing and pounding. "What time is it?"
"It's 2:30 in the morning."
"Which means I was asleep for-" I tried to think, and it was oddly difficult to do so.
"A little over two hours," Mike prompted. A moment of silence passed before he said, "I actually tried to wake you up a little while ago, because you started crying in your sleep and kept moaning. Are you sure you're okay?" It was then that I noticed Mike's hand on my forearm had tightened its grip slightly.
I instantly felt embarrassed, not at the strange contact, but at the fact I had been caught crying like a little baby. I had never let anyone see me cry, especially not my mom or my dad. I felt like the whole world had accidentally seen me naked or something.
"I'm fine. It was just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about."
"You say that too much," Mike blurted out, sounding angry.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you say that like I'm supposed to believe you. Do you even believe you?"
I sighed, "Look Mike, I-" Just then the door burst open and both Billie and Frank jumped into the room like they were being chased.
"Oh good, you're up!" Billie practically shouted, and both his voice and the sound of the door hitting the wall echoed painfully through my head. I grabbed my head in both my hands to try to steady the pain.
"We have come to take you home!" Frank yelled unnecessarily loud.
"Guys!" I groaned. "Must you shout!?!"
"Well that depends, you're hung over aren't you?" Billie smirked knowingly, while Frank laughed loudly and I tried to push my head from between my knees through the floor.
"Damn C, how low is your alcohol tolerance?" Frank said between laughs.
"Very low," I murmured.
"Well, it'll get a little better after some more sleep and a cup of coffee," Mike said sympathetically. I gave a barely recognizable nod in reply.
"So shall we waddle our way down to the kitchen then? I got the munchies real bad too!" Frank said. I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn't scared they were going to roll right out of my head. Nevertheless, I allowed the boys to help me up and half carry, half lead me downstairs to the kitchen. Through the close proximity of our smelly, sweaty bodies, I was still able to make out one thing.
"Frank, where's your shirt?"
"Oh, er, well... I-" he stammered. Right then a door opened a few feet from us as we were all making our way down the hall, and Mona emerged, looking very trashed and wearing what appeared to be Frank's shirt from the evening, along with a pair of boxer shorts.
"Treeee?" Mona whined, rubbing her eyes and stumbling from the doorway. Frank was there in an instant and supported her with an arm around her waist.
"Hey baby. We were going downstairs for some coffee, you think you could stomach some?" Frank said, in the softest voice I had ever heard him use. Mona perked up a little bit, but still maintained a strong grip on Frank's shoulder.
"Yea, you know I'm never too trashed to handle coffee. Bring it on!" I could feel Mike smile into my hair. If nothing else, they had their unhealthy infatuation with caffeinated drinks in common.
The boys all shared a small chuckle and Billie and Mike continued escorting me downstairs, with Mona and Frank bringing up the rear. An amusing moment though, was when Frank simply said "Fuck this," and swept Mona off the floor and proceeded to carry her downstairs, all the while trying to keep her long legs from swinging all over the place and hitting the wall.
Once we got into the kitchen, Mike and Billie gently deposited me into one of the chairs sitting around the table, while Frank simply sat down and adjusted so that Mona was once again spread across his lap.
Undisputedly, Mike went over to start making the coffee, and Billie sat down and admired the wreckage formerly known as his living room from the kitchen table. I put my arms on the table and made to lay my head down on them, but all I heard was the sickening clunk of my forehead against the glass table-top. That would have hurt if my brain was currently registering external pain.
"Ouch C, you all right?" Billie said. All I did was manage a thumbs up in reply.
A few minutes went by in silence before Mike announced that the coffee was ready, and put five steaming cups down in front of us. As if shocked, Mona jumped for one of the cups and drank it like it was her last lifeline. I wonder if she knew the definition of the word scalding. No wait, I've seen her down more coffee like that in hotter weather than this, so she must be used to it.
I raised my forehead a few inches off my arm-pillow in acknowledgment of the coffee, then groaned and set my head back down. I heard the other guys sipping theirs quietly, then Billie sighed loudly.
"Shit, my mom's gonna kill me."
