Insomniacs (#1)

8. hazel

I stood in the mirror; Malik and Everest simultaneously peering into the mirror to get a closer glimpse. It was quiet and their fascination was amusing, like babies seeing snow for the first time.

Everest reached his hand out to touch it and I swatted his arm quickly.

"Ow." He frowned.

"Fuck off. You're not supposed to touch it." I snapped.

"It looks hot." Malik said, Ev nodding with a proud smile in confirmation.

Wanderlust. Tattooed right behind my ear in a small cursive font.

Ev sat himself atop the counter, gazing down at his first tattoo ever. He started off small, a tiny smiley face on the inside of his middle finger. I literally stood blocking the door out of the tattoo parlour, willing him to get one. He was the only one out of the three of us without one so I thought it was time.

He looked either intrigued, regretful or pensive. One of those, it was hard to tell.

"You okay there, buddy?" I bit back a laugh. He nodded as if still in a daze. When he looked up to me however and a smile reached his blue eyes, I was relieved.

"Its so cool. Thats there forever." He tapped his finger against the wrap.

"Even death won't do you part." I said between my yawns, stalking out of my bathroom and flopping onto my bed. Malik flopped down besides me, Everest taking the lovesack.

"Are you coming to the soccer game tonight?" Everest asked, already rolling a blunt. He sports a graze on his jaw from a soccer accident the other day.

"I don't know." I covered my eyes with my arms, my eyes threatening to flutter shut from fatigue.

"But you always come." He said and I could hear his frown.

"She's tired. Its fine if she doesn't want to-" Malik started.

"No, its okay." I force myself up, "I'll come. Can we go get coffee first?"

"Can we please drive?" Everest pleaded.

"But its raining-"

"I am well aware. And as much as you love rain, I think I'm going to die from pneumonia if I walk anywhere else, you fucking oddball." He quickly cut in, "Get wet in other ways."

I throw a pillow at him, "We can drive, you dick."

***

The rain had stopped thankfully but the air was crisp, biting at my skin as I sat on the back bleachers. The football game had started a while ago and a lot of people had turned up which wasn't unusual.

Football - or soccer as they call it - was the renowned sport around Kilned. Everyone awaited the games and it became a sort of hang out spot for many.

It was weird sitting in the massive football field with the bleachers when I first moved here from London. Sport in schools isn't as big of a thing there as it is here.

My pale hands cupped the coffee cup, providing me with some semblance of warmth as it trickled down my throat. Everest had already scored a goal with Malik's assist. Pride bloomed in my chest.

Despite how tired I'd been all day and how I really just wanted to be in bed, it didn't matter. They all looked to me with big waves and smiles once scoring that goal and so it didn't matter.

I startled when the bench sunk with someone's weight besides me.

I met his side profile; skin pale and cheeks pink from the cold. His dark hair was feathery, fanned out over his forehead and shadowing his sharp jaw.