Blonde Ambition

Zephyr Days

Song of the Chapter: Alone Together by Fall Out Boy

I don't know where you're going
But do you have room for one more troubled soul?
I don't know where you're going
But I don't think I'm coming home

I gazed at her slim figure as she walked up the path slightly ahead of me, swinging the bottle of vodka in her hand, talking a mile a minute. With dirty blonde hair to her shoulders, a band shirt, leggings, and scuffed up Vans, she was perfect. She was ranting about her latest fallout with one of her boyfriends, and to be honest, I didn't really care. She knew that.

I sighed audibly.
"What?" She asked, turning towards me.
"Nothing."
I say 'nothing' a lot. I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut, but when asked, "What's that supposed to mean?" I don't want to answer. Courtney just shook her head at me. She knew what I was like. We had been friends with each other for two years now, and connected over our mutual love for bands and art. That's about where the similarities stopped. She had short blonde hair while mine was long and black, usually dyed an array of different colors. She liked cats, I liked dogs. We were both adventurous, but she was the reckless kind, whereas I was calculating. She was loud. I was quiet. She yelled at people when she was mad. I ignored them. She was impulsive and I was predictable. She was a push-over. I was stubborn. But we were inseparable. We skipped school a lot, but on the rare occasion we were there, we'd get at least three 'joined at the hip' remarks from classmates and teachers.

I skipped ahead of her, getting to my favorite part of the forest first. I took a deep breath of Autumn air and stretched my arms out on either side of me, spinning in a circle. She laughed. The narrow path widened, opening to a larger one which lead to a secluded clearing. The oak trees wrapped around us and their long branches swayed in the breeze, making the red-gold leaves dance. We continued on into the clearing.

The grass here was still wet with dew, so we sat on the carpet of leaves in the center of the clearing. Courtney opened the bottle and I pulled a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of my leather jacket. I took one out and lighted it. I took a drag of the cigarette while Courtney sipped the vodka. She offered me some and I shook my head.
"My brother is home. If he smells alcohol on my breath, he'll kill me."
She shrugged and continued drinking. Before long, the bottle was empty and half the pack of cigarettes gone. I laid on my back in the soft grass, while Courtney laid her head on my stomach. I was content under the leafy canopy, a few rays of sunlight streaming through. I felt Courtney's breathing go steady, and I was drifting of to sleep myself when she lifted her head.
"Belle?"
"Yeah, Court?" I asked, sitting up.
She giggled and I raised my eyebrow.
"You're pretty."
"Thanks," I mumbled. "You too."
She leaned in closer and placed a sloppy kiss on my lips. I tried to pull away but she deepened it and I couldn't resist.