"Wouldn't be the first time," I mumbled into my arms.
"What?" Billie said. I raised my head off my arms again to meet his eyes.
"I said, it wouldn't be the first time. You'd think she'd be used to you trashing her house by now."
Billie shrugged. "I know, but it still sucks, because I'm gonna have to clean it up."
"I can help you," Mona said. "It's not in my nature to enjoy the suffering of others." Everybody around the table looked at her disbelievingly.
"I meant people I know." Again, everybody stared at her. Frank looked like he was about to start laughing.
"Fine! I meant people I actually like." Everybody else around the table seemed to find this an acceptable answer and looked away, sipping their coffees and grinning slightly.
I gave a small 'humph' and returned my head to the table-top.
"Cel, you gonna drink your coffee?" Mike asked. My sweaty forehead was stuck to the glass, so I swivelled my head around in an adapted negative response.
"It'll help," he added.
"Yea, it does. Amazingly, it really does help," Mona piped up.
I conceded defeat and cradled the cup in my hands, taking a small, cautious sip from its contents. I grimaced as the all-too-familiar chalk-like taste assaulted my taste buds.
"What? You don't like coffee?" Mona said, looking insulted. I glared at her.
"No, I don't. I prefer something with a little more flavor, thank you. Cappuccino, maybe, but coffee, sparingly."
"We have some cappuccino mix in the cupboard, you want some?" Mike asked.
"No, this is fine. I need something to wake me up." I smiled at him for reassurance. I only just barely caught the looks exchanged between the other 3 around the table. Devious? Possibly.
Feeling I had to one-up them, I raised an eyebrow at Mona and Frank before saying, "So Mona, care to explain why you're all of a sudden wearing Frank's clothes, and why he is without?" It worked, Mona's face flushed and both her and Frank looked awkward all of a sudden.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. I thought you took Mona home after the party was over, Tre. Because you left just before I was going to take Adie home." Billie said suspiciously.
Frank decided to explain, since Mona took the moment to drink out of her empty coffee cup. "Well, nothing happened, if that's what you guys were thinking." The other guys looked disbelievingly at him.
"No seriously, Mona got sick after the party. When I took her to the bathroom, she accidentally threw up on her dress and didn't want to wear it anymore. We went into the guest bedroom and I gave her my shirt to sleep in for a while." The guys all nodded in understanding.
"Where'd you get the boxers though, Mona?" I asked, still looking mildly puzzled.
"Oh, they're mine!" Mona said, without showing the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Yours? "
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing. It's just.... Boxers?"
"Yeah, Tre told me how comfortable they were, so I thought I'd try them out. Been wearing them ever since!" Mona declared proudly.
"Looks damn sexy in them too, if I do say so myself," Frank said slyly, then ran a hand along her leg from her calf to her thigh. Mona shivered a bit, then smiled and tilted Frank's chin up and met his lips with hers in a hearty kiss.
"Whoa guys, slow down! Or else you're going to have to take back your whole 'Mona-got-sick' story!" Mike chuckled. The rest of us joined in laughing, including Frank and Ramona.
We all sat there for a little while longer until all our coffees were finished, Mona offering to finish off mine for me. Then Billie stood up suddenly and pushed in his chair, making everyone around the table jump slightly.
"Well, shall we?"
"Shall we what?" I asked.
"Take you home."
"Oh shit, that's right! What time is it!" Mike looked at his watch.
"A little after 3."
"Fuck! She's gonna kill me!" I slapped my hand to my forehead and stood up. "I have to get home now!" I started to freak out, and Billie put an arm around my shoulders.
"Whoa! Calm down. We'll take you home and explain to your mom that we kept you out. She can't blame you, okay?"
I nodded, wanting to believe him. I wanted to tell him that showing up with them wasn't going to help my case much. I wanted to tell him that no matter what I did, my mom was going to blame me anyway. But beyond all that, I wanted just to believe him. All I could do was nod.
"Are you okay?" he looked mildly startled, but otherwise concerned.
"Yeah," I automatically replied. I grabbed my head at the rushing and pounding. "What time is it?"
