Alcohol

Getting Better?

BonoVox holds the door open for all of us and then closes it after we all walk in. Taking a deep breath in, I realize how good the air smells in his house. I don't know if it's because something happened or because it's just a house.

Everybody left with BonoVox to find towels and better clothes except for James who sat with me on a dusty couch in the living room. Aimlessly kicking my shoe lightly, he asks me if I think I'll be alright. I smile and tell him that it will and then my smile fades and errupts into a scream as the large front door is bashed against and the forced open by a man. Leaping up from the couch, I try to get away from him but he grabs my hand and yanks me back onto the couch.

"Norman! Let her go," BonoVox barked as he ran in and threw the towels he was holding onto the couch and pushed the man back hard in the chest.

The man BonoVox called Norman laughed and punched BonoVox in the jaw, making me scream. But Guiggi took my hand and lead me out the door with James as Gavin stayed to help BonoVox. Loud yells exploded from inside the house and glass shattered as we watched through a window from the front yard.

"What's going on?" I yelled, my voice filled with terror.

"They're fightin' again, but it shouldn't last long," James answered.

After three minutes of broken things flying in the house and screaming Gavin came out of the front door with a few bruises but BonoVox didn't follow. I was worried. I knew I couldn't love him or anything but I didn't want him to get hurt. After a few unanswered questions from me BonoVox came out covered in cuts and bruises. I rushed up to him and eased him onto a spot in the grass next to the other boys.

"Are you okay? Who was that? What happened?" I begged BonoVox for answers.

He smiled a half grin,"I'm fine, just a little beat up. That was... uh.... my older brother and nothing happened. We just got in a fight. Now" he said hoping up almost as if nothing had happened, "let's go and let you meet the boys."

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We walked together the "The Mullen House" and talked about different things about ourselves. I started trusting them all more and felt comfortable with them now but as we entered our destination I became slightly nervous. My hands started getting clammy and sweat rolled down my back. I jumped as BonoVox whooped and hollered and starting singing "Jailhouse Rock". Wow! His voice was terrible but it was so different I loved it. He's also 18... his voice will probably change.

"Oyi! What are you doin' here?" a blonde kid about 15 or 16 called as he walked up to us and two other guys followed.

One of them was tall and had short black hair and the other was also tall with curly blonde hair. The second blonde kid came up to us and asked who I was.

"She's a friend of James," answered Gavin.

"And this is Larry," said BonoVox, motioning to the first blonde boy,"this is Adam," he continued, motioning to the curly haired kid,"and this is the Edge," he finished as he pointed to the black haired kid.

"Uh... hi," I greeted them all with a shy smile which was replied with 'hi' from Adam, 'nice to met you' from the Edge, whatever kind of name that is, and a shy smile from Larry. I liked Larry the most so far. The other two weren't rude or intimidating but Larry looked shy and really sweet.

I was invited up into his room with all the other boys, which caused me to imediatly put my guard up and grab Jame's hand. But with a reassuring smile from him I let go and sat on Larry's bed next to him and Guiggi. By my feet sat BonoVox, Gavin, and Adam. Then on a bench across from us were James and the Edge.

"Larry, send the boys down for a minute!" called somebody who must have been his father.

Everybody but Larry and I got up and went to the voice, leaving Larry and I alone with silence thick in the air. It was awkward, neither of us spoke. I tried not to think about the awkwardness, instead I thought about how I never thought this would happen. I never thought 16-year old me would be in the same bed as a little 15 or 16-year old kid. This made me laugh and him look at me, into my eyes since I was already facing him. I smiled and he blushed which caused me to giggle but I looked away in hopes of trying to ease the awkwardness, but not before seeing his sweaty palms. He was nervous around me. I just hoped he wasn't scared. But as he gulped and clenched his pale fists, I could tell he was afraid. I've never been one to cry but at this point all my emotions were bottled up and I started bawling. Through hot, fiery tears I saw his face. He looked like he felt guilty and unsure. But I understood. If some random girl started crying while sitting alone on my bed with me I would be like that too.

"Wha.. what's wrong? Did I do something?" he asked as he moved closer to me, but still not very close.

I sniffled and wiped my tears from my eyes and answered him as nicely as I could, "No... you didn't do anything wrong. It's just, I don't feel threatened by you and I don't want you to be like everybody else. If I'm not afraid they are, and I don't wanna scare you Larry."

He wiped his hands on his jeans and then looked at me, "I'm not afraid. Besides, why would people be afraid of you?"

To me that was a compliment but I guess it didn't look like I took it that way. He turned pale and started trying to mutter apolgies but I cut him off, "I'm a theif."

He laughed nervously but his laugh was sweet and childish but grown up at the same time, "If that's what you're worried about, it's okay. Most of us are or have done things like that."

I could kind of believe that but not from BonoVox or him, they seemed to thoughtful and considerate. "Even you and BonoVox?'

"Yeh," he whispered as he looked down at his shoes.

"How old are you because, Larry," I said, putting my hand on his which was flat on the middle of the bed, "you're really sweet."

I had never seen one person turn so many shades of red in that amount of time but as he tried to spit out '16' but couldn't, I looked up from my feet which I had started looking at and saw his bright blue eyes and asked him again.

"I... I'm 16. How old are you?"

"Oh, I'm 16 years old," I replied and for some reason let a sad smile crawl upon my face.

"Aye! Let's get in there before something happens and Larry gets a girlfriend!" I heard Adam joke before all six of them stampeded into his room. Right before they did I lifted my hand off Larry's.

I never expected to like any of these boys this much. My life is so much better... let's just hope it stays like that.

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