Pepper, Laces, and Bottlecaps

Glasses

I watch the kid outside from my seat on the porch. He's meditating, his legs crossed, and his face turned up. Raindrops are streaming down his face, and underneath his thick glasses. In the rain his hair ends in messy wet spikes. He's wearing several sweaters, but it doesn't seem like any are keeping rain off of him. He doesn't move for a long time, and it doesn't seem right of me to disturb him. He seems to be enjoying himself. 

The rain doesn't want to end. I don't want to move. I close my eyes. Shortly after, Billy taps me on the shoulder. "Pepper's looking for you," he says, his voice is still groggy, and he seems agitated.

I leave my spot on the porch. I'll most likely return later. Pepper's in the room like usual. She's claimed her spot on my bed, so I sit next to her. I already woke up feeling tired, as if I hadn't slept at all. I could feel the cold of the night turn into the chill of a cold day. The smell of the rain outside. It's pattering against the window, reflecting the little bit of light from outside. A little bit of water leaks from the side of the window frame. Every now and then a few drops find their way down the already water stained path in the paint of the wall. Hiding out from the rest of the storm outside.

I scoot toward Pepper, sliding onto the tiny strip of bed, maybe a foot separating us at most. I try rolling myself onto her mattress. I can't tell if she's noticed me or not, so I lift up her blanket and roll into it, then next to her. It's an awkward position. Only my upper half is under the blanket. She's smiling, and giving me an amused look.

"What's up buttercup," she says locking her phone and giggling at how hard I'm struggling to get all the way to her, "I'll take it you're feeling better."

"Yeah. How come you're not out today," finally settling on the pillow next to her.

"I would've been too worried about you to have a good time," she is a little too worried about me, to be honest.

"You always let me stay here though. Nothing would have been different."

"Yeah it would have," she says, running her fingers through my hair, "I'm still trying to figure out what the fuck happened to you. Kind of killing my ability to run a business."

I can't think of how to explain. I make an agreeing noise and stare at her. It's a little harder to breathe. From outside the blanket, someone clears their throat really loud. Pepper lifts her head up. "Don't get your panties in a knot. Nothing's happening here," Pepper yells across the room.

The person mumbles and Pepper grabs one of the pillows out from under my head to throw at them. I pop my head out and look at them. The kid from the lawn is shielding his laptop from Pepper's attack. He looks at me, "I'm not leaving, so don't get all freaky. I'm trying to watch a movie and my Hotspot doesn't work anywhere else," he pulls his blanket over his head and his laptop.

I go back under the blanket, and Pepper places her pillow on my face to make up for the one she stole. I put it under me, trying to glare at her, but smile wide. "Glasses is probably the laziest nickname so far," I tell her. Settling myself into her pillow.

"It's not really his nickname," she says, smirking, "his actual nickname is Spooner. I just call him that cause his glasses are ridiculous. They're pretty much microscope lenses on his face. Like here just look."

She runs across the room and jumps on the kid. She pins him to the ground and steals his glasses off his face. He struggles but eventually gives up. At the sight of his defeat, she gets off of him and runs back to me. The glasses are almost shoved onto my face. they make everything extremely blurry. I can barely see my own hand. It's kind of annoying. I can't imagine what its like to be Spooner. I keep trying to get my eyes to focus, laying there looking up at my hand. I probably look like a  nerd. Must suck for Spooner not to have his glasses. 

Someone stomps into the room. From the sound of how heavy the footsteps are it's probably Billy. "Bottlecap. Yo. You alright man. You look terrible," Pepper says from beside me.

I take off Spooner's glasses and look up at a very agitated looking Billy. He's clenching and unclenching his fist. Glaring at Spooner seems to be the only thing he's focused on, he doesn't acknowledge Pepper at all. As agitated as he seems, he sits pretty passively near Spooner. "I need some more man. I sold all mine this time. I can pay now," his voice is dipping into a desperate tone. 

"Come on," Pepper whispers into my ear, "come with me." 

She helps me up, and guides me away from a pleading Billy, with her hands over my ears. She takes me out into the backyard and sits me under the driest part of the very broken patio no one uses. "I have to go deal with Bottlecap," she kisses my forehead and walks back into the house.

I lay sit there looking around. My face is still warm from where she kissed it. I place my hand over it trying to keep the warmth. I can hear it get a little loud. I would have run in to see if I didn't hear them laughing afterwards.

I just keep sitting there waiting for Pepper. It feels like a long time, but I don't want to move my hand. I don't really know how long I've been here. The back door opens and pepper walks out with two weird cigarettes in her mouth lit. She hands me one. Now that I can really smell it, I'm pretty sure it's weed. I take a hit. It's hurts so much in my throat. Pepper laughs at me as I choke on the smoke. "Smaller hits for now Laces. We don't need you throwing up any more," she says with a sugary tone.

In the moment I think of how awful I've felt. How much my life is different in such a small time. Even with it's problems. I've never been happier anywhere else. I haven't been here long. It only feels like eternity. I still don't really know how long I've been in and out of sleep.

I keep smoking the cigarette. A strong urge to sleep overcomes me again. I lay my head in front of Pepper's crossed legs. She's looking down on me with a smirk on her face, and picks up my face. "You're so beautiful," she says quietly, almost as if she doesn't want me to hear her. I close my eyes and drift again in to a sleep, almost as if I'm sinking into syrup.