[1] EXPOSED

1.7 - Faceless

       Jake watched from the steps on the back porch as Nathan bumbled down the conglomerate stone path next to the driveway and patted his pockets. He had one headphone in his right ear and the other dangled helplessly next to the sleeve of his shirt.

            “Hey, man,” Nate brushed his hair out of his face and stopped at the bottom of the steps.

            “Hey,” Jake sat down on the back porch and stared out to the backyard. The fight they had was so recent that he didn’t know how to act around his best friend.

            “Hope you don’t mind,” Nathan pulled a single cigarette from his pocket and lit the tip, “I haven’t had one today and it’s the first time I’ve been away from my parent’s house.”

            Jake shrugged, “I don’t care. It’s your life.” It was tacky to do it right then though. He could have at least done it on the way here. “How long have you been smoking?” Jake asked out of curiosity. He hid his addiction well.

            Nathan tilted his head to the side and stared towards the ceiling under the porch. “Um… I honestly don’t know. A couple weeks maybe.”

            “Do you ever like crave it?” Jake rubbed his eyes.

            “Um…” Nathan paused again, “Every once in a while but I’m sure I could quit anytime. Why are you asking me so many questions?” he seemed to be getting annoyed, but Jake just kept wondering more about it since he hadn’t ever had one before.

            “Oh I don’t know, I was just wondering. Like what does it help with?” Jake asked. Nathan followed him and sat down on a wooden stump that was used as a chair.

            “Well I do it because it calms me down. Like all the stress in your life just kind of goes away after a cigarette or two. It feels good to inhale it and breathe it out.” Nathan took a puff right after he finished talking and threw the rest in the grass. “Why, you want one or something?”

            Jake didn’t answer at first. He thought about all the stress in his life right now and all the things he had on his plate. All the pressure could get overwhelming sometimes. Part of him told him to not even think about it, but the other part told him to try it. It was Superego and Id going at it again, and Id won. I guess you never know how something is going to be if you don’t try.

            “I mean, I don’t wanna force it on you,” Nathan lit another one, “I’ve got some though.”

            “…I guess one wouldn’t hurt,” Jake reached for the cigarette and had Nathan light it for him, “I’ll probably hate it, anyways.”

            At first, he thought it was great. He almost felt a little high afterwards because all the stress seemed less important. Nathan started smiling more and they were both starting to bond some. Maybe it was because Jake was being less judgmental that he had been lately. “So dude,” Nate tried to start a conversation.

            “What?” Jake blew smoke out of his mouth.

            “You should have seen that fight between Robert and some middle school punk today at the park…” Suddenly, they heard the door start to open. Jake stomped on his cigarette and hid it under his shoe. Nathan dropped it in the grass.

            “Hey, Jewel,” Nathan smiled as I peered outside. He seemed to be in a good mood but I honestly had no idea he was coming over. I could tell he had been smoking though because there was a cloud around him and Jake.