Suburbia

Chapter 3: Rainbow Room

Present-

My mouth was dry and tasted like hay.

Like really, really old hay. Like hay that was sitting down in an abandoned basement for far too long I had cottonmouth in the worst way. Of course, this would happen the first time I smoked in months.

I wiped my eyes. My contacts felt like they would need the jaws of life to extract them from my head. I roll over and blindly touch my bed stand. My phone, covered in a black jelly case, lands in my hand as I tug the charger in my direction. I disconnect it and slide my thumb over the lock screen. Nothing. I click the lock button with a huff.

I don't know why I thought anything would change. Or that he would call. Or he would care at all.

The shirt I had on from Pants' party was stuck to my skin like glue as the morning sun started to rise and made the temperature rise in my room. Nothing was worse than being hot, wet, and unable to cool yourself down. Of course, my window AC unit was broken, and I couldn't afford to get it fixed right now. Opening the window near my bed solved the issue for now, but once it was afternoon, I was going to be in trouble.

My bed creaks as I throw my feet over the side and stretch. I toss my phone on my bed and waltz to the bathroom to turn on the shower. I come back and boot up Spotify. The playlist Stevie made me a few months ago played from my computer as the shower heated up down the hall. I sat at my desk, scrolling through my school e-mail, waiting to see if my application was rejected or not for my field placement next semester.

I opened my phone, checking Instagram mainly to see if Austin posted anything from tour. I leaned back on my desk chair and folded a leg under my bent knee.

I scrolled mindlessly until I came across a post from Len. It was a group shot of the band. I sighed and rested my head on my hand. Austin looked so good.

They were in the middle of a tour, on a one off for some festival in Pennsylvania, and from the looks of it, they were having blast. His curly hair was buzzed on the sides into an undercut with his black mop of hair sitting on top. He wore a pair of basketball shorts that I loved- they clung to his sculpted ass like the Maori god that he was. And, oh god, that cut off he was wearing. The red brought out the gorgeous golden tones in his brown skin and his broad shoulders jutted out, the material barely fitting over his chest. It had the Star Maps logo, too. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that it was the shirt I gave him one night when we were drunk. Did he realize it was mine?

A wave of annoyance went through me. That fucker ruined my shirt!

...

After my shower, I laid on my bed, still in my towel. The ceiling had glow in the dark stars and planet stick-ons from when I was younger. They didn't glow or twinkle like they used to, but I loved to look at them. There were also a few faded bat stickers around them. I used to be obsessed with bats and basically anything that had to deal with the night time. Planets. Stars. Bats, then the supernatural with cryptids like the Mothman. Don't ask how I came to that one because I honestly don't remember.

The night time was the only time I could work on homework or personal projects without anyone bothering me. My mom and brother needed me during the day. Then, I was finally old enough to work on the farm and fell in love with the animals there, so I became a morning person. Coffee replaced energy drinks and bats and planets with cows and different types of flowers. I still secretly loved bats, though.

My phone buzzed. Shawn's name flashed across the screen.

"Want to go to the Rainbow Room?"

It was Thursday. Breakfast League.