Beyond Reason

Chapter 13: Me too

~Joey~

"Last night was amazing!" Heather says, throwing a pillow and catching it in a bear hug. She twirls like a little girl and lands on our bed with the pillow still in her grasp.

Is she giddy or is she giddy?

"Yep," I agree, propping myself onto our vanity table. It really was amazing, conversation with Keenan being the highlight of my night.

"I still can't believe I did a body shot!" She giggles.

"Who took it off you?" I ask.

"Wyatt." Her grin fades as she meets my eyes. "He insisted, I wasn't really thinking straight."

"Heth, I don't care." I roll my eyes. "It's all in the past and I just want to move on. Sure, he's not one of my favorite people, but there's other reasons for that. If you want to have sex with him, go ahead."

Her eyes widen on instant. "Hey, hold up! No one said anything about having sex!"

I smirk. "Did I read wrong?"

"No, but—" Her eyes widen as she hears herself speak. "I mean-I mean yes! You definitely read wrong. I just really like the fact that we all had fun."

"Mhm."

She scowls at me and I blow a kiss to counter it. She rolls her eyes and picks up the pillow again. "Did you finally finish 'After Yuletide'?"

I blink. "What?"

"You left, I assumed you snuck away to go read like you said you would."

"Riiight." I twist my toes. I didn't read a word, between talking to Keenan and well...talking to Keenan. By the time we checked the time, a full hour had passed of us chatting back and forth about literally everything pertaining books and my childhood. We didn't talk much about him, though. He avoided questions about his family, though I know that his sister is currently sick. His eyes went sadder than I've ever seen when he mentioned her and I'd changed the subject by asking about his tattoos-they're mostly roses because those are his favorite flowers, and some are phrases. After that, it was about my parents' stance on tattoos, which just led us right back into tales of my childhood.

I have a feeling he'll open up about himself one day, I just have to give him time. Isn't that what friendships are about?

"Earth to Joey!" Heather's voice snaps me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, I was...thinking."

"You—" she's cut off by a knock.

"Come in!" I yell, both at the door and to block out whatever Heather was about to say. "We're decent!"

The door swings open to reveal Kevin Alvarez in his natural state and form—hungover. I grin at the bags under his eyes.

"Hey."

"You look amazing, Kev. How's the hangover?" I ask him.

He rolls his eyes. "I puked it up, so mild, thank you. The guys and I are going out. If you guys wanna join, you have five minutes." He closes the door behind him, then opens it again. "And you're paying for your own stuff."