Coming Together

Chapter 3: Crushes

I floated in what seemed to be a black abyss, literally floated, but it was more like I was hovering in place. The only clothes on my body were my boxers, and all the art I had drawn on my limbs was visible. Most would've felt naked in my position, but for some reason, it was almost as if all my body art was protecting me. The scales I had drawn on my arm were like armor, and the pretend anklet circling my left ankle was like a safety charm. Even the profile of a roaring lion I had drawn over my heart in the mirror seemed like it was trying to protect me with its mighty jaw.

"So you can draw real animals?" A voice pierced through my built up confidence, even though it was innocent and sweet, my knees became weak at hearing it. I looked up from my body art to see Rachel floating in front of me in the dark space. She wore the v-neck with the black skinny jeans again.

Wait, again?

I didn't even answer her question but it seemed like she already knew what I was going to say. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm chained down to earth..." She trailed off, what was she talking about? "Could you..." She began, but pulled back as if she was embarrassed, I willed her to continue, to finish.

"Make me a pair of Angel's wings, I need to feel free again." Without my consent, she turned her back towards me and began to pull off her shirt, I could just see the bottom of her spine...

BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Gah!" I shouted and shot up in my bed, sweating for some reason. My feet kicked the covers off the mattress and then I fell back onto my pillows, completely ignoring my alarm. Heat filled the room, either my mom had left the radiator on blast last night or it was a surprisingly warm autumn day, I suspected the latter was much less probable. My hand automatically went to my forehead to wipe sweat drops from it, my chest heaved. It definitely wasn't the dream that made me so surprised, it was that damn alarm. The beep of the alarm stopped as my hand slammed the off button, as usual. I was wide awake, there was no need for that thing.

Finally coming to my senses, I rose from my bed and grabbed some clothes from my drawer, if my mom had seen how messy it was in there she'd probably have a heart attack. But, for me at least, it was an organized mess. I pulled a towel from my nightstand before exiting my bedroom, judging from the amount of sweat on my body, a shower was very much needed.

A knock came from the door that lead into the bathroom as I used an extra towel to dry off my hair. "Gar, we need to talk. Now." It was my mom, and she sounded extra pissed. My muscle's tensed up at her voice, I quickly replied with some wit. "What? In my towel?" There was a long pause, she was not amused. "O-Okay, I'll be out in a minute..." My heart sunk as those words left my mouth, on top of weird dreams about girls I barely even knew, I had a mother to deal with, or... 2.

When I emerged from the doorway to the kitchen I could see my mom(the one I was getting scolded by earlier) showing my other mom my report card. The mom who was being shown the report card wore her usual business clothes, a tan blazer, skirt, and a white blouse underneath, she must've just gotten back from her business trip because she hadn't been home all week. The other wore a casual black and white striped tee along with dark jeans. They both sat at the kitchen table with grim and disapproving facial expressions. I could only imagine how screwed I was. "Uhm, mom, mom," I began to adress them both, they only just noticed my presence when I spoke. "I can explain, trust me--"

"You sir, are more than grounded! Do you see this?" My casual mom interrupted angrily, holding up my report card so I could see it and pointed to the "F" next to English. My professional mom just nodded, and even though she stayed silent, her quietness seemed more threatening than the other's anger. "I uh-- how do I get more than grounded?" I asked, genuinely confused as I still stood in the doorway, too afraid to approach my parents any closer for fear that one of them would tackle me. "What? I-- I don't know!" Casual mom was flustered with anger, she slammed the report card on the kitchen table. My professional mom placed a hand on her wife's shoulder and looked up at her lovingly, "Are you sure this is a good conversation to have right before he leaves for school?" She whispered to her, my casual mom sighed and seemed to level down the 50 shades of red with anger to 35.