"It's 2:30 in the morning."
"Which means I was asleep for-" I tried to think, and it was oddly difficult to do so.
"A little over two hours," Mike prompted. A moment of silence passed before he said, "I actually tried to wake you up a little while ago, because you started crying in your sleep and kept moaning. Are you sure you're okay?" It was then that I noticed Mike's hand on my forearm had tightened its grip slightly.
I instantly felt embarrassed, not at the strange contact, but at the fact I had been caught crying like a little baby. I had never let anyone see me cry, especially not my mom or my dad. I felt like the whole world had accidentally seen me naked or something.
"I'm fine. It was just a bad dream. Nothing to worry about."
"You say that too much," Mike blurted out, sounding angry.
"What? What do you mean?"
"I mean, you say that like I'm supposed to believe you. Do you even believe you?"
I sighed, "Look Mike, I-" Just then the door burst open and both Billie and Frank jumped into the room like they were being chased.
"Oh good, you're up!" Billie practically shouted, and both his voice and the sound of the door hitting the wall echoed painfully through my head. I grabbed my head in both my hands to try to steady the pain.
"We have come to take you home!" Frank yelled unnecessarily loud.
"Guys!" I groaned. "Must you shout!?!"
"Well that depends, you're hung over aren't you?" Billie smirked knowingly, while Frank laughed loudly and I tried to push my head from between my knees through the floor.
"Damn C, how low is your alcohol tolerance?" Frank said between laughs.
"Very low," I murmured.
"Well, it'll get a little better after some more sleep and a cup of coffee," Mike said sympathetically. I gave a barely recognizable nod in reply.
"So shall we waddle our way down to the kitchen then? I got the munchies real bad too!" Frank said. I would have rolled my eyes if I wasn't scared they were going to roll right out of my head. Nevertheless, I allowed the boys to help me up and half carry, half lead me downstairs to the kitchen. Through the close proximity of our smelly, sweaty bodies, I was still able to make out one thing.
"Frank, where's your shirt?"
"Oh, er, well... I-" he stammered. Right then a door opened a few feet from us as we were all making our way down the hall, and Mona emerged, looking very trashed and wearing what appeared to be Frank's shirt from the evening, along with a pair of boxer shorts.
"Treeee?" Mona whined, rubbing her eyes and stumbling from the doorway. Frank was there in an instant and supported her with an arm around her waist.
"Hey baby. We were going downstairs for some coffee, you think you could stomach some?" Frank said, in the softest voice I had ever heard him use. Mona perked up a little bit, but still maintained a strong grip on Frank's shoulder.
"Yea, you know I'm never too trashed to handle coffee. Bring it on!" I could feel Mike smile into my hair. If nothing else, they had their unhealthy infatuation with caffeinated drinks in common.
The boys all shared a small chuckle and Billie and Mike continued escorting me downstairs, with Mona and Frank bringing up the rear. An amusing moment though, was when Frank simply said "Fuck this," and swept Mona off the floor and proceeded to carry her downstairs, all the while trying to keep her long legs from swinging all over the place and hitting the wall.
Once we got into the kitchen, Mike and Billie gently deposited me into one of the chairs sitting around the table, while Frank simply sat down and adjusted so that Mona was once again spread across his lap.
Undisputedly, Mike went over to start making the coffee, and Billie sat down and admired the wreckage formerly known as his living room from the kitchen table. I put my arms on the table and made to lay my head down on them, but all I heard was the sickening clunk of my forehead against the glass table-top. That would have hurt if my brain was currently registering external pain.
"Ouch C, you all right?" Billie said. All I did was manage a thumbs up in reply.
A few minutes went by in silence before Mike announced that the coffee was ready, and put five steaming cups down in front of us. As if shocked, Mona jumped for one of the cups and drank it like it was her last lifeline. I wonder if she knew the definition of the word scalding. No wait, I've seen her down more coffee like that in hotter weather than this, so she must be used to it.
I raised my forehead a few inches off my arm-pillow in acknowledgment of the coffee, then groaned and set my head back down. I heard the other guys sipping theirs quietly, then Billie sighed loudly.
