Perfumed Secrets | Kurt Cobain

This dream isn't feeling sweet

"Is it Monday already?" Faye mumbled, slowly rousing from her sleep, her body still heavy. "It's Monday already!" She confirmed, this time with urgency, her eyes darting to the alarm clock on the nightstand. It was far later than she expected. "Damn, I'll never make it in time."

Kurt, still groggy from being jolted awake by her sudden panic, propped himself up on one elbow, trying to gather his thoughts. "Hey, calm down. I can take you there." He ran a hand through his tousled hair. "I'll go make some coffee. You go get ready."

He moved to the kitchen, his footsteps purposeful despite the early hour. He set the coffee pot brewing and grabbed a couple of granola bars, figuring they could eat them on the way. He glanced over his shoulder, watching Faye dart back and forth between the bedroom and the bathroom, frantically brushing her hair and applying a minimal amount of makeup.

"Damn, I can't find anything!" Her bedroom was in need of some deep cleaning, especially after Kurt joined her for the weekend, things always found a way to get messier when he was around.

"What's going on?" He leaned on the door porch, watching the scene.

"I can't find any of my sweaters, I guess everything is in the laundry room." Faye had a pair of jeans and a black long sleeved shirt on.

"Here." He took off his sweater and gave it to her. "You can take mine. I have an extra in my bag."

She thanked him with a smile and grabbed her bag. She took a quick sip of her coffee and filled a thermos to take it on the way.

"I didn't know you were the Starbucks cover girl." Kurt joked as he pulled out the car keys, noticing that the bottle had a brand stamp on it.

"Shut up." She took a generous sip from it. "They could be paying me extra for this, though. Free advertising."

The drive to the UW was quiet, and although she had tried to rely on coffee, Faye still felt her eyelids growing heavy. All she could think of was when the day would be done and she could crawl into her bed again.

"Thanks for the ride." She said as they pulled up to the campus.

"No problem." He turned off the engine. "I'm going to deal with some things at Sub Pop today, but I can meet you after your shift."

"Sure, I'll be waiting." She leaned in for a quick kiss before heading to her class, already running late.

Throughout the day, Faye couldn't stop yawning, her concentration slipping. She hadn't fully recovered from the eventful weekend and felt overwhelmingly drowsy. Despite this, the oblivious state was a small blessing; it dulled the anxiety she usually felt at UW, a place where now she felt like an outcast, as if she were behind her classmates.

At work, she went through the motions on autopilot, fueled by copious amounts of coffee. The shift was uneventful, but time seemed to crawl. As closing time approached, she kept glancing between the clock and the front door, hoping Kurt would appear at any moment.

"Faye, you're still here?" one of her colleagues noticed. "Today's not your turn to wrap up. You can go now."

"I'm just waiting for someone," She said quietly, her eyes fixed on the door.

The shop closed, and she found herself outside the mall, still waiting. After a couple of cigarettes and what felt like an eternity, she decided to head back to the apartment, hoping he was already there.

"Hey, you're home," Amy greeted her while cleaning the kitchen.

"Hey," Faye replied, sitting on the countertop, her expression weary.

"All good? You seem a little upset."

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said, grabbing another cigarette. "It's just that Kurt was supposed to meet me after my shift. Have you seen him?"