venture • lrh

five

FRAT PARTIES WITH DICKHEADS

*

The bell rings through the building, telling them the class is finally over, and that spring break has begun. This college somehow has a tradition of throwing one big ass party at the beginning of every vacation. There's also one at the end of every holiday, but fewer people attend it since being hungover in the first class is just not it.

When Alex is looking around, she can't see Michael just anywhere. He's taking her to school and driving her home most days; if he can't, he lets her know. He is the sweetest best friend to ever exist. Alexis doesn't like to admit it, but she feels guilty since he's doing so much for her. It's almost as if she's giving him nothing in return but some sad attitude.

Maybe she's privileged to have him in her life.

Suddenly, she feels two arms wrapped around her body. A scream is about to leave her mouth until she recognizes the tattoos on his arms. She looks behind her to see Michael smile. He slowly unwraps his arm from her, and she hooks her arm in his.

"Busy day?" He asks her. "Never mind," he says right after she yawns. "Are you going to the party later, though?"

"Are you going?" She returns the question. "Because I want to go, but I don't want to go alone." He chuckles and nods at her words. "The only thing is that it's so long ago, I don't even know what to wear." They walk towards his car as he opens his mouth again.

"Depends on if you want to get laid." Michael chuckles. A forceful smile breaks through her lips. He doesn't know the story. She loves to listen to the stories he creates when sharing the bed with someone, but as I said before, her stories are more complicated. They have always needed... Improvement. She'd tried to get laid, but another moment occupied her mind. A frown grows on his face as she still hasn't responded.

"N-no, just want a drink."

"Okay, what's up?" He asks his best friend, opening the door of the car. She takes a seat and hears the door close loudly. Her heart is beating in her chest, and the thud of it is almost deafening. She had never told Michael the story but never felt like sharing it. Somehow she thinks she gets the slightest closure whenever she talks about it.

"Can't you just drive?" She asks him, pouting a little.

"Tell me what's going on." He says. "You know I don't push you, but there's been something going on for a longer time. Every time we talk about sex, or there's a mention about it, you get all... pressed."

"I do not," she defends herself, knowing damn well she's lying, and he can also tell. It's too easy to figure out. Whenever she's lying, she's fidgeting with her hands and doesn't dare to look at the person she's lying to.

"Alex, you can talk to me, you know that. Why are you holding yourself back?" He still needs to put his key in the car. The engine is not running, and the radio isn't loudly blasting through the car. "You talk to me about everything." He says. The loud thuds of her heart almost seem hearable to him.

"I don't want to talk about it, please. Can we get home?" He nods and starts the car to drop her off at her place. The place she doesn't even consider home, but there's no other way to describe it. It's just four walls with a roof on top. Michael turns on the radio, but it isn't blasting as usual.

Slowly, the windshield is covered with drops of rain. It covers the glass more and more, and the sky has turned grey to a point where it's almost black. It's still the middle of the day, and the rain has been predicted. Yet, she didn't expect it to match her feelings this much.

His eyes are on her if they aren't on the road. Worried about her, and she doesn't blame him. If he were to act this way, Alex would worry about him. She starts staring outside the window, which is also covered in raindrops. The clouds show the well-known lights, followed by a clap of thunder.