"Shit, my mom's gonna kill me."
"Wouldn't be the first time," I mumbled into my arms.
"What?" Billie said. I raised my head off my arms again to meet his eyes.
"I said, it wouldn't be the first time. You'd think she'd be used to you trashing her house by now."
Billie shrugged. "I know, but it still sucks, because I'm gonna have to clean it up."
"I can help you," Mona said. "It's not in my nature to enjoy the suffering of others." Everybody around the table looked at her disbelievingly.
"I meant people I know." Again, everybody stared at her. Frank looked like he was about to start laughing.
"Fine! I meant people I actually like." Everybody else around the table seemed to find this an acceptable answer and looked away, sipping their coffees and grinning slightly.
I gave a small 'humph' and returned my head to the table-top.
"Cel, you gonna drink your coffee?" Mike asked. My sweaty forehead was stuck to the glass, so I swivelled my head around in an adapted negative response.
"It'll help," he added.
"Yea, it does. Amazingly, it really does help," Mona piped up.
I conceded defeat and cradled the cup in my hands, taking a small, cautious sip from its contents. I grimaced as the all-too-familiar chalk-like taste assaulted my taste buds.
"What? You don't like coffee?" Mona said, looking insulted. I glared at her.
"No, I don't. I prefer something with a little more flavor, thank you. Cappuccino, maybe, but coffee, sparingly."
"We have some cappuccino mix in the cupboard, you want some?" Mike asked.
"No, this is fine. I need something to wake me up." I smiled at him for reassurance. I only just barely caught the looks exchanged between the other 3 around the table. Devious? Possibly.
Feeling I had to one-up them, I raised an eyebrow at Mona and Frank before saying, "So Mona, care to explain why you're all of a sudden wearing Frank's clothes, and why he is without?" It worked, Mona's face flushed and both her and Frank looked awkward all of a sudden.
"Yeah, I was wondering about that. I thought you took Mona home after the party was over, Tre. Because you left just before I was going to take Adie home." Billie said suspiciously.
Frank decided to explain, since Mona took the moment to drink out of her empty coffee cup. "Well, nothing happened, if that's what you guys were thinking." The other guys looked disbelievingly at him.
"No seriously, Mona got sick after the party. When I took her to the bathroom, she accidentally threw up on her dress and didn't want to wear it anymore. We went into the guest bedroom and I gave her my shirt to sleep in for a while." The guys all nodded in understanding.
"Where'd you get the boxers though, Mona?" I asked, still looking mildly puzzled.
"Oh, they're mine!" Mona said, without showing the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Yours? "
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing. It's just.... Boxers?"
"Yeah, Tre told me how comfortable they were, so I thought I'd try them out. Been wearing them ever since!" Mona declared proudly.
"Looks damn sexy in them too, if I do say so myself," Frank said slyly, then ran a hand along her leg from her calf to her thigh. Mona shivered a bit, then smiled and tilted Frank's chin up and met his lips with hers in a hearty kiss.
"Whoa guys, slow down! Or else you're going to have to take back your whole 'Mona-got-sick' story!" Mike chuckled. The rest of us joined in laughing, including Frank and Ramona.
We all sat there for a little while longer until all our coffees were finished, Mona offering to finish off mine for me. Then Billie stood up suddenly and pushed in his chair, making everyone around the table jump slightly.
"Well, shall we?"
"Shall we what?" I asked.
"Take you home."
"Oh shit, that's right! What time is it!" Mike looked at his watch.
"A little after 3."
"Fuck! She's gonna kill me!" I slapped my hand to my forehead and stood up. "I have to get home now!" I started to freak out, and Billie put an arm around my shoulders.
"Whoa! Calm down. We'll take you home and explain to your mom that we kept you out. She can't blame you, okay?"
I nodded, wanting to believe him. I wanted to tell him that showing up with them wasn't going to help my case much. I wanted to tell him that no matter what I did, my mom was going to blame me anyway. But beyond all that, I wanted just to believe him. All I could do was nod.
