psycho

"bedroom floor"

Marisol sat on the couch and scrolled through her Instagram timeline. She liked some photos, passed others.

Vernon came from the kitchen with a water bottle and a cup of iced tea. He handed the water bottle to Marisol and took a sip of the iced tea.

"While we're sitting here, why not get to know each other. I mean we've been sitting on our phones for about an hour without even talking." Vernon said, evidently trying to break whatever ice was formed over the past hour.

"Sure, why not?" Marisol said, hoping to get something out of this kid. It was already awkward to her that he came up to her and asked for her number so she wanted to know what his deal was.

"So," he started. "where did you come from?" He asked.

"What kind of question is that?" She laughed and slowly rolled her eyes in amusement.

"I mean like... Where did you come to New York from? Like where did you move from? There. That's what I was trying to say." He said and turned a bit red in embarrassment.

Marisol crossed her legs. "I'm from Chicago. Born and raised."

"I was born here, but I went to Korea when I was younger. My family decided that they wanted to move back to New York. We moved back two years ago."

"Oh," Marisol said.

Is that it? Vernon thought.

"Uh, how old are you?" Vernon asked.

"I just turned 16," Marisol replied. "In May. What about you?"

"Turned 17 in February." Vernon said and got up.

"Where are you going?" Marisol asked, a puzzled look forming on her face.

"I'm going somewhere more comfortable. But that I mean my room." He said and started walking towards two blue barn doors.

Marisol looked confused. "And am I supposed to sit here by myself?" She asked him.

Vernon shrugged. "Just come with me."

Marisol took a deep breath. "Uhh, okay.." she muttered.

She got up and walked across the room to Vernon. He opened the doors, walked in, and immediately got comfortable on his bed. Marisol slowly walked behind him and lingered at the doors, unsure of what to do. Vernon noticed her and chuckled. It was surprising, considering the bold vibe that came off of her hours earlier when he first approached.

"Get comfortable." He sounded amused. This time he was intimidating to her. Vernon didn't want that but it felt somewhat satisfying.

She hesitantly walked over to the edge of the bed and tried to get comfortable, but a weird vibe seemed to prevent her from being able to relax. She shifted a bit and crossed her legs unable to release the tension inside that was making her so uncomfortable. She stared at the bedroom floor.

She cleared her throat. "Where were we?" She quietly asked.

Vernon shifted his gaze over to her. "We just finished age."