Lennox. Me. & Apartment C.

007.

After passing out from seeing Lennox's needle, I spent the rest of my day, trying not to think about what I had see and trying to relax. Then again, I low key was super embarrassed from passing out in front of him and him doing that thing with the thumb on my knee and the looking at me with concern, because I was just not ready for that lifestyle.  On Thursday's, I only had one class so hiding out from him was easy. He came in to check on me around dinner but I just pretended to be asleep and he left me alone. On Friday's, I had two classes. Luckily, my last class finished at one o'clock in the afternoon so I had the rest of the day to do absolutely nothing. Then again, my luck always managed to run out.

My phone chimed as I left campus with a text message from Delia, "I know you fainted, love, and I wanted to give you space but when did you plan on telling me that you had such an attractive roommate?"

I looked down at my phone with a groan before my thumbs took charge and spelled out, "I planned on telling you when we last talked but I couldn't get it out. I walked in and saw him jabbing himself in the stomach."

I saw an ellipses pop up on the screen before a message from Delia came in. "You saw his stomach?! How many six packs does he have?"

I rolled my eyes and typed back, "I'm Ok. Thanks for asking."

The ellipses appeared again. "No problem, I could tell you were obviously in good hands ;)"

I locked my phone and promptly shoved my key into the doorknob. I had to perform tonight at The Cellar, which was not a big deal at all. Everyone there is super chill. I thought I would be spending every waking moment, when I'm not in class, there but I pretty much only work on the weekends and occasionally during the week. I see Mosh on Friday's when I perform and we work together on Saturday's. Sunday's are super slow so the bartenders rotate to cover the day shift. I never know anyone's name but they usually are working with the stock in back so I don't see them much anyway. On Sunday's, I just clean and make sure the stereo systems and everything are in working order for the upcoming week. It's nothing special but, hey, money is money is money.

I performed at seven o'clock on Friday nights and my ritual so far has been to find an outfit and run my set through as many times as I can before I have to head over to The Cellar. I don't usually eat before but I usually grab a drink. Liquid courage works better with an empty stomach. Going through the set helps me deliver the punch lines without laughing and messing up the whole build-up because I've heard the joke so many times that it's no longer funny. Yes, without practicing, I'd laugh at my own jokes.

I began rehearsing as I perused through my closet to find an outfit. The thing about dressing for shows is that I have to wear something cute, but something edgy that I feel empowered in, you know. I need it to be trendy but also I have to keep in mind the fact that I'm on my feet all night and the lighting and sweating- oh, the sweating! Even when I'm not nervous, my shirt sticks to me like I jumped into a pool fully dressed. The stage lights are just so bright and they can burn you alive. I moved hangers around as I mumbled to myself, I found a pair of black, faux leather skinny jeans and did my usual jig to get into them. I had to jump up a couple times, pull the belt loops up, shimmy my hips down, and pinch the bottom part near my calves to avoid the bunching at the ankles. With a zip and a button, I was cleared so long as I didn't exhale too deeply. I slipped a black V-neck shirt over my head and moved into the bathroom to proceed to talk to myself in the mirror for a couple of hours.

"Here's my problem with back-to-school shopping: stores make you feel like you need all that crap and have the pictures of the model dorm room to make you think, 'Well, Mom, all the cool eighteen year-olds who are also saddled with thousands of dollars of student loans have it!'" I whined to myself in the mirror. "Bed, Bath, and Beyond does it. Walmart does it. For crying out loud, Tar-zhay does it! But the best store ever to make you buy stuff you don't need is IKEA; I kid you not. I went in for a desk. I ended up with a bed, wall clocks for rooms I don't have, the desk chair-- yes, only the chair itself--, a meatball recipe, various kitchen gadgets that are useless but have cute animal faces on them, and somehow the ability to be able to read Swedish.

"IKEA does it best," I continued as I began plugging in my curling wand and pulling out drawers of hair and makeup supplies. "Think about it: as soon as you enter the store, you have to go down like four levels. Even if you manage to grab the one thing you want, you have to continue the stupid maze to check out. You go into IKEA like a nerd on the first day of classes, thinking you're going to outsmart everyone because you're ready for what's in store. You come out of IKEA like that zombie, Billy, in Hocus Pocus. You're afraid to speak because you don't know what country you're in anymore, you can't walk because you're full of cheese pizza and meatballs from the food court, and you walk out with your eyes nearly shut because you've been in there so long, you forgot what sunlight was. And that's assuming you manage to get out while the sun's out!"

I kept talking and curled my hair so it fell in my shoulders. I didn't even bother to break the curls since I knew they would fall into the loose waves I wanted when the show started. I brought the flatiron up to my bangs just so I could make them a bit neater. Then, I began working on my face to control my shininess, hide my zits, and make myself sweat-proof. Actors and some other performers will do their makeup in a streaky fashion so that way when they sweat, everything blends a bit better. I prefer to look like I'm not wearing war paint. By the time, I was finished, it was already half past four o'clock. I went in the kitchen to grab a water bottle from the refrigerator and found Lennox standing and eating an apple, facing the TV and our rooms consequently.

I gave him a nod in acknowledgment as I entered the room. I was banking on him not being around as I got ready, especially since he normally isn't. I definitely did not want to talk about yesterday's fall-out. See what I did there?

He looked me over as I walked towards the kitchen as he slid the knife across the apple before bringing the back of it up to his mouth. "Why are you dressed up? Where are you going?" He asked.

"What's it to you? Are you worried about me? Afraid I might do something you would do?" I taunted, dodging his question and grabbing the water bottle at the same time. This was my third, maybe fourth performance since school started and I made an effort to ensure that Lennox did not know I was performing at The Cellar. If he showed up, I couldn't stop him but I definitely was not going to invite him. Besides, maybe part of me wanted him to be concerned about me-- to care about me. He was really sweet about me fainting out and surprisingly comforting. I liked that side of him; it was refreshing.

"No," Lennox shrugged and shook his head, with a smirk. "I was trying to figure out how much time I had if I wanted to have some company."

And that was ruined. All pleasant thought associated with Lennox James just went out the window. We were back to normal.

"Well, have as much company as you want," I said as I closed the fridge. "I'll just stay out even later."

I may have stuck my nose up a bit at him when I passed him. I retreated to my room to put on my ankle booties and grab my drummer jacket that I found thrift shopping before I left for The Cellar. I had about an hour to spare before my performance so Mosh gave me a shot and a drink so I could loosen up before hand. Needless to say, it did the trick and my performance went over pretty smoothly. Afterwards, I went back to the bar to hang out with Mosh. It's not like I had to go back to my apartment any time soon and, besides, Mosh is totally chill.

That night, I ended up leaving The Cellar when it closed at three in the morning. I wouldn't have waited for Mosh but I decided to just go home after I promised to text him that I made it home, despite not having a drink once my set ended. I stumbled through the darkness and into the apartment to find Lennox on the sofa, watching a movie.

Company? Yeah, right. The only company Lennox had over was a Star Trek DVD and seeing how his Lieutenant Uhura was nowhere to be found, I can guess that his night was not very prosperous.