geek | armin arlert

nuns worst nightmare

the inside of hitch's car was as chaotic as always: half-empty starbucks cups, sephora bags, and a rogue eyelash strip glued on the dash. she's already cleaned the little bit of drool residue left on the seat from last night, unfamiliar to you.

the only thing out of the ordinary was hitch herself. while climbing into the passenger seat, clutching a water bottle to your forehead like it had any real effect, she wasn't ignoring the road to apply last minute touches of her makeup routine in a rush like usual. no last swipes of mascara, powder touch ups, a few pumps of setting spray. both eyes were latched onto you, on pins and needles waiting for an explanation. on the other hand, not even offering a goodmorning, you could barely function correctly.

the get-ready process this morning was as lackluster as a faded memory, popping a pain-reliever pill then sliding into the standard cheerleader outfit saying as today was unfortunately a post-halloween pep rally. football entrance, cheer performance, and club rush. even in top shape you weren't much for school spirit.

it was matching, which gave the illusion that you were put together, but the makeup wasnt backing that up. having just kept the residue from last night though most of it got wiped off from drinking and ugly sleeping, opting to reapply some concealer and blush to add some color on your lifeless face at least. the hair was another disaster that got situated into a slick back pony, good enough.

"did you and armin hook up last night?"

there it was again, and for a second it felt offensive how gun-ho she was about it, almost like believing you were messy enough to get caught up in something so indecent. the genuine concern was still evident on those perfectly plucked eyebrows though, helping her case.

even if you wanted to explain, retelling the details of last night would've been like pulling teeth with no pliers. bits and parts maybe, but not anything regarding the crude comments she'd continued to make.

slowly turning your head like a rusty doll, visibly cracking as if the movement hurt, it was safe to say things weren't going as planned. hitch noticed the smudged mascara, eyes half closed, the reuse of eyeliner from last night. now was not the time to talk nonsense, not while riding to school looking like a clown who just got off his 9 to 5.

"i don't have the energy right now hitch."

the energy to deal with some gossip-crazed teenager who happened to stumble upon two people cuddled up in a room, and though it may have seemed suggestive to an outsider looking in, that's all it was. no need to suffocate a girl with unnecessary implications when you're dying from an aggressive hangover.

"look, i know you didn't." hitch exhales tiredly with a pained expression, more serious this time around, or perhaps you'd just now noticed how serious she'd been since getting into the car. no, since the phone call that'd been cut off this morning. she was the final one to catch the two together, but the scene did not look like one of a hookup. it was innocent, cute almost, and all clothes were still on. above all, she knew her friend well enough to differentiate truth from lubricated lies. "but i'm assuming you haven't seen it."

you groan in an indecently loud octave, ear piercing, already over this day and you'd just woken up about an hour ago, "seen what? i've been recovering from a black out. i don't even remember leaving, you took me home, right?"

taking it as a cue to pull out her phone and play the messenger, she sighs, "yeah, but this picture, it was posted two hours ago. people are already talking."

typing up a storm like the mainframe had just been hacked into before slowly turning the small device over, like it was the climax of some janky horror film, like the suspense and drama was so intense there would be a jumpscare any moment. and there it was, the jumpscare, enough to completely clear that leftover headache right up.