Lessons [completed]

Girl About Town

Jynx's POV

I gave Emily a kiss on the cheek. Lately, with tutoring, clubs, and sports, Em's been fairly busy. Seeing her again felt like she just got back from a trip around the world.

We hadn't seen each other in almost a week. It didn't worry me, but it did mean that I became more dependent on myself and my friends.

As usual, I hung out a lot with Elaine, Kira, and even Trisha. Not often, but just enough to get my mind off Hunter.

No matter how many times I tell myself I'm not jealous, I still can't shake off the bad feeling that bubbles in my belly. Honestly, the trust I have in Emily is circumstantial. I would trust her with family issues, friend drama, and mental health spikes, but something like Hunter is a different story. Unfortunately, it's my story.

I rested the cigarette between my lips as I waited for my love. The sharp wind that whistled in my ears made my wait more unbearable than my thoughts did, but I got through it.

The moment I saw Emily in the near distance, skating on her longboard, a smile stretched across my chapped, smoky lips. My eerie grin caused my cigarette to press against my lip ring, so I gently pulled it out with my index and middle fingers.

She pulled up to me with a smile. Her bigger body plopped off the board when she wanted to stop, and the board continued cruising until it hit my longboard. She walked up to me with her new pastel pink hightops, and her slim fingers grabbed at my cigarette.

She pulled it out of my hand and tossed it into the ashtray above the nearby garbage can. When she strode back, a look of disappointment edged on her eyebrows.

"You should stop smoking. It's not good for you. You took health class, right?" She asked, her brown lipstick making her teeth look even whiter than normal.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't patronize me, Mom. I know what I'm doing to myself."

In hindsight, I would've never started smoking if I knew how addicting it was. Not only that, but I have had people avoid me because of it. It's understandable, but it all started with desperation. I may be scene, emo, punk, edgy, or whatever you wanna call me, but I used to be very mentally ill. With my family issues, bad grades, and sexuality accumulating in my weak heart, I would constantly rely on unhealthy forces to mend me. Smoking, self harm, sex, and recently alcohol. It's rarely around Em, but I needed a smoke, and I know she thinks smoking is sexy. It's not healthy, but I'm better off dying young anyways.

She stepped up close to me and placed her hands against the wall behind me. Her lips swooped down, forcing a rough kiss. I liked it, but it caught me off guard. When she let go, she said, "I'm your girlfriend. I want you to be happy and healthy."

I replied, "Darling, the things that make us happy are never healthy."

Her devious smirk slowly faded to a frown.

"Am I unhealthy?" She asked.

"Of course you are. I'm addicted to you. I'm not sure how I would ever recover from you if you left me, but at least I'm happy right now."

I smiled with my teeth, for once. Everyone loves my smile, but I don't think it fits me much. My teeth are long and very straight, making me look much older and more feminine than I would've hoped for. Still, Em loved my smile more than anyone else.

Her cinnamon colored eyes followed my smile as I fixed the collar of her gray pea-coat. I could tell something was bothering her. As if she already knew she was gone, her eyes looked regretful.

It sucks being addicted to someone who isn't addicted to you.

I swallowed the thought and gave her a kiss on the nose. "Why did you want me to come here?" I finally asked.

Her eyes lit up once again. "Right, sorry! I wanted to longboard around with you and talk about life. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and I felt like we needed some alone time."

I shrugged. It sounded nice, actually. I looked down at my longboard and placed one foot on it. She did the same.

"Lead the way, babe," I chuckled.

We pushed off to the right, which would take us around the strip mall. Meandering around the sidewalks and roads was fun until we reached the end. At that point, we both jumped off onto a small field of grass. Giggling, we fell together and rested on our backs.

"Did he seriously ask her for a blowjob? That's so weird," she cackled at a conversation we were having.

"Yeah! How does someone still not know that she's gay? She's always making out with a new girl in the hallways every day. Does this straight boy not understand that her making out with girls makes her a lesbian?"

Emily continued laughing. Her hands grabbed at her stomach as she bellowed her laughs. They were full and loud, which always made me laugh in return. We had opposite laughs, by the way. I usually snickered with little hiccups, but she went full out all the time.

After she settled down, which took a while, she said, "Is it obvious that we're dating?"

I looked over at her. She had the dreamiest eyes. The amber speckles in the pudding of her irises was mesmerizing. Ah, it's impossible not to think about her gaze.

"Yeah, I'd say so. I look at you the way I look at the lead singer of Paramore," I said.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Hayley Williams is pretty hot," she said.

"I thought her orange hair was pretty dope, not gonna lie," I laughed. "Anyways, I'm not really sure anyone cares about us, to be completely honest. Like, all the people that are curious just ask me. I don't think we attract enough attention to really start a conspiracy theory or anything."

"I care about you."

I looked away from her and up to the sky. The sky was covered in a thin sheet of light gray clouds. It made the air cold enough for our coats, but it wasn't enough to make me feel particularly bleak with my trench coat on.

She noticed how strange that made me feel, and she slowly held my hand. I couldn't feel her skin through her glove, but I could feel her warmth. It was a lie.

She continued, "I know things are hard for us. With my mother, we can't even see each other at my house. It's even harder now with after school activities and sports, but I promise you that I'll try as hard as I can to see you. I'm not ready to give up on you."

It was a nice thing to say, but it was another one of those situations that made her hard to believe. I trusted her with all my heart. I could talk to her about my past, present, and future, but my future didn't involve her. We both knew that. I trusted her with my heart, and I knew she had already given hers away to Hunter.

It was incredibly hard to believe her when all I could think about at night was her with Hunter. Kira's been skittish about Emily recently, too, so I know something's up. However, all I can do is suffer through it.

I looked back over at her and managed a small smile. "I love you, Emily. I'm so in love with you."

"I love you too, Jynx," she replied.